choosing first Bolt Action Rifle

[Sppotlight]

Resurrecting this thread - what did you decide on?

I was just in the same boat and went with the Ruger American in 308, with Vortex Crossfire II 3-9 factory mounted. Seemed like a good money saver and I like Ruger. I've only had it out twice so far, gun fit and finish is nice, stock is garbage, trigger is great, accuracy seems "ok", I knew I was getting a light hunting rifle but I'm annoyed at how rapidly the barrel heats up and starts spraying shots.

[Bushwack44]

I was in the same boat as a bolt action newbie 2-3 years ago. First rifle was a Rem 700 in .270 for target shooting. BIG mistake. Too much rifle for a newbie.

Next buy was a Mossberg in .223/556. Great rifle that gets me to 300 yrds. It should have been my first bolt action. Learned a lot using that rifle.

Recently bought a Mossberg in .243. Gets me to 600 yrds (I assume a bit further if Angeles had a deeper range). For now, it's the right caliber w/ the right amount of recoil.

[Tere_Hanges]

I was in the same boat as a bolt action newbie 2-3 years ago. First rifle was a Rem 700 in .270 for target shooting. BIG mistake. Too much rifle for a newbie.

Next buy was a Mossberg in .223/556. Great rifle that gets me to 300 yrds. It should have been my first bolt action. Learned a lot using that rifle.

Recently bought a Mossberg in .243. Gets me to 600 yrds (I assume a bit further if Angeles had a deeper range). For now, it's the right caliber w/ the right amount of recoil.

Hmm... my first bolt gun was a Tikka T3 lite in .3006, then I got a Weatherby Vanguard 2 in .308. Now I have a Rem 700 SPS Tactical 20" in .308. I really like the heavy tactical barrel for bench shooting.

I guess it just depends on the shooter as far as recoil goes. The T3 lite in .3006 kicked way too hard for a bench gun. But the .308 is very easy to shoot, just the right amount of recoil.

I think shooting more powerful rounds is like weight training. If you want to lift more you have to start lifting more. Shooting .223 will get you good at shooting .223, but if you want to go bigger you will eventually have to start shooting the bigger calibers.

[sigstroker]

Not an easy choice. I personally would not go .308 though, I'll get into thay later.

First thing is model. Wheatherby males some great rigles, but their lower end stuff imo does not match their reputation of quality thay their higher emdnrifles carry. As far as the savage goes. I'm scorned there. My dad had an older savage 30-06 when I was growing up. That gun had insane recoil. I know why, the stock was nowhere near being cut perpendicular to the barrel which leads to much higher than needed recoil. I kid you not this 30-06 kicked easily twice as hard as my current .300 win mag. I just don't see how you can go wrong with a remington .700 for the price. Ice shot bdl, adl, classic, carmiter, and other variations. It's such a solid and proben platform. I'm sure guys will chime in about how good modernnsavage rifles are and I have heard that to be the case, but I still remember the bruises on my shoulder from over 20 years ago lol

This is like choosing what kind of car to buy based on how your dad's Studebaker drove.

[sigstroker]

I'm sorry I forgot to mention my intentions with it lol I always forget some sort of specifications when I'm posting stuff lol, but anywho I wanted for long distance target shooting at the moment anywhere from 200 to 700 yards and then eventually for deer. It's something I've always wanted to do and I have a friend who's dad goes hunting and we both want to tag along here in the near future.

You didn't say so specifically, but I hope your goal is not to actually hunt at 700 yards. Shooting at paper at 700 yards is one thing. The consequences of a miss are trivial. Shooting at critters at that distance are another matter, and you don't have the experience or likely the skill to do that.

As far as .308, it's fine to punch paper at 700 with it. Not much energy needed. It's not enough energy to blast away at critters at 700 though.

Oh, and I would go for the Weatherby. Don't have to screw with it, just mount a scope and go.