re: Deer hunting rifle for a beginner *Update-page 4*

Buy a hunting bullet, sub moa doesn’t matter at the max distance 98% of the population shoots, and I’ve yet to see a rifle produced after the mid 90s that doesn’t pattern a federal premium bulllet.

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Don't go crazy on your first rifle, get into as economically as possible. Folks will tell you to buy a scope that costs more than the rifle, don't do that. Start at your local pawn shops. Find a rifle that fits you that looks barely used. If it has a scope, it will be 50/50 whether the scope is good, so consider the scope lagniappe. If you do have to ditch the scope, buy a reasonably priced replacement from Academy.

You're not snipping the Taliban at 1000 yards, you shooting one of the dumbest animals on the plant at 100 yards. Whatever rifle you buy will hold its value, so if you get the hunting bug, you can sell that rifle and easily upgrade. Whatever you buy make sure there is plenty of ammo for it, walk through Academy and see what they have a lot of on the shelves, .308, 30.06, .270, .243 and many others will be plentiful.

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Unfortunately I did about the exact opposite of this. I might buy a 2,000 dollar gun like a Christensen Arms, and then put a Nightforce scope on it, and then a year later buy another weapon just because of a video I found on youtube or various whims. Sometimes this board is my inspiration for my bad habits.

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Stay away from a 6.5 cripplemore

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The creedmoor is just fine if you put a hunting bullet where it’s supposed to go. That caliber is used a lot with match bullets that are pretty and don’t perform on deer.
Good try though.

Your prefer an inexperienced hunter choosing the right bullets. He better learn how to blood trail really quick. Or not be trendy and go with any of the rounds mentioned that have been dropping deer for 50+ years. At the ranges he’ll be shooting a cripplemore is less affective than say a 06, 270, 7mm08, 308. 6.5 Swede is a better option than a cripple more. 99% of hunter don’t shoot past 150 yards. Good try though.

Through the .243 in there too.

I hunt deer with a grendel

I saved for and bought my first rifle when I was 14.

I'm 45 now. I've hunted and killed all varieties of game on 3 continents.

I have 2 x over-packed 24 gun safes with various pistols, shotguns, and rifles.

But, (my nostalgia aside for my "first") a wood stock, bolt action Remington 700 is about the most dependable rifle I can recommend.

Ruger American .308 for $399 at PSA

Lots of poo bullet choices out there for a bunch of calibers. Combined with people who couldn't hit a barn if they were standing inside of it and taking tough shots leads to a lot of cripples and fruitless blood trails. For a grown man who can shoot well the caliber is basically irrelevant. Basically anything legal to shoot at deer can effectively kill deer with good bullet and shot choice. It's more important to practice and be a competent hunter than to worry about the rifle.

I hunt with a .338 win mag because I like the rifle so much. It's wonderfully effective on deer. I could've killed every deer that I killed with the .338 just as well with a 6.5 Creedmoor....

Update:

One of the local outdoor stores where I live decided that they are going to move away from selling firearms and focus more on selling other outdoor stuff and clothing. The owner put every firearm in sell and had some big discounts.

Unfortunately, I had drill this past weekend and their stock was almost gone by the time I went over on Monday. They only had two rifles left. One was a Winchester XPR 308 that had a Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40 scope and Ruger American 270 with the same scope.

Ended up getting the Winchester. I liked the Ruger but I wanted a 308. The XPR felt fairly comfortable and the trigger felt smooth. Don’t know much about the XPR and don’t know if it is a good rifle. I haven’t had an opportunity to shoot it yet.

Has anyone owned a XPR? Any opinions on it?