How to Choose Your Hunting Rifle

Amateur hunters must give this subject a lot of thought because the hunting efficiency depends greatly on the used rifle. With other words, if hunters don’t own a suitable rifle for a particular type of hunting and to fit the hunting style, the results won’t show up very soon and in some cases, not at all.

The very first issue a future rifle owner must think about is the cartridge. Let’s take for example choosing a rifle for a deer hunt. Experts affirm that a 150 grain bullet is recommended for this type of hunting. To narrow the list, it is advisable to look for the most popular models, like the: .270 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester and others as well. What future rifle owners must know is that standard cartridges are uniquely named so the name of the cartridge indicates the dynamic and physical characteristics of the cartridge. Hunters mustn’t forget that in order to safely fire a cartridge, the rifle must accept that specific cartridge as it can’t fire other cartridges.

Next order of business, future rifle owners must think about the action. Basically, there are four types: bolt action, lever action, pump action and self-loading ( auto-loading / semi-automatic ) action. Single shot rifles come in the following types: break-open, rolling block, falling block, trapdoor and others as well. Of all of the above mentioned, the bolt action retriever has the simplest design which allows rifles to be loaded with more than just one single cartridge. It is also easier to maintain and is more reliable in comparison with other action types.

Stock materials are in most cases made out of wood ( laminated or not ), fiberglass or plastic. The rifles that have a wood stock material are generally made out of walnut due to the fact that it is sturdy; feels good in the hunter’s hands and it is also aesthetically pleasing. From all common stock materials, the laminated wood is the strongest and the most durable available but they are a little bit heavier than others. More and more popular among hunters are the synthetic materials basically because they are less expensive and less affected by moisture in comparison with the walnut stocks.

The barrel length varies from 18 to 26 inches but all lengths aren’t available on all models. When choosing the length, hunters must think about what the length implies: the stiffness of the barrel, the length, the weight and the bullet’s speed as it leaves the barrel’s end. If the barrel is longer it will so to say “ wiggle “ when the cartridge is fired which will have a huge impact on the accuracy. Shorter barrels are a little bit more accurate but for a hunting rifle the difference is basically insignificant. The disadvantage of a lighter gun is that the recoil is more powerful in comparison with the recoil on heavier rifles.

Most of the metal parts of a bolt action rifle are made of either carbon steel or stainless steel. Carbon steel has one major advantage and one major disadvantage. The major advantage would be that it is less expensive while the major disadvantage would be that it has the tendency to rust ( although carbon steel parts are in most cases treated in order to reduce the rusting risks ). Stainless steel parts resist very good to rust but are a little bit more expensive.

As you can see, there are many aspects a hunter must take into consideration before choosing the most suitable hunting rifle. One last thought, it is very important to think about the game you are about to hunt before choosing the rifle and also don’t exaggerate when buying, not too expensive but also not too cheap, somewhere in between.