Shopping For A Rifle

[Izy]

I live in Sydney, Australia. The rules and regulations are really strict over here. We can't carry an auto-loading rifle for any reason unless we work for the Government agency.



Any recommendations for a Bolt-Action/Lever-Slide rifle?



I am going to use it for target shooting and also for hunting Wild Boars, Deers and Rabbits.



Thanks in advance.

[beltbuckle]

Sounds like you need more than one.



A remington 700 platform would suite you well. Next up is deciding on a caliber.



If your going to hunt "Deers" and Wild boar a 30-06 or .308 would serve you well.



Rabbits do not require the calibers a deer or boar will. .22lr is plenty adaquate.

[Izy]

Thanks for that beltbuckle. I honestly would love to bash an automatic, but what can I do ah?



Your post was an excellent step forward to what I want to acheive, you wouldn't mind if I asked you anything in the future?

[beltbuckle]

Feel free to ask anything you like, thats what we're all here for.

[Izy]

What's the difference between a 30-06 and .308 calibers on a Remington 700?



What do you recommend?



Also on another note, I will probably be going about 3-4 times a season, but I would like to have a top-end rifle, not really interested in a Remington 770, 710 or a SEVEN.



What do you also recommend for a scope?

[beltbuckle]

Here's the quick and dirty I looked up two winchester rounds to compare.



30-06 147 gr bullet 3020 fps 2976 ft lbs -40" @500 yards

308 150 2825 2658 -45



Both are good calibers and both have plenty of variety available in regards to bullets although the 308 may have more target rounds available.



Play around with google, do some of your own research.



Scopes........ Whats your budget?

[Izy]

Well it's pretty hard to tell you my budget, I'll be answering you in AU dollars lol.



Put it this way, a well respected scope, maybe something you have used, but not overpriced. In other words, you get what you pay for.

[Izy]

What do you think of Nikon scopes?



Are they well-respected in the hunting world?

Are they overpriced?

Have you tried it/own it? What do you think?





Cheers mate.

[beltbuckle]

I have a nikon on one of my hunting rifles. It's a 4-16x42 with a mil dot reticle.



IMO it's a well made scope for it's price range. It's certainly not overpriced for what it is. While it's not as nice as some of my upper end scopes it will serve it's purpose. I would say it's very comparable to the corresponding leopold's



Honestly you'll probably never use it to it's full potential anyway. Most people set their 0 at X# of yards and forget all about the knobs, few people actually use the elevation/wind age knobs for anything else. So the important thing is going to be clarity, and the reticle you choose. Nikon and Leopold both have good clarity and good reticle options in their mid range optics. Personally I love the mil-dot. I dont think I'll ever own anything different. Even if you dont ever get around to learning how to actually use the dots, I bet you'll like them.



Here's a couple brands I like; Nikon, Leopold, night force, US optics, Meopta, Swarovski. There's so many different options even with a certain brand, you kind of pick and choose what features you like.



One other question. Have you decided on a zoom? 9x? 16? If you hunting with it you need to be aware of your minimum, I wouldn't go anything above 5 under any circumstances and 3 or 4 is much better. 3-9x is perfect for most hunting situations, my personal preference is 4-16 for my purposes.

[Izy]

Rifle- .308 Rem 700 VTR Desert Recon 22''

Scope- Nikon Prostaff 3-9x50 RealTree Camo N/Plex





What do you think?



Should I go for a longer barrel? I might be looking at maximum 600 yard shots at bucks. Is there more accuracy in shorter barrels or vice versa?



Cheers.