Best factory rifle?

[STK-300]

Sako 85 finnlight is hard to beat

 

[Philward]

Guys I have a Savage 110 new in box 6.5 PRC carbon barrel for sale 1300.00 to start, shipping , ins. to your FFL.

Just this weekend got to shoot one of these rifles. A friend brought it a while back and he finally got ammo for it so we took it out and zeroed it. Range to 270yds all that was available but it was ringing the going out there. Seems to be a nice rifle.

 

[DWier]

JP Sauer 100. http://www.jpsauer-usa.com/sauer-100-2/

Pick your cartridge and the lightest Absolute Hammer, develop your load, and go hunting

Get a Sauer 101 if you can find one otherwise I agree with the 100.

 

[pony doctor]

I plan on "building" a rifle, and by building I mean upgrading What I deem necessary whether that be barrel (I hope not), stock, lugs, mercury tube, brake etc. caliber aside, in y'all's opinion what is the best factory rifle under or at a 2k$ price point?

Just my fwiw; Don't forget the trigger! In my opinion, the trigger is a key component to accurate shooting just as all the other specifications.

 

[zzchipster]

Sako 42?

I would go sako, get a used one.

 

[TxHeartShot]

I plan on "building" a rifle, and by building I mean upgrading What I deem necessary whether that be barrel (I hope not), stock, lugs, mercury tube, brake etc. caliber aside, in y'all's opinion what is the best factory rifle under or at a 2k$ price point?

Mossberg makes your gun...check it out!

 

[skippertwo]

You are not giving us much to go on here. What is the primary use for the rifle, what calibers do you want or have.
Most on this site have many rifles in their safe. I have many hunting rifles for under 500 yds, but did not have any for longer ranges.
I was initially interested in the Waypoint in 6.5 PRC. Read lots of good stuff in the magazines and then went to find one.
Not being a writer for a magazine there was none to be found.
Bought a Seekins Havak that was not hard to find.
Put on a Leupold VX-5HD (also readily available) and a TBAC Dominus CB and could not be happier with the setup.
Installed ARCA rail and use on a 2-vets tripod and am confident on hitting Game (this is a hunting site) out to 1000 yds.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Savage actions aren't as smooth as others. Lots of aftermarket parts. Tikka has a smooth action and seem to be accurate, (accuracy is subjective though). Remington 700 has lots of aftermarket components. Christensen arms Ridgeline 26inch carbon fiber barrel has been a good shooter for my buddy in 300 Win Mag. Its based, if memory serves, on the Remington action. I almost bought a Havoc but instead bought a Savage. I have 2 Savage. 6.5 creedmoor & 308 Winchester and 1 tikka in 243. All three shoot sub. moa. I hand load for all 3. Buying a factory may net you excellent groups. There is always a chance for a dud. After all this being said, If i were you, remember this! *Buy once Cry once* Don't cheap out. Get good glass and if you don't hand load. You may wanna according to your idea of accurate.
Most important have fun and don't make it stressful or a job. Unless you are going pro?!
Good luck and be safe.

 

[KSAv8r]

It seems machining and technology has greatly improved over the last decade and especially over the last 4-5 years as the market for firearms has exploded and has become more competitive. Everyone has a favorite (or two or three) but I have had great experience with a couple of Tikka's in .243 Win and .30-06 Spfg. One of the smoothest factory actions and triggers available. Next would be my Ruger Precision in 6.5 Creedmoor. Very easy to load for and super accurate. Lastly, would be my Savage 110BA in .338 Lapua Mag. Very heavy (20+ pounds) but for long distance, it is hard to beat.

Something that often gets overlooked when selecting a rifle is selecting great glass, especially if shooting long distance. I once had a mentor say "you can only hit what you can see". Good scopes/rings will often cost twice as much as the rifle. I personally have had rifles that shot 1 MOA and after upgrading the scope to better quality glass and slightly higher power, became 1/2 MOA rifles without changing anything else. Nightforce is one of my favorite scopes but there are equally good scope manufacturers out there.

