Where to buy a hunting rifle?

You can get a new savage or Remington with a synthetic stock at big 5 for around $400. If you consider a Remington, get the model 700. Stay away from the Model 710, too many plastic parts. The Savage is well built. 270 or 30-06 are both quality performers. The 270 in a 130 grain is fast and flat shooting. The 30-06 150 grain is not quite as fast as the 270 but will hit a little harder. Can't go wrong with either one for north american big game. 

Good luck
Ben

Hey Northern,

I don't know where you live, but I've got several hunting rifles that i would be happy to let you try out (under my supervison) The .308 and 7mm-08 (both scoped) are likely the two most appropriate for what you want to start with.  My dedicated pig gun is a Marlin .45-70 guide gun... I use the lever action for up close and personal work... it will stop a truck.

Is that a russian boar?   Nice hog.  Used to have something like them in backyard in Texas.  Small ones made for good eats. 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=418414&fromPageCatId=170083&catNavId=170083

Last night I remembered Weatherby is sold in Walmart's, maybe not in this area but they were in Texas and South Carolina.  Might be worth the few extra ducks for a Weatherby.

Is that a russian boar?   Nice hog.  Used to have something like them in backyard in Texas.  Small ones made for good eats. 

Pure strain Russian?... definately not.  However, when the Russian fur traders occupied northern California back in the 1700's and 1800's, they released a lot of pure strain Russian hogs that eventually interbred with the European Spanish strain of swine that the Spaniards brough over in the 1500's and 1600's.  Wild hogs in California are a genetic hodgepodge of Russian,Spanish, and domesticated (American) swine DNA.  That hog above clearly has a bit more of the Russian DNA given it's somewhat longer snout and more wirey hair (not to mention the fact it was killed in northwest Sonoma County), but there's no chance it is pure strain Russian.

That hog was shot because it was about to open a can of whoopass on the dogs... otherwise it would have been let go.  I very, very rarely will shoot a hog that big because I much prefer the 80 to 160 pound pigs for eating.

Backcount, were you 160th AV? NSDQ= Nightstalkers don't quit? I had a tac officer who flew in Mogidshu

Nope, I was lowley air defense (1st AD, 2/59 ADA)... my kid brother however is going on his 11th year with the 3/160th... he's a W5, 22 years of service, a bad muthafucker, and my hero.

  Backcountry

W2 but I am a wheel tech I have ridden in a few birds, and have always been impressed that the Army is the only service smart enough to figure out a college degree doesn't make you a pilot.

For my 2 cents I would think about a shotgun for you and your lady. Where I hunt pigs my buddy ask that we only use slugs in a shotgun. He does let someone use a 45-70 but that is because IT WILL STOP A TRUCK. Here's my logic for recommending a shotgun for your first gun. You or your gal can use it for a multitude of game. Everything from Doves, ducks, & Turkeys, Pigs too Deer. Also serve as home protection and even sporting clays and trap shooting. You will be forced to become a better hunter/stalker due to the shorter shots. Many pigs are taken in low light, heavy brush conditions. if you hit a pig with a slug it will stay down. On my buddies property many pigs have run off after being hit with 44's, 30-06, 270's even a 308. That's why he wants us to use shotguns. I qualified expert in the army (2/27th ADA) and have fired well over 30,000 + rounds in my life and the thrill of a 300 + meter shot just doesn't do it for me. having to get up close and personal is half the fun. Don't get me wrong, you can kill a pig with any of the above, many on this board have. But you might be better served by acquiring one or two guns and teaching yourself the skill of hunting rather then getting a specific gun limiting your self to a set of circumstances. just food for thought. Whatever you choose be safe, have fun and welcome to the other madness.
   Randall

heres another shot

A 12 or 20 gauge will serve as a highly versatile tool to put game on the table... everything from birds to boars.  However, I would recommend proceeding with extreme caution if you are new to firearms and you decide to go the 12 gauge with slugs route.  If you do not have excellent instruction, it is highly likely that as a new shooter you will develop a bad habit of flinching that could be very difficult to fix.  12 gauge slug loads,even in 2 3/4", kick like a mule... worse than my .45-70 with cast 405 grain slugs going 2200 fps.

Better to start off with a weapon that you can shoot a lot, and that you can afford to shoot a lot.  It really doesn't matter what weapon you are carrying if you haven't practiced with it and/or you are scared to shoot it.

The most salient point that Randall made is to start with a very small selection of versatile weapons to get into hunting, and practice (a lot) and get good with those before getting into specialized weapons. 

I was strongly considering getting a shotgun for all the reasons you (Bigfoot) describe, but was put off for all the reasons Backcountry described. Plus, if I understand correctly, I'm going to need a really good scope if it's going on top of a slug-firing shotgun?

My wife is going to be doing most of the shooting so a 20 gauge would be perfect for all the smaller game I think. If we used it for hog hunting with slugs, would the kick be as brutal? Would it be able to fire a big enough slug to take down a hog?

I thank y'all for the offer to try out some rifles, we'll take you up on it! We're going pheasant shooting next weekend; she'll find out if she's a half decent shot and what sort of shotgun she's comfortable with, then we'll take it from there.

This stuff is way more complicated than I realised!

Yeah I was going to mention a 20 gauge but got distracted. We even have a .410/.22 I would love to try on a meat hog. Being 6'3" 275 I use my 3 1/2 inch 12 guage, 2 3/4 shells for dove hunting and get away with it. Backcountry is right, if you can try out a few (just like kayaks) and take your time, being stuck with a gun that is not a good fit is aggravating and will spoil the fun. getting back to your ? about where to buy, most gun ranges I've been to have a small selection of used guns for sell. start dropping in on different ones and see what they have to offer. Reno has loads of places. if you ever come up this way let me know and i can give directions or maybe even go out and practice shooting.
Randall
PS BC that is a healthy Hog, could have put a hurt on the dogs.

I;m more of a purist and don't use scopes so i can't tell you there. a scope is just one more thing you depend on that can let you down.they even make smaller guage's then 20 so see what they have at the pheasant club for you to try. If you learn the shell sizes and use less powerful ammo you can find the right power for just about anything out there. Semi auto guns use some of the gas discharge to cycle the ammo so they even have less kick.
Randall

Reno has loads of places.

isn't it illegal to buy a gun in Nevada then bring in into CA?