Best rifles today for "the rest of us"

[30-06man]

Dang! Back to the original question.. get a ruger, t/c or Remington. Then a marlin and a savage. Those are the best.

[saltydog]

It is good to see how many forum users love to debate the number of angels on a pin head issue. By the "rest of us" is there an implication that we forum members are too cheap to actually lay down more than $1000 for a rifle ? I would guess there are at least hundreds who have paid more than 1k for an "old" or new military firearm let alone a current rifle or pistol. I don't think everyone on the forum is a cheap - perhaps just those that start this type of a thread.

[teddy12b]

I don't think the purpose of this topic was to call us "forum users" cheap, but instead ask about what are the best rifles for the guys who can't afford to buy those $1,000 dollar rifles, shotguns, or handguns.  I understood the intent of this topic to basically be asking (forgive the pun) "What's the best bang for your buck?"  My vote still goes to Savage by the way.

[Old English]

When all is said and done I have 11 rifles. The 2 most accurate say Savage on the barrel, one of them cost me the princely sum of $200!

[SHOOTALL]

ain't it funny how some pick a brand or price and expect it to be the best !
my son got a  H&R single shot 17 HMR that will out shoot my Ruger M7717 not by much but a little , and it cost less than half !
now if putting the bullet in the target is what you want the H&R wins .
the savages i have shot were great shooters and ever one said shoots great but ugly ! maybe ugly is the most cost effective way to accy . hum !
i once read maybe here that a rem. 700 would never match a custom rifle , got to point out that 1000000's 700's are made , every so often one has to come together almost perfect just by chance ! got to ! the devel is finding it !

[ironglow]

  Let's face it ! The human race is a "quirky" lot !

   There are many folks that.." by things they don't need, with money they don't have..in order to impress people they really don't like anyways."

    Just because a rifle is "cheap"  (inexpensive)doesn't mean it is not good..

   The proof is in the putting..<  www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97money.html  >

  Now, some folks may consider it a real feat, had they bought that $9000 rifle to start with..I consider it a greater feat if I can take a $200 rifle and outshoot that $9000
  rifle..

      Now there is a "gotcha " !

     To each his own of course, but I use my rifles more for hunting than I do for display. A display rifle is enhanced by a burled walnut stock, fancy skip-line checkering and an
    engraved hunting scene on the side panels..while a basic hunting rifle (like the NEFs) are just plain-Jane, take-em-to-the-woods..game getters..

      I highly doubt that a coyote, woodchuck or whitetail deer hit with either one , would have much concern over the "prettiness" of the rifle that got him !


   BTW:  Who says the Savage centerfires are ugly ?..you won't hear any comment like that from me !

   

[SHOOTALL]

its the barrel nut , let them switch a barrel and they they will know pretty !

[ironglow]

  Shootall;

   Sure is funny, isn't it ! I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder..  I rather tend to think the barrel nut gives one of the neatest action-to-barrel transitions available.
 
    ...And that is nothing to say about the ease of a caliber change..just on appearance alone.

    Still, to each his own..I guess I'm of the Frank Lloyd Wright school..." form follows function"...LOL

[lilabner]

There was no set dollar figure in this question so I'll just vote on the best rifles for the money. First choice would be Savage. The 110 action coupled with accutrigger is hard to beat for numerous reasons. Second choice would be Howa/Weatherby Vanguard. Strong, well built, accurate. In a slightly higher price bracket I like CZ and Tikka. CZ is more traditional, wood and blued steel - and has a deserved reputation for accuracy. Tikka uses building shortcuts and non traditional materials but accuracy is right up there with Sako rifles.  I haven't bought American other than Savage in recent years.

[slabsides]

My rifles are by Remington, Winchester, Ruger and Marlin. All of them were bought long before the controversy over 'domestic vs. foreign' was thought of, and they are all, I'm sure, 100% American in every part. Times change, and so do our ways of doing things. Lots of  'Made in USA' goods, and that includes rifles, are at least built of SOME off-shore parts. I am not concerned, as I've said, I've GOT mine. But if I were to buy a new rifle, I'd look first at the Savage. It's a good tool, by all reports, and I 'm satisfied it's 100% American made. But I won't be throwing away any of my good older guns, or even the few foreign-made military surplus Mausers that I've accumulated over the years. They are good tools, all, and nothing available today seems to me any better than what I have. I wouldn't advise anyone just starting to assemble a collection to follow my lead in the brands I bought decades ago. And I wouldn't criticise anyone who chose to go the import route today, if that's what will best satisfy his need. 

[ccoker]

I have an old 1959 Sako and I love it, but in all honesty, I would be hard pressed to spend the extra money for a new Sako over a Tikka when they both have the same barrel and the trigger is every bit as good on the Tikka.  The Tikkas I have shot have been tack drivers.  And in fact, my latest rifle is a Tikka t3 lite, 308 in synthetic/stainless
I will spend "what it takes" to get the performance I want out of something and while the Sako is a "prettier gun" than a Tiikka it's not any more accurate nor more durable.
And while I love pretty wood, a hand rubbed finsih and deeply blued steel, a synthetic/stainless gun really makes more sense in the field. I take very good care of my stuff of course but stuff happens while hunting in the real world and the synthetic/stainless gun is a bit more impervious to scratches, rust, etc...

[teddy12b]

I couldn't agree more with the stainless/synthetic point that people keep bringing up.  I love the blued/wood 30/30 that I have, but when it rains, I just hate seeing the thing getting that fine layer of surface rust.  I know it's easily wiped away with an oily rag, but it still bugs me.  Not that you don't have to maintain a stainless/synthetic, but I'd rather just not have to worry about that as much.