How to Choose the Best Hunting Rifle: Your Complete Guide

Aaron Spuler is a firearms enthusiast and recreational shooter. Follow more or his work at The Weapon Blog

If so, you need to make sure your equipment is in order. While camouflage, calls, and other pieces of gear are all readily available there’s one key piece of the equation when it comes to hunting: your rifle.

Making sure you have a great hunting rifle isn’t as easy as it looks, but with some forethought, you should be able to find exactly what you need.

So this year get the best chance you can against your prey. Whatever you’re after, we have an answer, read on and we’ll help you pick the best hunting rifle for your needs.

Hunting Rifle 101: Pick the Right Caliber and Action

The first thing to consider for a hunter is the caliber of rifle required for the game they’re hunting.

While a Remington 10/22 is a great small game gun it’s ineffective against anything much bigger than 20lbs.

On the other hand, if you’re planning on shooting at rabbit you’re going to want to leave the centerfire rifles at home.

If you’re new to firearms don’t let anyone trick you into spending the money on a gun with special ballistics either. Rounds like .220 Swift or .300 Blackout have their uses but they’re expensive, ammunition is rare, and the tried and true hunting rounds are your best bet.

You’ll also need to take into account any state regulations. Some states require a bullet of a certain size, while others only require that the rounds used for large game are centerfire.

For instance, in Indiana, it’s not legal to use many calibers of rifle which are considered totally kosher in other states.

In general, you should consider the following calibers after considering local laws:

• Small Game: .22LR, .22WMR
• Varmints: .17HMR, .223/5.56, .22WMR
• Deer and Boar: .30-06, .308, .240
• Larger Game: .30-06 and larger

These guidelines should get you in the right area and all of the above rounds are commonly available. Birds are almost always hunted with shotguns, which is another subject entirely.

Overpowered rounds will destroy meat and pelts, underpowered rounds risk only wounding the animal instead of presenting you with a clean take. Use the appropriate caliber.

Bolt-action rifles are standard for hunting. They tend to be more accurate at the same price point than semi-automatic guns.

The exceptions tend to be the smaller calibers. .22LR, for instance, doesn’t have enough recoil to cause serious problems with accuracy no matter what form of action the rifle uses.

For a new hunter, we’d suggest that if you purchase a rifle which uses a centerfire round then go with a manual action. These include bolt-action, lever-action, and pump-action rifles.

They’re more accurate, have fewer moving parts, and require less maintenance than a semi-automatic rifle.

Consider Your Hunting Grounds

Where will you be hunting?

Different areas have different requirements when it comes to your rifle. In some areas, you may find yourself regularly firing at 200 yards or more to hit game. In other areas, you’ll be hunting in tight valleys and canyons where being presented a clean shot over 50 yards is a rarity.

Once you have the right caliber in mind you’ll want to carefully consider where you’re hunting, because it will determine the rest of what you need for your rifle.

For longer shots a longer barrel is practical. If you’re having to hump it through dense woodlands where short-range shots are normal you may want to get things down to the legal limit for a rifle barrel instead.

Solid guns, without a lot of things to snag, are also a boon in dense vegetation. A Savage .223 bolt action is less likely to grab onto things while you’re walking than an AR-15 with a bunch of accessories on the rails after all.

What About Optics?

The optics you use during hunting season are important.

In general, most hunters will use scopes or red dots, although some prefer iron sights.

Fast-moving prey, like antelope, are sometimes hunted with military-style sights like the Trijicon ACOG since the shots are often made on moving prey and the sight facilitates shooting with both eyes open.

Expect to spend at least 50% of your rifle’s cost on a good scope. It’s expensive, but a high-end optic can be moved between rifles and won’t come off true just because you hit a few bumps on the ATV it was strapped to.

Robustness is the name of the game for a hunting rifle.

Red dots and iron sights are more appropriate for close shooting. If you’re rarely given a shot over 100 yards then either option is fine. Red dots are faster for target acquisition for most shooters, but someone who’s well-practiced with iron sights won’t have any trouble.

Minor Considerations for Your Rifle

No rifle is perfect for all situations.

And really, as long as you don’t go with an off-brand, cheap rifle the caliber is usually more important than most of the qualities of a gun.

Rail attachments are great for rifles if you like to customize them. The Picatinny rail system, like those found on AR-15, has oodles of cool stuff you can attach for instance. It’s almost a standard these days.

For hunting an adjustable stock can also be a big plus. When set properly you’ll be able to get the exact eye relief needed for your optics without having to slide forwards or backward on the rifle.

Most other accessories and slight modifications between rifles are up to personal choice and won’t offer much of an advantage in the field.

One thing which people overlook on a regular basis is the material the barrel is made of. Carbon steel is often much cheaper but rusts more quickly. If you’re going to slack on maintenance you’ll be better served with a stainless steel barrel.

In either case, the gun should be cleaned regularly to maintain peak performance.

Fill Your Tags This Season!

That about covers it for hunting rifles.

What you’re looking for is a manual action firearm with appropriate optics for the range you’ll most likely be shooting at and which has the options you feel are necessary.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and get the best hunting rifle you can find!

If you enjoyed this be sure to check out the rest of the blog for helpful tips and hints on everything tactical.