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I'm not a fan of magnum cartridges a .30-'06 will do all you are looking for. To give you an idea of the quality of the factory mounted scopes look at the price of the rifle without a scope compared to one with a scope. A good rule of thumb is to spend half of much on a scope as you did on your rifle some say to spend the same amount for your scope as your rifle.

Look at a Stevens 200. Put on a Nikon Prostaff 3x9.

You should be able to get the rifle, scope, bases/rings, and some ammo for under $500.

The Stevens is not going to win any beauty contests but it is a good gun. The Prostaff isn't fancy but it is a good scope.

Ain't nothing wrong with a 30.06. It will do the job if you do yours.

The scopes in the package deals aren't worth what you pay. That said, I have bought two Stevens with scopes on them. One I gave away to a friend that needed a scope for a rifle and the second became a "back up" scope in the event the good one gets busted.

I concur with the above advice - the .30-06 will do all you need it to do for any animal on the North American continent. Plus, the recoil is so much more pleasant than that shoulder-mounted howitzer they call the .300 Win Mag!

The .30-06 will do everything you mention, however to be honest I would not hunt bear with anything less than something in .30 caliber preferably with magnum in the name. Now with that said I am a big fan of having a gun specific to the task at hand. I am not contradicting myself just wanting to ensure that I have enough gun to do the job in case I don't do my job as well as I should, out of the need to take game in a humane manner AND to ensure the game doesn't take me. Given a choice between a .30-06 and a .300 win mag I would go with the .30-06 for everything but bear.

Moving on to pre-mounted scopes. The ideal application for factory mounted optics is for folks wanting a turnkey solution that can be zeroed in and used immediately. Some firearms come with ok optics, others come with something less. Keep in mind though that what is included with the gun may not be suited for what you plan to do. I would suggest buying the gun without the optic and adding your own great optic, and you don't have to spend $600 on your optic. A good rule of thumb is buy a quality optic that costs half as much as your rifle, but it isn't always true. Additionally buy good rings and bases, don't go cheap on them and a good scope ring alignment tool will help as well. Every time I bought a rifle with a factory installed optic I have found myself wanting something else on the rifle, while this is not always the case for everyone else it is the case for me.

.30-06 is the way to go. Don't buy a magnum unless you really need a magnum. Most people, including dedicated rifle shooters, don't find magnums that much fun to shoot. Less fun = less shooting = less proficiency with the rifle. The .30-06 will take anything in north America, including large bears. Alternatively, a rifle chambered in .308 Winchester would be very nearly as versatile in terms of bullet selection, and will also take anything in the lower 48 states. Those two calibers also have the advantage of being available pretty much anywhere that ammo is for sale, with a slight edge going to the .30-06.

Unless you're saving money for a guided Alaskan bear hunt, you don't need a magnum. If you are saving money for a guided Alaskan bear hunt, then a higher quality rifle with a scope of matching quality (total expenditure in the $2000-$3000 range) is called for, and it is a fraction of the total cost of the hunt — so don't skimp.

Everyone has dreams. Be realistic about what you're actually likely to do with this rifle. That's my best advice.

When I was 14 years old, I saved all of my lawn mowing and paper route money and purchased a slightly used Remington 700 BDL in .270. It was a beautiful gun and all mine. The problem was I didn’t have enough money for a scope. My uncle gave me a hand me down Bushnell Banner 3x9 with a new set of Leupold rings to mount on that prized rifle.
That first year I shot a doe with that gun and was about as proud as could be of that gun.

Well for about the next 10 years I shot that gun about once a month and that thing became less and less accurate every year.
I just could not figure out why it would not shoot that well any longer. Over the years I have purchased other deer rifles and each time I put on quality optics and never had the problem I had with that first rifle.

I finally purchased a Leupold scope for that gun and now it is one of the prized possessions in my collection. It shoots where I want it to shoot now. That has taught me that optics can be just as important as a quality rifle.

My advice is to purchase the rifle and scope separately. Find things you want and are important to you in each one then pair the two to suit you, not what they decide to kit together to sell you.

It has also already been said but 30-06 is the way to go in my opinion.

There are almost no bad manufacturers of bolt actions. A few years ago Savage was the best bang for the buck, but people figured that out and their prices have gone up slightly. The reasons bolt actions are usually more accurate are numerous. First is that they are easy to clean properly. Second is that its hard to build a bad bolt action. Third a decent bolt action locks up nice and tight because of reason #2. Once the bolt is closed a bolt action is rock solid and parts should not move much if any at all.

good value are T/C Venture, not in wood stock or look for a used Tikka T3 hunter here is a new one: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =199955870" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

glock27 wrote:i know what you mean by the dreams. and your quote made my choice in caliber. 30-06 is what i plan to go with. im new to hunting rifles obviously, just curious on what manufacturers to stay away from. i figured bolt action would be the prefered way to go as i've read they are more accurate(but why?). can anyone point me in the direction of the best "bang for your buck" no pun intended, in 30-06, with or without a scope. im more a fan of wooden stocks as far as the looks goes but i am not particular. i know remington, winchester are going to be at the top of the list. how is savage in 30-06?

Bolt action rifles are desirable in a general purpose hunting rifle for a number of reasons. One is that, compared to either semi-automatic or lever rifles, the bolt rifle will usually be more accurate because of the way the bolt locks up. There are semi-autos that are as accurate as any bolt rifle - the FNAR comes to mind - but they will also be extremely expensive. Also, compared to most lever rifles, the bolt action is a stronger lockup, and therefore can handle higher pressure cartridges with greater power and range. Those are a few reasons, and there are others.

Probably the best deal in terms of quality for the buck is the Savage line of rifles. They have the AccuTrigger, which is very good, and they all have free-floated barrels, which will aid in accuracy. Also, the Savage receiver is very strong. There are cheaper bolt rifles, Stevens for instance, but they won't be as nice for the dollar. If you're willing to take a step up from the Savages in quality (and price), the Remington 700 rifles are very good... ...but you will pay a bit more. Also, Ruger makes good bolt rifles at a reasonable price. As far as I know, all their bolt rifles include a Mauser type controlled feed extractor - at least the old one that I have does. All three manufacturers - Savage, Remington, and Ruger - offer wood-stocked rifles.

I was on the hunt for a bolt gun not long ago in .308 Winchester. I settled on the Marlin XS7 series, which I found to be a good value. They also have the XL7 series, which covers the long-action calibers, including the .30-06. I posted some shots from my sight-in session in another thread, and this is what the $300 gun (with a $150 Redfield Revolution scope) can do at 100 yards: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=38796&start=15#p470094

The best group is the lower right corner of the third picture. Ignore the hole on the target's border, as that was from a previous session. Take out the flyer and I have a pretty decent half-inch group. If this "cheap" bolt gun can do that well, I think you'll be in good shape should you choose a Savage, Remington, or others. They have recently started selling the XL7/XS7 series with a wood stock, too.

I bought a Savage .270 about 12 years ago that had a stock scope on it and it remains dialed in. Now if I could only find the deer to dial into....