No, you can make a good rifle for little money. Savage/Stevens, Mossberg and even Marlin(leveraction) makes a good cheap rifle that can keep up with any $1000 rifle. Remington could do the same but instead they build it with profit before function.
First of all I didnt say a $1,000 rifle, what I said was for a half decent set-up, a thousand dollars is not a big amount any more. That would include a higher quality rifle, a better scope, a sling and ammo. Buy a 770 and you just need a sling and ammo.
As for your statement about 'profit'... I am hoping you don't think Mossberg/Savage/Stevens are in business for bragging rights?
And as for 'function'... I would guess, even though I have not seen or held a 770, that a 770 would be quite capable of getting the job done. Just because the 770 isnt what I look for in a rifle, doesn't mean that someone who is only looking at the lower end of the market shouldn't take a look at the Remington 770.
I will agree that Marlin makes a good Lever Action, I have a few of them. But just as I own and sometimes use a Lever Gun, I like Bolts better. For me a Lever is a functional rifle, not a thing of beauty. You may disagree, which is where personal tastes come in to the picture.
Mossberg makes a decent Shotgun. They should stick to that IMO.
Stevens is and always was Second String Equipment. And even the 770 is a step up from that, just because it is a Remington.
Last year I bought 2 Remington 673's and 2 different Remington .30-06 Anniversary Limited Edition rifles (one of them is 1 of 100). Do the Math.
Would I buy a 770? NO ! But if I wanted a cheap bolt action rifle, I certainly would look at a 770 before I ran out and bought a Stevens or a Mossberg (even though they are basically both the same).
Now if I could only find out if the 770 is foreign or domestic.
