As someone who is getting into hunting, what rifle should I invest more money into?

Hey guys. I applied for my FAL at the start of this year so I still have a bit of time before I actually get the piece of plastic saying I can own a firearm... While I am waiting I am saving as much as I can for a couple of rifles.

I know for a fact I want a 22LR and a larger calibre rifle (either .270 or .308). I have been told that its best to spend more on a .22 since that is the rifle that will get used more. So I am after a bit of advice and to open a discussion around this.

Would I be better putting more in to get a nice .22 such as a CZ and cheaper hunting rifle like a Savage Axis (for example)? Or go mid tier .22 like a RAR? Should I go the other direction and get a cheaper .22 and get a better large animal hunting rifle?

Thoughts? Would appreciate serious replies :D :D :D

For what its worth, I live in central Auckland. My in-laws are out by Miranda and have a large section which is good for bunnies. They are also ~30mins drive from a few DOC hunting blocks.

a older wooden stocked norinco jw15 will do ALL the rabbits you would ever want.... the modern ones are more hit n miss.
a good rifle with a very good scope is better than the other way around...that said a basic 4x32 will do a fine job too.

at end of day you wont loose $$$ on a 2nd hand .22lr if you decide to upgrade later...and a good scope will stay with you forever...hint here,if its got leupold on side,it will be good...and you dont need to spend thousands....

there are heaps of good 2nd hand rifles come up on this site....save your pennies and keep watching....when licence arrives ASK as often folks have something in cabinet and will offer it up forsale if know someone wants something like it....

I think you could easy pick up a good 22 for around $500 and $1500 to 1700 should see you right for a good condition second hand high power, and if you look around you may pick up the whole package for these prices (scope included) Some real good deals come up here so keep an eye out.

I have a Savage Axis in 223, shoots really well.
Don’t think you have to buy a Sako straight off.
After all, this is the start of a lifetime addiction :thumbsup:

A JW15 will be $300. That Churchill 3006 would be a great first rifle imo. Good solid Mauser 98 Action and a calibre that will flatten game without being nasty to shoot recoil wise. There is a Bushnell elite 4200 for sale at a good price - all set for $1000 - $1100

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Originally Posted by Mohawk .308

You’ll be wanting a tikka 7mm08 mate given your in Auckland and all. :)

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2nd that or in 308.

Got any mates that hunt? Try theirs out and see what you like

Buy well second hand and you will be able to resell later for what you bought it for

Take your time


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mohawk .308

You’ll be wanting a tikka 7mm08 mate given your in Auckland and all. :)

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Why do you say that? Please excuse the ignorance

yes spend a little more on a .22 and target practice ( lots of it ) and bunnys - go bolt action and suppressed - be patient and look at what scope is on it if second hand - a must is a good trigger -Begara Tikka CZ Anshutz all good but dont look away from earlier rifles Reminton 541- Marlins shoot well -your problem with earlier will be to check accuracy and state of barrel - get it checked out including if possible on a paper target (tells no lies ) and then centerfire -well most of the modern crop will all shot well -some budget ones like Remington 783 or Savage models are quite surprising in accuracy - as are some cheaper earlier models such as Remington 788 - they will do you while you save and you may not be putting to many rounds thru a centerfire - but my main advice after some 55 years of hunting is learn to find deer - fancy rifle no good if ya cant find a deer to shoot at

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Originally Posted by Tall kiwi

Why do you say that? Please excuse the ignorance

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It’s an old joke that we are all sick of(only cause I just got one myself haha) that dorklanders all sip lattes and shoot 7mm08s


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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

a older wooden stocked norinco jw15 will do ALL the rabbits you would ever want.... the modern ones are more hit n miss.
a good rifle with a very good scope is better than the other way around...that said a basic 4x32 will do a fine job too.

at end of day you wont loose $$$ on a 2nd hand .22lr if you decide to upgrade later...and a good scope will stay with you forever...hint here,if its got leupold on side,it will be good...and you dont need to spend thousands....

there are heaps of good 2nd hand rifles come up on this site....save your pennies and keep watching....when licence arrives ASK as often folks have something in cabinet and will offer it up forsale if know someone wants something like it....

