Hunting Rifle and Scope?

[GM.Chief]

I am finally going to make a purchase in the upcoming weeks to get my wife what she wants for her birthday: a hunting rifle with scope... I will have $1200-1400 to spend and was wondering if anyone could help me decide on the best combo. Reading through threads, I know that there are a wide variety of calibers to choose from and the 3-9x40 scope seems to be an average start. While I realize that if you put a crappy scope on a good rifle, you can screw yourself, I have no doubt that putting a decent scope on a crappy rifle won't be much better. As far as my wife goes, she's 5'8" and probably 180-ish, so she's not in need of a tiny caliber either.

I guess my real question was if you had $1200-1400 to set yourself up for general purpose (deer, hogs, etc within TX) what combo would go for?

 

[dobarker]

If your looking for just an all around good deer/hog rifle and don't want to go broke in the process. Remington 700 sps in a .243, or 7mm-08, topped with a Redfield 3-9x40 would suit the ticket just fine and last a long long time.
If you want to pinch your penny's even harder and still get a good rifle/scope out of the deal, get a Marlin XS7 in one of the above calibers with the same scope.

All can be found at Academy and should total between $500-700. Then ammo, sling etc. add on an extra $100

If you wanted to max out your money saved, Remington 700 BDL in one of the above calibers with a Leupold 3-9x40 VX-II.

 

[fnmedallion]

take her to the store and let her handle several weapons see what she is comfortable with i'm kinda old school .25 to .30 is my range for an all around rifle in THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS i will get a plethora of argeemints!!!!!!! also the savage 110 series of rifles delivers alot of bang for the buck as for scopes i'm quite biased in that reguards i own nothing but b&l 4000,4200 elites in 6x24x40[11] so that is that i'm tired time for my nap

 

[navyguy]

I think Savage is a great bang for the buck. Either the traditional wood stock or synthetic. A .308 is not a big deal on recoil, and if you want a long action 25-06 is still pretty mild, yet a good loading for anything in this state, and really get's out there. Those will be in the $700 range, and that leaves you a lot of room for a quality scope. If you can. a 50mm objective really adds a lot.

 

[TimberWolf7.62]

I have to disagree on Savage. I bought a Savage 10FCM a few years back and the gun store had 2 in stock. I was looking one over and tried out the magazine and it wouldn't release. The clerk tried it and couldn't get it out either. So I went ahead and bought the other one. It had the opposite problem - the magazine fell out whenever I touched off a round. I took it back and that was the last Savage rifle I'll buy.

 

[Texas42]

Has she tried any of your rifles cartridges? She might like some of the heavier ones. Just pointing out. . . .

 

[GM.Chief]

All we currently have rifle-wise is a 10/22 and my M-1 Garand...she loves the Garand, but that's not going to be her rifle...lol

 

[A_FIVE-O]

How about a Remington 700, (any sub model) with a Leupold Scope?

I myself have a Remington 700 VTR in .308 with a Leupold VX-II (4-12X40mm)

 

[navyguy]

I have to disagree on Savage. I bought a Savage 10FCM a few years back and the gun store had 2 in stock. I was looking one over and tried out the magazine and it wouldn't release. The clerk tried it and couldn't get it out either. So I went ahead and bought the other one. It had the opposite problem - the magazine fell out whenever I touched off a round. I took it back and that was the last Savage rifle I'll buy.

Sorry for your misfortune with the Savage. Don't own one but know a few that do and they sing the praises. I guess it's like anything you might buy, you can find happy customers and pissed off customers.

 

[bvillars]

You could find a winchester model 70 in 270 and afford a nice piece of glass for it. In my opinion they are the best off the rack rifles . you can find a pre-64 from time to time on GB.

 

[bvillars]

i would buy her a pre-64 winchester model 70. In my opinion they are the finest "rack" rifles ever made. These can be found on GB. You should have a little left over for some decent glass. Obviously I love these rifles and have been collecting them for 20+ years. I prefer the 270 for most ladies, enough knockdown without too much recoil. No matter what you purchase it should appreciate in value over a few years. Part of the fun of owning a fine weapon is the search . good luck

 

[GM.Chief]

Thank you everyone for chiming in. I appreciate all the ideas. I had wanted to pick this up as a surprise for her, but in the end I decided she should pick it out. I deirected her to this thread and several others and talked to her about different options and reasons for things. She went to a couple shops to start looking around... ofcourse the first one she went to she got lots of the "for a woman" rifles down-talk, which kinda pissed her off... but luckily the guys at the second shop were a bit more helpful (Tomball Pawn guys are good people) . She's not done shopping around or deciding as she wants to decide what is truly best for her. I'll let ya'll know what she decides and will keep an eye on the thread for any other suggestions.

 

[GM.Chief]

So here is what she decided on:
A Remington 700 VLS Centerfire Rifle - Model 700 VLS - Remington Centerfire Rifles
Chambered in .308


And a Leupold VX-II 3-9x50 Leupold || VX-II 3-9x50mm

 

[navyguy]

Hey Chief, that looks like a good choice. I think that 50MM objective will be appreciated. When I res-scoped my Sako I wanted a 50, but my rings wouldn't support that and Sako rings are dang expensive so I ended up with a 40mm. But still a nice scope. I'm sure she will enjoy that.

 

[Texas1911]

Remington / Savage / CZ chambered in .25-06 with a Redfield 3-9x40mm scope on it and Leupold rings / base.

 

[TxPhantom]

We are looking for a rifle for my wife also. She doesn't want a 30-06 like mine since she saw the bruises it left on my shoulder after sighting in the scope. I know it was my fault for paying more attention to the crosshairs than placement of the butt on my shoulder.
I was at Academy in Plano (HWY 75) and looked at their rifles in 243. They had a stainless Tikka at about $630.00 with a bolt a smooth as silk. I really liked that bolt movement! It is much smoother than my Savage 110 pre-Accutrigger rifle. If it's a accurate and dependable as my Savage it would be a excellent rifle with a Leupold or Redfield scope.

 

[navyguy]

From what I understand the Tikka is a good rifle. Not a Sako, but still quality. .243 will surely be easy for her to handle. My 12 year old granddaughter took a nice deer this last year with a .243. One shot at 100 yards and it dropped about 15 yards from where it was shot.

YouTube - ‪Layne's First Rifle Buck‬‎