Hunting rifle question

You have plenty in that price range. The Ruger American/Predator models are a great choice. Good choice of calibers. My daughter has one in 7mm08. My lease partner liked it so much he bought one in .308 this year. He retired his heavy BAR 300 Win Mag. Killed a buck with the .308 last Saturday for the Physically Challenged hunt. One shot, dead right there.

I'll second the Ruger American series. I have 2. One American Ranch in 6.5 Grendel, and one in 7mm-08. For the price, they're a solid shooting rifle. Can always polish the action, upgrade trigger, etc. later on. But they'll get you started. Have heard good things about the Savage Axis series as well, but have no experience with em.

Find a savage axis with the adjustable trigger in 308 with a vortex scope. Done.

Tikka T3x can be had for $750 from Sportmans Warehouse in the standard synthetic stock/blued barrel Lite version. I'd grab one of those in 270, 308, or 30-06, slap on a Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x40, and call it a damn fine day.

ETA: this example would be on the higher end of things to start out with. All the previous recs are perfectly fine and maybe more cost efficient. Nothing wrong with a Savage rifle and scope combo to serve you for a few years until you figure out if it's something you really like to do.

As I've said many times before, this is the golden age of affordable rifles.

In that budget range, tikka T3 is the obvious choice, in .30-06, .308 or .270

That'll get you an very accurate, very lightweight, very durable rifle that will outlive you. It doesn't make any sense to get anything else. It's at the top end of your budget, but honestly they should cost more like $1,500 just because of how great they are.

Congrats, Jiggy. It's good to hear of another new hunter joining the fraternity.
Lots of good suggestions thus far. You can get a good quality bolt action rifle/scope combo w/o having to spend very much money. To me, it sounds like you’d be well served w/ an entry level gun. A separate scope would be good if the budget allows, but it is not mandatory right now. I’ve had good luck w/ package gun+scope deals in the past. If you enjoy deer hunting, you can always upgrade the scope later.

I’d suggest a bolt gun in 260 Rem, 7-08, 308 Win, 270 Win or 30-06. The 6.5 Creedmore will work too, but be aware ahead of time re: local availability of ammo loaded w/ a bullet designed for deer hunting, not match shooting. The 30-30 is always a good choice for deer hunting as long as ranges will not be too long. I’d get a gun chambered in one of those rounds w/ ammo that can be found locally or on ‘net. My local WM doesn't carry the 260 Rem, CM nor the 7-08.

The Axis looks to be a good gun. The only Mossberg bolt action I shot was very accurate. I have a Marlin bolt action that's also very inexpensive and very accurate. Howa, Weatherby Vanguard, Thompson Center (may’ve been discontinued) and Ruger also make inexpensive bolt actions of good quality. I'd stay away from the Remington Model 783. Since they all function pretty similarly, go to a store, put your hands on the guns you're considering and handle them. How does it point for you? What does the balance feel like? Do the bolt, safety and trigger feel better on one gun or the other?

As far as optics, I’d get a Weaver one piece base and Burris Signature Z-rings.

Keep us updated.

Bought both of my sons Savage Axis combos when they turned 16 (one in .30-06, the other .308) from Bass Pro. Came with a decent enough scope to get the job done. All these years later I'll take one of those out myself if they've left it in the safe at my place in Alabama. Puts a bullet where you want it. Can't recommend them as a starter rifle enough.

My hunting buddy did the same with his kids, except he went down the Ruger path.

Not sure you can screw up with either choice.

30-06. You can kill anything walking with it.

Buy plenty of bullets and target shoot groups of three.

Walk around with your gun and practice getting your scope picture down. You ought to be able to throw your gun up on a flying bird and have it in your scope.

While you are shooting have your buddy load your gun out of sight and hand it to you. Tell him to randomly not load a round. That will tell you if you have a flinch to work on.

You could go check out Pawn Shops, they always have deer rifles already scoped for a decent price.

I bought a 30-06 Woods Master at one when I was 16 and used it for 25 years, think I paid $300.00 for rifle and scope.

Ruger american in 308 with leupold freedom 3x9x40 hunt plex