How many of you hunt with budget rifles?

Originally Posted By: pyscodogOriginally Posted By: NonnieselmanI deer hunted 2012 and 2013 with a Stevens 200 in 223. Academy had a pricing error and i walked out with it for a whole $179 after tax. It has been my favorite little rifle. It has the brown stock and the 20" sporter barrel. Never worked with it long for a good load, but 52gr Amax and H322 shot really good. Took 9 deer with it in 2012 and 14 deer in 2013. Even busted a coyote with it at 425 yards one evening, possible luck hit but ill take it anyday.

$85 for a bushnell banner 4-12x40 and Weaver quad rings from walmart.

It now has over 4500 round thru it and still shoots good enough i keep it in the truck.
My favorite is the 40 gr Vmax for beavers and armadillos in it.


I'd just like to know where you can kill 14 deer in one season???

SC, BUT I do think that the limit is 12 now.
 
Bag limits in SC have been trying to change. I hunt in one of the two upstate zones...current limits for 2016 are 5 bucks and 5 does. Downstate has no bag limits. There are limits on number per day...usually 2 bucks and one doe per day. Personally I've never taken more than 2, just my wife and I so leave them for next year.

Back on topic...nothing wrong with a "cheap" gun. I have a couple Tikka's that I have taken krylon to and they all shoot 3/4 MOA or better. I put "cheap" guns around $750 and lower, with production guns above $750 moderate and customs in the high range. All my Tikka's wear quality optics and shoot hand loads. I also picked up a Kimber Montana several years ago (in 25-06) at bargain basement price and don't hesitate to take it in the rain, snow, sun, etc. Nothing against it, just don't have a personal need for "safe queens".
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Varminterror ...all hunt with "budget" rifles, but the "budget" might be different from one guy to the next. It's all relative...
True story.
I took an in-law to task that was spending money way to fast, is running out of money.
Asked her if she had a budget.
She said sure: "whatever I spend, that's my budget !!" She was serious, no concept...
 
It seems budget all depends on your income. Some will say a Cooper with a Leupold is a budget gun others a Savage Axis with a Simmons is a budget gun. Or maybe how many credit card payments you want to make. My budget usually puts me in the "used" rack.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogIt seems budget all depends on your income. Some will say a Cooper with a Leupold is a budget gun others a Savage Axis with a Simmons is a budget gun.


Income does have a factor in the budget,but it's all how you spend it. Self control is a more important factor.
It's all in what you spend it on. Some need a huge house on a postage stamp yard. Some have a small house on a big piece of land and there is everything in between. Some pack their lunch for work, others eat out everyday.
Some smoke , chew, drink heavily, others don't. Lots of people are impulse buyers.. Whatever it was cool that day,gets pawned for pennies a week later.

Credit cards maxed to the sky, pissin away money on intrest on something they never really needed.

I used to have a pile of cheaper guns, then one day I decided quality is better than quanity.

Some will argue a certain gun only gets used X number of days per year so it does not need to be over the top good.

I could go on and on ....but I won't

Moral of the story... here it comes... ready ? !!

As long as you use what you have and it works, use it ! It's your money and your time. Me: I don't have time to waste , when I get to hunt or shoot, I want that round down range and it had better be where I want it !

End of story...
cool.gif

 
Last edited:
Good points Tim!! I know I am terrible about impulse buys, but I am getting better. I also have more rifles than I really need and the thoughts of thinning the herd comes to mind more often than not. I'm also really bad about buying a rifle and thinking about new parts for it before I make it to the house. I also wonder why I'm broke all the time!!
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogGood points Tim!! I know I am terrible about impulse buys, but I am getting better. I also have more rifles than I really need and the thoughts of thinning the herd comes to mind more often than not. I'm also really bad about buying a rifle and thinking about new parts for it before I make it to the house. I also wonder why I'm broke all the time!!

