Good advice from Ritten and Barney as usual. Keep the rifle short and fairly light. 22" barrel max will do anything you want to do. 7/08, 308, 270, 280, 30-06 will cover any and all hunting needs you'll ever have. Forget knockdown power, put a quality bullet in the right spot and animals die. Assuming you're not a reloader the 308 is king when it comes to factory ammo available. If it was me I'd be shopping for a clean used Remington 700 in one of the sporter models (SPS, XCR, BDL, etc). Then a quality scope in the $300 - $400 range. Leuopold is my favorite but nothing wrong with Nikon and others. I'd stay in the 3 - 9 x40 size range. Dont stress about free floating from the factory, thats easy to change later if it doesn't shoot. Lots of Remingtons have a pressure point at the end of the barrel and shoot great from the factory. Tikka T3 Lite's have a great reputation for out of the box accuracy also.
Rifle choice advice
- Thread starter deuxlatch
- Start date
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OK so I've narrowed it down to the stainless .308 models of the Tikka T3 Lite , Savage 111 or the Remington 700. Not sure between wood versus synthetic stock? The more I read about the Tikka the more I'm leaning that way. But glass is the issue now. Which is the best bang for my buck in the $300 range? Or should I just save my pennies and spend a couple hundred more? What about mounts or slings? Any input?
This.
I'm a synthetic stock person to the bone. Lighter, weather proof, and no worries about scratching up a pretty stock in a deer stand or on a 4 wheeler. Plus on a rifle with a light barrel like the Tikka light, they can be ass heavy with a wood stock.
$300 will buy all the scope you need, new Leupold VX2, Nikon Buckmaster, etc. I'm all about deals so I'd be looking for used VX2 or VX3 models. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need a 2 pound scope with a huge lense that completely screws up a light rifle. Any decent 40mm model (or even smaller) will get you well past legal shooting light. For mounts I like Tally Lightweights. The Tikka's come with rings, some people love them and some hate them. Theres a guy on another forum that mills down the Tally's to sit flush on top of the Tikka's. If you buy one let me know and I'll dig up his contact info.
For slings I like the Butler Creek neoprene but there are lots of good ones out there.
$300 will buy all the scope you need, new Leupold VX2, Nikon Buckmaster, etc. I'm all about deals so I'd be looking for used VX2 or VX3 models. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need a 2 pound scope with a huge lense that completely screws up a light rifle. Any decent 40mm model (or even smaller) will get you well past legal shooting light. For mounts I like Tally Lightweights. The Tikka's come with rings, some people love them and some hate them. Theres a guy on another forum that mills down the Tally's to sit flush on top of the Tikka's. If you buy one let me know and I'll dig up his contact info.
For slings I like the Butler Creek neoprene but there are lots of good ones out there.
OK so I went to Gander Mtn. after work on Friday to put my hands on a Tikka T3 Lite and see how it feels. All I can say is "impressive." I wasn't planning on buying because I was still searching for the best price and after seeing that they were $60 more than I could get it new at Tomball Pawn I figured I would just order it from there. Well when the sales guy said they would match any price I told him what I could get it for, he called to verify and cleared it with his mgr to go $5 less than that if I also got the extended warranty. Long story short I walked out of there with a brand new T3 stainless .308 for $702 with an extra year warranty that includes 1 free field strip cleaning, 20% off any gunsmithing for the next 3 years, and 20% off any scope with free mounting and boresight. I priced the VX2 scope there for $399 and the VX3 for $549 so it's time to save some more pennies.
I must say when I compared my T3 to a comparable Browning X-Bolt, there was no contest. The T3 has a much smoother bolt slide and way lighter, just felt better in my hands. When I got it home I immediately stripped and cleaned/lubed it and set the trigger for my preference (about 2lbs). The ultimate test now is to see what kind of group I can get after I scope it. More details to come on that later.
Thanks to all for your advice and recommendation, it didn't fall on deaf ears.
I must say when I compared my T3 to a comparable Browning X-Bolt, there was no contest. The T3 has a much smoother bolt slide and way lighter, just felt better in my hands. When I got it home I immediately stripped and cleaned/lubed it and set the trigger for my preference (about 2lbs). The ultimate test now is to see what kind of group I can get after I scope it. More details to come on that later.
Thanks to all for your advice and recommendation, it didn't fall on deaf ears.
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OK so here's the pic. I was told to get on the Midway.com website or cheaperthandirt.com for a scope because they were lots cheaper there. We'll see but I figure the price will be the same after the 20% discount from Gander AND they will mount and boresight for free.
SWFA is another great website for scopes. Everyone's different but I'd much rather mount my own scope than let counter monkeys at a big store do it. Same for boresighting, a bolt action rifle is stupid easy to boresight close enough to be on paper at 50 yards.
jguilletjr
Saw Bones
Look at Savage Arms, Fine accurate rifles relativly low price. 30-06, and .308 are good. I like the .270. Ask any group of riflemen and you'll get a lot of different opinions. Mainly look for some thing thats been around a while and ammo is readily Available. Heck the old 30-30, while it is a long way from some of the modern offerings is still a very good cartridge in an old lever gun if you want to go that way. Bottom line: The choices are endless.
Barney88PDC
SEND IT
Yeah Ted sell that Grizzly and just get some Savages. Get one in 30-30!
Yeah it's killing me, chompin at the bit to shoot it.
On Apr. 11, 2014, Remington announced a voluntary recall of Model 700 and Model Seven rifles with X-Mark Pro (XMP) triggers, manufactured from May 1, 2006, to April 9, 2014.
The remainder of the press release reads as follows:
*Remington’s investigation determined that some XMP triggers might have excess bonding agent used in the assembly process, which could cause an unintentional discharge. Therefore, Remington is recalling ALL affected products to fully inspect and clean the XMP triggers with a specialized process.
Remington has advised customers to immediately cease use of recalled rifles and return them to Remington free of charge. The rifles will be inspected, specialty cleaned, tested, and returned as soon as possible. Do not attempt to diagnose or repair recalled rifles. Remington established a dedicated website and toll-free hotline to help consumers determine whether their Model 700 or Model Seven rifle(s) are subject to recall.*
Please contact Remington for all related questions or concerns: 1-800-243-9700 (Prompt #3 then Prompt #1) Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.
The remainder of the press release reads as follows:
*Remington’s investigation determined that some XMP triggers might have excess bonding agent used in the assembly process, which could cause an unintentional discharge. Therefore, Remington is recalling ALL affected products to fully inspect and clean the XMP triggers with a specialized process.
Remington has advised customers to immediately cease use of recalled rifles and return them to Remington free of charge. The rifles will be inspected, specialty cleaned, tested, and returned as soon as possible. Do not attempt to diagnose or repair recalled rifles. Remington established a dedicated website and toll-free hotline to help consumers determine whether their Model 700 or Model Seven rifle(s) are subject to recall.*
Please contact Remington for all related questions or concerns: 1-800-243-9700 (Prompt #3 then Prompt #1) Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.
I'd much rather have a short action....
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