Rookie needing advice

[cody21peterson]

Hey guys I’m wanting to dive headfirst into rifle hunting. I’ve been doing just archery for the last 7 years. I suck and my empty freezer is telling me to try something different. I haven’t touched a rifle in about 12 years. I have zero experience with the dial up scopes. I saw a nice Bergara HMR 300 win mag with a vortex viper hs lr 6-24x50 scope in the classifieds for $1300. Is this a pretty good deal? Good setup? I live in Utah and plan to hunt elk, mule deer, black bear, pronghorn, and maybe a moose in like 50 years. I should also mention I have a pretty tight budget right now. Not looking to spend more than $1500. Any advice is greatly appreciated!


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[Bubblehide]

When it comes to dialing, I am not a fan of Vortex scopes as they are well known for the owner needing to utilize the warranty. If you want a reliable dialing scope, read through some of the testing of scopes that include a few drop and side impact tests along with ladder tests, return to zero... and chose one of the few that passes with flying colors.

I have never owned a Bergara, so I do not consider myself to be qualified to comment on them specifically. However, plenty of people speak well of Bergara.

Since you posted in the LR forum along with the species mentioned, I will add that my opinion is that a 300 is the smallest caliber I would go with. But, plenty of people will contradict my opinion with good reasoning.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

First piece of advice
Lose the Ducks

I'm guessing you don't hand load, what ranges are you hoping to hunt at?
If youre buying factory ammo and are looking to kill deer and elk beyond 500 yards I'd say get a 300 prc and shoot 212 or 225 eldms.

I really feel that the scope is the most important part of a long range setup, and wouldn't recommend going cheap.
Bushnell makes an LRTS that can be had for around $1000, or the DMRII

 

[cody21peterson]

I would love to practice on targets up to 1,000 yards and see how comfortable I am after getting familiar with the gun and scope. I just want to be able to hit an animal at distance if I had to.


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[cody21peterson]

First piece of advice
Lose the Ducks

I'm guessing you don't hand load, what ranges are you hoping to hunt at?
If youre buying factory ammo and are looking to kill deer and elk beyond 500 yards I'd say get a 300 prc and shoot 212 or 225 eldms.

I really feel that the scope is the most important part of a long range setup, and wouldn't recommend going cheap.
Bushnell makes an LRTS that can be had for around $1000, or the DMRII

Yeah definitely won’t be hand loading.


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[Bubblehide]

Yeah definitely won’t be hand loading.


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There are companies like Unknow Munitions that do the hand loading for you. If you actually want to get into LR hunting-shooring, it can get expensive if you want to developers precision; the skill, knowledge and abilities...

 

[robby denning]

I started with simple hash marks and can shoot to 700 with no dialing.I realize i can’t hit the deer in the next state, but love the simplicity and the scopes run cheaper and lighter. Mines a Vortex LH but I’ve hear Leupold does a great job with hash systems too.


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[mmac]

Agree with Rob, the hash marks are surprisingly accurate if you practice a little with them and faster when seconds count. I wish my scope had them this year on my hunt.

If you haven't shot a lot, a simple 22lr is good to also get. Practicing drop and dialing with those is cheap and fun.

 

[wind gypsy]

I'd start with this:

Product Description

Product Description | Camera Land NY

cameralandny.com

or this:

Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15x50 MRAD Riflescope RZR-1591

FREE SHIPPING on Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15x50 MRAD Riflescope RZR-1591

www.eurooptic.com

or a used SWFA 3-9x42 off the classifieds for cheaper.

And a Bergara B14 Ridge in 300 WM or PRC (if they make them?).

 

[rayporter]

buying ammo means you wont practice enough to shoot past 300 for a looooog time. because there is no ammo out there or it very expensive.

dont shoot past your limitations. if you cant sit or flop down and hit a plate, dont try it with game

 

[deadwolf]

I’d think a Tikka in 7 Rem mag and a bushnell lrhs would be a good set up, pic rail, good rings and bipod....then practice


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[JRMiller]

If you havent been shooting in a long time i wouldn't invest in a scope with a reticle that requires dialing.
Dialing adds a risk of error that i personally dont think is appropriate for hunting, at least for a newbie.
With a good long distance zero (like 200-300 yards) and little practice youll do better.

 

[Stefan]

So, you can dial or you can use the reticle on the scope to aid you depending on the reticles you are using.. I think everyone has their preferred reticle.

If dialing, the big concern is tracking. So, finding a good optic that tracks repeatedly is important. You can do a box check to confirm tracking of an optic. I would say in this are the "buy once, cry once" rule is good to go by.

