Author Topic: WORST RIFLE? BEST? (Read 16946 times)

Pinebark · « **Reply #90 on:** May 16, 2006, 05:29:37 AM »

This posts has been going on for a while and seems all types and brands have both good and bad ones. Seems that some are mentioned more than others. I have had few Remys that shot good but have had a couple that did. Same for Winnys and Rugers. As for Sako and Kimber, nothing but bad luck and this extends to Savage also. Now for Browning, I have had a couple that did not shoot like I liked but they were not all that bad and most shot like a house afire and have become my go to rifles. The rifles I now hunt with are a Browning SS Stalker in 308 and Winny SS Classic in 338 WM. Of all the rifles I have owned over the years these two are my keepers. I have owned one Tika that was OK and I have had a couple of Roys rifles that were OK but never put a smile on my face. Marlin levers except for one have been good shooters also and my CZ 22 Special and Style are tack drivers. So to sum it up from what I have seen is you get good and bad ones. If I ever find a Kimber I like or a Sako (7mm-08) it just may be my next keeper and remember, I have not had good luck with these two in the past.

glshop20 · « **Reply #91 on:** May 21, 2006, 01:40:29 PM »

The absolute all time worst rifle I have ever owned was a Ruger Mini-14. No matter what ammo, what sights(scope included) it shot like manure. I no several other people with similar experience. I recently bought a Yugo SKS and they are not known to be a to be great shooters but it shoots circles around that Mini-14 and cost less then a third the money. A friend also had similar luck with a Yugo. I think the mini in mini-14 stands for minimum accuracy.

qajaq59 · « **Reply #92 on:** May 22, 2006, 01:25:54 AM »

BEST.... 1954 Remington 760 in 30-06. It has shot everything from wood chucks to moose and it's still a good rifle.

peakoftherut · « **Reply #93 on:** May 25, 2006, 06:20:33 PM »

Worst rifle was an 810 mossberg. It had a tang safety that had a nasty habit of moving to the fire position when walking through the brush. Also, because they made so few of them, parts were almost impossible to come by.

Best is a Ruger m77 mk11 stainless. Shoots under a minute of angle and allways works no matter the weather. There are 5 of these in camp and nobody has ever had a problem.

SM Bob · « **Reply #94 on:** December 11, 2006, 03:52:59 PM »

Worst Rifle: Iver Johnson SS 30 carbine. A total steaming P.O.S.!!!!!!!!!!! The 30 carbine cartridge sucks big time! It jammed
all the time and wouldn't shoot worth a rat's rear end! I tried many different factory and handloads and different magazines. This piece of garbage wouldn't hit the side of a mountain from point blank range! If I was in WW 2 or Korea I would have never carried one of these pieces of crap. I sold it to a guy who had a sailboat and liked the fact that it wouldn't rust. Good riddance! He probably ended up throwing it overboard!

Best Rifle: Ruger M77 30-06. Would shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with Sierra 165 Gr bthp all day long. Never had a problem with it in 10 years. I had to sell it when I came on hard times. I hated to do that.

Robert

1armoured · « **Reply #95 on:** December 12, 2006, 04:36:31 PM »

Well, this post started with a good Weatherby/Howa .223,

so may I continue the praises for the little Weatherby Special Varminter in .223

I have one with the red spider-web finish synthetic stock. Great little gun. I've got it down to a 'half-minute' at 100mtrs, off the bench with my handloads.
One of the best, up there with my Sako's and Anschutz's.

Worst rifle ?

Can't say that I ever had one in the dozens of makes, models and calibres that I've owned over the years.

I just make them shoot the best that I can.

(On second thoughts, maybe the odd dodgy airgun !!!)

cheers,

Sean in 'Godzone'

1marty · « **Reply #96 on:** December 12, 2006, 05:04:48 PM »

best- win 94 (30-30)my dad gave me in 1960; stills shoots true and straight although my eyes aren't exactly the same they were back then
worst-rem 7400 30-06; took a screw driver with me to clear the jams; magazine would fall out every so often between shots; wandering zero even after changing scopes and mounts twice and having a gunsmith mount the scopes.

jmckinley · « **Reply #97 on:** December 14, 2006, 02:34:23 AM »

