Thread: new gun, any recommendations?

Hi guys, just looking for a new rifle to use for general hunting. I want one which will take down a deer easily and effectively.

Also, in terms of the qualities of the gun itself, as I am a new shooter I want one with a milder kick, bolt action, and with good accuracy.

Any suggestions?

so the 308 doesn't have much kick?

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Remington 700 in 308.

+ 1

Any off the shelf rifle (that fits you) in 243. Savage 16, Tikka T3, Rem700 springs to mind.

Originally Posted by newhunter2012

Hi guys, just looking for a new rifle to use for general hunting. I want one which will take down a deer easily and effectively.

Also, in terms of the qualities of the gun itself, as I am a new shooter I want one with a milder kick, bolt action, and with good accuracy.

Any suggestions?

For a milder kick - have a good recoil pad on it - consider a suppressor to remove the noise and more recoil -
Then choose something mid range (not a magnum nor a little cal) - plenty of choice in calibres - and bullet weights

Oh and practice

any of the guns in the $800 to 1800 new range from your local hunting store and u cant go wrong really! all of them plenty accurate for minute of deer or better. t3 , remmy 700 , marlin , savage, sako a7 weatherby vanguards , howas, thompson, mozzies theres dozens. 7mm08, 308 and 270 would be the most popular deer calibre choices,again, you cant really go wrong with those three cailbres for anything up to red stag size under 250 metres i reckon matey. 7mm08 recoil is really mild for me (subjective here) but put a supressor on any of them any theyre pussycats.

All of the advice given so far is excellent. One bit that does get over looked a lot, though mentioned, imo is fit. Find a rifle that when mounted is naturally pointing where you are looking, preferably with a scope fitted. If you are having to re-adjust your sight picture everytime you mount the rifle you will loose time and likely miss plenty of shots from having to adopt a forced position.
Calibres, makes and models aside, natural alignment is a key marksmanship principle. You can enhance it with a decent fitting shooter. Even if it isnt a tack driver you will be better off when faced with unsupported shots when hunting.

Go to a store and shoulder some rifles and find which one fits you the best. I am going to throw in another brand for you to consider seeing everyone else has over looked it and they are very accurate rifles for their price and that is the Marlin X7 I own one in 7mm08 bugger all noticeable kick to it and I have also fired the same brand but in the long action model in .270 and could not tell the difference between that and my 7mm08 good range of calibers .223, 22-250, .243, 7mm08, 308, .270, 25-06 and 30-06 so don't over look the marlin but very advisable to change the scope for a better brand. Just stay away from the savage axis, the remington 770 and any rifle with mossbergs name on it.

Originally Posted by hunter308

Go to a store and shoulder some rifles and find which one fits you the best. I am going to throw in another brand for you to consider seeing everyone else has over looked it and they are very accurate rifles for their price and that is the Marlin X7 I own one in 7mm08 bugger all noticeable kick to it and I have also fired the same brand but in the long action model in .270 and could not tell the difference between that and my 7mm08 good range of calibers .223, 22-250, .243, 7mm08, 308, .270, 25-06 and 30-06 so don't over look the marlin but very advisable to change the scope for a better brand. Just stay away from the savage axis, the remington 770 and any rifle with mossbergs name on it.

+1 on the xs7. have one with a vx3 on it and its crazy accurate. adjustable trigger, fluted bolt (kinda) and limbsaver recoil pad standard. alota bang for not alota bucks

awesome advice guys. I'm gonna have to experiment a little I reckon because I'm not too sure what recoil would feel heavy/light as I haven't shot anything for years. I'll let everyone know in due course what I end up getting and if anyone a bit more experienced is willing to lend some advice and teaching I'd be keen!

learnin heaps from this forum already, cheers lads

+1 on the .243 if you're starting out and unsure about recoil. Get good with it, and limit yourself to 250yds initially (it's a lot further than it sounds, and your limit will be a lot less than that to start with anyway ) and you'll kill almost anything you'd like to hunt in NZ cleanly.

Definitely +1 on the correct fit and recoil pad/suppressor,

Finally: +1 on Tikka T3 (It's hard to beat for value/accuracy in a first rifle- and I'm not biased at all: I will never own one).

You can do it james! save your clams and you'll get there mate Never say never!!! go the T3!
Personally i could see my next rifle being a total mongral mish mash of Barnard this and Tru-flite that. Probably a .243 with an after market lite stock. Not a target shooter whatsoever (ie i'll go a carbine with a light barrel) - might have a look at rifles that predominantly boast reliability in adverse conditions rather than anus retentive accuracy. My T3 sporter will outshoot my efforts at target shooting all day long.

Typicle shooting coach talk there and excellent advice ei;the nut behind the but!.My first rifle I ever shot was the Aug styer and I was shitting myself but put simply that disapeard with repitition and constantly practicing bringing the rifle into the shoulder and pulling the trigger, round in chamber or not.I beleive get a rifle you can snap up to the shoulder and then get use to firing it.

What are you planning to hunt and at what ranges? All advice on rifles so far has been good, especially R93's. But chambering will depend alot on what you plan to shoot with it. Saying that you can't really go wrong with the good old .308. Easy to find cheap ammo and inherently accurate.

Just some advice because you are new to shooting . If you found it's not your thing you will never have any trouble getting out of a 308 stainless rifle . I sold mine last week, I lost. $ 280 over 20 yrs . Guns are cheep at the moment if I'd sold it two years ago would have made money .