This is a post I made on a forum I frequent, www.shooting.com.au, which explains why it talks about members!
There have been a lot of questions around recently, by members of various experience levels and skills, asking what rifle would be suitable for their own hunting needs. I thought it might be a good idea to get a lot of the ideas behind buying a first (or second, third... etc) hunting rifle in one thread, so people can have a browse through and get an understanding of what they need. This is not a comprehensive guide, and I am no expert, but hopefully it will be of use!
I am of the opinion that when it comes to buying a rifle, you really need to consider what your end goal is. To do this, I have created/stolen/borrowed the following list of questions you need to ask yourself.
How serious am I?
But Lulwut, why are you asking this? I am super serious! I want a fully kitted out tactical rifle with all the trimmings to go shoot rabbits at 400m every chance I get!
Are you? Really?
What sort of hunter are you? Are you going to be walking around the fields once every few weeks in Summer, popping the odd rabbit or fox under 50m? Or are you going to be doing it every weekend, in a high volume situation where you are knocking over dozens and dozens every time you go?
Are you going to go away once a year for a week to shoot a boar or two? Or are you a property owner in far North QLD, busting mobs every single day you get on your quad and inspect your fencelines?
Is "every chance I get" once a year, or 365 days a year? Is shooting 200, 300, 400m the norm, or the VERY rare exception? Consider this very well.
What sort of accuracy do I want to get?
What sort of stupid question is that, Lulwut? I want the most accurate rifle I can possibly get! It’s absolutely 100% CRUCIAL!
Is it?
If I am shooting goats at 100m, how accurate do you think my gun has to be?
Do I need to be pulling consistent .3 MOA 5 shot factory load groups?
Can I even get a sporter that will shoot as accurate as I want it to?
The short answer, really, is that accuracy has to be acceptable for the purpose. You aren’t target shooting, or at least, entering competitions with a sporting rifle. Sure, I shoot targets with my Ruger sporter, but the only person I’m trying to beat is myself.
A professional roo shooter, required to headshot kangaroos out of a ute, is going to require far greater consistency than Joe Bloggs from the back end of Whoop Whoop blowing the front end of a fox out the back end once a month when he goes out with his mates. As long as he hits the fox and hits it humanely, we’re laughing!
That’s probably the main reason most rabbit shooters don’t bother getting target .22 rifles to pop the odd bunny, when a sub $400 rimfire means the rabbit doesn’t know the difference, he is still missing half his face. It gets the job done.
Ok, you make a fair point. I don’t need to get a fully kitted out rifle, and I don’t need to get a precision gun either – just something that will be good enough for what I am doing.
How much should I pay?
You’ve been saying I don’t need something super accurate or super fancy - I guess I may as well get a cheap gun, like a Stevens 200 or something along those lines!
WOAH, woah! Slow down there! I never said you had to go cheap!
Let’s look at a few examples. Even though this is primarily a centrefire rundown, I’ll use the example of my Marlin 917S, and, let’s say, a CZ 452 at the range.
I paid approximately $500 for my Marlin. I could have paid a bit less, but that is neither here nor there. For that much, I got a heavy stainless barrel, a 4 and a 7 shot magazine, great accuracy, and a bloody TERRIBLE trigger. This thing is just appalling. On the action itself, where the bolt handle rides down the side of the receiver and locks into position, the metal has ‘flowed’ from the bolt strokes, creating a noticeable burred edge in the metal. I’ve put less than 2000 rounds through this thing, yet that problem has happened.
On the other hand, a rifle like the CZ (any 452 at the range) will basically not have that issue of the softer metal. It will shoot probably better, but at least as well, have a better trigger and much better fit and finish – taking a LOT more rounds before wear and tear starts to take its toll.
What is my point, you ask?
I’ve had to spend money on a new trigger. That has increased costs.
It won’t last as long as a CZ before it is clapped out.
It doesn’t ‘feel’ as nice.
So, did I really save money? Sure, I love it... but maybe spending a few more bucks would have got me a better rifle with better features. In my defence, I didn’t choose it!
Yeah, that’s great Lulwut, but what about centrefire rifles?! That’s the reason I am here!
Yes, I was getting to that.
I’ll give you another example.
My first centrefire sporter was (I doubt I’ll ever get rid of it) a latest model Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .223 Remington, with an all weather finish and a synthetic stock. I paid around $1000 for it.
Let me compare it to a <$400 Stevens 200 sporter, with a synthetic stock.
My Ruger has a floorplate magazine, which means at any time I can instantly and safely unload any cartridges in the magazine, without going anywhere near the bolt. I do prefer this system in most sporters, as the magazine can’t be lost and the package is neat and streamlined.
