First rifle

[d.kate]

I'm looking for some expert tips on choosing my very first rifle, and I’m looking for something that can do it all. My budget is tight, so I'm hoping to find a versatile rifle that can tackle a few specific tasks. I want to use it for big-game hunting and I also want something that I can bring at the range.

There are calibers like the .45-70 that's greatfor hunting. On the other, I’ve come across the 12.7x42mm AR variants that seem nice for some recreational shooting.

Appreciate any insights from the pros

 

[Bobcat]

Is there any specific action you’d like to try? If you’re talking about hunting deer size game on down, I would recommend a .243 Winchester as a minimum, on up to a .270 or if you can manage the recoil a .30/06 is never a bad choice.

As far as an economical rifle, there are several options, a Ruger American II, Mossberg Patriot, Savage Axis are all around the $500 mark if you shop around. I don’t know how much experience you have, if any, or what action you were thinking about but if you are a new shooter, I would stick to a bolt action or a single shot. CVA makes both at a reasonable price point.

If you can tell us an approximate budget I can give you a few specific recommendations. Before I retired, I was a working gunsmith so I had a lot of opportunities to see what guns were working well for shooters of all levels and the ones that didn’t.

 

[Edmund]

Not my first rifle, but I'm considering an AR style .308 (actually, 7.62 NATO). I was well trained on the AR platform in the Army, so I'm partial to what I know...path of least resistance for me to pick something I already know well. Should be good enough for hunting anything in Missouri, I would think. Ruger and S&W .308(ish) rifles start at around $1000, though. But, I would guess that would be cheaper than .50 Beowulf AR's?