My son in law wants to start hunting. While I target shoot a lot, I never was much into hunting. He wants my advice on which rifle to get. So help me out, guys. Axis II XP in 308? Something better?

Ruger American is the best of the econo models. There will be a dozen recommendations to spend a little and get a TIKKA in the time it takes me to type this.

STRONGLY recommend spending most of the budget on scope mount and scope. The rifle and cartridge are less important for hunting. Really hard to go wrong on the gun, but mounts and scopes are more critical.

Budget?

Plain old savage 110, used, 300 bucks or less. Same for remington 700

Hunting what?

Get a 243……for Alaskan Brown Bear.

You’ll be an internet sensation.

Yea……I’ll bite on a bare hook.

I would urge you to get a Tikka in 243, NOT savage package gun, their barrels in a bore scope look like pure hell.

Remington 783's have very decent barrels if you can find one in pawn shops, very fast lock time and steel magazine with a great limbsaver recoil pad, barrel is freefloated.

Thompson Contender has several bolt guns, they are very nice also, Venture in particular.

Ruger Americans are the best of the package guns, but they feel like pure cheap crap, which they are not which is astounding. Their triggers are not adjustable, and they have a plastic magazine box.

Tikka will never loose it's money, nor a rem 700 if you can find one in great condition.

Critical information .

Remington 700 for 300? You bumped your head

^^^ THIS ^^^ 7mm - 08

IMHO the finest entry level hunting rifle that will last you a lifetime of use, is accurate, is reliable ... is a Savage 110.

I honestly do not believe anything else comes close.

Savage 110 either in 308 or 30.06 ... you cannot go wrong. Most accurate out of the box bolty ever built imho and the accutrigger is excellent.

ETA: A lot of Savage packages come with decent scopes for starters. They work. Your SiL can upgrade later with his glass.

Yes, it is. I don't think he knows for sure yet. I suppose that he is imagining going after deer. I'm sure he does not understand the differences between that and elk hunting.

We'll be discussing that, plus that fact that there is a lot more to hunting than just shooting.

Own all of them and agree with prior postings re Ruger American and re putting the balance of your money on the glass. For the money, Ruger American is hard to beat, but the reality is that, unlike when we were growing up, most all manufacturers are putting out budget rifles that shoot minute of deer. Another thing that has changed is the improvements made in ammo....So, if it were me, I would guy the budget type rifle he prefers but would spend the bulk of my money on the glass....good luck.

What??? The Bushnell Banner that comes on budget rifle packages isn't good enough?????

Just joking. I know they are crap.

Hunting deer and elk where?

T/C Compass II in 308 Win would be a good choice. I got one as a "truck gun" so I wouldn't care if it got beat up. Accurate, light and if you catch them on sale they are cheap. Got mine at Academy on sale and it ran me $247 including tax out the door.

These comments about scopes are just regurgitated horse schit.

Utah

I’d look for a Remington 700 in 7-08.

Best beginner hunting rifle would be a Tikka 7mm 08 and 3x9 leupold, burris or nikon scope. Maybe not as cheap as a savage or ruger, but best as a starter.

Kill varmits through elk.

Kent

My 1st hunting rifle was a Marlin 30-30

.308 is sufficient for anything in NA, not bad recoil. Except for maybe big bear, and that's a matter of perception, range, bullet construction, and placement. As with anything in NA.

Has he been shooting? Knows what recoil he prefers/can handle ?

Can't go wrong with either a Savage or RAR as budget rifle. Budget less of a consideration , probably a Tikka.

Good advice on glass. If one has to cut the budget somewhere, glass isn't the place.

Used, any decent brand rifle is an option.

I wound up with a $400 Wallyworld Rem budget package rifle (785? ) that I would never have purchased for myself, in .30-06. I don't like it much - it's pretty heavy for one thing, but that goes both ways on carry and recoil. Pressed in pressure-fitted barrels leave me cold, and the recoil lug is, IMO, minimal.

It surprised me.

With factory Corelokts it is MOA, no work done except to exchange the come-with no-name suspect scope with a Leupold Rifleman. Which did not improve accuracy over the package scope, just my confidence on reliability.

Marlin. 39

The TC compass and the ruger American may both offer guns with barrels threaded for a suppressor......

Something to consider....

I usually recommend a weatherby vanguard when this question is posed.

Now is the time of year to hit the gun shops and look at used rifles .