The worst is easy a Parker-Hale LWT 30-06. The *^&*^%&%&% kicked like a po'd mule and after 5 or 6 rounds iit hurt to much to shoot. The stock was a refined as a stone awful doesn't describe that firearm a large pile of......u get the picture. Now all my rifle are keeper 2-Ruger 77's 22-250 and 30-06. Custom 98 Mauser in 6.5 Swede that will shoot inside an inch all day, 25-05 Ultra Hunter which would be the last rifle i'd get ride of that and the Swede. I hope to add a 300WSM and a 375H&H before to long. Jess

lilabner · « **Reply #98 on:** December 14, 2006, 04:32:33 AM »

Quality control should be practiced in the factory, not left to the purchaser. Rifle builders that are geared up to give great customer service on quality problems are taking the cheap way out. I prefer firearm makers that won't let a rifle out the door until they are certain it meets high standards. Unfortunately, some of the American companies have let go of quality control in recent years.

Buckskin · « **Reply #99 on:** December 14, 2006, 04:50:00 AM »

I will stick up for Remington, I have never had a problem with them. Only one REM rifle, 700bdl in 300 RUM, papers like a varmint gun. But also have a 870 w/ a bird and a slug barrel that has killed many a bucks. I think I've truely cleaned it once, except for oil on the outside once a year. An old pump 22 that was bought in the early 50s and is the most accurate 22 I have, rusty as hell. As far as costumer service, the only time I used them was when I lost the rear ramp for that old 22 and they sent me one on their nickel.

Little Joe · « **Reply #100 on:** December 14, 2006, 06:38:14 PM »

My best rifle that I have ever owned is a Weatherby Vanguard that I just bought last month. Wow, What a nice shooter. Everything works very well with this rifle. Shoots factory Winchester 180 Power points at 1 1/4 inch at 100 yards. My worst Rifle is my Ruger 77 in 308 Winchester. It shot well after 200.00 dollars of custom work done to it. A new trigger, Glass bedding the action and years of load development to get it to shoot at an inch at 100 yards with 180 grain bullets. I wanted to shoot 150's or 165 grain bullets but no way. It won’t shoot them. This rifle took some real work to get to where it is today. Oh, I almost forgot. My Marlin 336c in 30-30 is a sweet little shooter. Very well made rifle. Shoot 1 inch groups at 100 yards with my handloads. Many can't believe the target groups at the range when they see this little lever gun in action.

Little Joe

usherj · « **Reply #101 on:** December 15, 2006, 02:55:50 AM »

In my limited experience-
Best include Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 and CZ452 Special 22LR

Worst - Rem 700 ADL in 308. But it met their 3" accuracy standard and had a trigger that felt like sand was in it. The "you are on your own now" customer service approach is what really soured me. This only applies to their newer rifles, the older ones had better quality control. Happened 8 years ago, but upsets me now just thinking about it. They have some nerve claiming incredible out of the box accuracy.

jro45 · « **Reply #102 on:** December 15, 2006, 03:19:08 AM »

My worst rifle was the Savage 110 in 300 mag. Its the worst rifle ever made as I see it.

lilabner · « **Reply #103 on:** December 15, 2006, 04:03:38 AM »

Without getting into particulars, I'll just say that I'm hesitant to buy from any of the U.S. builders except Savage. (Browning guns are good but made elsewhere). Too many people are having too many problems. The exception is Savage, which is blessed by a bolt gun design which makes it easy to assemble accurate rifles on the cheap. My recent purchases have been Savage, CZ, Vanguard,(built in Japan by Howa),and Tikka. The CZ and Vanguard are good shooters that required only trigger work ( I hear the new CZ triggers are great, though) the Savage was a good shooter out of the box and hopefully, the new Tikka will be the same. America is a country of riflemen and if you go back 25 years you'll find that our rifles were as good as any. Something has happened to quality control. When I hear someone praise an American company's customer service, it usually has to do with fixing something which shouldn't have left the factory built wrong. Quality control should be practiced at the factory, not left to the consumer.

Buckskin · « **Reply #104 on:** December 15, 2006, 04:05:14 AM »

Quote from: usherj on December 15, 2006, 02:55:50 AM

Worst - Rem 700 ADL in 308. But it met their 3" accuracy standard and had a trigger that felt like sand was in it. The "you are on your own now" customer service approach is what really soured me. This only applies to their newer rifles, the older ones had better quality control. Happened 8 years ago, but upsets me now just thinking about it. They have some nerve claiming incredible out of the box accuracy.

