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

I see used Savage (non-Axis) rifles at gun shows for cheap.. Bought a .243 FXP3 for $295 out the door and it is a one-holer.

Not a big fan of the Hogue stocks but for $439 and a hankering for a .270 this Ruger Hawkeye would be top of the list:

https://www.cdnnsports.com/270-hm77rgh-22-mat-grn-hogue.html?___SID=U

CDNN also has the All-Weather for $549.
https://www.cdnnsports.com/rugerr-m77r-hawkeyer-270-all-weather.html?___SID=U

I have the opposite opinion of some of the "old standard rifles with tweaking and love" crowd. We live in the golden age of affordable functional and accurate rifles. The cheap Remington is a huge POS, the Axis rifles shoot but are a little rough and need tweaking but in order of preference with these rifles in 270 you are good to go for the next 25 years as a one gun hunter with a $500 budget.

Tikka T3
Weatherby Vanguard
Howa 1500
TC Venture
Ruger American Rifle
Savage 110 series
Remington 700

I believe all but the Remington have an accuracy guarantee so if you get a lemon you aren't stuck with it. The Massberg and budget Browning and Winchester may be fine but I don't have any experience with them.

Buy a set of Talley lightweight mounts and choose from the Burris FF2, Leupold VX2, Meopta Meopro or Zeiss Conquest or experiment with one of the new companies 3-9x 40 offerings and hit the range then the woods.

I have used a Tikka T3 Lite in .270 with a Sightron Big Sky II 3x9 scope for several years it is an awesome rifle

CDNN has a Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 270 for under $500. I have two M77's and both both are very durable rifles with good accuracy. My M77 358 Win is probably my favorite rifle that I own and I have several.

I would suggest the following:


Tikka T3 Lite
SWFA fixed 6X
Talley lightweight rings.

Leon -

Does your friend use a a pump shotgun? If he's used to a pump shotgun he might like a Rem 760 or 7600 pump rifle.

NO magnums but 06, 308, 270, 243 are common, especially at gun shows.

Jerry

He has a semi-auto shotgun. 12 gauge with a 3 1/2" chamber. But he wants a bolt action rifle.

$439

That's dandy. I like and use both BA and pump rifles. I use BA much more than the pumps.

Jerry

How about going used?

My first rifle was a used remington 700ADL in 270. IT was super basic, blind magazine, iron sights. I got it with a low end bushnell fixed power scope for 150.00.

I used that gun exclusively for half a dozen elk down (I was living in New Mexico at the time), a few antelope and also a few Audads.

That gun was incredible accurate and the scope never lost its zero. Its not the lightest rifle but It came out before Remington started having so many troubles.

I actually got it off a friend of a friend who had used it for an elk hunt and didnt plan on going again. I got the rifle, scope, sling, a hard case and 16 rounds of 130g silver tips for 150.00.

If you look around long enough you may be able to find a similar deal. Hell, if I was back in New Mexico, Im sure I could find something in my safe that I could letgo for under 500 bucks that would get your friend well on the way.

If it were me, Id be looking at:
-tikka
-weatherby vanguard
-ruger american
-remington 700sps (a few hundered more would get a bdl)


Im not a savage fan, not at all. I dont like them and they dont do anything for me. Ill likely never own one.

Lots of good advice above. Living in Commie New Jersey, almost as bad as Commie-Fornia, gun shops are getting to be rare. I end up going to NY or PA for deals on rifles. The bottom line is finding deals in gun shops or pawn shops in California probably won't be easy.

Regarding choice of rifles, I go with Tikka. I have owned many Remington 700s, some 7s, 600s, and a 660. Many of them shoot, and there are scads of aftermarket parts for them. That's fine if you're a amateur gunsmith, but if you just want to go shooting and hunting, no so good.

I have owned three Savages, and they shot from OK to not so hot. I have rebarreled two of them and sold the third. I replaced the triggers with aftermarket triggers. My friend's Weatherby Vanguard shoots great, but so do my Tikkas, and I have four in three different models in four calibers. All the Tikkas need is a trigger adjustment. I can't speak for the Ruger American or Mossberg.

I'd go with a good used Rem 700. I like early 700's, but they don't have glass stocks. If the guy were to use iron sights only, a Ruger 77 stock works well. There stocks are not designed for scopes, their comb is too low, however a 270 is such a light kicker he maynot notice.
I don't care for Savages. From what I've seen there's a lot of issues with feeding.
A Tikka is OK too, not as good as a 700, IMHO.
Finally, a Winchester 70 is also a good choice as is a CZ.

+ 1

Tag.

I wish this would go away. I get a sinking feeling every time I see it.

Since your friend already chose his caliber I won't make a recommendation. I have never used a .270 personally but have no issues with it and if that's what he wants then who am I to say otherwise.

As far as rifles, a used or on sale Tikka would be a great choice for around $500 or my local Wal Mart has Remington 700 package with a synthetic stock and crappy scope for $399. I would get that and sell the scope to someone for 20 bucks and get away from it. Put your Leupold on it and send him to the woods. You can't get a Remington action for that price.

I have a buddy who bought one of the Wal Mart Remingtons in 7mm mag and it shoots better than any rifle I own, and I own a few. I keep trying to get it from him but he won't sell.

Just my opinions but there are tons of good ones above mine.

One rifle for all around hunting depends on the type of game one hunts. Your friend can buy a second hand .270, buy don't skimp on scope. In the long run it is best to spend a little cash for a good quality scope instead of wasting money on cheap ones.

For me the .338WM is it in Alaska. My favorite at the moment is a .338WM Hawkeye, the safari or African version that has a 22' barrel.

IMHO

Avoid the bargain part of the lines, Axis, American etc. Too many good deals on the top of the line stuff.

If your Walmart has the 700 SPS for $400 then buy it. Mine doesn't.

Otherwise find a deal on a leftover Tikka t3 if you can, if not a Howa for $350 or the CDNN Rugers are great places to start.

.270 is perfect, especially in a lighter synthetic stocked rifle.

Howa

A Howa with a VX-1 would be the cheapest I'd go, that's what I use as my "beater rifle." You can always upgrade the stock down the road and put the scope on a .22 when you move to something better, rather than ending up with an eternal POS like a Remington 710.

I wish I had gone more with the minimalist concept rather than a whole safe full, to be able to spend more on the rifles and scopes.

A custom .280AI in a McMillan stock with a VX-6 would be ideal.