I haven't been able to go hunting in years, and as a result I have sold my rifle. So, I need a new (or even to me) rifle.

I'm mostly going to be hunting in central NC, but may go all over the state and possibly SC and Va. I had a .308, but not sold on that caliber. I don't reload, so no special caliber please.

I do want either a bolt or a lever gun, not sold on a semi for the field.

Major brands, Remington, Savage\Stevens, Marlin (JM), etc. What do you think and recommend for this? Would want to be in at $5-600 with possibly upgrade scope and rail.

Take a look at the Ruger Americans. They seem to be quite good for the price from the reviews I've read and the ones I've been looking at are under $400. Caliber is largely a personal choice. I have 223, 243, 260, 308 and 30'06. They all work.

Check out the Mossberg Patriot, Remington 783, Remington 700.

I got a 783 and other thne fighting it to get sighted in after I was told it was bore sighted at the factory (it really wasnt, it shot low 8 inches and right 10) It's done me fine.

I have a tikka t3lite.  Very accurate, but 3rd detachavle mags are a pita if getting in and out of a truck multiple times.  I got my kid a weatherby vanguard due to the internal 5rd mag.  Tikka action looks way stronger, but for 223 i wasnt worried.

To me in a new rifle for 600 including a solid scope your best choices are the savage axis 2 and ruger american.  Axis 2 has the accutrigger.  you might be able to find a package savage 10110 for 600 if you can get one with the nikon scope you would be good to go.  Or go to a few shops and get a marlin 30-30, Great guns and with the new lever evolution ammo from hornady the 30-30 is a stone cold dead killer on whitetails to 200 yards.  probably get a 30-30 for 300 and get a real nice 2x7 burris for 150 would have money for 5 boxes of ammo!

That's about what I did. I just bought the Ruger American Precision in 6.5 Creedmoor for $420.

308, 30-06 will cover you as far as ammo from wally world. You can add 270 to that list, even during the biggest panics I always saw 270 on the shelf.

As far as you choice, how far are you comfortable shooting? In my AO the chances of seeing anything beyond 75 yards are pretty slim. Even up in a stand, the most wide open fields might only yield a 300 yard shot and I don't know if I would even attempt that since I've only shot at our local 100 yard range. Anyone of those calibers will handle that easily.

In the rifles I've had in the past I had no issues going to 3-400 yards, and I took a hunting rifle and pushed it to a LR rifle pushing 6-700. Main calibers offered would be perfect for those ranges and to take deer, just don't know if a .270 would perform better than a .308 or .30-06, or vice versa.

CNC has lots of woods, but also some good clearings too. So any of those rounds are good.

What does the Remington 783 look like? And I had a Stevens years ago and liked it, do they still hold up and work?

Stevens was bought out by Savage. I believe it used to be a rebadged 10/110 action and probably still is so I would say it would be a good choice. Savage Axis line is their economy offering, I'm not sure how it differs from the 10/110 line but I would spend the extra and skip axis.

Probably the same for the Remington econo offerings...stick with the 700.

But if you are looking for a list...tikka, howa, remington, Savage, Ruger and mossberg all put out a good product. Pick and choose. If I were buying right now, I would pick up a mossy 308 predator. I like the idea of using dpms pattern mags straight out of the box.

And here is the 783, looks like their knock-off of a Savage...Same barrel nut and trigger that looks like an accutrigger.

My take....

You are better off with a cheap rifle and a good scope than with a good rifle and a cheap scope.

$600 for a rifle is doable.  $600 for scope and rifle is a challenge.   This limits options.

Look at the Ruger American.  It's a decent rifle and they shoot far better than their price warrants.  As for caliber, it really doesnt matter.  7mm08, 270, 308 30-06, 260, heck all of them are just fine.  Its nice to argue about the fine points, but the basic fact and truth is this:  They all kill deer cleanly.  If these cartridges don't drop your deer, there is a shooter issue, not a caliber issue.  I'm as guilty as the next (shooting a semi wildcat cartridge in a high end Cooper rifle  with expensive high end glass) but if forced to admit it, my pricey deer rig doesnt really do much that a basic plain jane 7Mm Rem Mag won't do.

I've had good luck with Natchez shooting supplies and their clearances on Weaver Grandslams.  Very good scope for the money.

Avoid Remington like the damned plague.  Remington used to be one of our premier makers.  Over the past ten  years, quality has declined SUBSTANTIALLY.  They make a truly shitty product now.

Savage used to be the cheapo maker, and they shot well.  TO a large degree, they have really started to eat Winchester/remington's lunch, and prices have gone up significantly.  Thye are great, but won't meet your price budget.

You'd be hard pressed to do better than a 7mm-08/308/270/3006 Ruger American and a 1.5-5x or 2-7x Weaver grand slam

Fro

Ditto on sales at Natchez...they have great prices on their optic sales and clearances.

You might just go hit the pawn shops for a used gun. I have an old Savage with wood stock that I picked up at a pawn shop for under $250 out the door, 30-06.

You guys are exactly right, for a combo, especially with a brand new rifle, it's tight for both. Especially if adding new base and rings.

Years ago I bought a Millet scope for a a good price, but I didn't like it for distance a d I. Don't think it would be a good deer scope. Heard good about the Weaver scopes, and had thought about a SWFA 10x, but didn't think that's a good combo either.

I'm not allergic to a used Rifle, especially a purposed hunting rifles, as they typically don't get shot much. I did buy a Stevens 200 and who's scope on it for about $350, now about 8 years ago. For a combo like that, $600 would be my max. For piecing together a system, I could probably do more as I can spread it out.

I like what I've read about the 6.5 CM. I have 2 AR builds planned, but also thought about combining the AR build and hunting rifle, to have more budget and can build more what I would like and work well too, even I to a more off the wall caliber like the 6.5 ( off the wall as in not the ordinary.308 or the like) also saves the need for a rail. Now, not sold on the 6.5, but nice knowing an option like that is available. Rolling the two together will give me more like $12-1300 range for the rifle.

ETA I was thinking about this today, I know uppers are a bit more than standard AR uppers if I build it, or an off the shelf 308 could be had for about $8-900 for a base rifle and that leaves $3-500 for glass.

ETA2: I have Read a lot of reviews on 6.8 for deer. Sounds like a promising lead on a caliber for AR hunter as well. How does that go in your AO?

I say go with a Ruger American in 308, 30-06 or 243.

Add a Vortex PST scope or a Primary Arms. Something with IR can help on the edges of daylight when deer travel the most.


If you have an AR, you can go with a 300 blk or 6.8 upper easy enough.  Both will handle deer no prob.

For that price range I would choose a Ruger American in the caliber of your choice (.243+), with a nice scope and good mounts.

As far as caliber goes, I got a 7mm-08 about two years ago and I love it!  Great ballistics and very enjoyable to shoot.

I just picked up a Savage 11 XP Trophy in .308 with a Nikon BDC scope for $524 out the door on Sun.

Stevens 200 is no longer made, but I have a couple and really like them. Just a basic Savage without the accutrigger.

Our Ruger American shoots really well, probably MOA all day. The one thing I really dislike about it is that the bolt does not lock closed when on safe. I would prefer if it did, but for a budget gun it shoots really well.

We spent $315 on our American, right now with a bit of searching a Leupold VX3 can be had for about the same. Ours sports a 3.5-10X40.

Sharp looking gun. I hope it thumps some Bambi this season.

I pick up my Ruger American Preditor on Monday.