The one passed down from your Dad or Grandpops.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^; accomplishes pretty much all that a 270/280/30-06 will do, with less recoil for a new hunter, on all non-dangerous NA, BG.

Add a decent scope/mount & it will do everything he needs doing except big bears.

MM

This right here.

I have two of them.

That probably applies to a lot of us, especially those of us down south. That or a 35 Rem.

Good luck bagging mule deer in Utah with one of those hunks of schit.

Not that it can’t be done…

The best advice you could get.

A Weatherby Vanguard is a great choice also.

A Vanguard is about 10,000 steps ahead of any Tikka or Ruger American.

Deer in Utah

I’d definitely get a full custom with a $2,000 Nightforce j/k


A .270 Winchester model 70 FW would be tough to beat

https://www.eurooptic.com/Mauser-M18-65-PRC-22-Synthetic-5rd-Mag-Bolt-Action-Rifle-M18065P.aspx

The $249 30-06 Walmart Vanguard was as close to heaven on earth as any mere mortal could do.

Handloader=reduced loads.

Ruger American Ranch in 350 Legend, Light, short barrel and the 350 Legend has less recoil than a 243.
I am an old fart with rheumatoid arthritis and really enjoy shooting mine.

450BM does NOT kick….with that behemoth muzzle brake on the end of the tube.

Think 1000 ft/lbs all the experts recommend.

Had a 6.5 Crudmuch in a Vanguard, crazy accurate. Granddaughter took it away from me, she loves it. A 6.5, 7mm 08, or a 308 would be a great choice. A 25-06, 270, or 30-06 if you want a long action.

Buy her another one Hanco!

Remington 700 in 270 or 7mm-08

I have a Savage 111 in 300 WSM and a Ruger American in 30-06. Both are very accurate.

The Savage weighs a lb more and that adds up over a day's hunting. I switched to the RAR just for that reason.
The Savage has a bolt lock while the RAR doesn't. When carried by a shoulder sling, it's possible for the RAR bolt to open. If you're carrying hot, you'll lose a round. If not, you can get dirt in it.

The RAR has a removable rotary magazine. RAR mags are famous for not feeding the cartridges to the top. They sent me 3 replacement mags for mine before I got one that will feed reliably. I have to bang on the others to get the rounds to come to the top. There's supposed to be a trick to that. You open one end of the mag and wind the spring a turn tighter. It's supposed to help push the round up. Didn't work for me. The spring will push them harder but it doesn't change whatever they're getting stuck on down inside. If anyone knows a real fix, I'm listening. It would give me 3 extra mags if I could fix them.

I’d take that too.

Or a 25-06 if one stumbles into it.

Stainless -Synthetic Bolt Action Rifle. Just bite the bullet and get one. It's a hunting rifle not a beauty queen. Doesn't matter which one. Ruger, Win, Rem, Savage are all fine. Weatherby or Howa if you can find a stainless one.

.270 or 6.5 CM for the recoil shy.

30-06 or 7 mag for the big boys.

No other rifles will ever be needed.

3-9 Burris FF2 or E1 with duplex or ballistic reticle.

I picked up a Ruger 77 stainless boat paddle in 7 mag when I got out of the service and moved to Wyoming years ago. It's still my favorite. Lots of Elk, Mule Deer, Antelope and a Moose taken by this rifle. A .270 or 30-06 would have been just as good. It wears a Pentax 3-9 scope. Made by Burris in the USA back in those days. 30 years of use is hard to beat.

Have fun.

Alps

Vanguard in 30-06.

Ruger American 270 with Leupold Freedom scope sighted in with Federal Blue Box

Call it a lifetime.

Personally I like the 30-06. Wide range of off the shelf ammo and good availability. .308 would be second choice. Get on UGE and keep your eyes peeled for a deal. IMO the products 15 years ago and older were better built. Ruger m77, Remmington 700, Savage110s, etc...

I still like good iron sights even though my big game rifles here in Utah all wear scopes. Most current production guns do not have sights anymore. Dinged a scope getting in a truck one icy elk huntand hunted with irron sights the rest of the week. Actually liked it in the timber. Out past a hundred fifty not so much.

I bought 700s in 30-06 for my sons nnd they have been great guns.

Just my opinion , but I set my sons out with a used high quality rifle instead of a cheap new one . Caliber depends on where it’s going to be used most

Echols Legend in 300wm topped with a Nightforce.