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Thanks. I have seen a lot of people talk about the JW-15s but kinda looked over them due to some models being a hit or miss. Def hear you around good glass.

Thanks for the advice!

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Originally Posted by Bill999

Got any mates that hunt? Try theirs out and see what you like

Buy well second hand and you will be able to resell later for what you bought it for

Take your time


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Yeah I do. I plan on reaching out to them later on. They were the ones saying to spend a bit more on a .22

Just try a few out Cz are nice rifles so they arnt pointing you in a wrong direction but I’m far more happy with my ruger 1022 cut to 12 inch barrel
It just costs nothing to try something out before committing to a Cz because they are a pretty rifle

If you wanted to spend less and still have the same sort of accuracy but less niceness the norinco jw15 is a direct copy made in China for a fraction of the cost and they tend to have the same sort of superb accuracy


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I started out hunting not far down the road from where your in-laws have their land.

My first rifle was a JW15 and the second was a Winchester M94. If I was starting from fresh today and not funding my hunting from firewood money after school I would start with a bolt action CZ in whichever configuration I like the feel of. And the centrefire would be a short accurate suppressed bolt action or single shot at the cheaper end of the scale, maybe a Howa mini in 6.5G. Or a Bergara single in .308. Preferably Stainless but even a good condition .303 would fit the bill.

The logic being that the .22 is pretty easy to look after unless you want to strap it to the front of your quad for when your working dogs inadvertently bail a pig. Something tells me that’s not you. It will loose minimum amount of value (either to you or in the retail sense).

A fair chunk of your formative hunting is probably going to be in the Western Kaimai ranges. Lots of supplejack. If you have something like a Walnut Stock CZ 550 or a Sako that is your pride and joy, it will be exhausting trying not to get it scratched or wet, you won’t be able to concentrate on stalking and consequently won’t see any deer. The experience won’t be fun and you may end up preferring to concentrate on the rabbits and your centrefire will then become what is known around here as a ‘range queen’ or ‘safe queen’. It may even end up in the Buy sell swap.

If you buy a relatively cheap centrefire rifle you can just get on with the hunting, there will or won’t come a time when you need to upgrade, in either scenario you won’t regret having started with your knock around gun which you will probably still keep partly because you shot your first deer with it and partly because it will still be a useful gun.

Hi, welcome to the hunting fraternity. I bought my first 22 over 30 years ago, a S/S Ruger 10/22 with a Tasco 4x32 scope, it now has an old Leupold vari-x 11 3-9x40 on it and is still going strong after many thousands of round and god now's how many rabbits hares and possums! A nice 223 or 22-250 are a lot of fun on rabbits, hares and magpies and a great way to improve your longer range shooting. My first centerfire was a Sako Finnbear 270 with the afore mentioned Leupold kicked a bit but I still liked it and began my love affair with Sako's, now have two Sako 75 22-250s, a varmint and a S/S and a 75 270 rebarreled to 280ai. I think a Tikka with a good 3-9 or 3.5-10 scope in 7mm08, 308 or 270 would be hard to beat for starters. That's my story and personal thoughts, hope thats of some help and I hope you enjoy your newfound hobby and talking with the great bunch of helpful knowledgeable fellas on this forum , cheers Brett.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill999

It’s an old joke that we are all sick of(only cause I just got one myself haha) that dorklanders all sip lattes and shoot 7mm08s


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Oh, that's silly. Man Buns and Latte go together.

7mm-08 is a great thing and hits near as hard as a .308.

For my money allocate more budget to the centrefire and good glass. Howa or Tikka both shoot for the money and should hold their value.

I've had Norinco and Baikal .22s that were plenty accurate for rabbits .

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Originally Posted by CBH Australia

Oh, that's silly. Man Buns and Latte go together.

7mm-08 is a great thing and hits near as hard as a .308.

For my money allocate more budget to the centrefire and good glass. Howa or Tikka both shoot for the money and should hold their value.

