Good combo

Just thought of one other thing I did to my 700. I polished the bottom of the locking lugs and where the lugs ride inside the receiver. Smooth as butter

I couldn't begin to suggest a specific caliber and rifle without knowing a lot more about you, the shooter.

It's like asking "How long is a piece of rope and what can I do with it." The list of questions is long and varied. Without a whole lot more information most people will tell you what they have.

Just buy this, and be ready for when SHTF.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...ht-m-lok-acs-l-ept-rifle-5165449241.html

Enough left over for good glass too.

I bought a stainless Tikka .308, it wears a Bushnell LRHS 4.5-18. I have about $1500 in it with rings, base, and sling.

There is a .30-06 just like it in the classifieds.

Just go to academy they have the best advice and clearly know everything. Joking aside. Plan to spend more for the optic or equal to the gun. I probably wouldn’t buy a package gun. Brands are plentiful that all shoot great at this point. If it were me, I would go see what feels best. Different strokes for all of us. I have no brand loyalty at all but best shooting rifles I’ve ever owned were sako, weatherby and I’m sure I’ll hear it later but ruger American.

Both calibers will do the job just fine personally if elk or other bigger game could be a factor I’d look at a 30-06 since there are so many different ammo options out there.

No need to over complicate your decision. This rig fits the need and then some.

But, if it were me I would buy a Ruger American Rifle in either 7mm08 or 308 with the “go wild” Camo stock with bronze cerakote coating. I own Tikka and really like them, but after handling this at the NRA show I want one.

You’re friends will be jealous, lol. Model numbers are:
26923 7mm08
26926 308

They retail for 699.00 meaning you should be able to find one under 600.

I highly recommend buying from these guys in Abilene: www.cdnnsports.com 800-588-9500. They have some great prices and they can easily ship it to you.

I will add the fact that the Bushnell LRHS is no longer available in the new scope market place but I’m sure you can find used or last years model in some inventory.

For your needs I would look at Bushnell Elite or Burris in 3-15x44 with capped turrets and a good mildot reticle. Lighter weight for hunting but a reticle you could practice longer shots with by holding for distance and wind.

Sir, you cannot discount the 6.5 NeedMore because ammo manufacturers have clearly determined this round to succeed...But

I’d say a Winchester 70 Xtreme Weather in 270 Win with Talley rings and a Leupold FX3 6x42 will do whatever you need it to do.

Yes, there are other options

What about night hunts? How will that scope do for him?

Here’s a question:for a super green person new to optics, do you advise keep it simple with MOA, and let them build from there as they pick up knowledge? OR would you advise going mils, custom turrets, dope, 1st or 2nd focal plane,
All new hand loading set ups, etc?

My animals are all dead with my crosshairs, knowing bullet drop.

Never gone the fixed power route before myself. If I’m arguing simplicity, I reckon that’s an option.

Can’t do it though. I’d have to have some range in magnification.

Or even a .270. Both are longstanding hunting calibers with moderate recoil and easier on the wallet.

Night scopes are called that for a reason.

Always keep things as simple as possible. Higher chance of success when you do FME.

So you start from the beginning with mils. But IMO just using the reticle for distance not the turrets. Light and less expensive than exposed trackable turrets IMO.

Googling night scopes now for training purposes.

Yes, any rifle is only as accurate as the shooter. Go slow in getting the scope properly mounted and sighted for making shots at expected distances. The general rule of thumb is an inch high at 100 yards to produce a effective range of roughly 200 yards with no holdover. But then, the final numbers will depend on the caliber and load.

As you've already found out, you can spend A LOT of time thinking through all the numbers. As others have said, start by keeping it simple. Once you know the rifle and scope are set, practice until you know you can't miss.

30-06 browning or weatherby

Leupold or Burris 3-9 or 4-12

Just buy both of these and you are good to go:
https://texashuntingforum.com/forum...ikka-t3x-308-and-leupold-vx3#Post7413628

As far as caliber choice, when I made mine, I looked in a few Wal-Mart gun counters to see the most popular calibers they carried on a normal basis. Reason being, almost inevedably, if you take to hunting all the time you are going to be caught somewhere in podunk-ville and you would have forgotten your ammo or used it all up on a pack of rabid dogs trying to attack you . . . SO you’re gonna need ammo and Walmart always has certain calibers. 270 and 30-06 were ALWAYS in stock. Sometimes the 308 people like to clean house after a shooting in this country. I’ve never seen them run out of 270 or 30-06. Ever. Like. . . Ever Ever.

Can’t scoff at that rig.

Alright. Alright I’ll step back and let the grown ups talk now.

Regarding cartridge cost, 100 yard practice ammo or even 300 yards on a big enough target is what cheap ammo generally does. If you want cheap and highly accurate ammo you will probably have to load your own. You can whack together good ammo with Lee scoops and hand dies, but you still gotta load when you'd rather shoot. .308! You can get a cool cartridge down the road.

You can just buy whatever rifle feels best to you. Everybody should have a .308, probably with a little heavier barrel, so why not start there. Pretty much all new rifles these days work well enough for hunting. A lightweight .308 gets kinda punchy after a box of cartridges. And lightweight barrels will start walking across the target. The only downside to a heavier barrel is if you're carrying it for miles or with a climbing stand and day pack.

The issue is the optic and mount. The mount is a critical piece because if your scope is not held zeroed to the rifle, the other pieces do not matter. The DNZ mounts are easy and work, but there are others. If the base and rings you like cost $200, don't balk. It's worth it to have a bombproof rig.

The scope is where most money should be spent. General rules for a general use hunting scope are ~50' field of view at 100 yards at lowest magnification and an objective diameter equal to the highest magnification you want to be multiplied by 7 for low light or 5 for well-lit conditions. This is where they get 1.5-6x42, 2-10x50, 3-12x56 or similar ratios. Your budget does not really account for this in high quality, so look at good enough for 30 min past sunset quality. You want good, not great, glass and a slightly heavy or lit reticle. These days that doesn't cost near as much as it used to.

Really, the high-quality glass out these days is overkill for what a hunter needs. And most people want to spend their money on the rifle. So...

https://www.natchezss.com/nikon-monarch-5-rifle-scope-2-10x50mm-ed-advanced-bdc-reticle-matte.html
https://www.dnzproducts.com/product/game-reaper-tikka/
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...4544/beretta_ctr_308_20_syn_stainless_10

A Burris Veracity on a Ruger American Predator would fit the budget, with a little more left for match ammo.

This is the hunting rifle I just built:

CZ 557 Sporter 30-06 - $550
Leupold RM CZ 550 medium rings $60
Leupold VX-3i 30mm 4.5-14x40 CDS $500
Murray A-1 Quick set rifle sling $75
Limbsaver recoil pad $35

All in for $1220.
Not a bad price for a walnut stock, sub-moa sporter with custom turrets than can ethically handle anything you listed up to 400 yards. Dialed mine in with Hornady 178gr ELD-X.

I also recommend the Bergara Ridge and Tikka T3 hunter; but this CZ is a pure work horse hunting rifle and I couldn’t be happier with it. Tikka and Bergara actions are slightly smoother, but this thing shoots every bit as well. Lots of good info by others on this thread as well. Best advice is try a few, or at least shoulder them and see what you like. Good luck

Are you handloading or is that the Precision Hunter load? How far have you shot it? I thought about moving up from my .308 to an '06, but I think if I'm going up it will be .300 WSM or WM.