I have $500 to buy a deer rifle and have not hunted in several years so I am not familiar with what brands and models are good now days. Anything good out there in this price range? Thanks in advance for your advice.
Do want a rifle and scope under 500, or just the rifle? Also are interested hunting any mule deer or elk?
I'd recommend you take a look at some .270s
At the upper end of you budget the Howa 1500 is a nice rifle. So is the Weatherby Vanguard.
The Stevens 200 is a good value. Savage makes some good ones to for the price. The 93, 110, and AXIS series. I've heard a lot of people recommend the Mossberg 100 ATR, but I don't have any experience with them, just heard good things. A used Rem 700 in good shape is an option. Marlin has some good option is this price range, I shot an XL7. Not a bad rifle.
And I'm going to throw a curveball here and list a surplus rifle as well. Check out a Swiss K31. You can pick up a really nice one for under $300.00. Incredibly accurate rifle, and packs a nice punch as well. The biggest obstacle is ammo, but with more and more of these fine rifles being brought in, ammo is easier to find. Also hand loading a fun and enjoyable route to go with this rifle. I read a report not too long ago on the K31 and the author mentioned that if it was produced today. it would easily be $1500.00-2000.00+ rifle. As you would expect it's built like a swiss watch, everything is extremely high quality and perfectly built. I have two of them and they both are tack drivers. IMHO it will easily out shoot all the rifles I listed above. Believe me I've shut up a lot of folks with $1000+ rifles on the range. With the Swiss GP-11 round (not a hunting round) I've hit target out to 700 yards. I think 1000 yards is a real possibility with this rifle. if you are interested in one, let me know I can give you some pointers on mounting an optic.
Oh and don't skimp on your glass. Buy the best you can afford.
At the upper end of you budget the Howa 1500 is a nice rifle. So is the Weatherby Vanguard.
The Stevens 200 is a good value. Savage makes some good ones to for the price. The 93, 110, and AXIS series. I've heard a lot of people recommend the Mossberg 100 ATR, but I don't have any experience with them, just heard good things. A used Rem 700 in good shape is an option. Marlin has some good option is this price range, I shot an XL7. Not a bad rifle.
And I'm going to throw a curveball here and list a surplus rifle as well. Check out a Swiss K31. You can pick up a really nice one for under $300.00. Incredibly accurate rifle, and packs a nice punch as well. The biggest obstacle is ammo, but with more and more of these fine rifles being brought in, ammo is easier to find. Also hand loading a fun and enjoyable route to go with this rifle. I read a report not too long ago on the K31 and the author mentioned that if it was produced today. it would easily be $1500.00-2000.00+ rifle. As you would expect it's built like a swiss watch, everything is extremely high quality and perfectly built. I have two of them and they both are tack drivers. IMHO it will easily out shoot all the rifles I listed above. Believe me I've shut up a lot of folks with $1000+ rifles on the range. With the Swiss GP-11 round (not a hunting round) I've hit target out to 700 yards. I think 1000 yards is a real possibility with this rifle. if you are interested in one, let me know I can give you some pointers on mounting an optic.
Oh and don't skimp on your glass. Buy the best you can afford.
Every once in a while, I wander through the local gun/pawn shop down here and invariably, it seems I'm drawn to magazine floorplates that signify some kind of mauser.
It's surprising how many really good used mauser-based rifles there are out there. The most frequently found are Sears and J.C. Higgins (a Sears brand). Most of these were put together by Sako and F.N.
There are also some that are actually a contract version of the Winchester Model 70.
It's not unusual to see them for less than $500 scoped. And, by the way, the scope is sometimes very nice, as well.
Most are 30-06 (which is a good thing), but there are others, as well.
If you've got the time, I'd suggest you spend some of it browsing, especially in the smaller pawn/gun shops.
It's surprising how many really good used mauser-based rifles there are out there. The most frequently found are Sears and J.C. Higgins (a Sears brand). Most of these were put together by Sako and F.N.
There are also some that are actually a contract version of the Winchester Model 70.
It's not unusual to see them for less than $500 scoped. And, by the way, the scope is sometimes very nice, as well.
Most are 30-06 (which is a good thing), but there are others, as well.
If you've got the time, I'd suggest you spend some of it browsing, especially in the smaller pawn/gun shops.
I have many deer rifles..i plink with them just when working on or towards a good hand load...Now i have a savage 10fp with accutrigger and bull barrel in .308 .nikon buckmaster scope...you build this and you are asking to spend some money..
It groups my gamekings in at .660"...the one i carry most is my mossberg 100atr,,in 30-06...love that rifle...lighter than the savage and groups are .550" best to .990" worst ,,this is with mixed brass,,no fancy stuff like neck turning
these groups are outside shooting at 100 yards dealing with oklahoma winds
I like the target crown on both of the rifles..the scope on the mossberg i like better than the nikon,,do not laugh,,Centerpoint 4x16 mill dot wally world 70bucks...I took 4 deer this last season with the 30-06..36-325+ yards
we had some fun shooting 400-750 yards with the 2 above rifles,, at 400 you could hit coffee cans every time,,at 750 wind really played heck with us both rifles were neck and neck..2 shooters and we swapped back and forth till we had shot almost all the ammo...1 shooter at a time and 1 spotter
Academy has model 200 stevens 270's on sale for 179.99...some stores still have them..i got a couple...the stock is sucky but easily fixed..the stock on the mossy is much better....
