Input on my new rifle purchase please

[soonerborn]

Ok so I have tons more time on my hands now due to my promotion. Basically I work 14 days out of 28 with 7 of those days off coming all at once every 4 weeks. I am going to be fishing and hunting a great deal more. I am satisfied with my my current fishing setup (with exception of boat, but thats a major upgrade that will have to wait) therefore I have decided to upgrade my hunting equipment. I am going to buy a whole new set of hunting rifles and I have about 3k or so set aside for this. My basic requirements are

1. Semi Auto predator gun able to hit a 8 inch circle out to about 400 yards.

2. Good medium game gun, bolt or semi, able to reach a good distance. Mostly will be used under 200 yards on Deer. However I would like to be able to use this on antelope so I would like for it to be able to reach farther. I was looking at a 6.5mm of some sort.

3. Big game bolt action rifle for elk. I am planning an elk hunt for this fall. Was thinking of something in the 338 or 300 magnum range. dunno about this because I havent shot any of these.

4. Semi auto hog gun. I badly want a gun that will reliably drop these bad guys. Range isnt critical just something that will hit at 100 yards.

So after some looking around and punching some numbers in I have a few ideas.

An AR-15 in 223 or 204 with a 450 bushmaster or 458 socom upper. That would take care of 1 and 4 for under 2k (gotta buy scopes and accesories too)

Pros with this is that I can also get a 6.5 grendel upper and several other cals in the future and make this even more versatile.

Cons I really dont like the way AR-15s work, I dont like stripping my gun completely down after each use and cleaning intensively. I believe in good gun maintenance and cleaning but these take that to a whole new level.

Maybe a Romak 3 / psl. A little big for yotes, a little smaller than I want for hogs, good round for deer though.

For a bolt gun I was just going to go with a savage or a tikka maybe some other type in a used gun. Dont know that theres a whole lot of difference in these as far as the accuracy that I need.

Just looking to bounce this off of a few people and see what they think. Maybe there is something out there that I dont know about or am overlooking.

[Magnumsrule]

For ur #2 i would sugest the 280. Rem as its a good long range 7mm with less kick than the 7mm mag. The 280 will also do a fine job on elk. Hit em on the sholder and they wont go far lol. The 300 win mag is also an excellent choice for elk. As for make a would cjoose a Sako. Unless u go custom these rifles are hard to beat. Welcome to the Forum!

[nathangdad]

I would suggest you try to handle and fire a very large number of rifles to find what is the best fit for you in terms of balance, weight, pointability, etc.

I would suggest, and this is just my thought, that you start with shooting with a high quality .243 for smaller game in the range of coyote, antelope, or deer and a .338 Win Mag for elk, moose, and other very large game. Also, the 7mm/08 is good for deer. Of course, the .30-06 can be viewed as a phenominal all around gun for American game. 400 yards is a very long distance for an accurate shot in a hunting scenario and even if the gun could shoot an eight inch circle most people might not be able to shoot an eight inch circle. In a hunting scenario you have many factors such as wind drift, your own breathing, adrenalin levels, ability to hold the rifle steady due to position, etc. that have major impacts on long distance shooting. Also, scopes are parellax impacted as few are set to give the best focus and hit probability at that range.

[SilverRun]

I think you are on the right track with the AR in .223 for varmints. I would avoid the Romak 3 for anything you listed - it will not be accurate enough.

My recommendations/ 2cents
1. AR-15 in .223 - something like the Bushmaster predator or varmint.
2. and 3. could be combined with a nice bolt action in .300 win mag. It would do everything you ask. Browning A-bolt, Savage, Ruger Hawkeye, or Remington 700(Stainless barrel, laminated stock). Take the money you save by combining these two and buy the best scope you can afford!
4. Could be handled with the AR's you mentioned, but I would suggest a lever action Marlin in 45/70 or similar. The ammo for the big AR calibers is outrageous now. May come down later. You may want to check out the DPMS LR-308 in the carbine version.

Use the left over money to buy you a good savage 22Mag, new shotgun or a nice pistol to hunt with. Oops, only $3K - that won't go to far on these guns. You will be amazed at how fast it goes!

BTW, the AR's are not near as bad on maintenance as people say. Usually the people harping on the gas system crudding them up don't even own one. I generally clean mine after a day at the range, but if I don't they don't seem to mind.