Actually - I could think a Bergara B14 in 6.5 Creed (great factory ammo avail) tho I prefer a 7-08 but I reload. Which, IMO gets the most out of it.

I happen to prefer SWFA 6x MQ but a decent scope is up to you.

You can not go wrong with a 7mm-08 in a Tikka.

7mm-08 is a great beginner round!

My daughter has a Savage 10 in .243 that I bought her when she was 9. She just turned 29 and won't use anything else. I put a Nikon Monarch 3.3X10 on it after the first year. It is sub MOA with 100 grain Nosler Partition. We used Federal Premium ammo until we started reloading and got the same results.
If I had a son in law that was over 150 pounds I would get .308 W, .270W, or .30-06 and if he is recoil averse, a .243W.
The Savage 16/116 Weather Warrior is a fine rifle and I've never known one not to be accurate. I've had 3 of them and all were excellent in the accuracy department. I let folks I go to church with talk me out of 2 of them. My brother in law has the .270 and I've never shot a more accurate rifle. They paid new price for my used rifles.
Buying a high quality scope is very good advice. I would rather a $700 scope on a $100 rifle than the opposite.

I have a couple Howas that I really like.

A Tikka T3x superlight in 6.5c, 7-08 or 308. Properly mount a SWFA 6x and shoot a lot. This system will place the onus of accuracy on the shooter and will serve a lifetime in all conditions.


mike r

As you should.

Vanguard has a better stock and less plastic than the Tikka . My wife decided she wanted to deer hunt and we bought the Walmart Vanguard with the tan stock . Added a Vortex scope and she has killed all 3 deer she shot at..... It came with the test target an sub moa guarantee .

243 or 7mm-08 in whatever bolt action rifle you prefer.
Get a really good scope! Spend at least as much on the scope as you do the gun. Something in the 3x9 or 3x10 arena. That combo will cover 85-90% of all the hunting he will probably do. If he keeps hunting, he'll end up with 10 different guns anyways, but he'll never regret buying the combo mentioned above.

Ruger American.

Low cost for a trial run of hunting.

Made decide, fug that. Playing Call of duty is more fun. 😂

I’ve got a American predator in 6.5cm.

I like hunting with it.

When she barks, bring the meat wagon.

A good used short action 700 would be a good choice.

If money is tight, go entry level with any of the units recommended above.

For a few hundred more there are Model 70s, Ruger Hawkeyes, Remington Mountain Rifles, Kimber 84s. The added cost is not lost at resale time. If he likes hunting, he keeps then and is set.

I’ve got a safe full, and every animal I’ve killed could have been fine with my first, 700 ADL in .270.

Im not scared of used rifles either.

Does he have any experience shooting?

T/C venture 7mm08 is a good choice. 5R rifling barrel is really accurate.

Probably go with a preowned 700, 70, or 77, maybe a T3 or 84M in a chambering to match needs. These are easily customized or modified for different needs and work well.

g

Bergara Hunter .308 wouldn’t be bad, with a 3-9 meopta or Burris FF II.

Not much. I don't know why he suddenly has the bug. I'm not sure this is a good idea for him, either. But my job is to give him good advice so that if he does take it up, he has a good chance of being successful.

Kimber Hunter 308.

Number one job is that he is safe in handling and using a gun. I've been shot at by wanna be "hunters" that only are in the woods during deer season. A hunters safety course would be good for him.

Ahh go ahead and take the plunge. Get a 300 Remington Ultra Mag and really earn that flinch.

Yep......install that scope with 2.5 inches of eye relief and get out the video camera and super glue.

Lots of advice putting the cart before the horse. Advise him to start with a .22 rimfire and as suggested above, take a hunter's safety course,

I'll plug a Remington Seven in 308.

^^^^^^

^^^^^^^

this, then let him choose what he wants.

Personally, I'd look at the Mossberg line of rifles - I've been impressed with them,

HOWEVER, the Remington 700 has SO many aftremarket upgrades/add ons you can't go wrong.

Savage Axis has a reputation for accuracy, as does the Tikka.

Winchester Model 70 is just so classic (the Rifleman's Rifle)...

Ruger makes a great gun, without a doubt,

But it's HIS gun, Let HIM decide,

If he wants to be a hunter I'd suggest a lever action. Lot of options for cartridges.