I've had Norinco and Baikal .22s that were plenty accurate for rabbits .

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Im a big fan of 243, 260, 6.5creed, 7mm08, 308 mostly due to it bieng the top end of what I can shoot comfortably with absurdly light rifles

more dosent seem to make things deader and basically I never get the chance to shoot further than 200m basically anywhere I hunt

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Originally Posted by longshot

I started out hunting not far down the road from where your in-laws have their land.

My first rifle was a JW15 and the second was a Winchester M94. If I was starting from fresh today and not funding my hunting from firewood money after school I would start with a bolt action CZ in whichever configuration I like the feel of. And the centrefire would be a short accurate suppressed bolt action or single shot at the cheaper end of the scale, maybe a Howa mini in 6.5G. Or a Bergara single in .308. Preferably Stainless but even a good condition .303 would fit the bill.

The logic being that the .22 is pretty easy to look after unless you want to strap it to the front of your quad for when your working dogs inadvertently bail a pig. Something tells me that’s not you. It will loose minimum amount of value (either to you or in the retail sense).

A fair chunk of your formative hunting is probably going to be in the Western Kaimai ranges. Lots of supplejack. If you have something like a Walnut Stock CZ 550 or a Sako that is your pride and joy, it will be exhausting trying not to get it scratched or wet, you won’t be able to concentrate on stalking and consequently won’t see any deer. The experience won’t be fun and you may end up preferring to concentrate on the rabbits and your centrefire will then become what is known around here as a ‘range queen’ or ‘safe queen’. It may even end up in the Buy sell swap.

If you buy a relatively cheap centrefire rifle you can just get on with the hunting, there will or won’t come a time when you need to upgrade, in either scenario you won’t regret having started with your knock around gun which you will probably still keep partly because you shot your first deer with it and partly because it will still be a useful gun.

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Thanks for this. Some good advice here. I had never planned on getting a really expensive centrefire due to the fact I anticipate doing a lot of bush bashing due to where I live. I also like the look of synthetic stocks anyways... Whats the deer population like in the Kaimais?

A 270 will cover both your varmint and deer - reloaded to 90gr is a reasonably recoiless load - and 130-150gr will knock anything over - spend on a basic good scope, no need for a fancy one.

My best rifle is a wooded Sako, bought second hand - so cheapish and I dont worry about the knocks. Funnily of all the safe queens and fancy ones - the 270 is picked up most often, followed by a 22 magnum......bug my recommendation is a .22lr

On the 22's, I would go with the wood stocked Norinco and ignore 10/22 semis and expensive bolt actions. The average distance to shoot rabbits is 35 - 50 mtrs. Hares 50 - 70 mtrs. A JW 15 will put all shots into the head at those distances and shooting skill and ability will make more difference than a rifle that shoots a 10mm tighter group. Practice stalking in close and the lessons learnt will really help for deer. Scratching a JW stock going under a fence is no big deal but scratching an Annie will ruin the week. Professional rabbit shooters use JW's
Centrefire shots tend to be further than rimfire so a better rifle is needed. I dont like the closed action types like Tikkas because it is hard to load and unload them quietly in a hunting situation and an unfired round cannot be top loaded back into the mag or the mag 'topped up' from the top after a couple of shots are fired. No big deal in open country but not good in the bush. There is no action better than an M98 for a first centrefire imo

Whatever you buy, buy decent rings, bases, optic and suppressor. That way if you have accuracy issues you don't have to second guess the bits attached to the rifle and if you upgrade the rifle you can transfer all the bits.

I still reckon it's hard to go past the Howa's for value for money new rifles. I picked up a used .308 Howa Lightweight for $599 last year from the local sports shop. The original owner had bought it specifically to see whether he liked Howa's before buying a 6.5CM chassis for a specialised long range rig. He knew that if he didn't like it he could easily sell the .308. Was a helluva bargain as it was as new condition. So bargains are out there....

