Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles If you can only have one bolt action rifle...

That's no way to make costly mistakes! Why should he be able to avoid what most of us have done?

I only want the best so I'd have to go Mossberg 100 ATR .

It’s pretty obvious most haven’t read the OP’s post... just read the title and replied. Typical 24hr thread...

Just keeping it simple, a one-rifle purchase, for a neophyte, I'd suggest a Ruger Hawkeye in whatever a new-ish shooter thinks is good enough, probably the 6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm/08, not much recoil, plenty enough for deer, good for coyote, dead simple to operate, and probably not needing a doggoned thing except mounting and zero-ing a decent scope.

Seems like everyone is overthinking this.

Winchester classic feather weight 6.6x55 or a 30/06 in a husky 1640 action, but if want to be boring and like everybody else get a plastic gaymoor and call it good

He asked a question in his title. Many answered his question. In his post he went away from his question; in a way.

That’s pretty stupid...

Deer, coyote and long range targets - I would gear up with a long range deer rifle then - 6.5 CM or 6.5/284. Any of the standard rifles will be good - Rem 700, Win 70, X bolt, Tikka or Ruger american

If I could only have one bolt action rifle, and I might hunt or shoot long range in the future but I don't currently. Up to/including deer/coyotes.

I would call Dakota and get a Model 76 Classic. Chambered in something between 223 and 30-06. A 243, 25-06, etc. would likely be leading candidates.

I suggest getting to a large gun store so that you can handle several different makes. There are subtle but important differences in how they "feel"... Everyone is different too... no way to know ahead of time what will suit you best. I would also suggest planning to spend as much if not more on a good quality scope.... a small to midsize optic with no more that 10 X at the top end.

A 223? what type of game are you going to hunt with that? Gofer soup?

Trolls

I read it.

Then decided to go off on my little tangent anyway...

LOL, fair enough. Doing something with awareness is different than doing it without.

But I bet you gave your teachers fits in grade school

"I am not in the hunting game or long range shooting at the moment. But for the future, I might want a rifle that is able to do some of those activities. "

If you are not throwing out bait and while a .22-250 isn’t a bolt rifle, for Deer it is the cartridge I would choose if I could only have one. If I wanted to go big, it would be a Swift.

If I was hunting with a centerfire rifle it will be for larger game. I know that there is a place for small caliber high power. It is not on my to do list. There are many calibers that skirt the edges. I want one that will work for everything. 30-06, 308 would be high on my list.

No question in my mind. I would go the a LGS and look for a used 700 in either 06, or 270. Lots of reasons...used 700`s can be had for $400 or less, here anyway, in either ADL or BDL. Ammo is available everywhere, some cheap, and you could handle anything in NA. The 700 has an endless supply of aftermarket parts to fit any whim or need. Most of the 2nd hand guns are little used, so IME, you can find some good ones. And the 700 is American made.
This is what I do when looking for a build.
Good Luck

I could easily go along with a .308W.

If I were only to have one centerfire rifle it would get 10 times more use on varmints than deer. Deer and black bear is all the big game we have here and I don't have any reservations about shooting/killing either one with a good bullet from a .223. I'm not ever going to be rich enough to trot all over the country hunting big game so that would do me fine.