Rifle

[Josh C]

I'm interested in purchasing a new rifle mainly for whitetail hunting in LA. Shots could range from 10 yards to 400 yards on most of our stands. My question is what is the best rifle, scope combination for this task? I'm looking for caliber and name brand info.

Thanks.

[longsidelandry]

I shoot a Browning Medallion .270 with a Leupold VariX-III scope and it's perfect. My hunting lease is pretty much what you described and it's all I ever needed in the 10 years I've been shooting it.

[mikedatiger]

I shoot a Browning Medallion .270 with a Leupold VariX-III scope and it's perfect. My hunting lease is pretty much what you described and it's all I ever needed in the 10 years I've been shooting it.
Hard to beat this setup, but it really depends on your needs, price range, etc. All of the major calibers out there are plenty deadly out to that range. If you really are going to be shooting out to 400yds you need to invest your money in optics - especially if shooting in low light. Leupold, Zeiss (conquest), Burris BlackDiamond are hard to beat in the mid price range. But you get what you pay for in optics.

I have a 3-12X56MM Zeiss and have to be pulled off of the stand in the evening. Is it necessary, nope. Effective, heck yes.

What's your budget?

[LaAngler]

I'm interested in purchasing a new rifle mainly for whitetail hunting in LA. Shots could range from 10 yards to 400 yards on most of our stands. My question is what is the best rifle, scope combination for this task? I'm looking for caliber and name brand info.

Thanks.

The most important thing is that you get a rifle that feels good to YOU. I suggest finding a good gun that works for you and then stick with it. For a hunting rifle there is no need to go high dollar custom, the production rifles in the 400-900 dollar range are more accurate than the shooter can be especially within 400 yards.

Let's face it, Bolt actions have cornered the market mostly because of reliability and accuracy right out of the box.

Brands, Again this is a very personal subject but i like the Sako 85, Ruger M77, Remington 700, Browning A-bolt/X-bolt, Weatherby Vanguard/Mark IV, and the Winchester Model 70 with the mauser type claw extractor.

The 700 is the action that the custom guys love to build off of, it is also the choice of our military in the M40/24 rifles. The dangerous game hunters may argue the mauser type controlled feed is more reliable if a charging buffalo is involved, the whitetail hunter shouldn't worry about either.

For caliber, how important is recoil, range? availability of ammo? You have the .30 caliber's in .308 win and 30-06 sprgfld which are excellent choices. In 7mm you have the 7mm-08 rem, .280 rem, & the 7 mm rem mag. Hard to go wrong with any of these. I shoot a .270 winchester but I think the success of this cartridge was largely due to winchester's marketing techniques, I'd personally rather have a .280 until i get to shopping for ammo at walmart, then i'll take my .270.

I'm rambling now. :rotfl:

For a scope go with a Nikon or Burris, best bang for your dollar hands down.

[wtretrievers]

La hit it on the nail!!!!!! Find a gun that fits!!!! Caliber is the least of your concern if you are comfortable with what you are shooting. .270 & 30-06 will be the popular calibers in just about every rifle you pick up & the easiest to find ammo for.

[Josh C]

Thanks for the replys. I was thinking about a 300 win mag.

Budget is around $2500-$3000 if I can sale my Beretta 682 Gold E. Has anyone ever heard of or shot a Steyr rifle?

[mikedatiger]

Man that is a heck of a budget. You can get 2 or 3 great rifles for that amount.
Steyr is a fantastic gun. As someone stated before, it's all about personal preference. Get what makes you happy and what you are most comfortable shooting, and shooting accurately.

If you really want to shoot your wad, I would spend the majority of your money on optics - but that's just me.

[LostCajun]

Remington 700 in 7STW with a Zeiss 4X12X50mm. Great for deer with a 140gr Ballistic Tip and you can jump to 180gr Bonded slugs for larger game. How much you asking for the Beretta? I'm interested if the price is right.

[Is it October YET?]

All I can say is get the Browning X-bolt stainless stalker. Buy something that you can pass down to your kids and they can pass it down to theirs. As stated earlier you get what you pay for in scopes. I have a Burris fullfield II(paid $200 and got a free etrex gps) on a cheap Mossberg(atr 100 $300) than will drive tacks just as good as the Browning. The Mossberg is just not as smooth shooting. BurrisBlack Ice and the Browning is my fancy set up. :eek:

[Gerald]

I shoot a Remington 700 bolt action in a .243 cal. Great gun.

Most hunters consider a .243 cal a little small.....but it has done great for me---kill 50+ with it and most of them dropped.

I shot one deer with a 30-06 180 (?) gr bullet and lost a lot of meat due to the damage done by the bullet. That is why I went with the .243.

From what I have read.....the 7mm-08 is a good choice. It is a little bigger rifle than a .243 and you can get the "manage recoil" bullets for a small/young person that reduces the kick and performance down to similar to the .243 cal.

