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im looking to buy a riffle. something that can shoot a number of rounds. something cheap to shoot for fun without alot of recoil. but still has enough knock down power to take out an elk or boar. im thinking something semi auto or bolt. preferably semi though. not sure if this the right place to ask this or not
 

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im looking to buy a riffle. something that can shoot a number of rounds. something cheap to shoot for fun without alot of recoil. but still has enough knock down power to take out an elk or boar. im thinking something semi auto or bolt. preferably semi though. not sure if this the right place to ask this or not
Lots of rifles that can meet your requirement. Any name brand -Remington, Winchester, etc. are all excellent. .270 cal. or bigger. My father used a 30-06 to take down a polar bear 60 years ago. They don't come much tougher than that.
 

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and what caliber is about the cheapest/ easiest to get
Depends on where you are. I'd suggest visiting some local gun shops and see what's on the shelf. Do some leg work, instead of just surfing the net. :) You need to decide what the end result is. You want meat or do you just want to kill something? If the later, get a .50cal Barrett. If the former, you want a bullet design that will kill cleanly with minimum destruction of edible meat and that will penetrate bone. There's more to this than just caliber.
 

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Look for something that has ammo available. There is a severe shortage right now and I don't know how long it will last. I know there is no 308 and 223 around here.
 

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so.. yuo want.. cheap ammo, easy to get ammo, no recoil, fires lots of rounds, semi auto and can take medium to large game, game that can have some degree of danger in close proximity.

hmm... probably something out of a comic book that hasn't been invented yet.

phaser rifle or something from star trek maybee?

cheap/low recoil/multi shot/elk

those just don't go real good together.. :(

as fro cheap. most rifle cartridges from 30-30 to 3006 are about 20$ a box for the cheap stuff and 30$ for better stuff. start getting into stuff like 7mm mag and cheap is about 30$ and gets harder to find. keep going into 300 mags and the price goes higher and so does availability.

recoil even with a 270 is noticeable. 270 and 3006 are near identical to me...

my idea of low recoil is 218bee, 222rem, 223rem.

not cheap or easy to find .. maybee 223 WOULD have been.. but not now.. and I would not hunt enything bigger than medium game with them anyway..
 

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Discussion Starter · #12 ·
i didnt say no recoil. just something that isnt gonna leave my arm laying ten feet away. just looking online a semi auto is out of my price range. is there much accuracy difference between between semi auto and bolt? i know bolt is better but by how much? whats the recoil and accuracy difference between 30-06 30-30 an 308
 

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i didnt say no recoil. just something that isnt gonna leave my arm laying ten feet away. just looking online a semi auto is out of my price range. is there much accuracy difference between between semi auto and bolt? i know bolt is better but by how much? whats the recoil and accuracy difference between 30-06 30-30 an 308
Best you talk to somebody at a gun shop face to face. And also spend some time acquainting yourself with the ballistics of the various calibers, bullet designs & weights, etc., etc. In rifles, velocity at various ranges, force (in lbft), weight of bullet, and many other factors are important, and well covered on-line and in various books and magazines. You won't get a simple answer the way you are approaching the subject, because there are no simple answers.
 

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OP, go to a gun store and look at some guns and talk to the folks working there. Or, go to a shooting range and talk some people shooting or working. Get on youtube and look at some shooting videos.
 

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30-30 and 308 are darn close. 3006 is more recoil. most 3030 are flat nose bullets unless you reload or buy hornady LR.. and is generally thought of as closer range round.

