Need help in buying a rifle

[Bill K]

You chose a good one. Enjoy it and have fun on future hunts.

 

[joshb]

I just bout that Remington Gamemaster in 308. Got it for a good deal. It's well used but shoots straight and groups well, was made in the 70's. Still might pick up an SBL 45-70, never can have to many guns! Thanks to all for the 308 recommendations.

Before you get that 45/70, take a look at the Ruger Marlin in 44 Magnum. It will be my next gun. I bought a Marlin Marlin in 44 and LOVE it. I have 2 45/70s but inside of 150 yards, the 44 Magnum is all I want in a big bore. Rounds are cheaper, the gun holds ten and it’s short, lite and quick to the shoulder. The only downside is the 38 twist barrel might give me trouble shooting 300 grain bullets. The Ruger Marlin has a 20 twist barrel.
Just some food for thought from a guy that has both.
Good luck!

 

[Shooting in the wind...]

Before you get that 45/70, take a look at the Ruger Marlin in 44 Magnum. It will be my next gun. I bought a Marlin Marlin in 44 and LOVE it. I have 2 45/70s but inside of 150 yards, the 44 Magnum is all I want in a big bore. Rounds are cheaper, the gun holds ten and it’s short, lite and quick to the shoulder. The only downside is the 38 twist barrel might give me trouble shooting 300 grain bullets. The Ruger Marlin has a 20 twist barrel.
Just some food for thought from a guy that has both.
Good luck!

I seen those, very beautiful lever actions, model 1894 i believe. Yea I really like those aswell as the marlin 336 in 30-30. I watched alot of hunting videos on the 1894 and that 44 Magnum looks like it smacks deer hard inside 100-150yrds. Would be a perfect rifle for me for the things I want to do.

 

[wer0206]

I just bout that Remington Gamemaster in 308. Got it for a good deal. It's well used but shoots straight and groups well, was made in the 70's. Still might pick up an SBL 45-70, never can have to many guns! Thanks to all for the 308 recommendations.

If the Gamemaster ever falls apart/barrel shoots out, some other considerations for a solid all around 308 hunting rifle would be the following (I just did a ton of research for a similar use case "budget" 308 hunting build) note that Bergara offers a lot of left handed options up and down their lineup:

• Howa 1500 barreled action (regular or heavy varmint profiles) ($430) dropped into a KRG bravo SA Howa chassis ($400) (Total: $830)
• Bergara B-14 Wilderness Sierra 20" 1:10 308 Win ($860)
• A good cheap option: Savage 110 Trail Hunter 308 Win 1:10 22” ($470), if it doesn't shoot well swap out the barrel with a criterion savage small shank prefit barrel and/or drop it into a: KRG Bravo, Ultradyne 15", or MDT Oryx chassis for a quick/easy upgrade

 

[majohnson]

Another lefty here. You can buy the parts, and build whatever you want. If you want shoot targets and be able to get some accuracy, some of what been mentioned before will not work very well. With a 308 at close range you take the risk of damaging a lot of meat. A 6mm will drop a deer at a longer distance and damage much less meat. If you want too target shoot you can easily shoot past a 1000 yards with a lot of accuracy.

My dad had a 44mag saddle rifle, it kick like a mule. The 44 mag is originally a handgun round and then they made a rifle in the same round for ammunition simplicity. Maybe it seemed like it because I was a kid shooting it. But then I had my own 30 - 30 saddle rifle which is much much better as a short range deer rifle. Not much in shooting targets at longer distances. With a saddle rifle it won’t matter L or R. You could even use a black rifle in a 6.5 Grendel and have a great deer rifle, and still target shot to 1000yds. You can build a black rifle cheap and with very little help. And use a red dot for short range stuff. And buy a scope later when you know what you really are looking at shooting. Feel free to PM me if I can help, being another left handed person.