I am looking to buy a bolt action 30.06. I want to be wise with my money and bolt action hunting rifles are not my specialty.
I plan to use this on a pig hunt in California to start. The guy taking us is a experienced hunter. He has access to private ranch land.
Today I looked at Howa,Ruger,Tikka and Weatherby all in the $500 to $700 range. Some were very heavy and some did not feel right when up to my shoulder… I think it was the Tikka that was so light.
I plan on using a spare 3-9x40 scope I have.
Any suggestions would be helpful, I’m no hunter.
Sorry If some how I missed a thread on this same question.
Also what Ammo? I need a good punch and I think we can only use soft tip.
Why .30-06, especially for pig? If you are looking for decent and inexpensive look to some of the Savage hunting packages. Personally, I’d look no larger than .308 for a good general, all-around caliber.
What kind of ranges are you hunting at and how big of pigs? I’m with kmrtnsn on the .308 rifle. I’ve got a rem 700 spl in 30.06 now and would love to swap it with someone for a .308 rem 700. Ammo commonality with other battle rifles would be nice.
As for ammo. Just about any soft point in a 30.06 is going to murder a hog if your shot placement is good. I"m a fan of Rem core lokt or Winchester soft point 165gr bullets. My 700 is a big fan of the Winchester ammo for accuracy.
Lately, I’ve seen Rem 700 in the $400 range and if IIRC, it included a cheap scope. I think it was at Cabelas and Dick’s. Academy would probably match their prices.
Honestly if this is a hunting gun, why not a Stevens 200? They are cheap (a few on gb for 270ish right now) and from everything i’ve heard they are accurate.
30-06 will do anything the .308 will do and more with heavier bullets. .308 gets the nod if you want to go subsonic in the future or have other battle rifles in the same caliber.
i would look for a gently used remington 700 BDL in .30-06 and use the 3-9x scope with 180gr core-lokts. thats been the standard for my family and friends as far as deer hunting in MO, KS and TN.
another option i would look at is the Savage 110 or similar stevens. my first rifle was a Mossberg 100 ATR in .30-06 and it was a decent shooter with a bushnell 3-9x off the shelf at walmart.
another thought to check into, but i think i remember hearing in the past that California was going to mandate lead free bullets? i may be wrong or they might not have went through with it but i’d double check.
A few years ago I went looking for my first bolt gun, with a budget of ~$500 and in the same caliber you are considering. I ended up with a Weatherby Vanguard. It is a bit heavier than the others, but the stock was much nicer being a B&C and the accuracy guarantee didn’t hurt. I would recommend the same if you want something nice out of the box and do not intend to change anything later. Otherwise a Savage 110 or Remington 700 will have a greater aftermarket available for changes.
The Weatherby Vaguard (Howa) is a good value and higher quality than alternatives at the same price point. It’s basically a copy of a Sako action with horrendous roll marks. Performance will be good though and fewer corners are cut in production (unlike the others mentioned). Good solid rifle that is easy to upgrade over time.
For clarification, .308 was the largest caliber recommended as an “all-around” general purpose cartridge, too big in my opinion for feral hogs under 500lbs for most short range shooting solutions that feral hogs are taken at.
Well you didnt meet mine. It was a stevens 200. Theres a thread on snipers hide about it. I did alot of work to it, never shot better than 3 moa. Absolute trash. I would stay the hell away from anything stevens, savage is probably ok.
Thanks for all the replies. Some good info.
I do know I could use a larger caliber rifle, but I also wanted a good deer rifle.
I asked the guy in the know about what I needed and he says he kills the pigs with a 30.06.
So I went today and held a Marlin ($320 wthout scope) and a Tikka,
…then I got to thinking and went and checked my GFs gun safe,and I found she has a Savage 110 30.06…
So I am going to save my money for a good optic and use her rifle…for this trip, but going to check into some of the stuff I learned on this thread.
Look into Ruger’s M77. I have one with a manlicher stock, it’s a carbine so it’s nice and compact to carry around all day. Also it has iron sights which most bolt rifles these days dont have.