The Stevens requires that the bolt be worked to remove individual rounds from the magazine. What this means is that if you need to unload for transporting, storing, etc, you must work the bolt a fair few times to eject those rounds and render the weapon safe. How fun.
The Ruger has an all-weather finish – I’ve never seen one rust yet, it doesn’t ‘shine’ like stainless does giving you away and it requires little maintenance to stay pristine.
A Stevens I had the... pleasure... of shooting had rust on it within a few weeks of purchase – granted, this may have partly been the owners fault, but I generally expect a bit better finish than that. What if you are out in the rain and muck for a few days? What then?
The Ruger comes with great rings, and a super solid mounting base. You’ve saved yourself a few bucks there, and apart from changing ring size and height, you never need to ‘upgrade’ the system for normal hunting.
The Stevens is drilled and tapped, and requires mounts to be purchased and all the fun that goes with that. Decent rings are not cheap.
This is personal taste, but the Ruger has clean lines, and is a pleasant gun to both shoulder, shoot, and look at.
The Stevens, I personally feel, is none of those things.
Obviously, I am biased towards Rugers. But my point is that with a more expensive sporter, you do gain noticeable advantages in quality and durability. After seeing a brand new Stevens that had a few boxes of ammo at the range and seen little to no inclement weather, as well as putting rounds down range, I wouldn’t go anywhere near buying one because I like to buy for the long term.
Fair enough. What you are saying is that while I don’t necessarily need to go all out, I should get something of reasonable quality that has desirable features I’ll be grateful of when I’m out shooting stuff.
Exactly. If it's the cheapie you get, so be it. But I can tell you, those extra features are very nice to have.
What calibre should I get?
That’s easy. The bloke in the gun store said that .300 Win Mag/.30-06/.375H&H will EASILY kill anything in Australia – that is what I will get. I’ll never need to buy another rifle again!
Oh, how I wish that were true.
Let’s break it down into a few ‘sub’ considerations.
What is your shooting experience?
Well, I’ve had a play of a mates .223, and I’ve shot the club .22 a few times.
OH GOD DON’T GET A .300 WIN MAG.
The reason I would highly recommend against getting a thumping huge calibre in a new sporter is the simple reason that you will not enjoy it. Shooting is a sport we are meant to enjoy, and busting your face, flinching (and therefore missing) and getting flogged off the bench by a big thumper is no fun at all.
If you must get a centrefire for a first gun over a rimfire, get a .22cal like a .223, or hell... this is painful... a .243 Win.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Honestly. Some people can go buy a .308, a .30-06, whatever, and shoot it with no worries. They are VERY few and far between. The reason is that for most people, they sell the gun within a short period of time and go find another hobby!
At the range I shoot at, a fellow rocked up one day with a brand new Tikka T3 Lite in .308. Regardless of what people may say, .308 has a fair bit of whack to it. This guy put half a box in at a property, shot the other half of the box at the range, and sold the gun to take another sport up. A bloody shame, because he was a nice guy who had a nice gun – it just wasn’t right for him.
Oh, and you don’t want to know how much .375H&H factory ammo costs...
What if I have shot a bit before, and I can take the recoil/cost/etc?
Well, the most important consideration, like with a rifle, is that it has to make you happy. Personally, the idea of a .243 is repugnant to me. I simply don’t like them, and I wouldn’t own one. Yes, I’ve shot them, but my thoughts on them are obviously different to quite a few other peoples! On the other hand, I get excited about the 6.5 Creedmoor when it is really isn’t anything super groundbreaking.
What I am saying is that there are some calibres that will intrigue you and others that will not. Get one that makes you happy and you enjoy tinkering with, or whatever the case may be.
Make sure it is appropriate to the game you are chasing, too. Don’t buy a .223 to chase Sambar, and likewise, don’t buy a .308 to just shoot bunnies. I mean... you can use the .308 on bunnies... but there are better tools for the job. You want something that will deliver the punch you need without going stupid, at the range you want with the accuracy you want.
For instance, I love the idea of the new Ruger bolt action .44 magnums and .357 magnums. I wouldn’t use one as a rabbit gun, just like I wouldn’t use my 17HMR on pigs.
All I can say is research your cartridge choice carefully, and I'd say know what you want (or a ballpark calibre) ahead of time.
Now, there is just one final rule, and it is the most important of all.
What is it? Is it what sort of bipod I should buy? What sort of sling? Oh! I know! The length of the throat!
Uhhhh, no.
BUY SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH.
If you want a .30-30 lever action instead of the .308 bolt action the salesman is trying to sell you – BUY THE .30-30 LEVER ACTION.
You have to open that safe, grab that gun, and be happy with it and have fun with it.
After all, that is the secret to our sport! Fun!
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