what new hunting riffle

C

cjd1980

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Sep 3, 2008
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I" thinking about getting a new rifle for deer season this year i've been hunting with a wincherser 94 and i think i want toget something wth a scope ( guess i"m getting old :( ) anyway I want to try and keep thing in the 500 to 600 dollar range with the scope right now i,m looking at a Ruger American compact in 308 with a vortex 2x7 scope any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks Chris
 
Ruger makes a fine rifle.
I own a .308 but personally, in my opinion, if your looking into shooting bigger game down the road I would get the 30-06. it's a great all around caliber and ammo is easier to come by.
I love the 30-06 for whitetail. Not extreme damage to the meat and it still has the power to take out an elk or Bear.
 
Hard to beat a Savage Axis and a Nikon scope. I also agree about going .30-'06 simply because .308 disappears off the shelves with .22 and .223 during any scare. '06 is always there. In hunting ballistics there is nearly zero difference between .308 and .30-'06 except that '06 can shoot heavier bullets better because of case capacity. .308 struggles with 200gr bullets.

A big plus for the savage is aftermarket parts so you can upgrade later on as funds allow. Rifle basix trigger, boyds laminate stock, oversize bolt knob, etc.

Also, I say get more than a 2-7 power scope unless you're hunting thick woods cover. Very few people complain about too much magnifiaction, but plenty of people complain about not enough. I think of 4-12 as a starting point.


-Xander
 
Good advice here. I'm going to second the Savage in the price range you gave. I'm out west, and you're in Vermont, so choose the scope magnification based on your shot opportunities. It's hard to beat a good old 3-9, but for open country the 4-12 fastriot mentioned would be good. I will say that even in our open country I find a 4.5-14 to have a field of view on 4.5 power that is smaller than I like many times if I am faced with the need for faster handling. Chasing whitetails, which I'm guessing is the deer you're hunting (correct me if I'm wrong) I have a Rem 700 in .243 with a 1.5-6x scope that works great, for me, for shorter ranges and fast handling. I love the huge field of view on that scope.
 
Ruger American is a good rifle and a very accurate shooter. If you are going to hunt bears in Vermont I'd think more along the lines of a .30-'06.

As far as glass for your rifle, Leupold 3x9x40 or else Nikon would be a good choice.
 
A warning about the compact: it'll leave plenty of power to knock down most any deer but man that BLAST when you fire it is bad! I have an 18" barreled shotgun (much lower pressure than a .308) and a single shot from it with a very light target load at a Woodcock damaged my hearing.

My compromise on compact rifles has been to use revolver-cartridge-based guns if the barrels are under 22". my .357 Ruger 77/357 and .44 Marlin 1894 (JM Stamp) have 18" and 20" barrels but with the reduced powder charge of the revolver cartridge I am able to comfortably fire when hunting with little to no hearing damage. The rounds become very efficient in the longer barrels and much of the bite is taken out of them, leaving me with a modest bullet traveling plenty fast enough for anything I hunt.

Having shot short barreled rifles with hearing protection on and still experiencing an amazing blast I would never fire an 18" .308 in the field.

I second the recommendation to look at a 30-06. I would recommend the stainless Ruger American topped with a Nikon Buckmaster scope. This should allow you to comfortably take game out to 300 yards (use a range finder).
 
I'd stick with what you picked out. The compact is not available in 30-06. Very little difference in performance. I do agree with the Leupold scope tho.
 
fast14riot said:
Also, I say get more than a 2-7 power scope unless you're hunting thick woods cover. Very few people complain about too much magnifiaction, but plenty of people complain about not enough. I think of 4-12 as a starting point.
Click to expand...

People tend to buy too much magnification. A 2-7x scope is fine for most deer hunting scenarios unless you're taking 500 yd shots. I wouldn't even attempt a 500 yd shot unless the deer was wounded.

Lower magnification scopes are more compact. That is the dominant reason to choose one over some beastly one. It's different to be lugging one around in the woods versus sitting in a box stand overlooking a field.
 
hey guy I thanks for the advice the places i'll be hunting are pretty thick woods which is why id like a shorter riffle and don't really need a more powerful scope i probably won't be able to get a shot off that's more then a 150 yard or so thanks again hope to hear more
chris
 
Inside of 200 yards max and mostly 100 yards I would strongly consider a fixed 4 power scope. You can get much higher quality glass for the same price in fixed power vs variable. I had a 2.5x scope on my .30-'06 for a while and could shoot squirrels to a little over 200 yards, bigger game out to 400.

