Gun Advice - Please.

[Ole and Lena]

You've gotten a lot of good and some overly complicated advice. I'm going to keep it simple. Here's your basic bush gun. https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-1916.html

I would get one of these. Time proven mauser bolt action. Absolutely reliable in all weather conditions. Very affordable at under $200 (your local gun dealer will likely add a $25 transfer fee to your order). Simple, safe, effective in good old .308 Winchester (7.62X51 NATO in military parlance). If you want greater range, any local gunsmith can easily adapt this model to carry a scope. It's too powerful for putting down hogs for butcher. Get a cheap .22 for that and other small pests around the place.

About the .308 Winchester cartridge: Currently used by many NATO members as a sniping and GPLMG round. Widely available with suitable hunting bullets from 125-180 grains suitable for any North American game animal up to 300 yards. Inexpensive practice FMJ ammo is also widely available. I consider it a near ideal round for deer, black bear and hogs with a 165 gr SP bullet.

 

[bmvf]

You've gotten a lot of good and some overly complicated advice. I'm going to keep it simple. Here's your basic bush gun. https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-1916.html

I would get one of these. Time proven mauser bolt action. Absolutely reliable in all weather conditions. Very affordable at under $200 (your local gun dealer will likely add a $25 transfer fee to your order). Simple, safe, effective in good old .308 Winchester (7.62X51 NATO in military parlance). If you want greater range, any local gunsmith can easily adapt this model to carry a scope. It's too powerful for putting down hogs for butcher. Get a cheap .22 for that and other small pests around the place.

About the .308 Winchester cartridge: Currently used by many NATO members as a sniping and GPLMG round. Widely available with suitable hunting bullets from 125-180 grains suitable for any North American game animal up to 300 yards. Inexpensive practice FMJ ammo is also widely available. I consider it a near ideal round for deer, black bear and hogs with a 165 gr SP bullet.

I would agree with the .308. You don't seem to want a gun for heavy use or big time hunting. In that case the .308 would work well. However, I'd go with a pump action if semi-auto is not legal for game in your area. I only buy bolt action rifles but that's because I prefer accuracy and have shot a lot of bolt actions. If you haven't shot much bolt, will likely not shoot far, or do not desire extreme accuracy, a pump action will work. They might have more problems and can jam easier.

Another option would be a shotgun. You could use a slug barrel and/or a shot barrel. You could use buck shot if legal for large game in your area.

You won't be able to find a good cartridge for shooting pigs in the head and shooting large game IMO.

 

[MeepBeep]

I would go with an AR lower, with a few different uppers... They don't call it the LEGO gun for nothing...

For culling and home protection, a .223/5.56 shorter barrel upper should work well... If your state allows I would get a short barrel upper for this use...

Then for hunting I would purchase a full length barrel 300 Blackout upper...

With those two calibers the magazines are universal and both uppers will fit on the same lower without any mods or changes... Also if you reload you can resize and reload your spent .223/5.56 into 300 Blackout yourself and safe some money...

And if you decide at a later time you REALLY need some brutal stopping power for big game hunting, you can get a .458 SOCOM upper for that rifle, and again the magazines are universal (although 50% capacity) and it drops right on the same lower...

 

[yardbird88]

When it comes to deer hunting, one of America’s classics has always been the venerable .30-30 lever-action. Many deer hunters took his or her first buck with a Winchester Model 94 or a Marlin 336, or any of a dozen other similarly styled rifles. The .30-30 cartridge has the reputation of having killed more deer than any other cartridge. It’s been around for more than 100 years, so the rumor is likely more fact than fiction. In fact, some would even wager that to this day it still kills more deer than any other cartridge.But why does the popularity of the .30-30 persist to this day? Surely modern cartridges such as the .243 or .270 are much better deer rounds. They have a much longer effective range, and shoot much flatter than the .30-30. One answer is that the Marlin 336 and Henry Repeating Rifle are inexpensive rifles by comparison, making them popular entry-level guns. In addition, .30-30 ammunition is significantly less expensive than most modern hunting cartridges. What’s more, most deer are shot in the woods at distances that rarely exceed 75 yards, a range at which the .30-30 excels. Finally, the .30-30 has extremely light recoil, making it popular among women and younger inexperienced hunters.
http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/author/davidd/