Good luck with your search and selection.

 

[Teri Anne]

I plan on "building" a rifle, and by building I mean upgrading What I deem necessary whether that be barrel (I hope not), stock, lugs, mercury tube, brake etc. caliber aside, in y'all's opinion what is the best factory rifle under or at a 2k$ price point?

Although many will disagree; as always, if I was to choose one factory rifle to shoot any four legged furry thing on the North American Continent (And several others too) it would be a Tikka T3x in 300 Win Mag. Many reasons for this. First of all they are lightweight, A T3x Superlite in 300 Win Mag tips the scales at only 6.4 pounds. It comes with a threaded barrel, synthetic stock and a 22.4 inch barrel 1/10 twist which is perfect for .30 caliber rifles. Tikka's are super accurate, I have 3 and all shot sub MOA right out of the box with factory ammo. Price wise, dependent upon where you buy it you will pay between $900 and $1100 which leaves a lot in your budget for good optics. I would not recommend using Tikka scope mounts as they mount like a ,22 rifle. Opt for a good 20 MOA rail which adds a lot more stability and versatility especially if shooting at long range.

 

[Grumpy old man]

I plan on "building" a rifle, and by building I mean upgrading What I deem necessary whether that be barrel (I hope not), stock, lugs, mercury tube, brake etc. caliber aside, in y'all's opinion what is the best factory rifle under or at a 2k$ price point?

I did good a few yrs back with a ruger precision rifle shot thousands of rds economically with sub moa groups then stepped up my game and put a 26" McGowan barrel and with new glass and my load it shot 5 in one hole ! I do the same with my hawkeye long range Ruger ,best buy for the buck ! Best wishes in your hunt!

 

[Alibiiv]

I'm sorry, the intended use is kind of an all around hunting rifle, everything from white tails to elk. I prefer it to be in the 8-10 pound range and would like performance to be the main factor.

I get looking for a ride for to build or hunt with. When I started this route, it took me about 6-8 months to research and figure out what cartridge I wanted to build before starting anything. I like Ruger 77s, had a donor in the safe so that was easy for me. With that I had to find a smith who liked working on 77s. More research, then found a hood smith in Montana. I wasn't sure about a barrel manufacturer, the smith is only a few miles for Lilja, so that was easy too. For a cartridge of the build you'll probably get all kinds of recommendations and thoughts on this topic. I can only recommend something that's been around for a while, where the compost are readily available and will not cost you a small fortune to purchase. The designer cartridges look great on paper and in magazines that sell guns, however not always practical to load for and find components for. Depending on recoil sensitivity and all, perhaps the 7mm RemMag or 300 WimMag, but again my thoughts. I wanted a wildcat cartridge and ended up with a .270 Ackley Improved and very happy with it for whitetail hunting and perhaps an out west antelope hunt if I win the lottery.

 

[osok-1k]

I would say, choose your cartridge first and then the rifle in your chosen cartridge. 280 Remington has been a very good all around cartridge for a long time and the AI version is a little better velocity wise. Keep in mind that standard 270 will easily dispatch anything in north America except large bears and possibly moose, everyone makes one and the wide variety of ammo is relatively inexpensive. I use the Hornady Precision Hunter in my 700 Rem. It doesn't have to be a magnum of any kind to be very effective. The 280 is not far behind the 7mm mag and is much more comfortable to shoot. For weight, accuracy and all around capability, I would likely look at a Tikka Roughtech in 270 and never look back.

 

[Mark37082]

So far it looks like Tikka is in the lead for suggested factory rifles. I am sure they are fine shooting rifles. They are by far the post popular. That is the rub for me. If you want to blend in to the crowd, buy a Tikka. If you want to stand out, go full custom. It is a deep rabbit hole that seems to never bottom out, but at the end of this journey (temporary) you will have your rifle to name as you see fit.