Choosing your next hunting rifle

What is most important to you in factory hunting rifles?

  • Stock (fit, feel, material)

    Votes: 4 9.8%
  • Action (smoothness, features, aesthetics)

    Votes: 15 36.6%
  • Barrel (chambering, profile, reputation, twist, length)

    Votes: 19 46.3%
  • Other (trigger, aftermarket support, price, other features)

    Votes: 3 7.3%

  • Total voters
    41
Tikka Rifle Actions,. SMOOTH, Low Bolt Lift so, NO bang'um thumb, on Scope !
$10 or $20 Trig. Spring makes it, a real, GOOD Trigger,.. Cheaply !!! , Add, a Cheek Riser and a LimbSaver Pad,.. DONE !
Most Tikka Rifles will "shoot",.. SUB 3/4 MOA with, "Tuned" Hand Loads !
My 3, Did ! and all at,.. Sub 7 3/4 Pounds with a "Reasonable" Scope weight !
For "Hunting" to, 700- 800 Yds,.. a .270 or, .300 WSM or, 7 Rem Mag.,.. Gets IT,.. Done !
 
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I'd opt for a factory rifle with the most aftermarket options to upgrade later if I wanted to. So I'd probably focus on the action first, then a good useable stock, decent stock barrel, bottom metal,
& trigger. For me a Remington Sendero is a good
Place to start. The ones I've owned were decent
Right out of the box.
The nice thing about the Remington is you can upgrade everything at your convenience off the action as the base, then if you get it the way you like you can swap out the action & wah lah you have a Custom build. 😜
 
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It's hard to disagree with any of the feedback. Every factory rifle I shoulder either makes me smile or frown based on fit and feel. I probably should have listed "All of the Above", but that would get all the votes. This is where customs shine. I keep telling myself to buy a Tikka. However, I just can't seem to get over the factory stock. Their actions are smooth and triggers can be upgraded with plenty of aftermarket support. I shoulder one and I frown. Maybe I should just buy a Tikka barreled action and go from there, or just sell a kidney and go full bore custom again…😱😱
 
It's hard to disagree with any of the feedback. Every factory rifle I shoulder either makes me smile or frown based on fit and feel. I probably should have listed "All of the Above", but that would get all the votes. This is where customs shine. I keep telling myself to buy a Tikka. However, I just can't seem to get over the factory stock. Their actions are smooth and triggers can be upgraded with plenty of aftermarket support. I shoulder one and I frown. Maybe I should just buy a Tikka barreled action and go from there, or just sell a kidney and go full bore custom again…😱😱
This is the move. My customs were replaced by tikkas in aftermarket stocks. It would be nice if they came with a perfect factory stock but neither does anything else that's not custom
 
You basically get what you pay for IMO. There is nothing wrong with paying under $2k for a factory rifle and putting it to use. However, there seems to be a couple of things that just are not up to snuff in these rifles.
 
You basically get what you pay for IMO. There is nothing wrong with paying under $2k for a factory rifle and putting it to use. However, there seems to be a couple of things that just are not up to snuff in these rifles.
I agree. I think one could take a $2k budget for a rifle not including rings,bases, and scope or other accessories and he good. I think the last 700 I bought was somewhere around $700 and I changed the stock and trigger and have a shooter for less than $2000.
 
All of the above. With the options these days there's no reason to settle. Even if you can't get what you want off the shelf you can order an action, barrel, and stock/chassis and bolt it together in your garage in 15 minutes. For my uses the Seekins Havak rifles have no compromises from any angle, my PH2 NRL is one of the best rifles I've ever owned. I'll probably buy another in 7 PRC or an Element as a dedicated hunting rifle depending on whether I want to run a suppressor full time or not.
 
Anymore, I look at what potential the rifle has in the future when you start modifying one part or another.

Rem 700 rifles are the king for aftermarket alterations. However, factory 700s are typically meh.

My latest buy was a Tikka as they don't need a trigger or stock (mine anyways) upgrade right out of the box. However, there are options…definitely in stocks. Tikka barrels are decent out of the box too.

I guess in the end, I bought the Tikka because it checked the most boxes for me. But…deep down inside I bought it for the action.
 
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