Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles All around budget rifle elk included for young man

I grew up poor, probably like many guys on here, and a .22 for small game and a 12ga for everything else was the mantra then. Our house had a nice Stevens bolt action .22 repeater that my Dad had owned since he was 8. He also had a "borrowed" Mossberg bolt action 20ga with a "Poly choke" that belonged to one of his younger brothers. My grandfather had a POC Remington 22 auto jammomatic and an Iver Johnson single shot .410. My first gun ( was 10, Xmas) was a Stevens single shot 20 ga. So...if I wanted to shoot them more than a few times a year, I had to earn the money and buy the ammo myself. I started young, ha. Later in life, as a young married man with kids, I owned a good .22, a 12ga Mod 870 Wingmaster and "one" centerfire rifle. If I wanted a different rifle/caliber, etc, I had to sell or trade the current one to get it. I just couldn't justify the expense. I was that way until the mid 90's, ( 40yrs old) so the "one man, one rifle" thing is very Legit, I fully get it.

When I started handloading for a Ruger 77 280, ( I was 24 yrs old) I also began to load for other guys rifles and thats how I gained experience with 30-30s, 243s, 308s, 30-06s, 7x57, 7mm Rem Mag ( I sold the .280 when my wife gave me the 7mm Mag for Xmas, 1980)) So, I had alot of fun!
If I came across as a "know it all", please forgive me, it was not my intention. Have fun with the guy, hunting partners, as you know, as hard to find!

When we lived out in the sticks as a kid I had a dog & a falling block 22 for entertainment,,no other kids within more than a mile. Hard to get 22 ammo but dad would buy bb’s because they were cheap. I wore out a lever cocking BB gun shooting up the bbs 2&3 times each if they stayed round enough. Shooting those old BB guns from the late 60’s taught you how to estimate drop better than any chart.

I will add that I too got a Daisy Pump BB gun at 11 and used it one whole winter. That Spring, my bossy girl cousin (15) gave me so much crap I shot her in the chest, about 15yds away., I honestly thought her "stylish pink sweater" would protect her. Turned out,she is one of those "Platinum Blond, Ivory skin kind "that bruised as big as my head! ha She screamed pretty loud too. My Dad wrapped it around an oak tree, I got Corporal Punishment, lets say , I got "motivated", ha. Maybe I was "passive aggressive" back then, ha. I was one of those that "no kidding, , Really, no REALLY ! Needed Jesus, ha. I did straighten out, but I would remind "ol Bossy Girl" of it if she got sassy!

I don't give a rats ass what anybody else uses but if economy has anything to do with the decision and I suspect for anyone who expects to buy only one budget rifle it does, then the last thing they need is a magnum.

I like a .308 for a new hunter. That's just me.

Agreed.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...tikka-t3x-superlite-6-5-creedmoor#UNREAD

He could do far worse than this ...

I don't see the need to be snide.

I don’t think you will get anything better than this for the price. See link below

https://simpsonltd.com/husqvarna-1640-z43765/

https://simpsonltd.com/husqvarna-1640-z43799/

They are a reputable company. Have purchased from them before.

You may disagree with my point of view but please answer are you physically and mentally tougher than your father or your grandfather?

I don’t think that I am anywhere near as tough as my dad & grandfathers were. And from the old family journals the old cowboys in my family were tougher still.

My son appears to be softer than me and his son softer than him. Plenty of tough young men & women around today but in my biased view they are the exception rather than the rule.

Really just looking for opinions on the flock of new rifles & scopes available.

I have a TC venture in 30-06 (bought for my 1st great grandson to use in about 7 years) that shoots & handles just fine but never seen a TC compass so am curious. I like Browning products in general but don’t know much about their budget A Bolt. Think all the cheaper Remingtons are garbage & Savage Axis is not my favorite and the cheap Ruger doesn’t point well for me.

I’d buy the new Vanguard based on what I have personally used and seen in my hunting group but he needs to see what fits him best Id like to give him a good short list.

I've got a Venture and a Compass here. They're both cheap junk and I
wouldn't buy another though they both shoot pretty well. A vanguard is twice the rifle of either.

.338wm or he wears pink panties.

Any Vanguard/Howa 1500 will last a lifetime. The barreled actions are a solid platform and the action and bolt handle are solid steel forgings.The bolt has gas vents ported downward, a sensible precaution to mitigate a high pressure incident. The design, without change has been around since the late 60s. Weatherby contracted Howa to make Vanguards back in the mid seventies. Most complain about the weight, but to me they handle and shoot as good anything without much fuss or tuning. You certainly get your monies worth.

Well,I reload all my own ammo and have guns for many different cartridges. I am single and spend my money as I damn well please.If someone asked me what Spec asked I allways tell them the same thing. .Every fall when hunting season rolls around stores that sell guns and ammo usually have some sales look 1st at the ammo that gets sale priced, that's because they sell the most of it. Here in western SD that means 30-06, 270, 308 ,243, 30-30, 7mm Rem mag., and 300 Win mag. Yeah that's right you usually will find that ammo at a sale price somewhere , simply not true of every other cartridge. So if a guy is on a budget it is real simple you only pay for the gun once but high priced ammo is forever. If one can't kill elk or deer with the cartridge selection I just laid out. Maybe better if you just stayed home and have your wife tell you wtf to do next.MB

Have a long time hunting buddy who uses his Sako 338 WM for our little 150 lb deer and you are right I think he does go pink lace for not moving up to the RUM if he’s going 338.

Every generation of Americans has said this and it's largely the product of collective memory, not objective historical observations. Did previous generations have different skill sets that are less common today? Absolutely. Were they psychologically or physiologically less predisposed to "weaknesses" than we are? No. Just look at how many Civil War soldiers committed suicide, drank themselves to death, or ended up in asylums. PTSD might not have been part of the lexicon but it was there. You could make similar points about WW1, WW2, and Vietnam. None of which is to say anything negative about anyone, only that we remember the past based on how we perceive the present.

Sorry for the long post that no one wants to read, but hand a historian a semi-captive audience and...

My grandfather was a Seabee on an elevated platform strafed by a zero & suffered a broken back. Kept up with normal life for 35+ years I never saw a sign that he was in constant pain. Dad played fast pitch softball & caught 2 guys who won the world championship in the 60’s wearing a tiny little face mask & a cup no other protective gear. He would rather die than rub a hurt spot. Had a bad heart murmur from rheumatic fever as a kid never stopped him from doing anything.

They were both mentally and physically tough.

Thankfully our local high school football coach is very old school & My grandson shows lots more promise this year at 15, he should handle hills that really taxed him mentally & physically at 13.

When did this turn into how tough your kids are or generation thing vs handling recoil. And btw, F old school football coaching, when it comes to weight room and old school tactics.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely hate participation awards but that because of the F**ed up parents and poor Jimmy got his feelings hurt, or how come he’s not getting as much playing time as other kids. Even though he may suck a big fat D**k. Everyone is afraid to offend, too PC or maybe the legal system is just that bad that no one wants to get sued, as everyone is sue happy. Instead of a judge telling people to GTFOH.
I won’t coach any youth sport because Of all that [bleep] above.

Anyways,
I’ve Been shooting since 10, my dad had me shoot full house 357 mag, 30/06, 12 gauge, etc...all with out ear plus when I got little older, because ringing ears is part of shooting.
F that and F your toughness . Simply stupid analogy.

You know what , Get him a paddle stock ruger in 338 WM with tasco or Simmons scope from Walmart.
Have fun

With apologies to my friends from Texas - this guy just has to be from Texas...