i liked the 30-06 so much i bought the wife a 243 in the 100atr..well i traded a model 200 stevens 7mm-08 for it.
i have had military rifles and they do not group any better than my old 1974 30-30 model 94...I get 1.75" groups from it at worst,,and 2.5-4" from military rifles i have owned....i sold all the military ones,,just not good for clean kills past 100 yards...although there are a few that have been treated right, and they are the exception
It groups my gamekings in at .660"...the one i carry most is my mossberg 100atr,,in 30-06...love that rifle...lighter than the savage and groups are .550" best to .990" worst ,,this is with mixed brass,,no fancy stuff like neck turning
these groups are outside shooting at 100 yards dealing with oklahoma winds
I like the target crown on both of the rifles..the scope on the mossberg i like better than the nikon,,do not laugh,,Centerpoint 4x16 mill dot wally world 70bucks...I took 4 deer this last season with the 30-06..36-325+ yards
we had some fun shooting 400-750 yards with the 2 above rifles,, at 400 you could hit coffee cans every time,,at 750 wind really played heck with us both rifles were neck and neck..2 shooters and we swapped back and forth till we had shot almost all the ammo...1 shooter at a time and 1 spotter
Academy has model 200 stevens 270's on sale for 179.99...some stores still have them..i got a couple...the stock is sucky but easily fixed..the stock on the mossy is much better....
i liked the 30-06 so much i bought the wife a 243 in the 100atr..well i traded a model 200 stevens 7mm-08 for it.
i have had military rifles and they do not group any better than my old 1974 30-30 model 94...I get 1.75" groups from it at worst,,and 2.5-4" from military rifles i have owned....i sold all the military ones,,just not good for clean kills past 100 yards...although there are a few that have been treated right, and they are the exception
Caliber depends on what kind of hunting you want to do.
Budget new gun - Marlin xs7 or xl7 academy has them for under $300 every now and then.
Or poke on gunbroker for a used Savage w/accutrigger and good scope.
Budget new gun - Marlin xs7 or xl7 academy has them for under $300 every now and then.
Or poke on gunbroker for a used Savage w/accutrigger and good scope.
Can you share a few more criteria to help narrow the scope? For $500 you can find a lot of options that are capable of shooting tighter groups than you can in the field.
What terrain do you expect to spend most of your time hunting? Hills thick with woods will limit your range to well under 200 yrds. You can acquire a fine Marlin 30/30 with a fixed 4x or 3x9 scope for under $500. Nothing has dropped more deer than the classic lever-action 30/30.
If you will be hunting deer over fields with 300+ yards of visibility you will need to be a bit more particular on your selection. I won't bore you with my reasoning, but to hit a 9" kill zone at 300 yrds, "I" need a rifle that shoots 1MOA on the bench.
How big-a-boy are ya? You don't need a 300WSM to drop a deer here in OK, but if you want a multi-purpose gun that will take elk at 300yrds, knock yourself out, no pun intended. My teenage daughter has dropped 2 bucks and a doe in their tracks over the last 3 years with a Winchester 92 in .357 mag, shots ranging from 45-70 yards. At 6'2", 210lbs, I'll be carrying it in the woods when she doesn't, but I'll stick with my 7mm mag for the big fields. There are a lot of small caliber rounds that will work fine in our fields, like .243, 22-250, etc.
Find something that you will ENJOY shooting at the range. You won't get familiar enough with your gun if it hurts, causing you to flinch, or the ammo costs too much. Shot placement is more important that velocity, energy, caliber, or bullet type.
What terrain do you expect to spend most of your time hunting? Hills thick with woods will limit your range to well under 200 yrds. You can acquire a fine Marlin 30/30 with a fixed 4x or 3x9 scope for under $500. Nothing has dropped more deer than the classic lever-action 30/30.
If you will be hunting deer over fields with 300+ yards of visibility you will need to be a bit more particular on your selection. I won't bore you with my reasoning, but to hit a 9" kill zone at 300 yrds, "I" need a rifle that shoots 1MOA on the bench.
How big-a-boy are ya? You don't need a 300WSM to drop a deer here in OK, but if you want a multi-purpose gun that will take elk at 300yrds, knock yourself out, no pun intended. My teenage daughter has dropped 2 bucks and a doe in their tracks over the last 3 years with a Winchester 92 in .357 mag, shots ranging from 45-70 yards. At 6'2", 210lbs, I'll be carrying it in the woods when she doesn't, but I'll stick with my 7mm mag for the big fields. There are a lot of small caliber rounds that will work fine in our fields, like .243, 22-250, etc.
Find something that you will ENJOY shooting at the range. You won't get familiar enough with your gun if it hurts, causing you to flinch, or the ammo costs too much. Shot placement is more important that velocity, energy, caliber, or bullet type.
If you want to go the military route, try a Swede or a Swiss. A Swede in 6.5 is seriously good. A Swiss K31 in 7.5 with a St Marie clamp-on scope is very hard to beat.
I am looking to spend 500 on the rifle alone, no glass. I own 160 acres near Cresent and max shot is around 200 with most 50-100. I do not plan to hunt anything larger than ok whitetail. I prefer bolt action.
If it's strictly whitetail, then its hard to beat a .270 with a 130 grain load. Try out the Remington 700, Weatherby Vangard, Howa 1500, and Tika T3 and pick your favorite. They will all serve you well.
Similar threads
Want To Buy
Wanna buy basic AR 15 556
