First time hunter, could use some advice

[JLesinski]

As a sort of celebration of me turning 18, myself and a few other friends who have birthdays around this time of year are going to buy rifles and have a hunting trip during deer season. As some background on me, I was a boyscout and am no stranger to firearms, whether it be a rifle or pistol. I currently only own a .22 but I have shot friend's and relative's firearms ranging from 30-30 and 30-06 rifles to 9mm pistols. I am on a budget for this hunting trip as I will be paying for it myself and it is only on a few months notice so it is not like I have been saving up money from my summer job.

The rifle I am almost set on buying is the Marlin XL7 chambered in 30-06. I know a few people who swear by Marlins and from everything I have read and heard this rifle is an excellent choice for the price range I am in. Are there any objections or suggestions from you guys?

The scope I have been looking at is the Bushnell Sportsman Rifle Scope (3-9x,40mm). As I said I am on a budget so I figured this scope would be a good fit for me, at least for the first few trips while my hunting is still a casual hobby. Is this a good scope for someone in my position? Will it serve me well on my trip? Also, this is unrelated to performance but, how do you mount a scope on a rifle like I mentioned above?

The ammunition I was planning on using is Remington 30-06 Springfield 180 Grain Core-Lokt Soft Point. My friend uses 220 grain when he goes hunting with his dad but that seems a little bit over kill right?

Thanks for your help guys. I appreciate all tips and knowledge you can give me, even if it unrelated to what I have mentioned above.

[guppy11]

I don't know much about Marlin rifles but I can say Savage makes excellent rifles for the money, action is not real smooth but accurate as any other. You are right in that 220 grain for deer is definately overkill in the .30-06. I would go with 150 or 180 max as these should produce just as much energy because of the increase in velocity and will have a lot flatter trajectory.

[bighorn9]

I would stick with 150 or 165 grain in the 30-06. And as for the mounting a scope take it to your local gun shop an have them do it for you an bore sight it to, that will get you on paper to get started sighting in, most shops will do this for less than 20 bucks, alot cheaper than burning a box of shells at the range because you can't even hit the paper.

[Hunting Man]

I like the 150 gr in the 06 for deer. I agree take it to your local gun shop and have them mount & bore sight it. You will be on paper at 50 yds and just adjust from there. I like Marlin firearms in their lever action guns, otherwise I'd look elsewhere for bolt action guns..

[hunt NH]

the 30-06 is a great round, and no round ha killed more deer than the 30-30 so dont get me wrong im not trying to bash eather but i would lean more to the .270. it is a fast flat shooting round. a 130 grain is more than than enuff to kill a deer and federal amunition (and the remington core loct would have beter #'s) travles at 3060 fps and only has a 3" dorp at 200 yards. as for guns check into the mossburg 100 atr series of rifels. i have the .270 mossburg 100 atr and love it. and you can buy one for short $$$. good luck and happy hunting.

[onehorse]

Everybody has a favorite rifle and caliber - usually its the one they happen to own, so you'll get a lot of opinons on your questions about those two items. What you are thinking of getting will work just fine. As others have suggested, stick with the 150 grainer for deer, one that expands rapidly.
I would suggest that you study deer anatomy and shot placement Whitetail Deer Arrow Placement and Anatomy and practice shooting at different ranges until you feel confident at those distances.
As for mounting the scope, that's a tricky question. I have seen some TERRIBLE mounting jobs done by guys who work at local gun stores. The latest was a scope that was not only mounted crooked, but the tube of which was actually crushed by a guy who over-tightened it. Mounting a scope is not rocket science, and anyone can do a fairly decent job with basic hand tools. There are lots of articles available on how to do it, but if you go to a "professional", make sure he knows what he is doing.
Good luck.

[Hunting Man]

You may do the best of both worlds and watch your local gun shop do the job that way you learn and most likely get it done right. Nothing more frustrating than a loose mounted or worse yet a ruined scope. After seeing how the process is done you're then ready to do them yourself. While maybe not rocket science it certainly can end up a major headache if not done correctly.

[Ken Heilbrun Jr.]

Well, its all in where you are hunting at. I would rather go with a 30.06 Springfield for longer range than for say a 30-30. The 220 grain bullet is a little of a over kill. When I had my 30.06 I shot a 180 grain load which did the trick perfectly on deer. So in a round about way I saying that its up to you to choose what type of gun you get, If you are still not sure ask the people at the gun shop. They would know too. But the .06 is still a good deer rifle.

[Rozman62]

Good choice for a firearm. You will not have any regrets. I have the XL7 in 25-06 and it is as accurate as a rifle twice the cost. I think the 180 gr pill is excessive for whitetail however if you are looking for one bullet weight to cover a gamut of animals then that would be the one. If just for whitetails then I think 150-165gr is the sweet spot. Rem Core Lokt most likely will shoot OK. I have a Ruger M77 30-06 and find it shoots inexpensive Fed blue box ammo better than most premium bullets brands. I would pick up a second box of ammo to compare the Rem CL too. I would try to save up another $80 and get a Nikon Prostaff 3x9 or Bushnell Legend. I am not sure if the Sportsman scope will hold up long term to the recoil that a 30-06 is capable of shelling out.

[gfdeputy2]

I shoot the Federal's out of my M77 .270 & in case you didn't know stick with them this is what Ruger recommends. Federal is what they use to test fire their wepons at the Factory