[adamsfence]

300 wsm is great gun bullets are expensive and can be hard to find I would put more into optics myself

[flounder_smacker]

look up 270 wsm. started shooting the round last year and its my new favorite. the rifle is a remington sps but i changed the stock to a mcmillian and i can shoot one inch groups at 300 yards with no wind. pretty good for just a stock swap. next is a custom barrel and a jewell trigger. i paid around 600 for just the rifle which isnt bad i bought it basically for the 700 action. i like to start around a action and build around it so you kind of have a gun that nobody else has. i cant see myself paying 1500 for a rifle off the shelf when i can build one for less that shoots better. just my 2 cents

[Josh C]

Thanks guys. Any input about optics???

[flounder_smacker]

best hunting scope period swarovski, if you have the coin. after that ziess leupold burris nikon and so on. nice mid range scope with very good glass in meopta. they had some problems at first with elevation but their new line is great. do some research before you buy. check out opticsplanet.com and read reviews and get an idea of what you want. also check out bushnells elite series. good glass for a good price. if you go scope shoping dont look through a swarovski cause everything else will look like junk.

[Too Tall]

The most important thing is that you get a rifle that feels good to YOU. I Agree
Brands, Again this is a very personal subject but i like the Sako 85, Ruger M77, Remington 700, Browning A-bolt/X-bolt, Weatherby Vanguard/Mark IV, and the Winchester Model 70 with the mauser type claw extractor. Take a look at Savage also. The Accutrigger/Accustock is a great package

I like the .308 for the yardage you are talking about.

[Slidellkid]

I would be more concerned with getting a quality scope than a high dollar rifle. The Weatherby Vanguards are really great shooting rifles for the money. I would not spend the extra coin for a Weatherby Mark VI. I had one and didn't care for it. The Vanguard I had was a really nice rifle. It's really hard to beat a Remington model 700, but I was looking at a Sako A 7 the other day and really liked the rifle. They are guaranteed to shoot a five shot one inch group and for 700-800 bucks you can't beat that. Hell, lots of custom guns won't shoot that well.

Be real careful with picking out a scope. Don't buy something because someone tells you it's a good scope. Pick it up to your eye and see which one seems to work for you the best. I am a Leupold man and don't like the Nikons much - they are very crisp and clear but I find that when I look through one it looks like I am looking through a paper towel tube. The Leupolds tend to have longer eye relief and don't have as much of that boxed in feel to me. That being said, the Nikon Buckmaster is getting rave reviews. Depending on your budget, I'd also consider Zeiss and Swarovski. Also, the Elite series from Bushnell are said to be some of the brightest scopes ever made. Me, I just like my plain jane Leupold - I've had the same scope on my rifle for 23 years now. As for caliber I shoot a .264 Winchester Magnum. It's a great caliber, just not very popular any more. If I was in your shoes I'd probably pick up a .270 or a 7mm-08. I have a brother that has killed about 75 deer with his 7mm-08 from anywhere from 5 yards to 350 and he simply loves it. If you do happen to purchase a magnum, I'd get something in 7mm because the recoil is less and the down range energy is just tremendous. You could probably pick up a great rifle and scope for less than $1500, the high dollar rifles really don't shoot any better than the much less expensive good quality rifles. Good luck and let up know what you choose.

[LostCajun]

Zeiss, Zeiss, Zeiss. No better scope. I have had Swarovski, Kahles, Leupold, Nikon, and Redfield scopes and NOTHING has better glass than a German built Zeiss. The Conquest scopes are good, but if you have the coin, buy a Zeiss Davari.

[Josh C]

I'm gathering I need to spend more money on the glass than the rifle.

Thanks for the info.

[LaAngler]

here's a zeiss coupon

http://www.zeiss.com/C12568CF00206298/EmbedTitelIntern/2009fallpromocoupon/$File/2009-ZEISS-Fall-Promotion-Coupon.pdf

[Ray]

I picked up a Remington 700(30-06) with a Leopold 3X9 scope and a leather strap on it for $300 at a pawn shop a few years back. It is in great shape and you cannot find a gun and scope for that price anywhere.
The only thing wrong with it was it didn't have scope caps. No bid deal.
I was working on an air conditioner at the shop when I spotted it. It looked in such good shape that I couldn't pass it up. I wanted it more than I needed it.
If you buy new, just the scope will cost more than that. Check out the gun shops and pawn shops. You might find a good deal too.

[LaAngler]

this would be my dream hunting rifle, with a zeiss on it

wood/blued with this style stock, in .280 rem

http://www.remingtoncustom.com/HunterGrade_700Custom.aspx

[Josh C]

LA, thanks for the heads up on the Zeiss promotion. I looked through some of their scopes during lunch was very impressed. I might go that route in the 4X14X50 with the rapid Z reticle.

[BIGJ]

Buy a Browning .270 WSM- A or X Bolt it don't matter, Both are the best out there.