 

[Stefan]

If you havent been shooting in a long time i wouldn't invest in a scope with a reticle that requires dialing.
Dialing adds a risk of error that i personally dont think is appropriate for hunting, at least for a newbie.
With a good long distance zero (like 200-300 yards) and little practice youll do better.

I have seen experienced guys get flustered at a match and dial incorrectly leading to more frustration and greater error. You can have the best of both with repeatable tracking and a good reticle and not worry about dialing until you gain in experience. It can have a place but you need to be proficient and have rehearsed its execution.

 

[wind gypsy]

I have seen experienced guys get flustered at a match and dial incorrectly leading to more frustration and greater error. You can have the best of both with repeatable tracking and a good reticle and not worry about dialing until you gain in experience. It can have a place but you need to be proficient and have rehearsed its execution.

I don't see an increased risk in dialing wrong compared to holding wrong.

If you havent been shooting in a long time i wouldn't invest in a scope with a reticle that requires dialing.

Are you saying you wouldn't recommend a strait duplex?

 

[hunting1]

If money is short start with a SWFA fixed 10!

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

For a rifle look at a Tikka or Savage; just two examples but many manufactures produce rifles that will shoot MOA or better. Both can be had for $700 (or less) if you shop around. They'll never win a beauty contest but they will give more expensive rifles a run for the money when it comes time to shoot.

For calibers I'd look at some of the the 7s (7mm RM or 7mm-08) and some of the 30s (30-06/300 WSM/300 WM). All will kill your target species so It really comes down to how recoil sensitive you are. Check the ego and be honest with yourself.

Spend the rest of the money on the scope. Only your eyes can tell you if you want to use FFP or SFP; my eyes hate FFP at lower magnifications. You can find Leopold VX5s for well under $800 if you shop around. No issues with the two that I have. Avoid Vortex scopes unless it is from the Razor line. Nightforce SHV can push you over budget but it would not be something that you'd regret in the long term. No experience with SWFA other than they're out of stock more often than not.

Play with using both hashes and dialing for distance. There's pros and cons for both. Either way you still have to validate everything. Figure out which works best for you and run with it. I use hashmarks for snap shots within a certain distance and dial for everything else.

Lastly, your focus should be on sound shooting fundamentals and ensuring that you know your rifles ballistics. It'll make extending your distances easier and more consistent.

 

[archp625]

I started with simple hash marks and can shoot to 700 with no dialing.I realize i can’t hit the deer in the next state, but love the simplicity and the scopes run cheaper and lighter. Mines a Vortex LH but I’ve hear Leupold does a great job with hash systems too.


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Listen to this guy. He knows his stuff. I would start with a BDC style reticle at first then later on get a scope that dials. To get a scope that dials accurately you will have to spend more money than getting a scope that will hold a zero with hash marks.

I will also throw in the Bergara HMR seems like a really heavy rifle to hunt with, I guys that do but I would not want to hike up a mountain with that rifle. If you are set on a Bergara look into the B-14 Hunter rifle.

 

[nphunter]

I think you are on the right track finding a used rifle already setup. Any caliber 6mm and up will be fine, some good all-around calibers are 06 based, 25-06, 270, 280 rem, and 30-06, they are all capable of long-range shots and killing elk. Personally, I love the 280 Remington and 280AI, my long-range rifle is a custom model 700 in 280AI topped with a Vortex HST scope, I'm about $1700 into the setup. It shoots great on steel out to 1K and is a hammer on deer and elk with a 168gr VLD, the rifle has killed 6 elk and 5 deer in the last 4 years at various ranges. The longest shot on an elk was 330 yards which is far from long range but we always practice getting as close as we can before making a shot.

I personally have never killed a big game animal with the rifle since I mostly bow hunt. My wife and kids shoot it and have all killed a lot. I have a mil dot version of the scope and a mill dot app on my phone and can very easily get windage and elevation and make a quick adjustment for a shot, I also have a drop chart printed and on the rifle as well. Shooting long range is fun, I did it a lot when I first got the rifle all set up but now I just take it out once or twice a year just to verify it's on. I have had zero issues with that scope and it has been all over the place and packed around the woods a lot.

 

[Phil4]

I don't see an increased risk in dialing wrong compared to holding wrong.



Are you saying you wouldn't recommend a strait duplex?

I think holding correctly is really intuitive for a guy that’s a bowhunter if he’s using multiple pins.


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