 

[KGreene]

When it comes to deer hunting, one of America’s classics has always been the venerable .30-30 lever-action. Many deer hunters took his or her first buck with a Winchester Model 94 or a Marlin 336, or any of a dozen other similarly styled rifles. The .30-30 cartridge has the reputation of having killed more deer than any other cartridge. It’s been around for more than 100 years, so the rumor is likely more fact than fiction. In fact, some would even wager that to this day it still kills more deer than any other cartridge.But why does the popularity of the .30-30 persist to this day? Surely modern cartridges such as the .243 or .270 are much better deer rounds. They have a much longer effective range, and shoot much flatter than the .30-30. One answer is that the Marlin 336 and Henry Repeating Rifle are inexpensive rifles by comparison, making them popular entry-level guns. In addition, .30-30 ammunition is significantly less expensive than most modern hunting cartridges. What’s more, most deer are shot in the woods at distances that rarely exceed 75 yards, a range at which the .30-30 excels. Finally, the .30-30 has extremely light recoil, making it popular among women and younger inexperienced hunters.
http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/author/davidd/

Not to mention that its highly more effective as a brush gun as opposed to the higher velocity of the more popular calibers.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have been following the thread and originally suggest a 12 ga.

I am changing that. after re-reading the first post I think I was on the right track but too large.

I think you need a .410.

They are a light fairly cheap gun with plentiful cheap ammo.

They should take a boar down with little trouble. For processing hogs they will not be overkill.

I assume you are talking about a black bear. A 410 is adequate for a black bear, but shot placement is essential.

As far as bolt action. pump or semi-automatic that is personal choice as is wood, plastic, as is color or pattern of camo, black or whatever.

Depending on where you live or decide to hunt deer, you may not be able to use a rifle, a 410 you can most places.

Many scoff at the 410 as a kids gun or old mans gun and it is. It is also easy to use and care for, You can pepper predators to scare them off, Or you can go to heavy loads and kill them.

They work for bird hunting or small game.

Just a thought.

No sense getting way down in the weeds with gun specs if you want a simply all round gun. Every gun mentioned has good point, they also have bad points or are over kill for something.

 

[CityBredCountry]

30-06. great gun, lots of pack, versatile for many game/kills. A Remington 700 has a Great and long track record, and one of the most accurate rifles out of the box. Good price too.

 

[RichnSteph]

I think you need a .410.

They are a light fairly cheap gun with plentiful cheap ammo.

Just to throw this out there .410 ammo here is upwards of $15 a box whereas 12 gauge is closer to $7. .410 ammo hasn't been inexpensive for a decade.

RichnSteph

 

[duluthralphie]

Just to throw this out there .410 ammo here is upwards of $15 a box whereas 12 gauge is closer to $7. .410 ammo hasn't been inexpensive for a decade.

RichnSteph

I have not found 12 ga shells anywhere near 7 bucks.. Is that target loads or seconds?

I think the last ones I bout were around 15 bucks.

I went and looked online and found all shotgun shells around the same price.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/che...iscount-prices-c-10480_14626_11576_16381.html



And talking about prices, What about the inability to find 22s and what a box costs? .....wow

 

[RichnSteph]

I have not found 12 ga shells anywhere near 7 bucks.. Is that target loads or seconds?

I think the last ones I bout were around 15 bucks.

I went and looked online and found all shotgun shells around the same price.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/che...iscount-prices-c-10480_14626_11576_16381.html



And talking about prices, What about the inability to find 22s and what a box costs? .....wow

Target loads (I don't know what a "seconds" is).

Remington STS in 12 gauge at the local Academy is $7.99 a box. (I buy these because I can reload them on average 10 times before the hull is useless)

Remington STS in .410 at the local Academy is $15.99 a box.
.

Slug loads.

Remington Slugger box of 5 12 gauge slugs is $6.99

Remington Slugger box of 5 .410 slugs is $4.79

In the slug department I stand corrected. Jeez that's a lot of money for 5 rounds.


Don't even get me started on .22 rounds.

RichnSteph