And if you have a local shop that will let you do transfers through them, gunbroker.com is a good spot to shop online for the best price and may carry what your local shops may not.
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www.galleryofguns.com find the rifle you like, click the instant quote... and you could save a healthy chunk of change.
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I been shooting a 30-06 Mauser, and a 257 Weatherbey Mark V.
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I like what I have read about the Winchester Model 70. It looks like a solid hunting rifle and hopefully I can pick one up used.
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For a great hunting rifle, try a .270. It shoots fast and flat and will work great. Any good rifle will work well. I use Nikon optics and they excellent. I am a FFL so if you have any questions let me know.
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yes.
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Another question. The place you're planning to hunt, do they allow the use of rifles or is it a shotgun only zone? That's something to keep in mind. Or you can pick up one of each and get set for where ever you want to hunt.

I 2nd the used gun route. Plenty of good ones out there at decent prices. That'll leave you more money for cigars. :-)
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Remington 700 in whatever grade suits your budget and style. Great rifles at moderate price almost always accurate right out of the box. Second choice would probably be a Ruger 77 but it is truly hard to beat a Remington 700 rifle for out of the box performance. They are also both made in the U.S.A. and note that Winchester has not made a rifle in the U.S. since 1964.

Not sure where/what size "bucks" you have in mind but the 270 or 300 short magnums out perform most hunting calibers on the market these days but allow you to use a short action rifle. But jeez the sky is the limit on calibers anymore.

Put your money in a quality scope! Many old names have been sent to China so don't think in terms of what my granpa used or such as that. Leupold is still good quality at a somewhat reasonable price. No matter what scope you buy unless it is a super high end brand do not buy the low end models that you find heavily discounted.

I have found that most generally you don't find that many great deals on the web sites after you pay the transfer fee and shipping. Not particularly convenient either as you have to go to the transfer dealer anyway. They do give you a good idea of what you should be paying though for comparison when shopping locally. Cabela,s usually has somewhat competitive prices on guns and often runs some very good specials on nice rifles. Sometimes you can find good prices on New guns at local gun shows. But I certainly do not recommend purchasing a used rifle unless it is somewhere you can shoot it first. Some rifles are just not accurate out of the box or even after some work and experienced hunters/shooters dump them quickly.

Enjoy and be safe with it!
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Darrell, out here you're going to be shooting some distance. I have a .270 and a .308. I don't hunt much but I love my Kimber in .308. They are a tad on the pricey side, but they are light and easy to carry in the field. My .270 is a Ruger, awesome round, my dad took a ton of deer with his, but it is about 2lbs heavier than my Kimber, which means a lot when you're hiking around. But yeah, buy used, I'm a big fan of used guns. Check calguns.net, lots of guns for sale there. Just be patient and exactly what you want will pop up. Just send me the link if you find something you like and I'll let you know if it's a good deal.
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Ain't it great to have a bunch of knowledgeable dudes (not me) at your beck and call?

I love this place.
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:-) You can really find a lot of good knowledge on just about any topic!
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I like the .308 good all around hunting cartridge big enough to take on almost anything in North America.
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In agreement:

Rem .270

Rem 7mm Mag. Flat trajectory for long distance.


I recently sold my Rem 700 Sendero in .300 Win Mag w/a Leopold 36x scope. Very accurate rifle with my handloads using the Sierra 190gr BTHP. A good piece for target practice...:-)

ps: you don't want to be lugging this puppy around all day though! You may want to check out the following for further research:

http://www.remington.com/
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For the deer in CA 7mm should be about tops in caliber. A 300 does to much damage to the small deer we have. Since you will most likely be using NON-lead bullets having to much power will just punch a hole through the animal and not expand like the lead bullets do. Got to save those 3 Mexican Condors you know. Most any rifle you buy will do the job. The newer inexpensive rifles are great deals for new shooters that are not planning on hunting every season or even year. It really depends on what you want to spend from about $1000 and up or for a Remington or Savage or other package gun that some with rings and scope and bore sighted. For example, a Remington 770 with a Bushnell 3X9 will run you about $340 + tax and DROS fee. All will do the job so it really depends on what you wnat to spend. Rugers come with rings so that is one expense you won't have and also the Tikka usually come with rings and bases built into the receivers. If you want to talk PM me your phone #, best time to call and I will call you.
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All depends on location and if you want to and how you want to hunt.

Stand hunting, staliking, running dogs etc
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:-) yep. Also, one doesn't just grab a gun and go hunting. If you have never been hunting, take a hunter's safety course - the life you save may be your own.

You need to figure out where you will be hunting so that you know about probably range and other issues such as brush, etc.

My fave deer and coyote rifle was a 30-30 Winchester lever action, but that was mainly because we were usually on horseback. For stalking, I liked my Thompson Contender with the 30-30 herret barrel.
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I have to place another vote for the .300 Win-Nag.

I have a Model 70 Super Grade in .300 Winchester Magnum, and let me tell you....that is a "reach out and touch something" rifle. Firing a 190 grain BTHP, it's almost cheating how easy it is.

Ammo's kinda pricey though. Last I looked, it was almost $2 a round here.
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Try about $70 for 20 rounds now. YOu have to shot the non-lead crap now. .300 Win is way to much for deer hunting. you destroy to much meat on Cali deer. If you were hunting moose or elk then yes, but not for CA deer.
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Naturally. Safety first where all firearms are concerned.
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People run dogs on deer? I nevah hoid of such a thing.
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