Kurnal wrote:Spent all weekend reading this forum and watching various reviews.
This is my first rifle for 35 years since growing up on a farm, where we had .22's, 22-250, shotguns and a few others.
Gun will be initially be used for 60% hunting, 40% range for practice and fun.
Of the hunting 80% will be foxes, rabbits and 20% possibly small deer. I wouldn't envisage taking anything too long range. Wont be trekking for days at a time. One day hunts mainly. Will buy another larger gun if our hunting dictates we need it.
Decided on a .223 and will order in the next few days. Not looking at anything too budget, if spending a bit more gets you a better product, happy to do so. Current shortlist and some comments. Happy to spend around $2,000 +/- on the rifle and scope.
Will get my hands on some of these for look and feel at the LGS prior to final selection.
Lithgow LA102 - quite heavy compared to others, Aussie made
Howa 1500 - look good value, but possibly not same quality as some others. Not sure of the three variants - ultralight, sporter, varmint ?
Ruger American - seems cheap, as above
Tikka T3 Lite stainless - I like the look and price point of this one.
Sauer S100 Ceratech - not as many reviews, looks nice though
Happy to consider others ?
I have a few very beginner questions (please forgive my terminology, as I may have some of this wrong):
- Given above usage, is it useful to get a gun capable of larger ammunition ie 1/8 v 1/12 twist.
- Does barrel length affect much ?
- I am having trouble coming up with much scope information. Any recommendations? Do you get a big increase in quality with increase in price.
- No idea on what scope magnification to get ?
- Do you normally test your own gun with various ammunitions for accuracy when you first get it, then stick with the same ammo ? The reviews show large discrepancies between ammo's in different guns.
That's about it for now.
Sorry for long post.
Kurnal
If you intend to hunt deer, I'd go something larger. NSW recommends a minimum .243Win for small deer, .270Win for large deer, only a recommendation, but worth sticking to just in case you ever find yourself charged under the animal welfare act. In Victoria we don't have minimum cartridges, only bullet diameter and weight, but again they are .243" 80gn and .270" 130gn, but are law down here. Anybody hunting deer in NSW I think has to consider the possibility of coming down here sometime to hunt, you don't have to book, or do an R-Licence, or wear orange, or carry a GPS, etc. We just get a game licence for $66 per year and go deer hunting any time we feel the need. So it's worth looking at something that allows you that option in the future. My suggestion would be .308 if you're stuck with factory ammo, or 7mm-08 if you load your own. Of course, you could just borrow a suitable rifle for the job.
If you do decide on .223Rem to hunt larger species then yes, go 8"-twist so you can shoot 80gn bullets. Barrel length will affect carrying the rifle in difficult terrain above anything else. Shorter barrel is lighter and less likely to catch on foliage. But a light barrel may not be suitable for prolonged target shooting.
Magnification is going to be personal choice, but anything higher than about 4-power is going to make close/fast shots more difficult. A scope also adds significant weight and bulk to the rifle, you might find you prefer to hunt in heavier terrain without a scope. And as many modern rifles don't come with open sights, that will probably restrict you to a red-dot or reflex sight.
Yes, always test ammo to find what your rifle shoots best with.
I would strongly recommend also getting a .22LR just so you can do _lots_ of practice for little cost.