Thread: Gun for first time deer hunting/wallaby hunting

Hello

So I currently only own a .22LR and this has been a great gun for knocking over hares, magpies (and a few wallabies) and a great starting gun.....butttt now i am really keen to get out into some more DOC land and try for more wallabies and larger critters, so am needing a bigger rifle, but I have no clue where to even start with what I should be looking for.

Any help would be much appricated also please keep it a bit in layman's terms as I very fresh to this and still learning.

A suppressed .223 is the absolute perfect wallaby rifle, however I would definitely not recommend it for a beginner who wanted one rifle to also be using on larger game. Even in experienced hands, it's still only a 'sometimes' deer rifle.

Something like a suppressed .243 could be a good calibre, particularly if you're new to centrefire rifles, as you will typically take a while to get used to dealing with recoil.

If you have opportunity to fire some various centrefire rifles, and find you're not bothered by the recoil, then any of the various 7mm-08, .308 types would be fine. Ammo price is all pretty similar between them, and while some might argue anything above 243 is a bit overkill for wallabies, it's still all trigger-time and learning how to shoot that rifle, all the better for when a deer or tahr comes along.

Hi mehtat, Welcome to the Forum

Excellent advice there from @StrikerNZ

Just about all the rifle manufacturers (Tikka,Ruger,Remington,Howa,Weatherby to name a few) make a "compact" or "youth" version that's a little shorter & lighter than the full-sized models. A few of my gf's have enjoyed shooting but struggled with my guns that were too long and heavy. A compact .243 with a 3-9x40 scope and a suppressor would be a good outfit.

As a newbie myself ill add my 2cents.
I was in same situation a year ago looking at getting my first centre fire.
I did Alot of googling and asking around in the end it for me it came down to a choice between .243 or 7mm08.
I choose the 7mm08 and if I could go back in time and make the choice again I would still pick the 7mm08.
I think it's a really good all-round choice for nz hunting.
Welcome to the forum by the way.

+1 on .243
Very versatile round.
Load it light (55gr), hunt rabbits.
Load it heavy (100gr), hunt reds.

If you search Youtube, there are a couple if amazing videos of guys hunting coyotes out to 1,000 yards with the .243 in the USA. Wallaby (NZ) = coyote (USA)

You're getting some good advice there. The trick will be to visit gun dealers or somewhere where you can shoulder a few rifles n find what model feels right for you and your budget

I am recoil twitchy; I settled on a .308, suppressed it and have been completely happy. One of the reasons I went that calibre was that it was same as hunting buddies so we would always have ammo between us

Another vote for the 243, never owned one but played with a howa and liked it. Suppressor is not quite a must but it makes sense.... What scope are you using on the 22? Thats where things can get expensive.

Try and play wih as many rifles as you can to get a feel for what you like

AR15

.243 all the way! 95g SST's,sharp knife,go hunting😎

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

AR15

Your joking right? We have enough newbie idiots at our range shooting them.

Mehtat, Budget/Fit/calibre
decide on your budget, factor in the scope/suppressor too. Then go to somewhere that has a good selection of rifles ( gun city) & try shouldering a few in your price range to see what fits you nicely, feels comfortable in the hand grip, cheek weld, etc then walk out of the shop empty handed ( this us important) have a good think about it, get some advice if you need it, then decided on an appropriate calibre, once you know what you want you can shop around for the best deal. If H&F offer you xxx$ ask them to right down on the back of a sale mans card, then leave & go see if serious shooters or gun city etc will better it
Ask them to throw in a gun bag, box of ammo

If your on a tight budget can't really go past a second hand m96/38 sporter then if you find you like that side of it you can up grade then go 243 or 308 that's what I did

Originally Posted by 223nut

Another vote for the 243, never owned one but played with a howa and liked it. Suppressor is not quite a must but it makes sense.... What scope are you using on the 22? Thats where things can get expensive.

Try and play wih as many rifles as you can to get a feel for what you like

Popped a Bushnell 3x9-40 scope on the .22 and thanks for the advice guys deff can't wait to check a few out and see which one feels best

243s are for girls and pretty boys mate, get a 260 or a 308

A 243 would be a great 1st centre fire @mehtat . Maybe a Howa 1500 might pop up at the right price, good luck with the hunting lass.

If in no rush keep an eye on here, once you have worked out what fits best you might be surprised how often they pop up in the buy / sell section, some of us are serial gun sluts and need a new one each week....