Best first rifle for hunting

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Originally Posted by Rob

X2 a lot of it is seasonal as well. There is bolt action season, muzzle loader season, bow hunting season (my fav).

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If I read correctly, NC only has caliber restrictions on hand guns.

I love my Remington 700, 30-06. I have taken animals with it between 50 and 800lbs. I think it is one of the more versatile rifles because there are so many factory loads to choose from. I can buy factory ammo on the interned loaded from 55 grain saboted rounds up to 220 grain round nose bullets. It is not perfect at anything but it is good at almost everything.

I have several hunting rifles . A 30/30 308 30/06 but my favorite is my stainless winchester 7 mm good long range and packs enough punch for deer elk or bear. although I still love black powder hunting.

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Originally Posted by AK907

Nope, not made the same at all. Different bullets are made for different applications. Bullets designed for hunting are VERY different than bullets used for target shooting. Basically hunting bullets are designed to have controlled expansion creating what they call a "mushroom" as well as holding together in one piece, thus they penetrate better and do not destroy a lot of meat. Examples of decent hunting bullets would be Barnes X bullets or Nosler Partitions. Other bullets are designed for simply for accuracy/ballistic efficiency and not durability and will simply fragment and not hold together if used for hunting big game. This fragmentation can cause a lot of blood shot meat, inadequate penetration and the risk of wounding an animal. An example of what I'm talking about would be Hornady HPBT bullets. Great for paper, crap for hunting. Also, a lot of bullets are actually designed to be fragile and fragment/expand quickly. And some bullets are just downright cheap and not good for much. As with anything, there are different types for different applications.

There should be a bit more in depth info about the differences if you visit these sites (among others).

www.barnesbullets.com
www.nosler.com
www.hornady.com

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You've completely missed the point...you're saying this: http://www.hornady.com/store/LEVERevolution-FTX-c-416/ is made more cheaply than say this: http://www.hornady.com/store/FMJ-Full-Metal-Jacket/

30/30... If your new to hunting, and guns bigger than a 22, a 30/30 is a good start. Something that no one has mentioned is the safety and "field experience" that is needed for a high caliber gun. Any gun will kill a deer if you hit it in the right spot,, but what if you miss? Some of these bigger guns mentioned will send a bullet alot further than others. A 30.30 has a pretty good range, but after that range the bullet will drop fast and not travel to the next county.
. Just a thought.
spooky

The best hunting rifle would would have to take into consideration the intended game, possible threats encountered (such as perhaps encountering feral hogs while hunting rabbits), the average distances of targets in the terrain that you are in,, etc.
For me, I mainly use a pre '64 model 70 Winchester in .270 cal with a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8x scope.
The caliber is flat shooting over long distances, will shoot from a very light projectile to one big enough for an elk, (marginal on a bear), the scope magnification is enough for any long shot in Michigan, bolt action is the most reliable.

Has anyone used a Savage 11?

I'm quite partial to Russian weapons. The mosin nagant is cheap, reliable, and easy to find. Also it's a 7.62 x 54 which is just a bit bigger than a .308 if I remember correctly.

Either way, it's what I started with.

Firearm selection depends on game, terrain, restrictions, distance of shot, budget and preference.

30-30 is a nice brush gun, but terrible at distance. I honestly prefer a 35 over the 30-30 in the brush.

30-06 or 7mm can handle most terrains decently but doesn't accel at all.

Then you have severe distance stuff that I honestly think you need more time under your belt before even considering.


I personally hate Remington anything....but that's just me.

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Originally Posted by Virus

I'm quite partial to Russian weapons. The mosin nagant is cheap, reliable, and easy to find. Also it's a 7.62 x 54 which is just a bit bigger than a .308 if I remember correctly.

Either way, it's what I started with.

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My brother has one of those, I think he said he only paid $200. I haven't fired it yet but it's really nice, and it came with a bayonet. Don't see that on a hunting rifle every day lol. (I know it wasn't originally a hunting rifle)