Opinions on these Bolt Hunting Rifles ?

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boatbum101

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BIL who's never been much of a hunter & he doesn't reload either asked about buying a rifle . Of course I asked him what he wanted to do with it . Seems he wants a general purpose rifle capable of 300yd accuracy . Well I had him shoot my Rem 700 30/06 . Seems it's a bit more than he wants , especially the 180 loads . I believe a 270W would work for him & do 90% of what an '06 will with less recoil . Added plus for him is ammo readily available pretty much regardless of locale . Can't say the same for any of the 7 or 6.5mm's as he doesn't handload . List of possibles within his budget are :
1) CZ 557
2) Weatherby Vanguard S2
3) Win 70
4) Browning X-bolt
5) Howa 1500
6) Savage 110
7) Tikka T3X
Am particularily interested on some of the stocks these come with . Flimsy plastic is one thing & well made composite is something else . All these have reps as good shooters , but I haven't shopped for a bolt action in years .
 
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My choice would probably be the Winchester M70, but I am not a great admirer of the .270, versus the .30/06.

I don’t think an occasional user would be poorly served by any of the rifles you mention. I specified the M70 because they “feel good” to me. Maybe he should go somewhere and handle as many of them as he can, before he decides?

The X-Bolt is a nice rifle, too. A little unconventional.
 
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I would choose between 1 & 7, holding back on 3, the M70 Win because a pre 64 would have been top choice but I lost track of rep of new ones. Ruger 77 series should get a shot too. Out of those listed Savage would be my last choice.
 
General Purpose - 300 yards... I vote for the .308... 7.62 NATO
for rifle... 1st vote for Savage... (what I hunt with...)
2nd vote would be the CZ...
can't really say anything about the rest one way or the other...
no hands on experience... some I just feel tend to be over rated...
 
I have a Savage 110 with the accutrigger in 308 and it was accurate right out of the box, A good rifle for the money.
 
The 308 is a great caliber and can use a shorter action.
I have been well served by my Ruger rifles.
My 2 308s are Remington Mohawks. Great little guns if you can find one.
 
About caliber... What is he intending to hunt? The .308 is a good choice, but most .308's are a little lighter in weight than a 30-06 (long action length), so kick about the same, something to consider if recoil with the 'o6 is an issue.

I just recently got into the 6.5 Creedmoor, and like it. Plenty of energy for deer sized game, and I have found it is very available and popular, at least in the shops in PA. Closely approximates the .260 Remington - a real deer killer. Mild recoil, it depends on efficient, high BC bullets at moderate velocities for flat trajectory and retained energy.

No real bad choice among the rifles listed, it's really a matter of personal preference - he really needs to handle them first, see what feels good to him. My choice of those listed? I like the CZ if wood, the Tikka if synthetic.

Larry
 
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I think, along with others, that the .308 is the most versatile. I have an old Ruger 77 in .308 and have taken many a buck with it. I also have some Howa's, really like them, and fairly inexpensive, good quality. I wouldn't buy one with the Nikko Sterling scope, cheap scope and doesn't hold zero. The CZ 557 has an excellent reputation, but don't know about cost.
 
Another vote for the Ruger American.You get a lot for the price! Caliber?? .308 is very hard to beat, short action also...Since mine is .223 not sure, but they are probably available in .308
 
The savage is a lot of rifle for the money... would probably be my choice for someone that doesn't do much shooting.. as for caliber I find a .243 is great for most medium sized game and for the recoil sensitive.
 
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Agree with several above, you need Ruger on the list.

Also a 150 grain bullet in .30-06 will take 100% of North American game with similar recoil to a .270.
 
I think we need more information...

You mention he is "not much of a hunter" and wants 300 yard accuracy - does that mean he wants a hunting or target rifle? If the latter a .223 bolt action would do the trick with low recoil.

Many of the lower-priced synthetic stock rifles have a reputation for excellent accuracy (Mossberg, Remington, Ruger, Savage, Weatherby/Howa). If he is wanting to hunt and has good judgement I agree a .243 is a good choice, widely available and low recoil. (Guys, recall he tried a .30-'06 and thought that was too much - that or a .308 seems out. :))
 
I see a lot of used bolt rifles around. If he keeps his eye open and checks around he should be able to find just what he wants for a good price. Esp. in old standby calibers.
 
Rudi said:
I see a lot of used bolt rifles around. If he keeps his eye open and checks around he should be able to find just what he wants for a good price. Esp. in old standby calibers.
Click to expand...

With the information in boatbum101's post, I am guessing his BIL's new gun may well be joining these ranks soon. :)
 
All of the major rifle manufacturers offer a low cost entry level rifle. They all seem to have the serious money in the barrel and action, not so much in the synthetic stock and magazine.

I own 3 Savage Axis rifles and can tell you that they all shoot exceptionally well, even the one without the AccuTrigger which is a .223 and used heavily on Montana Prairie Dogs.

I fire about 3000 rounds a summer and have had it for 5 years now...still shoots 5 rounds I can cover with a nickel at 100 yards!

Decide on what caliber you want and then buy it. You cannot go wrong with any of the above mentioned rifles. (The .308 or .243 are excellent choices by the way.) Readily available cartridges across the US.


Randy
 
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