A friend of mine is getting ready for the upcoming deer season, and he's getting ready to take a trip for rifle again. Last year he borrowed a 25-06 of mine, but he didn't like it for 2 reasons:
One, it's a bit too long for him. (sized for my Dad who was 6'2)
Two, it doesn't have sling swivels, so it made it hard to get into a tree stand.
This year I was going to lend him the only other rifle I have that I thought would be suitable for him - an 8x57 Mauser sporter with an old Weaver fixed 6x scope. It's got a fair amount of recoil - I'm not sure he liked it.
Long story short, he decided he wants to get a rifle of his own, but he's on a bit of a budget - looking at about $600 - and with the trip coming up this weekend, I'm going to try to facilitate getting him set up - get the rifle in hand, mount the scope, and get it zeroed.
Right now this is what I'm steering him towards as being a solid bang for the buck:
-- Ruger American in 243 Winchester - my rationale for this is that it's known for being accurate with a decent trigger out of the box, and 243 is a bit more recoil friendly than other options. He definitely didn't like the recoil of the 8x57 Mauser. I doubt he'll ever hunt anything bigger than Whitetail, but that's a bridge that can be crossed later if it comes to that - the 243 is known for being a solid deer gun, particularly for the folks who want less recoil.
-- Vortex Crossfire 2, 3-9x40 - there are definitely better scopes to be had, but I'm not sure there is on the budget he's working with. Maybe a Burris?
The kicker is that it also needs to be something that Bass Pro at Arundel Mills has in stock, unless someone else knows of some other place here in Central Maryland with a great deal and everything else needed to get him going because it all needs to happen this week - the trip is this coming weekend. I figured that Bass Pro will have everything to get him set up - rifle, scope, ammo, rings, bag, etc. I can do the setup for him - I've got the tools and knowledge to get everything put together, get him bore-sighted, and then get him to the range to get a proper zero.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
One, it's a bit too long for him. (sized for my Dad who was 6'2)
Two, it doesn't have sling swivels, so it made it hard to get into a tree stand.
This year I was going to lend him the only other rifle I have that I thought would be suitable for him - an 8x57 Mauser sporter with an old Weaver fixed 6x scope. It's got a fair amount of recoil - I'm not sure he liked it.
Long story short, he decided he wants to get a rifle of his own, but he's on a bit of a budget - looking at about $600 - and with the trip coming up this weekend, I'm going to try to facilitate getting him set up - get the rifle in hand, mount the scope, and get it zeroed.
Right now this is what I'm steering him towards as being a solid bang for the buck:
-- Ruger American in 243 Winchester - my rationale for this is that it's known for being accurate with a decent trigger out of the box, and 243 is a bit more recoil friendly than other options. He definitely didn't like the recoil of the 8x57 Mauser. I doubt he'll ever hunt anything bigger than Whitetail, but that's a bridge that can be crossed later if it comes to that - the 243 is known for being a solid deer gun, particularly for the folks who want less recoil.
-- Vortex Crossfire 2, 3-9x40 - there are definitely better scopes to be had, but I'm not sure there is on the budget he's working with. Maybe a Burris?
The kicker is that it also needs to be something that Bass Pro at Arundel Mills has in stock, unless someone else knows of some other place here in Central Maryland with a great deal and everything else needed to get him going because it all needs to happen this week - the trip is this coming weekend. I figured that Bass Pro will have everything to get him set up - rifle, scope, ammo, rings, bag, etc. I can do the setup for him - I've got the tools and knowledge to get everything put together, get him bore-sighted, and then get him to the range to get a proper zero.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
