i wanna play, too! trying to pick a gun...

[bob_spangler_jr]

first off, i'd like to thank everyone for the wealth of info you've all made available. it's certainly a great service to a person trying to get into the game (like me). even after browsing your posts, i still have a few questions, and i hope that someone might be able to help me pick out a gun.

now that i live by a huge field, i would like to learn to reload and to practice long range shooting. once i feel confident, i'd like to use the new gun for longer-range deer hunting. i'm not concerned about weight, since my trusty old 30-30 is my walk-along-ways gun.
i've pretty much decided on a 7mm rem mag. from reading your posts, it seems that a 26'' heavy barrel would be a good thing. the savage action seems like the obvious choice for me (high quality and cheap), but i'd also like to have sights beneath my scope. is it possible to get both a heavy barrel and sights?
i like the traditional blued barrel and wooden stock, too. oh, and i'd like a removable magazine. i gather from reading here that remington's dm left a little to be desired. are savage's any better? how about browning's? am i correct in believing that the browning dm is the only one that allows you to load from the top, too?
i have one more question. why is browning rarely mentioned on this forum?
if a particular rifle comes to anyone's mind in light of all this, i would be very interested to know what it is!
thanks for your help on this,
bob

 

[wapiti13]

You do not want to use see-through scope mounts. They are not reliable & mount your scope way too high. Depending on what range you hunt at, get a GOOD scope with a low enough power to be able to hunt at your shortest distances. Since professional hunters hunt lions & buffs with a low power scope, you can hunt any deer without iron sights. Also, by mounting your scope low, it fits so you mount it correctly when you bring your rifle up to your shoulder and not have to search for your sight picture. A 3X9 is super flexible, and as you get more used to shooting with youe scope, most folks can increase their low end power and still shoot very close. One key is always carrying your rifle with the scope at its lower setting. At distance, you'll have time to turn it up, but with a close shot, you won't have time to turn it down. The Accutrigger is worth its weight in gold. You can't shoot accurately with a bad trigger. Your caliber choice should be very versatile (spoken by a die hard 7mm fan!). Good luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[bob_spangler_jr]

see? i learned something already! that's one mistake that you've saved me from making. thanks wapiti13, much appreciated.
bob

 

[pyrotechnic]

Savage has a new detachable magazine. http://www.savagearms.com/111fcns.htm They don't offer it in a heavy barreled rifle though, but you could aways get a new barrel and install it yourself. The savage rifles are capable of some great accuracy.

Regards,
Maarten

 

[bob_spangler_jr]

that's a good idea. would you suggest any 'planning ahead' if i want to put a thicker barrel on later? i imagine there's some stock cutting that'll have to happen.
i guess the custom shop at savage is opening the second week of february.
thanks,
bob

 

[pyrotechnic]

To put a thicker barrel on it later you would have to widen the barrel channel. If I were you I would put the gun in a McMillan,or other quality stock when you rebarrel. If funds are tight however you should be able to widen the channel yourself.

Regards,
Maarten