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All you need For the money it’s the best rifle you will buy that’s not a build for Way Less. |
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Originally Posted By Phobby: All you need For the money it’s the best rifle you will buy that’s not a build for Way Less. That's MSRP $1700. Cabalas has them on clearance right now for $1100, otherwise its over a $1500 rifle. For that kind of money, I can think of a ton of rifles that are very good. I'd rather buy a Ruger American II for $600, spend $500-750 on a scope, and pocket the rest of the money. |
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I have lusted for a Sauer 404 Stutzen Select for years. Available in .30-06. Attached File That being said, a Ruger American standard hunter with a Leupold is absolultely just as functional. Their new hammer forged barrels are surprisingly good. |
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Originally Posted By GSPatton: I have lusted for a Sauer 404 Stutzen Select for years. Available in .30-06. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/80691/sauer_png-3284176.JPG That being said, a Ruger American standard hunter with a Leupold is absolultely just as functional. Their new hammer forged barrels are surprisingly good. My Sauer 202 had the smoothest action I have ever felt. |
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The OP is talking like he wants a brand new rifle but I am thinking why beat up a brand new rifle dragging it around in the woods? Consider buying a experienced rifle from the used rack and putting the money saved into a top shelf optic. The difference between a budget scope and a decent one can be startling , more so if you find yourself hunting in less than perfect light conditions. If you think hard about it the caliber of a hunting rifle shouldn't be a big deal , buy a uncommon caliber, buy 4 boxes of ammo and you have nearly a lifetime supply. Nothing wrong with the old stand by calibers also. The OP talks possibly of two rifles , I am thinking 300WM and .243 . |
| You can buy a Weatherby Vanguard Obsidian for $550 at Sportsman's. Pick from one of 17 calibers. It's got a Howa action. Throw a $500 scope on it and for less than $1100 plus tax (in the right caliber), you'll have the only hunting rifle you'll ever need. |
"You want perfection, or nothing. The revolution was never perfect....We fight because we believe, we leave because we are disilliusioned, we come back because we are lost, we die because we are committed.
- Jesus Raza, The Professionals
- Jesus Raza, The Professionals
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There has never been a wider range of ~cheap to midrange but very good rifles with a caliber for every need than right now. Weatherby Vanguard, CZ, and Tikka are very high values and little different than the super common rifles you'll see out there, although mostly in standard calibers. The Mauser M18 series looks very promising also. I always like something different just to have an adventure, especially in 8mm Mauser. I have an old school Euro sporter K98 and a modern Rem 700 Classic in 8mm Mauser. It is a powerhaus with Euro spec ammo, basically a German '06. I bought ample premium ammo years ago when prices were normal. Some of the best commercial ammo you'll find is Nosler Ballistic Tip 180 gr @ 2600 fps and Laupa Naturalis 180 gr @ 2700 fps, both are total deer slayers, although only Nosler is still readily available and twice as expensive as it was 7-8 year ago (then again, so are MOST things...).  Buffalo Bore just recently announced they are going to make 8mm in 150 gr @ 2900 fps and 170 gr Barnes TSX @ 2650 fps, first time I'm aware of a commercial round with TSX! Makes me think about picking up a Sauer 100 in 8x57...... |
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Originally Posted By GSPatton: I have lusted for a Sauer 404 Stutzen Select for years. Available in .30-06. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/80691/sauer_png-3284176.JPG That being said, a Ruger American standard hunter with a Leupold is absolultely just as functional. Their new hammer forged barrels are surprisingly good. I absolutely love these rifles. Unfortunately they have a hefty price tag so as a poor I must make do with my 200’s and a 202 in 7 mag and 300 WM. My 200’s have gone on every African trip and they are the first rifles I reach for on hunting trips. |