Out here where I hunt in the desert a shot inside of 300 yards is the exception, so more magnification is better for my hunting and I probably recommend more magnification than needed for most folks. But, aim small miss small!


-X
 
fast14riot said:
Inside of 200 yards max and mostly 100 yards I would strongly consider a fixed 4 power scope.

-X
Click to expand...

I was just about to throw out a plug for a fixed 4x when I scrolled down to your post bud :thumbup: The great thing about a fixed 4x is you never pull up on a 50-yard shot and have your scope turned up to 7 or 9, or whatever your top magnification is. I have seen several missed opportunities happen because the shooter forgot to lower the magnification on a variable power scope. You let one trophy animal get away due to this, and you get real good about making it a habit to check the magnification. A fixed 4x takes that variable out of the equation, one less thing to go wrong in the woods.
 
4X Leupold and .30-06 or .270 Winchester. Outside of Elk and the big bears, either will handle anything in North America. In a medium action a 7-08 would be my choice.
 
18 inch carbine length barrel with a .308 is fine.

I have an old Remington 788 in .308 and it's a pleasure to shoot. I like the short action.

Saying that, I hunt with a .270, but only because I'm fond of the gun, and that's how it's chambered.

2X7, 3X9, fixed 4X or fixed 6X... all will work for you, just make sure you buy quality optics.
 
Savage has a different model in .308 you might prefer if your a guy who would still like to have iron sights on his rifle, even just for a backup to the scope. Savage Hog Hunter. It's a nice compact rig with the legendary out of box accuracy of Savage and nice iron sights just in case. Rifle alone is only about $400. Best budget optics out there are still the Nikon's and Burris, I never get a single complaint on them and I sell them by the case lol. The Vortex seem to have return to zero failures, but excellent customer service. And watch out for the Leupold Rifleman series, they seem great but they are all using a 1/2" moa adjustment instead of a 1/4" moa and not advertising it. Hope this is helpful, I am a firearms dealer by trade so feel free to ask questions.
 
And believe me the .308 is enough gun for anything in the lower 48 states out to 300 yards and is a much more efficient cartridge than the '06. No animal would ever know the difference between a 165gr 308 at 2700fps or an '06 at 2750fps. I hunted Elk in CO for 25yrs and have seen the .308 in action. Hell I've killed Elk at 200 yds with my 30-30 after my client winged it in the flank with his .338RUM. 170gr Hornady FP punched a silver dollar hole clean through both sides of the rib cage.
 
.308 vs .30-'06 is Ford vs Chevy. Not worth arguing over. Get what works for you and your arsenal. The only ballistic difference between them is in the heavy 200 gr + bullets which the .308 just can't shoot as efficiently as the 30-06 can. Most all hunters I know who hunt 30-06 (including me) don't use 200 grain and heavier bullets. But, like I mentioned before, if you live in an area where current military calibers dissappear with the next Internet news headline, .308 will be one of them to go. 30-06 is almost always there, even as surplus and cheap at about $1.00/rd. My hunting round is only 55gr powder and a 180 ballistic tip. Poi/poa is dead on (for hunting purposes, not bullseye shooting) out to 325 yards.

Also, with short barrels in rifles, handloads are the best option using faster powders to reduce the muzzle blast. Hornady and other reduced recoil loads are great for short barrels too. Lots of options, but it's hard to beat any of the .30 caliber options out there (except .300AAC, it's not a hunting round imo).


-X
 
Get a T/C Encore or Encore Pro Hunter, and check out Bullberry Barrel Works as funds allow. You'll never regret it. And..., with all due respect to any hunter anywhere..., if you can't get it done with a single shot, you're doing something wrong!!!:). Plus, reloading is a simple and fast procedure.:D
 
I am seeing a lot of quality second hand rifles coming up for sale in my area. Seems there are more hunters hanging up their spurs than there are new ones taking up the hobby. If you have the patience to search and know what to look for you might find a bargain in the second hand market.
 
The gun you listed will work fine .308 good choice 2-7 power scope will work fine.Just keep it on 2 or 3 power usually there will be time to turn it up not always time to turn it down.When you get your guns shoot some some groups at low power you might be surprised how little the difference is between 2 and 7 power.
 
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