If you buy used, either take someone experienced with you to check the rifle out, or buy one/ask for one to buy, from one of the good buggers here

22 shooting is less demanding than centrefire so you can get by with more basic gear. And the market isn't inflated.
A JW15 will be good for at least 10 years till you could benefit from something better. I'm guessing from just applying for FAL that you're young and will have more income in a decade than now (hopefully ...) Scope requirements are not nearly so demanding in ruggedness and waterproofness. A Leupold 2-7 would be good but Tasco, Hawke and Nikko Stirling will be fine. The main thing you might want to look at is closer focus as a lot of centrefire scopes are fixed at about 100m or even more so a bit blurry up close. You fix that by having "parallax adjustment" but its another gizmo feature and difficult to do well in a budget scope. I'd be inclined to leave that for a future upgrade.

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Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I still reckon it's hard to go past the Howa's for value for money new rifles. I picked up a used .308 Howa Lightweight for $599 last year from the local sports shop. The original owner had bought it specifically to see whether he liked Howa's before buying a 6.5CM chassis for a specialised long range rig. He knew that if he didn't like it he could easily sell the .308. Was a helluva bargain as it was as new condition. So bargains are out there....

If you buy used, either take someone experienced with you to check the rifle out, or buy one/ask for one to buy, from one of the good buggers here

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I have been looking at the Howa 1500's. I have heard great things about them and am tempted to get one of those when I have my license...

Just going sideways, one thing to plan is getting ammo.

22 is fine. Get a brick of 500 subsonic hollowpoint eg CCI to start with. Supersonic is quite a bit more effective for hunting specially rabbits due to its flatter trajectory and slightly better killing power.

For Centrefire, you should get 100 rounds of the same batch of a good ammo. That way you won't have to sight in so often and will end up with a useful supply of brass. You can reload yourself in future or pay someone to do it. Good brands are Sako and Norma (try for the ones with nosler ballistic tip bullets) and I think Nosler custom would be OK too but haven't used it myself. Others here will be able to recommend if they know of another brand. Some factory ammo like Hornady, Federal, Winchester and PPU is basically suitable to be fired and ejected into the bushes. People will have opinions on that statement too ... So, it can take some detective work and patience ringing round to locate ammo to start on. Try the good online shops like Hunting and Outdoors, perhaps Serious Shooters and Gunworks and they may even direct you to the importer. Some small local shops like the guy at Taihape can be very good too. However in the end your best bet is the big chains Shun City and Humping and Fishting who can get supplies in from other parts of the country.

So, you're up for about $250 for 1000 22LR and $500 for 100 centrefire.

OK, I know you didn't ask this, but lets get it straight about cartridges.

The 270 and 3006 are superb deer cartridges, specially if you're over 80kg.
The 308, not so much. It's satisfactory but every other cartridge is superior in some way (all different ways) and if it was put on the market today it would be a commercial loser. Its only merits are that it was the NATO cartridge and there are a huge amount of them around with all sorts of bullet types and weights and usually a good supply of ammo.

The lighter weights are the the 7mm08 (Lattes) and 6.5 Creedmore (Man Buns). If you shoot a Creedmore you're expected to place the bullet exactly. These are the cartridges to use if you want a light rifle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

Just going sideways, one thing to plan is getting ammo.

22 is fine. Get a brick of 500 subsonic hollowpoint eg CCI to start with. Supersonic is quite a bit more effective for hunting specially rabbits due to its flatter trajectory and slightly better killing power.

For Centrefire, you should get 100 rounds of the same batch of a good ammo. That way you won't have to sight in so often and will end up with a useful supply of brass. You can reload yourself in future or pay someone to do it. Good brands are Sako and Norma (try for the ones with nosler ballistic tip bullets) and I think Nosler custom would be OK too but haven't used it myself. Others here will be able to recommend if they know of another brand. Some factory ammo like Hornady, Federal, Winchester and PPU is basically suitable to be fired and ejected into the bushes. People will have opinions on that statement too ... So, it can take some detective work and patience ringing round to locate ammo to start on. Try the good online shops like Hunting and Outdoors, perhaps Serious Shooters and Gunworks and they may even direct you to the importer. Some small local shops like the guy at Taihape can be very good too. However in the end your best bet is the big chains Shun City and Humping and Fishting who can get supplies in from other parts of the country.

