looking into buying a rifle. what would you suggest?

[glockcop]

You can get a really good .308 for cheap if you go used. A Rem 700 (highly recommended) off the used rack will not break the bank in most situations. The browning BLR is great. A good buddy of mine (ex chief) bought one a couple of years ago and it is reliable, accurate, and expensive IMO. You can also look into the new Mossberg or Marlin bolt actions that give great performance considering their modest "new gun" cost. Like I said though, I think your best bet to get a truely great gun for a good price will come from the used rack. If you are not a "gun guy" just bring somebody in-the-know with you to check it out for proper function and or damage. By the way, the .308 is a fantastic chambering for just about anything from coyotes to caribou. Good luck.

[kyratshooter]

ok mostly i mentioned those two because i found a few of each used at cabelas. the remington was like $330 and the blr was around $500 both had scopes already mounted on them. the blr had a nikon scope and i dont know what the one on the remington was. but to answer your question on price, im thinking anything under 500.

I will guarentee you the BLR is gone!

If I found a BLR in '06 or .308 with a Nikon scope on it for $500 I would spray plastic confetti from my credit card ripping it out of my wallet!

The cheapest Savage or Mosburg at Wallmart is going to go $300 and scope and mounts $100 more for the cheapist rifle on the rack.

[vahtryn]

While the ammo isn't the cheapest in the world I got a honey of a deal on an m1 carbine. The thing shoots straight and is very accurate. Very light weight for what it is and can easily take down game. I'm very happy with this purchase and am considering making it my survival rifle. Sure I could blow apart a squirrel with it but I have a dog and the ability to snare for game that size.

For the 250 I spent I got a great carbine, an amazing stock with it and 500 rounds of ammo with 10 10 round mags. How can someone not turn that down once the FFL went through?

In a survival situation you really don't need too much to kill an animal. In north america you're mostly going to come across deer and pigs and .30 calibre can handle both. As a defensive weapon it also works very well because it is semi automatic.

For legal purposes because it's a WWII gun there's not too many worries about it.

I've had a Mosin before, unfortunately the barrel warped with some bad ammo and then cracked. It was an old gun but a hell of a lot of fun to shoot. For now my two go to rifles are my m1 and my 1903 so I can have the option of .30-06.

[MaineBear]

I'm looking for something that's not too expensive, but still powerful enough and accurate enough to do everything i will ever need it to do. what do you guys think?

You're asking a lot from a single rifle; huge difference in a squirrel gun and a big game (moose) rifle. For simplicity you really can't beat a simple bolt action - easy to operate and anyone can maintain. No real complex parts and not much you can do to screw it up. As for size, anything in the .30 caliber would be a safe bet (think .30-.30, .30-'06, and .308). This family of cartridges are also abundant and easily available at many stores (I love the Lapua, but can never find it in stock, and that's just as important as stopping power).

At the end of the day, you didn't miss out on much with the Mosin-Nagant purchase. I've refurbished 3 and built 4 custom off the action. All are good guns, but they need lots of work once they come out of storage, and you're never assured the barrel wont be Swiss cheese or the action too loose and unsafe.

Frankly, I would find a local gun shop that employs a competent staff, including a gun smith, and get to know them. Let them know what you're looking for. A good quality, lightly used .30-'06 or .308 bolt action will run you around $300-$450 (posibly less if you are buying off season, or from a shop in a more urban area away from hunting).

Good luck,

Maine Bear

[Shalako]

Both are of excellent quality. A plain old Marlin 30-30 is also a good choice. You don't have to go top dollar to get a good gun for survival purposes. The 30-30 is not long range, but if you kill all of the game within it's reach you'll do OK.

[Bushman]

you "like Lever actions??"

get yourself a Marlin, or a Winchester and get some Hornady 'flex tips', these new bullets will outstrip the old flat nosed projectiles by a good 200 fps in your standard lever action of whatever brand. Tube fed lever guns have always had to have flat nosed bullets as it was thought that pointed projectiles would cause a 'chain fire' in the magazine when the rifle is fired. Flat nosed bullets are 'less ballistically efficient' than pointed nosed bulets.........and hence 'slower'............however.........

Hornady is producing 'Leverevolution' ammo with a flex tip in all std lever calibres, 30-30, 45-70 etc, plus a few 'newies' .........i.e. souped up versions of these, have a look at the Hornady website 'www.hornady.com'

have a squizz and talk to your local gunshop fella...........

Harry

[Mad Cow]

I have my Dads BLR. I lusted after that rifle for years.