[moredes]

I've got a friend in Japan whose eligibility will come up in March 2011... that means that after his ten-year wait he will be allowed to purchase and/or import ONE rifle in his lifetime. Ain't I glad I was born inda USA?

To the subject: he'd much prefer a military rifle to hunt with, though he will also use this rifle for dedicated target-shooting (300yd is probably the maximum available distance). 10-, 20-, and 30- round magazines are not a restriction--amazing, since I woulda thought Japan tougher than CA, NJ, or MA. Anyway, he will use it to hunt deer, Asian Black Bear, and boar. Both bear and boar tend to weigh 200-300 lb. The record for both species hovers in the 425-450lb range, but those are aberrations.

I thought an AR-10 format would suit him for accuracy, but I'm not sure about the .308 as a recommended caliber. That led me to offer him a suggestion of the Rem 700 in an unspecified caliber as my second choice.

1) What rifle would you recommend?
2) What caliber would you recommend?

Thank you.

 

[bubbat]

If I could only have one rifle in my lifetime it would be a Remington 700 in .308

 

[crazyace85]

Can he own one rifle with multiple calibers.

 

[TomBomb]

The Rem. R-25 in 308. Or an AR15/AR10 with multiple uppers.....if allowed....

For a bolt gun and the larger game, I'd go to 300 win mag, or 300 WSM for the power and range while still somewhat reasonably priced to shoot. The rifle brand is subject to available funds (with 10 years to wait, he may have plenty of $$ to spend), and personal preference, but he can't go wrong with a Rem700 - I would think he could get customer support and accessories worldwide. Of course other major brands are now being manufactured over there.... :thinking:

:2c:

 

[Caleb C]

I like the 700s and AR-10s too but if I only had one chance to get it right I'd go for a Springfield M1A with lots and lots of mags

 

[moredes]

Thanks, Gents, for all the replies. In response to the posts, I should make some additional observations--

I forgot to mention budget--I think $4000 would be about tops, especially with the strength of the yen now against the dollar. He's paid $2000-3000 for his shotguns without blinking. (Japan's firearms regulations are so restrictive, gun prices are astronomical.)

I don't know if additional uppers to the AR-10 platform or additional calibers on one receiver are allowed. I'll ask him. That'd be a great recommendation.

My first suggestion was an M1A; I actually thought of the SA Super Match combined with a JAE stock (for absolute accuracy), but deferred to the cheaper accuracy and lighter weight of the AR-10.

TomBomb,

Do you think the .308's a tad light for bear and boar if they average around 250 pounds?

Thank you all.

 

[jbpmidas]

I think the .308, with the heavier bullets, is plenty for 250-350 lb animals. You could always go with the AR-10 in .338 Federal.

 

[msredneck]

Your price range should not be a problem...if he has that much $...don't settle for an out of the box rifle

My "dream rifle"

Custom 308 Winchester, Remington 700 action, Jewel Trigger, A4 stock, Nightforce optics

 

[btr568]

any of these calibers will take bear or boar....7mm08,308,the ever trusty 30-06,35 Whelan,270,280(just a tad less power than a 7mag)7mag,300mag.

as a side note I have a buddy from Canada and he kills bear purdy regular with a 30-30 in the weight class you mentioned.

I have used 22LR,30-30 and most of the calibers I mentioned to kill Hogs over my life time(except the 35 Whelan,its new so we'll see just how wicked it is this year)

Personally if I could only OWN 1 rifle ,I'd chose either a Marlin XL7 or any Savage/Stevens 200 over every thing out there,because with a barrel wrench,you can swap out about 20 something different calibers...243,22-250,308,7mm08,30-06,270,280,35Whelan,358Winchester,just to name a few All use a .473 bolt head,so the only thing that limits a caliber swap in mag space lenght....just food for thought :thumbup:

http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

Base....473
Listed longest lenght
.280 Remington 2.540(64.52mm)Tie for 1st place
.270 Winchester 2.540(64.52mm)Tie for 1st place
30-06 2.494(63.34mm)....2nd place
35 Whelan 2.484(63.09mm)Based off 30-06
358 Winchester 2.015(51.18mm)Based off 308
308 Winchester (51.18mm)
22-250 (48.56mm)
220 Swift (56.00mm)
225 Winchester (49.02mm)
243 Winchester (51.94mm)
25-06 Win (63.35mm)
25-284 (63.35mm)Wildcat
25-225 (55.12mm)Wildcat
250-3000 Improved (48.26mm)Wildcat
250 Savage (48.56mm)
257 Roberts (56.72mm)
257 Roberts Improved (55.96mm)Wildcat
270-308 (51.18mm)Wildcat
284 Winchester (55.12mm)
300 Savage (47.52mm)
375 Winchester (51.31mm)
This is just a few you can do with the Marlin XL7 or Savage/Stevens.thats not what is counted out of the Metric calibers(Eouropean)...
Note...the mags won't work with any of these,without a bolt alteration(I won't ever try,myself)

 

[moredes]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Guys! Keep'm coming... I'll pass them on.

 

[IslandTimes]

I don't know who makes it, but I've seen an AR setup where the magwell and the barrel can be changed out pretty easily while the rest of the gun, both upper and lower, stay assembled. Depending on what the restrictions are, that may do the trick for him.

 

[profiler999]

.300 wsm has better ballistics than a .308 for longer ranges. just sayin.....

 

[spmwheels]

Has anyone thought of the kimber 8400? might be one to think about.

 

[nhstk02]

My suggestion would be a 30-06, because of the many different bullet weights. Let him choose the gun.

 

[PWB]

I wonder if he can own a Arisaka rifle Type 99 7.7x58mm...if not then maybe something manufactured by Howa.

 

[Brutus]

I'm kinda surprised that no one's mentioned it, but what about an M-1 Garand with a beefed up op rod and an accuracy tune-up?

1) It's a military rifle.

2) It shoots .30-'06, which is plenty for all the game mentioned at the weights specified

3) It's available with either the old-style side scope mount, OR the L.E.R. scout mount that replaces the top handguard.

The beefed up op rod is for shooting heavier/hotter hunting loads that have more recoil than standard M2 ball or match grade for competition. Might want some good 180-200 grain bullet loads for the bear and boar.

 

[Brutus]

I *think* some company(ies) is building AR-10 type rifles in .300 WSM. If not, maybe .358 Winchester? Probably if you look around at all the different manufacturers you can find AR-10 type rifles in any .308 based caliber

 

[moredes]

Thanks Guys! Keep'em coming... he's still waiting for an answer about multiple uppers for an AR-10, and I'll pass on the Arisaka 7.7x58 idea along with that scoped Garand.

Now them's some real imagination! I never woulda thought of them. I dunno how much he's into "historical" weapons, though--but a well-done, Garand M1C/D in Japan.... Wow!

 

[Flyfisher]

35 Whelen - good for near everything. Perhaps light for rihno, elephant, cape bufalo but then again shot placement does count more than caliber.

 

[SilentHitz]

+1 on the Garand, or if he wants a .308, my pick would be a M-14 since he seems to lean toward a milsurp.