Scout style or "standard" rifle for still hunting?

[Dinsdale]

30 minutes ago, philoshop said:

I'll toss out another option for the OP here, since it seems there might be some bird hunting in the future: A shotgun with a bird and slug barrel combo. They're not terribly expensive, and a case of skeet loads is a pretty good way to quickly become familiar and comfortable with gun handling and overall shooting skills. Also, I've never seen anything kill a close-range deer more dead than a well-placed 12 Ga slug. Just my 2 cents.

Its not a bad idea.

Started with a 20ga Rem 870 and with nothing but a bird barrel killed the first 20 something deer with it....with a ridiculous amount of rounds through it now. 

Clays,birds,rabbit,squirrels,turkeys; a shotgun does lend itself to opening more places to gain experience and confidence in shooting.

 

Buy both.

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2016 by Dinsdale

[Dinsdale]

49 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

People using them doesn't make them a good idea! Ever saw a fella wearing skinny jeans?

 

 

And they bind in the crotch.....

 

Someone told me.

[Zem18]

32 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

And they bind in the crotch.....

 

Someone told me.

Law has to have some pics of this somewhere. Where is he when we need him?

[Pygmy]

For a "first gun" a shotgun is a good idea...Everybody oughta have a shotgun.

For a "first rifle", I'd recommend  a standard sized entry level bolt action like a Ruger American, Savage Axis, or something similar.

I won't give my advice on scopes because nobody ever takes it anyway...<<smile>>.....

JUST DON'T GET AN OVERSIZED, OVERPOWERED, OVER WEIGHT MONSTROSITY, which seems to be the trend...

OOPS....Just couldn't HELP myself...<<sigh>>....

[uberyan]

Wow. Well first off thanks all for the warm welcomes. 

Lots of sound advice as well. 

I guess not too many are in favor of the scout setup which is fine. I'm leaning 90% towards a standard bolt action with a 3-9x40. 

Narrowed down to the tikka t3x and Remington 700 in terms of feel. Those two felt the most comfortable when I held them. The sig felt off, kimber was too light. 

To me the tikka feels a bit more polished and better put together so I'll most likely go for that in the 308 and start putting in some range time. 

I guess my only real question is, how quick does your shot really have to be with still hunting? Is it like shooting from the hip or do you usually have time to lineup a proper scoped shot?

as for the slugged shotgun, as dinsdale mentioned, I'd much rather just get both when the time came.

and my jeans ain't skinny, they're slim fit. Haha

 

[stoneam2006]

Wow. Well first off thanks all for the warm welcomes. 

Lots of sound advice as well. 

I guess not too many are in favor of the scout setup which is fine. I'm leaning 90% towards a standard bolt action with a 3-9x40. 

Narrowed down to the tikka t3x and Remington 700 in terms of feel. Those two felt the most comfortable when I held them. The sig felt off, kimber was too light. 

To me the tikka feels a bit more polished and better put together so I'll most likely go for that in the 308 and start putting in some range time. 

I guess my only real question is, how quick does your shot really have to be with still hunting? Is it like shooting from the hip or do you usually have time to lineup a proper scoped shot?

as for the slugged shotgun, as dinsdale mentioned, I'd much rather just get both when the time came.

and my jeans ain't skinny, they're slim fit. Haha

 

As far as quickness of shot goes that all depends on how well you still hunt...if your good at it you should have as long as needed most times as they don't know your there

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[DirtTime]

Still hunting is a refined skill. At least IMO. It's all about moving through the woods like a ghost. Stealth is the biggest key. Wind is your number one enemy in still hunting. Try to keep the wind in your face most of the time. Move from one area of concealment to another, and go slow. Think of a snail in molasses, and then divide that speed by 5.

 

As for shooting from the hip. Hoping that was a joke there John Wayne. LOL

Edited August 16, 2016 by ....rob

[Bowguy 1]

Wow some great advice being given. My personal advicd not to conflict any others is a bolt action. You can use it in so many circumstances so why limit anything. The Tikka is a great rifle, for calibers w a new shooter something manageable. Learn to shoot. Pretty good means you still have a ways to go. Be proud of yourself for doing well n strive always to be better. The calibers Id recommend are a 7mm-08 or maybe a .243

[Buckmaster7600]

Wow. Well first off thanks all for the warm welcomes. 

Lots of sound advice as well. 

I guess not too many are in favor of the scout setup which is fine. I'm leaning 90% towards a standard bolt action with a 3-9x40. 

Narrowed down to the tikka t3x and Remington 700 in terms of feel. Those two felt the most comfortable when I held them. The sig felt off, kimber was too light. 

To me the tikka feels a bit more polished and better put together so I'll most likely go for that in the 308 and start putting in some range time. 

I guess my only real question is, how quick does your shot really have to be with still hunting? Is it like shooting from the hip or do you usually have time to lineup a proper scoped shot?

as for the slugged shotgun, as dinsdale mentioned, I'd much rather just get both when the time came.

and my jeans ain't skinny, they're slim fit. Haha

 

Tikka is the way to go if you're buying new. Remington's of today are a far cry from what they were years ago.

If you're getting a tikka and you aren't recoil shy I would go 270 or 30-06 because tikka doesn't make a short action they use the same bolt for both. So if you have the length of action might as well use it.


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[Trial153]

Your on the right track, but don't spilt hairs.
You said .308 stick with it. Make it a bolt action but make sure it a dedicated short action otherwise your wasting the length of the .308.
Next get a barrel that is between 20 and 22 inches. Next mount a GOOD quality scope on it. 2-7 power, 2.5-8 power, 3x9 power. Keep your objective 40 or under. Next mount the scope as using proper rings as low as possible. And finally you want your finished rifle to weight about 7-8 pounds give to take.
Load it with 150 or 165 grain loads and your good to go.....