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Originally Posted By SteveJobs: Awesome information. Thank you for sharing. I would still like to be able to shoot an elk at some distance. But as I'm reading, 30-06 seems to be accepted out to 300-400 yards depending on the load/shooter. So I think that'll be acceptable to my use. How heavy of a rifle do you like? I'm seeing huge variability between off the shelf guns. Like I said, I don't want to go carbon fiber barrel or anything crazy light, but I'm mostly looking to stay lighter than an AR10. I certainly see what all the fuss is about with tikka and bergara. I've been able to shoot a few, and they are quite nice. It's kind of a shame we are running out of "nice" made in usa rifles. Savage is creeping back to the top of my list though. If I can find a relatively inexpensive action, I'd hunor building my own. But, everything I find is $650+ for a bare 700 action, which is hard to justify when the savage is 900-1000 complete and ready to go. Originally Posted By SteveJobs: Originally Posted By Hasher1: I have hunted a hell of a lot of big game in the US and Africa. My #1 recommendation for 1 rifle that will do 90% of the work is an 06. I have killed more deer, elk and assorted African plains game with an 06 than all my other rifles COMBINED. All you really get from a 300 is the ability to do what an 06 does another 100 yards or so more. You load choice is yours. For my 06 I have 2 loads. 165 TSX for Elk and africa and the 165 BT for whitetail and smaller. Having said all of that I do love my 6.5. It was my only rifle in my last safari and I shot 18 animals with no complaints including Black Wildebeast and Nyala. My bullet was a 130 TSX. For hunting whitetail I use Hornaday 140 gr SST because the rifle shoots it well. The cartridge is the venerable 6.5x55 invented around 1894. If I were going to tell someone to get a 6.5 today it would advise the Creedmore. Ballistically it is a 6.5x55 that usually can’t handle heavy bullets well. Can you hunt elk with a 6.5? Many do. I won’t. I have taken elk with 7x57, 275 Rigby AI, 308, 06, 8x68S, 9.3x62, 375 H&H and yes even used my 470 NE once. I have killed more elk with the 06 than all of them. Tikka is probable one of the best thing going in factory rifles along with the Bergara. If I was just getting into a new rifle these days I would also take a very very close look at the Sauer 101 series of rifles. Every one I have seen or heard of is crazy accurate. Awesome information. Thank you for sharing. I would still like to be able to shoot an elk at some distance. But as I'm reading, 30-06 seems to be accepted out to 300-400 yards depending on the load/shooter. So I think that'll be acceptable to my use. How heavy of a rifle do you like? I'm seeing huge variability between off the shelf guns. Like I said, I don't want to go carbon fiber barrel or anything crazy light, but I'm mostly looking to stay lighter than an AR10. I certainly see what all the fuss is about with tikka and bergara. I've been able to shoot a few, and they are quite nice. It's kind of a shame we are running out of "nice" made in usa rifles. Savage is creeping back to the top of my list though. If I can find a relatively inexpensive action, I'd hunor building my own. But, everything I find is $650+ for a bare 700 action, which is hard to justify when the savage is 900-1000 complete and ready to go. I don’t obsess over rifle weight. My advice is that if your rifle is a pound heavier than you like the take 1.5 pounds out of your pack. 400 yards is not an everyday shot on elk and that ability comes down to the shooter much more than the rifle. I try to stay around 8.5 pounds and lighter if I can. As my eyes get older I have been moving to 3-15 x scopes but my tried and tried Sauer 200 in 06 still wears a Swarovski 3-9. Pick the rifle you you like the best. I would go for a Tikka lightweight in your choice (mine would be 06) and sink as much as you can I tk glass. |
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Originally Posted By bondryan: Screw having to get points to get a black bear. Also, just get a .7 prc and be done with it. Why a 7 PRC vs the much more commonly available 7mm Rem Mag? Even Walmart Carrie’s 7 mag. The PRC whike a fine round only give you about 150-200 fps and the critters will never know the difference. The OP will hunt Whitetails every year and the elk hunt is a dream hunt in the indeterminate future. |
