Hozzie

If you are looking for a bargain, the Savage 260 that Rob linked earlier will be hard to beat. Exact same bullet as the 6.5 Creedmore, just a bit more case capacity so slightly better overall ballistics. I would take it before the Ruger any day of the week. Only downside is there is now probably more factory loads for the Creedmore but you can still find 260 as well.

If all I was shooting is deer, I would get a 243. Flat shooting, low recoil and will kill any deer in TN. Ammo available anywhere. And for the money, Tikka's are hard to beat. Savage's shoot well, they just look like crap. Here is a Synthetic with Stainless barrel for $638. Use all of the saved money for a good scope. https://www.gunsmidwest.com/tikka-t3x-lite-243win-ss-22.html

I am amazed this is still here. Still don't have a trip planned that way unfortunately. This is such a nice value rifle for the price.

Well, taking a bit of different approach for now. Ordered a Pulsar Axion XM30 and am going to pair it with a Sightmark Wraith HD Night vision for now. I think the combination will allow me to do what I want until I decide to go further. I will probably go with the Pulsar Thermion XM50 if I decide to go ahead with a thermal scope as well. Before I spend 5k on that scope, figure I will use the monocular and see how it goes. The Wraith will be here next week. Axion will be a bit longer since it is on backorder.

I don't think I can this weekend, but if I can get some time I'll let you know (in plenty of time).

I am in Chapel Hill so I may take you up on that. I have had a lot of other large purchases this last month so trying to decide if I want to make one more now or wait a bit :).

Still not exactly sure what I am doing for the scope, but think I am going to go with the Pulsar Axiom XM30 monocular for spotting. Leaning towards the Thermion XM38 for the scope, but haven't decided yet. I have been watching a podcast of some guys who I think offer up some good takes on things. One of them brought up they would rather have a monocular and scope vs just a scope if one was trying to keep a reasonable budget. Seems to make sense to me.

I realize a 640 resolution is better than the 380 size, but is it basically just clearness? Not sure I want to pony up for a 640 unless their is a significant advantage. I probably will just be using it around the house. Could go hog hunting at some point though at a buddies in GA.

Thanks. I’ll check those out.

Thanks. I know thermals are more expensive, but not against it if I can use it on a centerfire if I talk to TWRA. I don't have animals outside of my dog so I don't expect I will meet some exemption, but doesn't hurt to talk to them. What is a decent thermal model? Again, don't need a bunch of fancy stuff, just want to see what I am looking to shoot.

I bought some land and house out in the country about 6 months ago. While I have heard coyotes around and seen them on my deer cameras, last night I had one that sounded like it was literally outside my back door. I have a dog and at night I always go out with her, but I want to remove the threat as much as I can so time to do some hunting. Knowing that we can only use rimfires at night, I am going to setup a 22 mag rifle with a night vision scope for this purpose. I may hunt during the day as well with a centerfire, but I plan to just turn all of my lights off and sit on my porch and wait at night. I know I won't be able to take a shot much more than 60-70 yards, with less than 50 being ideal. However I guess it would be good to be able to see out a bit further to see them coming into range. I know nothing about night vision in general so I wanted to ask some here that may have some experience. It seems the ATN X-Sight 4K Pro has good reviews, but seems overkill for what I need. The price isn't the major issue, but I don't care about ranging, video, etc, but if it is my best bet, not an issue either (although video could be cool). I just want something that works and that I can tell what I am shooting at. I wasn't sure if there as a device to add to a regular scope that may work well or if just going with a fully integrated unit is best (I suspect this is the case). Any suggestions? Thanks!

I haven't tested anything yet, but glad they are showing promise.

Changed this up a bit. Open to a few options in 22 Mag.

I ordered Friday and my ammo will be here today. Had Fedex tracking number the same day I ordered. I also checked for reviews and they have good reviews from what I could find.

Good price. It is nickel plated brass which I don't know if it makes a bit of difference.