So, you're up for about $250 for 1000 22LR and $500 for 100 centrefire.

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Yeah I will need to factor in the type of ammo and how much to purchase as well. I live pretty damn close to 3 gun stores (Gun City, Serious Shooters and Reloaders) so will have to go in one day for a chat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

OK, I know you didn't ask this, but lets get it straight about cartridges.

The 270 and 3006 are superb deer cartridges, specially if you're over 80kg.
The 308, not so much. It's satisfactory but every other cartridge is superior in some way (all different ways) and if it was put on the market today it would be a commercial loser. Its only merits are that it was the NATO cartridge and there are a huge amount of them around with all sorts of bullet types and weights and usually a good supply of ammo.

The lighter weights are the the 7mm08 (Lattes) and 6.5 Creedmore (Man Buns). If you shoot a Creedmore you're expected to place the bullet exactly. These are the cartridges to use if you want a light rifle.

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Of the research I have done, .270 would be my first pick if I were to choose one. Granted, I haven't fired anything larger than a 22LR but from everything I have read online, a 270 would be my preference when it comes to a centrefire rifle. Mainly due to price and availability of ammo, flat shooting, generally pretty good as a "do it all" round etc.

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Originally Posted by Tall kiwi

Thanks for this. Some good advice here. I had never planned on getting a really expensive centrefire due to the fact I anticipate doing a lot of bush bashing due to where I live. I also like the look of synthetic stocks anyways... Whats the deer population like in the Kaimais?

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Can’t speak to how many deer in the Kaimai nowadays, it’s been a few haircuts since I frequented that bit of bush.

Looking at your last post I would suggest for you, .308 over the .270. You get a bit more availability of ammo and variety, you can run it in a short barrel and if you can down load it for subs or buy factory subs too.
The general rule of thumb is .308 for NI and .270 for SI.

I read the words of those saying for every purpose there is a caliber that is more suitable than the .308, this is correct but in most real world hunting scenarios the extent of advantage is academic. But if you still want to pursue that discussion, realise that while many cartridges can do one thing better then the .308, there isn’t much out there that can do two things better and nothing that can do three things better.

A hunting buddy of mine has a Tikka .270, I can make first shot hits more often and more consistently in the field with my .308 than he can with the .270 when we shoot together. This doesn’t prove any advantage about one cartridge vs the other, it proves that the one who is behind the rifle is the main factor.

True words Longshot but the 7mm08 is also recommended for the North Island.
I wouldn't choose a calibre just because it can be shortend to a bushpig.

"There are no deer in the Kaimais".
But if you must go then a short rifle is good. Some like the 44mag. Does one thing better than the 308.

For the Kaimanawas, its also mostly short range but has some river flats and for the Kawekas and Ruahines, a long rifle (22" barrel) is fine and you will appreciate the extra reach. Certainly for the South Island that is the case but with some preparation the 7mm08 and 308 can be used quite effectively. Can't say I've ever seen a Creedmore in the hills, have you ?

270 country in the Kaimais
Attachment 204408

16" 308 country in the Kaimais
Attachment 204409

Some nicer bush
Attachment 204410

No deer ...
Attachment 204411

Suggested rifles startout budget


22LR
299 Norinco JW15 wood bare 2nd hand https://www.guncity.com/22lr-norinco-jw-15-wood-381277
79 Sportsmatch med 1" mounts https://airgunsnz.co.nz/scope-mounts...atch-mounts-2/
269 Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO https://airgunsnz.co.nz/scopes/hawke...40-ao-mil-dot/
125 DPT rimfire suppressor DPT Modular 22LR suppressor 3 baffles 70 grams - DPT Machinists
85 Thread and fit suppressor Same day service, Barrel threading when fitting a DPT suppressor - DPT Machinists

$857


For some reason I can't find any of these for sale as the bare rifle at the moment, only as packages. You might find you have to ditch the mounts and scope that come on them but the critical part is fitting the suppressor. Some places like this one will be OK if they've done it themselves.
$350 JW15 Package https://outdoorsupplies.co.nz/norinco_jw15.htm

270 Win
1399 Tikka T3 270 https://www.guncity.com/tikka-t3x-li...nthetic-333756 270 should really be in a full weight rifle, like a Howa.
349 Optilock 1" low ringmounts https://www.guncity.com/optilock-rin...low-s-s-226754
1329 Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/Le...pes.html#VX3HD This is a good standard scope that will still be your good scope in 10 years' time, then a top of the line spare if you ever need one.

