Best starter guns for an adult newbie

[cash_tx]

Reviving an old thread to sing high praises for the Howa 1500 in 308..

Our youngest has recently taken up hunting... We took her along on a trip to South Africa last July.. she'd never hunted anything (big or small game), but decided to give things a try while we were there.. after taking her first impala, she now is all in.. We're taking her back in July 2023 to give her a shot at a few more plains game.. and are looking at a couple of local hunts this next season to take her on as well (she also chased dove in Argentina a few months ago also)...

So... once we started making plans for this coming July I decided it was time to buy her a rifle... she already owns a shotgun and a pistol and a .22 rifle.. but has never owned a centerfire of any sort and has very little experience with them.. so I didn't want to drop a fortune on what MIGHT (although doubtful) be a fleeting hobby that only lasts a couple of seasons and then goes away.. but at the same time wanted something reliable, accurate, in a caliber she could handle, etc.. that is also capable of easily dispatching TX deer, hogs and other NA critters as well as most plains game (currently she only has blesbok and maybe springbok on the menu for this summer.. but I have a feeling when the time comes, somehow a kudu or something else will end up being talked about lol...)...

Ive been looking at different offerings from remington, winchester, begara, etc.. and had already decided we'd go with .308 for the caliber (her mom shoots 308 90% of the time.. I shoot 308 90% of the time.. Ive got close to 500 rounds loaded that shoot well in our preferred rifles, etc..)..

@cash_tx has gotten me into a good bit of trouble lately keeping the North DFW guys informed of the closeout/clearance sale going on at the Field & Stream that's close by.. about a week ago we stopped back by just to see if anything was left on the shelves (there is almost nothing left)... and found just a few rifles and pistols on the racks, all at 25% off... Among them was a hunt ready Howa 1500, topped with a cheap scope (but decent bases/rings), in a Hogue Overmould stock (stock alone is a $135 value.. and is substantially better than what most companies are putting on their entry level rifles).. with the discount, the rifle was $471 out the door... thanks @cash_tx ... you've now cost me close to $2K between the 4x trips to Field and Stream...

I know little about Howa other than its the same rifle as the Weatherby Vanguard, and that it seems to get very good reviews from the folks that own them... but after checking it out and seeing some of the features (an AR/Sako type extractor, takes Rem 700 mounts, the Hogue stock, etc).. at that price I couldn't leave it behind.. So, our youngest now has a new PG/Deer rifle...

So.. fast forward to now... I immediately pulled the scope and put something a little nicer on it (had a spare 4-12x sitting the safe doing nothing).. cleaned it up, bore sighted it.. and then took it to the range..

With winchester white box 150 gr, it'll hold just under a 1" group at 100 (5 rounds).. with the same hand loads that we hunt with in my wife's kimber and my Rem 600, it holds right at .75" at 100 (well within the Howa 1 MOA guarantee)...

While its only got about 40 rounds through it so far.. for the money, I dont know that this rifle can be beat.. I am SUPER IMPRESSED..

Man, I'd really like to feel bad about turning you on to all that Field & Stream Close-Out goodness, but I just can't bring myself to. ;-). Seriously, though: I was handling all those Howa and Bergara rifles that they had on closeout and kept having to rein myself in from going home with yet another rifle that I don't need. I'm glad to hear your daughter is enjoying the Howa; and I have certainly been impressed with every one that I have ever shot. The accuracy and quality of the Howa 1500 and Weatherby Vanguard offerings are (I think) some of the best bang-for-the-buck you can get in today's market.

 

[mdwest]

If you just can’t stand it… there was 1 more howa in 308, and 2 in .223 left for the same price…

They still have 2 begara in 450 BM as well… was sorta surprised to see them in that caliber…

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

If you just can’t stand it… there was 1 more howa in 308, and 2 in .223 left for the same price…

They still have 2 begara in 450 BM as well… was sorta surprised to see them in that caliber…

@mdwest
A mate of mine Greg bought a Stevens 200 in 223 with a timneu trigger, dnz mounts and a cheap scope 2nd hand for 300 bucks. That thing shoots 60gn Hornady VMAX hand loads that he cobbled up into one hole groups. Almost as good with most 55gn hand loads. Factory federal blue box 55gn is 4 into 0.4 and the 5th opens it up to 0.7. Man he loves that rifle..
Bob

 

[IvW]

@Andrew62
There's no flies on the 150gn accubonds for plains game in Namibia either.
Bob

Accubonds are better for pg...especially heavier for caliber

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Accubonds are better for pg...especially heavier for caliber

@IvW
The game he dot including oryx will beg to differ. One shot with a 150gn accubond and it was game over. Admittedly it was a cow but it had almost 40" horns. A 140gn outer edge in 308 punched clean thru a burchells zebra D oung massive damage. It was dead on the 1st shot but still standing so he put another into it and it fell over. At the skinning shed it was hard to tell the difference between my son's and the one another hunter hit with a 2x212gn ELDX out of a 300 win mag. Similar amounts of damage and both very dead.
Bob