As long as the bills get paid and you are enjoying life, it's all good .
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodog Some will say a Cooper with a Leupold is a budget gun

I won't say its a budget gun, but did I hear Cooper and Leupold ?...grin



 
Last edited:
I hunt with a lot of expensive gun, most bought for a 1/10th of there value either smoking deals/trades or some sort of damage that I was able to repair. I do the work myself. I buy low cost rifles mostly Savage and Stevens for the action and I like to experiment, I built the first 25-204 and have rifles in 22-204 and 6mm-204 plus a couple of target guns on those actions. All my guns go hunting even the antiques, there's nothing as much fun as pulling down a double on ducks with a hundred year old sxs or filling a limit with one of the old gun's shooting 2 1/2" shells while the guy in the next blind is working on his second box of 3 1/2" Magnums.

I live on my SS, first thing all the money to run the house/pay the bills goes into a checking account dedicated to running the house anything left is mine to do with as I please. I don't eat out, don't smoke,dont drink out, on hunting trips I live and eat in my van, I fish and hunt out of my boat and canoe that I bought in the 1970s. Guns, hunting and fishing are my entertainment but the bills come first and the gun fund flush before buying, nothing goes on a card. When you have a dedicated gun fund when that deal comes alone you don't have to ask the wife, check the bank account, just say "I'll Take It" because those deals don't wait for anyone.
 
Last edited:
Since it was new, back in '04, my rifle has been a Stevens 200, in .223.
Even has a cheap, used scope on it...a Simmons 3x9x50 "Blazer"...that I bought at a gun show for $25.

That gun/scope combo still shoots dime-sized 5 shot groups @ 100 yds.
 
My favorites budget rifle, is a marlin model 60. .. built in 1986.
Paid 30 bucks for it, in a pawn shop in bon terre missouri.
Many moons ago.
Just recently putt in ArrowDodgers kat trigger.
Bloody thing is extremely accurate.
 
My main deer rifle is a budget gun I guess. Its a Remington 700 Buckmasters Edition chambered in .270 Win, which means its just a 700 SPS with a camo stock and the Buckmasters logo lasered on the floor plate, nothing fancy. It has a cheap Vortex Diamondback HP scope on it, factory ammo, and kills them dead every time I do my part.

I've got more that a few AR platforms that started as budget builds and ended up being anything but that.
 
Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeOriginally Posted By: xphunterYou guys hunt with rifles???
wink.gif

I do every once awhile as well
smile.gif


This made me smile.
smile.gif




YES!!!!
 
Five years ago I bought a axis 223 in snow camo thinking what the heck. One great shooting rifle,trigger sucks but that can be fixed. One of my favorite calling guns. ( Don't use factory ammo handloads only)
 
Originally Posted By: canislatrans54Since it was new, back in '04, my rifle has been a Stevens 200, in .223.
Even has a cheap, used scope on it...a Simmons 3x9x50 "Blazer"...that I bought at a gun show for $25.

That gun/scope combo still shoots dime-sized 5 shot groups @ 100 yds.


Cheap glass is an entirely different subject. Makes my eyes hurt just thinking about
laugh.gif


My guns shot ok with cheap glass but my head was so much happier after spending a couple hundred bucks. Redfield/vxI keeps my eyeballs happy without killing the wallet too much.
 
Originally Posted By: NdIndyOriginally Posted By: canislatrans54Since it was new, back in '04, my rifle has been a Stevens 200, in .223.
Even has a cheap, used scope on it...a Simmons 3x9x50 "Blazer"...that I bought at a gun show for $25.

That gun/scope combo still shoots dime-sized 5 shot groups @ 100 yds.


Cheap glass is an entirely different subject. Makes my eyes hurt just thinking about
laugh.gif


My guns shot ok with cheap glass but my head was so much happier after spending a couple hundred bucks. Redfield/vxI keeps my eyeballs happy without killing the wallet too much.



Understandable.
I have been meaning to upgrade to at least a Nikon Pro-Staff, but just have convinced myself to do it.
wink.gif
 
An interesting offshoot of this thread would be: How many guys have fallen in love with their "beater" rifle?

I have noticed that rigorous use breeds affection and nothing creates warmer memories than time afield together. And like a great bird dog from the pound, finding such a valuable tool for comparatively little cost only sweetens the pot. Though I can't say in my heart that my $2500 6.5 SAUM falling out of a treestand produces the same effect as my $100 Marlin 25MN, nothing I own is a show piece, and I use my most prized tools the hardest.
 
Back
Top