$3077


Accessories
40 Pullthrough cleaning kit multicalibre https://www.guncity.com/accu-tech-ri...alibres-249748
16 Powder solvent https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/guncare7.html#oil
6.5 4x2 patch roll https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/guncare7.html#oil
39 22 cal patches https://www.reloaders.co.nz/shop/Acc...4:181#end-load
52 Earmuffs https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/en/...n-each--436031
You really should get cleaning rods, jags and bore guides but that would be another lecture we haven't started here yet. OTIS kits are good but I can't see any for sale online tonight. The key is a stiff, twisted wire plastic coated cord. Just don't rely on the dreaded "bore snake" !! Not a take apart screw together rod either.

$153.5


Ammunition
100 CCI Subsonic x500 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/ammunition5.html#cci
90 Winchester Powerpoint x500 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/ammunition5.html#cci
375 Norma 270 130gr x100 https://www.guncity.com/norma-270-13...-rounds-185532

$565


$ 4652.5 all up for 2 guns

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

Suggested rifles startout budget


22LR
299 Norinco JW15 wood bare 2nd hand https://www.guncity.com/22lr-norinco-jw-15-wood-381277
79 Sportsmatch med 1" mounts https://airgunsnz.co.nz/scope-mounts...atch-mounts-2/
269 Hawke Vantage 3-9x40 AO https://airgunsnz.co.nz/scopes/hawke...40-ao-mil-dot/
125 DPT rimfire suppressor DPT Modular 22LR suppressor 3 baffles 70 grams - DPT Machinists
85 Thread and fit suppressor Same day service, Barrel threading when fitting a DPT suppressor - DPT Machinists

$857


For some reason I can't find any of these for sale as the bare rifle at the moment, only as packages. You might find you have to ditch the mounts and scope that come on them but the critical part is fitting the suppressor. Some places like this one will be OK if they've done it themselves.
$350 JW15 Package https://outdoorsupplies.co.nz/norinco_jw15.htm

270 Win
1399 Tikka T3 270 https://www.guncity.com/tikka-t3x-li...nthetic-333756 270 should really be in a full weight rifle, like a Howa.
349 Optilock 1" low ringmounts https://www.guncity.com/optilock-rin...low-s-s-226754
1329 Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/Le...pes.html#VX3HD This is a good standard scope that will still be your good scope in 10 years' time, then a top of the line spare if you ever need one.

$3077


Accessories
40 Pullthrough cleaning kit multicalibre https://www.guncity.com/accu-tech-ri...alibres-249748
16 Powder solvent https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/guncare7.html#oil
6.5 4x2 patch roll https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/guncare7.html#oil
39 22 cal patches https://www.reloaders.co.nz/shop/Acc...4:181#end-load
52 Earmuffs https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/en/...n-each--436031
You really should get cleaning rods, jags and bore guides but that would be another lecture we haven't started here yet. OTIS kits are good but I can't see any for sale online tonight. The key is a stiff, twisted wire plastic coated cord. Just don't rely on the dreaded "bore snake" !! Not a take apart screw together rod either.

$153.5


Ammunition
100 CCI Subsonic x500 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/ammunition5.html#cci
90 Winchester Powerpoint x500 https://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/ammunition5.html#cci
375 Norma 270 130gr x100 https://www.guncity.com/norma-270-13...-rounds-185532

$565


$ 4652.5 all up for 2 guns

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you say WHAT??????