The nice thing about Remington is they have a trigger that is very workable, you can adjust it easily to your liking. I agree they come with a 8 or so pound lawyer, but you can make it a hair trigger if you want.

usherj · « **Reply #105 on:** December 15, 2006, 04:47:50 AM »

I can not agree with lilabner more. The problem has to do with quality control. If you continue to buy the product, the manufacturers will not change their process. How come Tikka can produce a rifle with a flawless trigger and 1 MOA guarantee for under $600 and the US firms can't? As far as the REM 700, the trigger was the least of the problems. I would have had to invest loads of $ to get it to shoot decently. I don't understand why they can't set a standard and ensure their rifles meet it before they go out the door. Most people who have been through the frustration of not getting a rifle to shoot after trigger jobs, bedding, load development, etc would gladly pay more for a decent rifle that shoots out of the box. I think good competition from foreign firms will raise the US quality. I hope so

Buckskin · « **Reply #106 on:** December 15, 2006, 04:57:05 AM »

Quote from: usherj on December 15, 2006, 04:47:50 AM

I can not agree with lilabner more. The problem has to do with quality control. If you continue to buy the product, the manufacturers will not change their process. How come Tikka can produce a rifle with a flawless trigger and 1 MOA guarantee for under $600 and the US firms can't? As far as the REM 700, the trigger was the least of the problems. I would have had to invest loads of $ to get it to shoot decently. I don't understand why they can't set a standard and ensure their rifles meet it before they go out the door. Most people who have been through the frustration of not getting a rifle to shoot after trigger jobs, bedding, load development, etc would gladly pay more for a decent rifle that shoots out of the box. I think good competition from foreign firms will raise the US quality. I hope so

I agree, they all should come out with decent standards. The only reason I'm not pounding on Remington is because the 1 that I have shoots great. When I get one that doesn't they will hear about it, as well as anyone else I can let know. The internet is a great tool for venting such issues. And for those who have had problems with Remington, keep it up, it can only help.

Buckskin · « **Reply #107 on:** December 15, 2006, 04:59:16 AM »

By the way, the next rifle that I buy will likely be a Tikka because of the great things I have heard about them. And not a Remington, because of the problems I have heard, not experienced. Why take the chance.

tscott · « **Reply #108 on:** December 15, 2006, 01:47:01 PM »

Worst = that junk that Gander Mtn. was hawkin' for 7bills+ (m70), as last of the Winchesters. Fit and finish was like an Edsall. Last of the Winchesters my tail... only until they figure how to put the name on more crap.
Best= Savage 99 (pre 1960). In today's world??? For the price, I really like the walnut/satin Weatherby Vanguard!
Based on accuracy on the go for deer.............

gould · « **Reply #109 on:** December 18, 2006, 03:14:20 PM »

Weatherby223 has a very good point why can we buy a cheap (priced) gun made in another country and shipped here that will shoot great for way less then one made in the U.S.A. that shoots like crap? I think they are riding on there name from the good old days and there time is running out. That is our hard earnd money getting wasted.

trophytaker308 · « **Reply #110 on:** December 21, 2006, 02:34:46 PM »

Quote from: Zachary on April 29, 2003, 03:20:24 AM

I own about 7 Remington M700 BDL SS, 4 Winchester M70 Classic Stainless, 2 Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalkers, and 2 Tikka Whitetail Hunters (1 Laminated Stainless, and 1 Laminated Stainless). :-D :-D :-D

Zachary

did you have a laminated ss that wouldnt shot?if so what was the make and caliber...thanks.

TX Devil Doc · « **Reply #111 on:** December 24, 2006, 05:26:59 AM »

Best? A tie... between Steyr-Mannlicher Classic in 7mm-08 and .308. Great craftmanship; trigger and bolt especially.
Though I'd recommend a Sako 85 or Sauer M90as well. I had a chance to shoot both while in Europe.

Worst? Remington M700 BDL in 30-06. Sloppy craftmanship; hard to cycle bolt & bad cartridge feed.
I doubt I'd ever by an American-made rifle again if they don't catch up with foreign-made. However, I have not had a chance to try a Kimber rifle but believe they are American-made.