308 and 3006 has plenty of bullet options.. and are better for medium and largish game. I would not want to hunt elk with 308. my stepdad has hunted elk with 3006.. i personally would take 7mmremmag or 300 weatherbymag.. both harder kickers due to more power.

i prefer boltguns to semi auto when unting, untill you get into higher dollar semi auto.. like bar..e tc.. I tend to favor more than sufficient rounds vs the lower end of acceptable. I'd rather hunt a hog with a 3006 and drop/bag every single shot on the spot vs a 30-30 and have a small chance of wounding and tracking. ( actually.. 35rem would be a nice medium/large deer and hog round for 150ish yard shots.)

now.. for some neat cartridges. 257weaherby or nearly as good and much cheaper.. though stil hardish to find is the 25-06

basically same deal as the 270. it's a necked down 3006.

you can get 3000+ fps AND i know people who have taken elk with it... it's gonna kick like a 3006 though... if I was going elk hunting I'd grab my 300 wbymag over my 2506 but then.. as i said.. I like big. ( heck.. i might take my 375H&H ;) )

speaking of the 375 again.. i'd go back to looking at 7mmrem mag. still easy to find ammo.. i think wil be better for range than 3006, and you can get reduced recoil loads.. might save you some meat even with that belted mag.
 

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Born and raised in Montana. Hunted elk all my life. Have shot and killed them with 100 grain bullet from a 243, do not recommend it as a primary elk rifle. 30-06 is plenty but bullet and shot placement is most critical. My favorite for the past 20 years has been a Ruger M77 in 7x57 140 grain nosler partition gets the job done. The 7mm08 is the ballistic equivalent of the 7x57 and is easier to find. Light recoil and enough energy to get the job done at reasonable range. One shot kills come from being accurate and competent with whatever you shoot. Just my opinion as to what might suit your needs. Whatever you choose I wish you good luck,
 

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you can probably 1-shot kill an elephant with a 22lr unless it blinks. competency is nice... but it's also nice to have 'reserve' stopping power in case of error or accident or incedental circumstance, vs having to trail a wounded animal for a day.. or let it get away maimed because you brought just enogh rifle to kill it with a ideal or perfect shot. I don't mind loosing a pound or 2 of meat on a huge animal and know the shot I make on it.. even if sub-par, is likely a guaranteed drop in place kill.

but that's just me.

I'm not into animal torture. even a 'bad' shot on a super caliber will yeild an animal that is 'less' able to travel, or give you some stun recovery time to make a better followup shot.
 

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Born and raised in Montana. Hunted elk all my life. Have shot and killed them with 100 grain bullet from a 243, do not recommend it as a primary elk rifle. 30-06 is plenty but bullet and shot placement is most critical. My favorite for the past 20 years has been a Ruger M77 in 7x57 140 grain nosler partition gets the job done. The 7mm08 is the ballistic equivalent of the 7x57 and is easier to find. Light recoil and enough energy to get the job done at reasonable range. One shot kills come from being accurate and competent with whatever you shoot. Just my opinion as to what might suit your needs. Whatever you choose I wish you good luck,
I concur.
I'm from one state over but have been elk hunting in both Montana and Colorado. .25-06 was my caliber of choice (with premium bullets of course) for those hunts, but I would recommend a little more horsepower.
.30-06, .308, .270Win, .280Rem, 7x57, 7mm-08...any of those "medium" calibers are perfectly adequate. If you're wanting to take those big long quarter-mile shots then I'd say you want a magnum cartridge in any of those medium bores. As others have said, it's best to see what's commonly available in your area or the area that you're hunting.

My personal preference is to carry a rifle that doesn't kick the snot out of my shoulder and I'll just stalk in a little closer to be sure of a clean shot. :)
Next time I go, I'll be using one of my 6.5x55 rifles.

As for the 770 Remington...
They work. They're inexpensive. The action is a little on the sloppy-built side. Not many accessories available for them. Not the best attempt that Remington ever put forth at building a good-quality "budget" rifle.
Soundguy's recommendation of a Savage would be a better choice.
I'm still a fan of the old "proven" designs like the Remington 700, Ruger 77, Savage 110, Winchester 70, etc. Although I do like the new Ruger American and the Tikka T3.

Don't discount whatever is on the used racks at your local shops either.
If you can overlook some scratches and dings you might find a really sweet shooter for a bargain price.
 
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