MY Howa cost me $1100 suppressed,added scope from drawer....can buy a 3x9x40 vxi/freedom for $400ish so $1500

norinco .22lrs come from $100-sky is limit but $400 will see a complete package,basic 4x32mm scope and suppressed

heck even typing 2k for 2 bangsticks hurts my Scottish blood.

whatever you do...look around at prices....find what you think you like and wait for a 2nd hand one to come up

My 2cents;
I would think you couldn't go too far wrong if you cooled your heels a little and hung out here a bit.
There are some pretty good deals here onsite on a reasonably regular basis, and a whole lot of knowledge to boot.
270 will boot u if you don't can it, something a little softer would probably be a better starters rifle (708, 6.5creed etc).
And do you need the flashest 22 ? I still grab my wee marlin795 over others which are nicer to look at, and shoot, mainly cos it's the one I'm most used too and not so worried about scratching.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

you say WHAT??????

MY Howa cost me $1100 suppressed,added scope from drawer....can buy a 3x9x40 vxi/freedom for $400ish so $1500

norinco .22lrs come from $100-sky is limit but $400 will see a complete package,basic 4x32mm scope and suppressed

heck even typing 2k for 2 bangsticks hurts my Scottish blood.

whatever you do...look around at prices....find what you think you like and wait for a 2nd hand one to come up

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:)
Looks like you've got pretty much the same figures as I have.
Second hand VX-1 would be fine but not everyone has one in the drawer.

To the OP,
Keep your eye on the buy sell swap. This was exactly what you were after: https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....r-rifle-86139/

Well, that lasted 2 1/2 hours ...

It's quite hard to resell old rifles and a lot of guys end up with three or 4 or 5 in their safe.
I'm assuming you will be a man who has one rifle and knows how to use it sort of guy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kidmac42

My 2cents;
I would think you couldn't go too far wrong if you cooled your heels a little and hung out here a bit.
There are some pretty good deals here onsite on a reasonably regular basis, and a whole lot of knowledge to boot.
270 will boot u if you don't can it, something a little softer would probably be a better starters rifle (708, 6.5creed etc).
And do you need the flashest 22 ? I still grab my wee marlin795 over others which are nicer to look at, and shoot, mainly cos it's the one I'm most used too and not so worried about scratching.

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Oh for sure. I anticipate that I will get my hands on my license either early to mid 2023. I basically window shop the buy/sell section every day which has given me an idea as to what sort of rifles get offered up for sale.
Exactly what I am thinking regarding the .22. Tbh I was pretty set on getting a new Marlin XT-22 scope/suppressed package for $530 but the lack of replacement parts for it kinda put me off. Am I being irrational?

Not at all - broken bits can be very expensive to fix. A lost magazine can relegate a perfectly usable gun to the back of the safe, if a replacement is difficult to find or expensive due to scarcity.
A personal example...as good as a Norinco EM-332 is, magazines are scarcer than unicorn shit.

If you’re expecting a years lead in, my advice would be to start chipping away at the items you can buy without a licence from both here or during sales.
Bipod, scope, sling, cleaning gear, carry case, cabinet etc Then once licenced, take advantage of the next reasonably priced rifle and moderator that comes up, a WTB might turn something up as well. Maybe try reviving the ‘pay it forward’ thread once in a while with some key items you’re after.
Good chance you’ll end up with a superior set up compared to a package deal from a retailer, or at least spread the cost and be in a better position to sink more money into the key rifle/scope set up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moutere

If you’re expecting a years lead in, my advice would be to start chipping away at the items you can buy without a licence from both here or during sales.
Bipod, scope, sling, cleaning gear, carry case, cabinet etc Then once licenced, take advantage of the next reasonably priced rifle and moderator that comes up, a WTB might turn something up as well. Maybe try reviving the ‘pay it forward’ thread once in a while with some key items you’re after.
Good chance you’ll end up with a superior set up compared to a package deal from a retailer, or at least spread the cost and be in a better position to sink more money into the key rifle/scope set up.

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One step ahead of you :D Picked up a decent pair of binos and have storage already sussed. Managed to snag a decent hiking pack, tent and cooking gear from the pay it forward thread! Just need to add everything else to the list of equipment.