Tikka t3 are a fine gun by the way...as are many others.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

One thing we haven't discussed here.....what is your budget?

 

I ask because I can't begin to tell you the number of folks I have seen complain about the accuracy of a gun, only to find out that they topped a good rifle with sub par mounts, rings and scopes. 

Edited August 16, 2016 by Culvercreek hunt club

[tuckersdaddy]

another option is a single shot.. h&r offers a decent shooter at the bottom end of the price scale or a ruger #1 at the upper end. both come chambered in a wide range of calibers... And for my best advice, if you have to trim the budget, trim it on the gun not the scope. about any gun manufactured today will out shoot you, but nothing ruins a hunt quicker then a fogged scope or one that dosent collect enough light when you are in heavy canopy.. just my 2 cents.

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[uberyan]

Trying to stay under 1k for the major rifle related purchases. 

Frontrunner setup would be the t3x compact 308 and a leupold Vx-1.  Those should keep me under 1000 for the rifle and scope.

Scope mount undecided. Not sure if I want to get a picatinny with rings or the dnz one piece scope mount. 

The one thing I wasn't expecting was for binoculars to be so expensive. 

[airedale]

A consideration that would save you substantial money is buying a good used hunting rifle. At a well stocked gun shop or a gun show you can find rifles and shotguns that are without a mark and just like new with very few rounds put through them that will save you big because they are pre owned. Make sure you bring someone that has knowledge about firearms to make sure of condition. 

Al

Edited August 16, 2016 by airedale

[Trial153]

Trying to stay under 1k for the major rifle related purchases. 

Frontrunner setup would be the t3x compact 308 and a leupold Vx-1.  Those should keep me under 1000 for the rifle and scope.

Scope mount undecided. Not sure if I want to get a picatinny with rings or the dnz one piece scope mount. 

The one thing I wasn't expecting was for binoculars to be so expensive. 

Your in good shape. Get it.
The dnz is a nice mount ...but so is the tally light weight as well. Either will be fine. I wouldn't do with the rail and rings just for the weight and it's not needed.
On thing I might do is step up to the vx2 ....check eBay and you can get it almost for the cost of the vx1 at retail....

[Buckmaster7600]

Sounds like a perfect setup this is my t3 30-06 that I cut 4.5"s of barrel off it has a leupold vx2 ultralight on a dnz mount. It's an awesome setup for still hunting! Me personally I'm going to stick with my pump actions but those tikka's are awesome!


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[uberyan]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Sounds like a perfect setup this is my t3 30-06 that I cut 4.5"s of barrel off it has a leupold vx2 ultralight on a dnz mount. It's an awesome setup for still hunting! Me personally I'm going to stick with my pump actions but those tikka's are awesome!


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Nice. What height did you go for on the dnz? I want to get the lowest possible that will safely clear the scope. 

[Buckmaster7600]

Nice. What height did you go for on the dnz? I want to get the lowest possible that will safely clear the scope. 

Low, the scope is 33mm and barely clears. If your set on a leupold vx-1 get the 2-7 because they are 33mm as well.


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[moog5050]

I use the low DNZ on my savage 220.  Works great.

[WNYBuckHunter]

22 hours ago, uberyan said:

A LGS here is hosting a range day in two weeks so I'll definitely be taking advantage of that to try out some different rifles. One of the ones available to shoot is the Ruger Gunsite so I'm hoping I can get a good feel for the Scout style there. 

Culvercreek, I'm 5'9 about 180lbs. I did read that bolt actions do recoil differently and that the AR does absorb some. I'm hoping that since I really didn't feel the recoil negatively on the AR, that even on a bolt, it won't be too much of an issue. In any case, might be a good idea to try multiple rifles in the .308 on that LGS range day.

My 12 year old daughter has no issue shooting my Remington 700 in 308. You should be ok.

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 hours ago, uberyan said:

Trying to stay under 1k for the major rifle related purchases. 

Frontrunner setup would be the t3x compact 308 and a leupold Vx-1.  Those should keep me under 1000 for the rifle and scope.

Scope mount undecided. Not sure if I want to get a picatinny with rings or the dnz one piece scope mount. 

The one thing I wasn't expecting was for binoculars to be so expensive. 

Take a look at Vortex glass for your scope. Something in the Viper or Viper HS line, which is much nicer than a VX1 or VX2, but at a similar price point. Check ebay and cameralandny for the best deals.

[Core]

Get a bolt action and be done with it. An extra few inches of barrel is not going to meaningfully catch on anything and unless there is a deer bolting across you at 15 yards how much does the swing really matter?


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[Buckmaster7600]

One other nice thing about the Tikka is it has a 60degree bolt throw and that also allows lower scope mounting.


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[Buckmaster7600]

Get a bolt action and be done with it. An extra few inches of barrel is not going to meaningfully catch on anything and unless there is a deer bolting across you at 15 yards how much does the swing really matter?

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Bolt actions aren't the best for everything. carry a 22" barrel still hunting for half a day and then switch to a 16 or 18" barrel for he rest and you will know how wrong that statement was!

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[Culvercreek hunt club]

31 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Bolt actions aren't the best for everything. carry a 22" barrel still hunting for half a day and then switch to a 16 or 18" barrel for he rest and you will know how wrong that statement was!

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I certainly can feel the difference when I do it with my 700 BDL and then my Winchester 94...lol.