Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Help with son's first deer rifle: Ruger American vs Remington SPS?

I went through the same thing this summer. I took my son to Cabela's, Gander Mountain, and a couple of large local gun stores. He handled Remington, Winchester, Tikka, Weatherby, Browning and Ruger bolt actions. He chose a Ruger American Rifle in .243Win. He had a strong preference for the RAR. He likes the light weight and how the gun fits him.

I'm not a Ruger guy. I've never owned a Ruger rifle. I have more Rem 700s than anything else. I do most of my hunting with either my 7mm Rem Mag or my .257Wby Mag, both stainless 700s wearing synthetic stocks.

I tried to steer my son to either a Remington or a Winchester. He chose the Ruger because he liked how it felt to him. It has turned out to be a great choice.

It is an extremely accurate little rifle and he shoots it very well. He carried it in Wyoming last month on his first big game hunt. He bagged his first animal - a really nice Pronghorn - with his RAR. I'm sure this rifle will always be special because of the memories associated with it.

When he gains experience and begins to appreciate rifles for their quality of build and beauty of materials his opinions and choice of rifles will likely change. When and if that day comes I'm sure that little Ruger will still have a special place in his gun safe.

I was in the biggest retail gunstore in the USA. I asked a number of gun buyers what their ultimate rifle would be. Answer: Wood Stock light rifle usually bolt action! I went out my way to ask this question to about seven groups of parents, grandparents, and quite young boys and girls (I'd say the average age of the kids being bought a first gun was roughly 16. Answer still came out wood stock light rifle. Winchester Model 70, Ruger Hawkeye (usually the standard not the compact), Remington ADL type, Kimber.........That was the target. The lower level models seemed to be always looked at, always set aside due to more corners cut. Now one significant factor.......not one youth buying a rifle for herself or himself.
Our gun laws pretty much prevent that and it was not in one of the restrictive states.

One of my single nicest rifles is my Jack O'Connor Tribute .270 Model 70!

The Jack O' Connor Center, Glen Hatt, and Winchester did a great job with that rifle.

no the model 783 comes with a floor plate

it could even be a model 770

Damn, it pains me, but Travis is right.

Bought my kids a Howa 1500. Great rifle, especially considering the price.

My first rifle was a .308 BLR made in Japan (pre81).
I still have it and hunt with it every year.

I guess different folks have different ideas about what a first gun should be. I'm thankful my first gun from my parents was a walnut/gloss blue 12ga Browning BPS. That gun is still in my safe and will be passed to the next generation some day. If it was a Wingmaster I would feel the same way about it. Sadly, if it would have been an 870 Express, especially a synthetic, I probably would have traded it away for something nicer in my younger days. Because it was a very nice piece to begin with, I still have it now that I am old enough to appreciate having that "first gun" in my collection.

My BIL recently bought my nephew his first deer rifle and, knowing that I do a lot of trading, he asked for my help to locate him a nice wood/blue rifle for his first. He wanted something that he would hopefully appreciate into adulthood. I found him a very nice Model 7 CDL and a youth synthetic stock to go with it. He can bang up the synthetic stock while he's young and learning, then the nice walnut stock can be put back on it in a few years when he's older and able to appreciate it. As a good uncle, I had to supply a nice older Nikon Monarch UCC to complete the package.

I bought my own first deer rifle several years back. Not knowing any better, I bought a Rem 710 because it was cheap. I later won a Ruger M77 MarkII in 280Rem in a raffle. That was my first "real" rifle and it will stay in the safe with the BPS to be passed on. The 710 is long gone. I still kind of regret that my first deer rifle that I killed my first deer with is gone, but that rifle was awful in comparison to the Ruger.

Of your 2 choices, I'd go with the 700. It's still at it's heart a real rifle with lots of options for the future. The RAR is a good little gun, but I still can't see it as one to be passed down through the generations.

If you aren't stuck on those 2 but still need a budget rifle, the stainless 7mm-08 Marlin XS7 from Whittaker's would be my choice. After a coat of paint on the stock, mine looks like this:


and shoots like this:

A Ruger American makes for a great weekend type light duty hunting rifle.

For rough country hunting, or horse back/pack hunting, I'd take a Remington any day for reliability.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I took him to the store and tried out several rifles. He felt he liked the Ruger American in the Compact model the best. I agreed and here are the reasons in case this helps someone in a similar situation
1) he liked it the best (has to be number 1)
2) compact size that he could handle well
3) value - several nice features for the cost
4) Ruger's reputation for better customer service than just about any other gun company
5) tang safety (his preference)
6) reputation for accuracy (lower on list as this will be a hunting rifle for primarily under 150 yds
7) detachable magazine (safer way than blind mag to unload for 10 yr old)

I hope he enjoys it!