After hunting with my uncles guns for the past month and realizing I'm actually a pretty good shot and better than he is I'm looking to buy my first hunting rifle and shotgun. I'm pretty much set on Remington and am currently looking at the Remington 700 and Remington 1100 for my two guns. My dad is going to buy the shotgun and I am buying the 700. My budget is 1800 with rifle, scope, and binoculars. I plan to kill deer and bears Remington 700=I'm really interested in the MODEL 700™ SPS™ TACTICAL AAC®-SD, the CDL, and the BDL. I want the rifle in a .308 win or 30-06. Does anyone have any experience with these rifles and what the differences are in these calibers: .308, 30-06, and 7 mm Remington 1100=I'm looking at either the classic trap or the sporting series here. I hear the 11-87 is the updated version of the 1100 and uses a recoil system and was wondering if these are better than the 1100. Anyone had either and know if there are any differences? I am also considering a 870 for a shotgun but I don't know which one to get honestly, pump shotguns seem pretty cheap so I was wondering what the difference between the 1100 semiautomatic and the 870 pump shotgun is, mainly which is more accurate/powerful and what is the difference between a semiautomatic and a pump anyway? Scope= Ill probably get a leupold, falcon, or swfa for around 500-800 bucks. any recommendations at that price range? Binoculars= these i dont particularly care for and only want to spend 200 at most. I know binoculars are necessary but I just want something that gets the job done, can see decently far and clear, and is reliable. Any recommendations?
Think of it this way. 308's and 30-06 are slower and heavier, your 7 mm and 270's are lighter and faster. You'll get all kinds of theories on which is better, but bullet placement is really the key. A 308 is basically a 30-06 "short" Its about the same power really, although it does fire a same weight bullet alllllllmost as fast as a 30-06. A 308 was designed to perform in shorter barrels for the military. However, in a hunting rifle.....barrel length is never really an issue. Remington are nice guns for the money. I have a model 700 in 30-06, and a 7mm. Of the two, I'd go 7 mm Rem Mag all day long. There's nothing on the North American contentment you couldn't hunt, it has a slightly flatter trajectory, and hits harder than the other 2 you mentioned. One bit of advice.....don't skimp on the optics. Get the best scope you can afford. Nikon's are good for the money as well as Leo's. As far as the 1100 vs. 870. My God man go for the 1100 if you can afford it!! Nothing is worse for any type of moderate to high volume bird hunting than using a damn pump shotgun. On an 870, you have to manually cycle each shell. An 1100 cycles it for you (goes boom every time you pull the trigger) and allows MUCH quicker follow up shots and less fatigue. Neither one is more "powerful" than the other. Unless you consider the rate of fire, in which case its the 1100 by a mile. As far as pumps (870's) go.....Home protection sure......shooting 4-5 boxes of shells and cycling each one manually......hell no. On binoculars....you get what you pay for. Get the best you can afford. Again, Nikon makes really good optics for the money.
I grew up shooting a model 870 Remington Express 20 gauge. I still used it for quail hunting up until two years ago when my great uncle died and left me his 1976 Browning Citori over/under 20 gauge. This past weekend, I went shotgun shopping with my buddy and he got a Citori White Lightning 20 gauge. I want to **** that gun. So pretty. He bought the base model but plans to refinish the stock, which should look awesome. I've always liked over unders or side by sides more than pump or semi auto. More sporty. For the rifle, if you are going to hunt bears, you are going to want the most knock down power. I would go with the 7 mag. You probably want a decent scope. Cheap scopes fog up. I have always used a variable zoom as well. I've never really appreciated rifles as much as shotguns because you just point and shoot, where as a shotgun you are carrying around all day and are around other people. Shotguns have more personality to me. I always think its cool when we are quail or dove hunting and a semi auto, 2 over unders, one pump, and one side by side are all hunting at the same time in all gauges from 410 to 12. Our big annual quail hunt is this weekend. There are no birds on the land anymore so we bought 120 quail and 30 chukar for a 2 day hunt this weekend. We'll be hunting begind 2 brittans and 2 pointers. It should be a blast.
Butterfingers moniker + Guns ~= Bad News where ~ means probably. Advice from moniker luckystrikes is probably not a good sign either Spoiler
I honestly never have had any problem with pumping a shotgun all day long, but to each his own. I've hunted with both semi autos and pumps, and generally any delay that you would be getting in having to pump the gun, you are already going to have from adjusting from the recoil on the previous shot with a semi auto. I've never gotten fatigued on all day hunts pumping. Generally, its from walking or carrying the gun. Not trying to dimiss your opinion, just giving mine. Homeboy needs to see it from every angle.
Oh I forgot to mention that the shotgun will be for crows, pigeons, doves, and any other small animals... but that was probably assumed anyway. Yeah my dad is buying the shotgun so I can tell him to buy whichever one so I can afford the 1100, do you know any differences between the sporting series and trap series? Yeah I plan on spending more than the rifle on my scope. But as far as binoculars go any particular brands or models in the 200-300 range? Nikon is a pretty famous brand and I think it might be out of my price range. Any recommendations on the 3 hunting rifles I'm looking at?
Trap series probably has tighter chokes and a longer barrell, while the sporting series is probably looser and a smaller gun overall.
Oh and lastly the most important question. Where can I go to buy any of these guns new? Walmart seems to have discontinued selling guns and academy's guns suck. I can buy in either houston or austin. Also back to the .308 and 30-06 which provides the least recoild
Really the model is just a matter of preference. Your tactical Rem's will be a bit heavier with that thicker barrel, but if you're hunting out of a truck or stand that won't be much of an issue. If you're going to be carrying it around and stalking game.....go for which ever rifle is the lightest. Personally, of the ones listed I'd go with the CDL. Wood is classic, and I personally don't care of for the look of a rifle that has a scope AND iron sights. But all will be fine guns for what you're looking at doing.
I buy all my guns at ARG Outdoors in Cypress. I'm good friends with the owner, and you CANNOT get guns any cheaper in the Houston area. http://agroutdoors.com/ On the 308 vs 30-06 recoil.....if you had the exact same gun in both calibers, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The heavier the gun, the less felt recoil. The lighter the gun the more felt recoil. A 7mag is a tad more than both those, but all 3 are very manageable unless you're super gun shy or a really small dude.