[tc3006]

I recently purchased a Thompson Center for similar reasons. I wanted a gun that had a wide range of uses from target shooting, short (100yd) kill to long distance (roughly 400yds). From doing countless hours of research I ended up going with the Encore. The versatility of the changable barrels is what caught my attention. Was it a good idea? Only time will tell. Some people might not think so. But only having to buy barrels was a big factor. You can buy a scope for every barrel and sight it in for what you want.
Hope this helps!

[Hamiddy]

Its hard to drop a hog. I like to use a shotgun with buckshot. Just aim for the head. You get quick and effective follow up shots in thick brush

[meatloaf]

birnelli super nova 12ga semi auto bass pro shop has them on sale for $540 (for hogs) A 308 for deer. 300 win mag for those long stretching shots on elk.

[Big Faulky]

1. .223 or .204
2. & 3. 300 win mag
4. i personaly want something w/ stopping power like 30-30 or, as mentioned, 12 ga. with buckshot

my buddy and i go coyote hunting allot. he uses a ruger .204 and i use a cheap little single shot rossi .223. i really like his ruger but it was out of my price rng.
hope this helps ya and enjoy the spending spree!!!

[lefty o]

consider a good bolt action for a predator gun, your not likely to get more than 1, maybe 2 shots at most predators.

[toolman]

If you hunt in heavy brush, a shotgun might be ok for hogs, but I prefer a short-barrel, quick-pointing rifle in the .308-.30-06 class. I currently use an M-44 with a 2x20 scout scope or an open-sighted Mauser in 8x57. An AR-10 might be a good choice for a multi-use gun.

[soonerborn]

Good suggestions all.

About the hogs, I had thought about purchasing a rifled slug barrel for my 870 super mag or 1100 to use on hogs but there again buckshot and slug rounds are just as expensive if not more expensive than 450 bushmaster rounds. I really like that 450 bushmaster but at 25 or more bucks a box it does lose some shine. lol. Most of my hog hunting shots are 50 yards or less.

I think I have like 5000 votes for a 300 win mag. What is up with that. Almost all my friends and relatives have told me to buy one and now almost everyone here too. I guess I will just have to get one. My cousin has one, so I will just drop over to his house later and test it out.

Yep, I thought about the bolt gun for predators but most of my predator hunting is for yotes and I cant count the number of times I have called up 2 or more coyotes just to watch all but one get away because I have to work the bolt on my 22-250. Its partly my fault and partly the guns fault because it is getting worn out. So I really want to go with a low recoil semi auto.

I guess I should have put up what I have and what I am familiar shooting, Ruger bolt 22-250, Mak-90, 98k mauser, sks, 30-06 BAR, and of course the 870 super mag and 1100. The 870 was a fairly recent purchase and I was trying to decide between it and a nova but the nova was a little to light I thought.

SilverRun- I was leaning towards combining the two for the very same reason. I was going to get a 3-9x40 ish scope. probably going to be bushnell elite 4200, sightron III or burris signature or diamond.

[ArkansasHunter]

For Hogs I'd buy a New Marlin in 35 Remington they have 2 styles of Lever actions.
They've got the old 336 35 caliber and they've got there New XLR 336 rifles that are stainless steel with Laminate stocks and they have 24'' barrels.
Plus Hornady has came out with some soupped up ammo for this new generation of lever action that will even work in the other 336 models.
Go to there web site and take a look...That 35 cailiber bullet will sledge hammer a Hog.
...A.H

[Bravo]

I'd buy this and knock out numbers 1, 2, and 4:

Online Store — DPMS: AR-15 Rifles, Parts and Accessories.

[SwedeSteve]

1. Some AR or AK
2. 6.5x55 Swede
3. 300 Win Mag

[sbtennex]

A Tikka, maybe a Browning, in 7mm Rem Mag, either laminated or wood stocked, (the synthetics read plastic aren't as friendly in the recoil department as they're lighter and don't flex) and you've taken care of both #2 and #3. Lots of different types of factory feed to handle everything from antelope up to and including Alaskan moose and bears. Save the price of a second rifle and spend a whole bunch more on the optics for one instead!

[bigbuddy21]

#2 GO WITH THE MOSIN/NAGANT 91/30 7.62X54R CAL. EXCELLENT DEER RIFLE