Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Rifle for the one gun hunter

Corrected for DF, thanks.

For a lower cost but quality scope, look at Leupold's VX-1 or VX-2. They still have the lifetime warranty but not all the fancies of the higher priced scopes.
I had a VX-1 3-9x40 on my 30-06. However, my eyes aren't what they used to be so I sold that to a friend and got a VX-1 in 4-12x40. It's equally clear but just a bit more powerful for older eyes.

Leonten: I would seek out a great condition used Remington 700 in 270 Winchester.
They virtually always shoot great and are very dependable.
Best of luck to him and you on whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We're planning on going to the TS Gun Show in a couple of months.

I hate the whole damned thing. But they shoot!

Look for a good condition used rifle of most any brand. It will likely work well with a little tweaking. Or possibly without. Do NOT buy a Remington 788?? (I have one and can't even remember the designation - probably some form of denial thing....) Walmart/Cabelas/ etc special package rifle. POS.

I have exactly one BG rifle that cost me- used- over $300 - and none over $400 - and I got that Ruger .338 with dies and various reload ammo. It just needed a little tweaking - trigger job and more importantly, glass-bedding and free-float. Terrible fore-end pressure!

With trigger jobs and glass-bedding (by myself), all of my rifles (M98, Ru77, Rem 700/725, Win '94) shoot 1.25 MOA for 3 shot groups. Or less- some far less.

Disregard the TC/BP Hawkin and Seneca- them things have a compromise 1/48 twist and will only shoot 6" group.... no matter what one does - goes to show you what compromises do. Why they still market 1/48 twists for BP rifles is beyond me.

Get a Ruger 77 MKII or Hawkeye. Or a used pushfeed Winchester 70 Black Shadow.

No way for a first rifle on the Kimber Montana.

I am pretty sure that this will be his first and last rifle for big game.

JMHO...but what's not to like about a Tikka T3 Hunter Grade if you can buy one for $500 or less? May not be a Stainless but it is by far the most complete of the so called budget guns being mentioned. Only thing I'd add to the NIB gun was if the shooter was recoil sensitive would be to add a Limbsaver. I do like the wood stocked Hunter Grade waay more better than the Lite's composite stock and answers the critics admonitions of the Lite stock lacking forend rigidity. Better rings would be the next upgrade....but the factory rings are not garbage either ... unless he wants to play musical chairs with constantly changing scopes. CLNY has Minox ZV3 3x9x40's right now startting at $100 bux and hard to beat at that price, with a no fault lifetime warranty.

Out of the 4 T3's I've owned none of them out of the box needed tuning to get to the guaranteed MOA with factory ammo. Does tuning increase the accuracy ... yes but in such small increments for the Return on Investment that I never bothered, concentrating instead on the differences in ammo that the gun liked or not. FWIW My handloads have always been able to reach MOA or sometimes substanially less, as long as I was doing my part.
Ron

Sena88 good luck on your rifle search. There's been a lot of good suggestions posted and with a little searching you should be able to find what you are looking for within your budget.

If I could give one bit of advice though, it would be don't get married to a caliber.

Probably most of us on this forum have bought a rifle because we got a deal, regardless of the caliber.

The .270 is a great caliber, for sure, and I have several of them but I wouldn't pass a deal on a rifle due to it not being a .270.
I would have no problem taking my 7mm, .30-06, .308 or any of the common calibers on a hunt that I'd take a .270 on.

Oh, and if I were looking for a budget rifle under $500 bucks, I'd buy a good used Ruger M77. Like everyone else here, that's just my opinion and you know what they say.

For an extra hundred or so he could get a Kimber Hunter.
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/622683815

It seems a few of my buddies are like that as well. This is what they usually end up buying:

1. Savage XP trophy hunter package rifle.
2. TC venture.
3. Stevens 200
4. Ruger American RAR....

One gun,sounds good in theory but,never works in the real world.

Get a 7 rem mag!

In all likelihood, there is a used Mauser out there that somebody had put a 270 barrel on. They are often found in used racks of larger stores and quite often n your price range with a good(or at least usable) scope. Keep your eyes open for the "Centurion" Mausers that Century Arms sold up into the 90s. They used Wilson barrels and M98 actions. Came in either Walnut or a Butler Creek synthetic. They regularly sell in the $300 range on GB.

Thanks for the info! Yea I'm not 100% locked into .270 if I see a good deal on a 30-06 or .308 i'll definetly take it!

Agree with this. Have a 30-06 sitting here and I'll take it over any of the new guns in the same price range. If it's something you have interest in, I could be talked out of it and might keep him on budget.

You can head to Walmart right now and pick up a new rem 700 in 308 for around $400. If he wants to upgrade with after market parts later there are many many options for the 700. I only mention the 308 because if he picks up a 270 he'll get picked on by all the kids at the playground 😜.

this

Most people I meet at the hunting campsite are shooting standard cartridges. 308, 30-30, 30/06, 243 & 270's. I'll be with Sena88 so I can make the defense of his choice of caliber. He may even be accused of being over guned!

Choose at random among those cartridges - he'll be more than fine. Even the rifle selection is largely immaterial, so long as it fits him well (and isn't a 710 or 770...).

The far bigger issue will be competent marksmanship from field shooting positions. If he'll commit to getting to the range regularly, and shooting from positions other than the bench, he'll do just fine come hunting season.

FC