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Originally Posted By Hasher1: Why a 7 PRC vs the much more commonly available 7mm Rem Mag? Even Walmart Carrie’s 7 mag. The PRC whike a fine round only give you about 150-200 fps and the critters will never know the difference. The OP will hunt Whitetails every year and the elk hunt is a dream hunt in the indeterminate future. Is it really that much even? I don't have experience with either one, but it looks like they are basically identical with 150 and 175 gr bullets. While there was some 7mm PRC factory loads that claimed 3000 fps with a 175 gr, reality is they don't actually get that speed. That's a whole other snowball discussion. From what I'm seeing of real world testing, and from load data, there is less than a 100 fps difference between 7mm PRC and 7mm Rem Mag with the same bullets. The "problem" some people run into is factory 7mm Rem Mag barrels often have slower twists. I just did a quick check. Tikka, Savage, and Bergara all use 1:9.5" twist on their 7mm Rem Mags. This twist rate has worked for decades with 140, 150, even up to 175gr bullets. Today people are wanting more streamlined/longer bullets, and bullets even heavier than 175gr, so the 1:9.5" twist is perceived as a handicap. Ruger doesn't even appear to make them anymore, they have 7mm-08 and 7mm PRC, but no Rem Mag. 7mm PRC comes standard with a 1:8" twist, and that can handle some crazy long bullets. Other than that it's little nit picky things that I don't really agree with. |
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If you are looking for light, affordable universal rifle I would look at a RAR gen 2 in 308. I don't have one but if I wasn't trying for the lightest rifle, and just wanted a good all-purpose range/ hunting rifle I would go RAR. I have a gen 1 in 7.62x39 for range time and enjoy it. With that said I am currently replacing my Remington model 7 308 with a Howa superlite in 308. I have a more hunting rifles than I need but over years of hiking through the mountains with them I tend to shy away from 7lb+ rifles. I hunted with 3006 for years but I rarely take anything beyond a 200-yard shot in my AO so no need for long action. I have carried my model 700 in 7mm rem mag elk hunting a few times but it's a heavy bitch compared to what I currently carry hunting white tail. |
Originally Posted By ar-jedi:
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
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Yeah, the last 2 rifles I bought were a Bergara Wilderness Ridge and a B14 hunter. The B14 Hunter was grabbed off grabagun for $711 recently. Waaaaaaay better than the Ruger American. Or a bunch of others. If it makes you feel better, Bergara is what Remington SHOULD jave been if they didnt sell out to auseless equity group. |
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Originally Posted By Type7SOT: I just bought a Savage 110 trail hunter in 6.5CM for this years deer season. It was only $479. If I ever had need of a new hunting rifle, this is what I would get. Probably in .270, but that's my preference. Savage makes a damned accurate rifle at what are still reasonable prices. No need to overthink it OP. Light enough for a walking around rifle, accurate enough for any shot you might reasonably take. Pick one and get good with it. For reference, I have the following Savage rifles. Axis .243 Axis .350 - primary deer rifle 110 Varmint .223 - Primary woodchuck rifle 93r .22mag - Secondary woodchuck rifle All of the above rifles have worked fantastically and all are at worst 1moa with ammo they don't particularly like, and half that with handloads they do like. Glass is more important than the rifle depending on your needs or even likely needs and conditions. |
Trusting your life to the benevolence of an armed criminal is not a strategy, it is stupid!
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Originally Posted By Type7SOT: I just bought a Savage 110 trail hunter in 6.5CM for this years deer season. It was only $479. I like my Savage 110 Ultralite, I just can't stand the bolt. It's really stiff to lift and lower, and opening and closing the action the flutes hang up on the inside of the receiver. Nowhere near as smooth as my 700 on both fronts. I'm planning on a bolt lift kit and a longer handle but that wont help with the smoothness opening the action up. I'm tempted to try a new bolt sleeve instead of the fluted one it came with. |
Watching the kids shoot Pieeater's 1919 was great. Nothing warms the heart more than seeing a little kid kneeling in a pile of brass and links.-Pthfndr after the Nov 13th NorCal shoot
| My main deer rifle is a .30-06 Rem 700 Mountain Rifle circa 1999/2000. It's a laser with 165gr TSX hand loads. I also have an M700 in .308 from about 6 or 7 years ago. They are fine rifles. My Ruger American is not in the same class. They are decent rifles, but in my opinion. Crude. Accurate, but Zero attention to detail. I had to file and polish the bolt to get it to feed smoothly. If I were buying a new rifle today, it would be the Bergara B14 in .30-06. |