Need help for next hunting rifle <$2000

[Sargesniper]

New to quality/semi custom rifles and looking for a new hunting rifle for around $1500(rifle only no glass). I have been looking at Tikka t3, Savage, and Vanguard which are all<$1000. But I am curious what better quality options are out there, and if the extra cost for a Weatherby mark v for instance is worth it? It will be a long action, either 300 win mag or toying with the idea of a hot 6.5 caliber(6.5x284 or 264 win mag for example), used for deer and elk. Want a decently light gun with the longer 26 in barrel for accuracy but be able to pack all day.

Need your help knowing what brand has the best quality setup and what brand to avoid that the extra expense won't be worth it. Also any input on the caliber choices is welcome.

Go to Cabelas if there is one near you and ask to handle various rifles of your liking. You will likely get a feel of what you want doing this. You said you want a LA in 300 WM or a 6.5x284. Both of those cartridges have some felt recoil. If you choose too light a rifle you will most likely want to brake it as they will be less than fun to shoot much. Both Savage and Remington make accurate rifles. You must take into account that a scope and mounts will add weight to the rifle. Carrying a rifle around in the Mountains can be a bad thing on the body and mind if it is too heavy. It's is a trade off in weight carried or recoil of a lightweight.

 

[Trickymissfit]

morning, I agree fully sarge. the M40 is an awesome weapon. I understand the M40

was upgraded to 300win mag. pure killing machine. like u said military no browning

sako, Winchester, savage and more. the 700 action is very tough. I used the M-14

in Nam. never had a problem, 6 clips ammo, rack pack, grenades, 50 lbs of sweat.

150 lbs of skinny butt that works. very long time ago. the 300 is extremely accurate.

I have one. 12 shots, 100yds .750 group, can not say more.

food for thought.lightbulb

I carried a 110lb. combat load on 23 CA's in and around the Que Son Valley. I carried the 60, an extra barrel, cleaning kit, bag of springs and extras, plus three belts. Managed to get somebody else to carry another barrel, and everybody else on out five to six man team had three or four belts. I also had a 45 and four mags, and everybody had three or four grenades. Plus I carried a dozen or so M79 rounds in my lower pants pocket. Had a big knife that was to prove out to be worthless, and it must have weighed a pound and a half! Add in a couple smoke grenades, and a couple flares and your knees get tired fast. That's a standard combat load and not going in heavy. If you went in heavy, you probably humped a 130lb. Doesn't sound like it would be 110lb., but then you add in the normal stuff to survive (water, medical, food, batteries, and even a body bag.). I weighed about 142lb. and was scared to death of my First Sargent. Started out as the #2 man out the door, but after three CA's ended up as the #1 man plowing thru the elephant grass bleeding all over the place. No wonder my knees are bad!

gary

 

[MudRunner2005]

So you based it on one rifle? Any rifle can fall through the cracks as you may know. I have had nothing but good experience with Remington. I never owned a Browning and probably never will but that does not qualify me to judge one. I happen to know that Remington is a very sound rifle that has been proven over the years to many users. I'm sure Browning makes a fine rifle today. I don't see any Browning receivers being used for custom builds though. I have 5 Remington factory rifles at present. 4 of them shoot well under the 1MOA that most people strive for. The last one I bought a few weeks ago is the Long Range model in 300 WM. I will be very surprised if it does not meet my expectations.

My apology for offending you. One bad experience does not justify one to try to steer another away from a product though. I would not base an opinion on one myself based on one rifle. I too have heard bad things in the past but ignored them based on my good experience with 4 of them starting back as far as 1962 up until a few weeks ago. Was I just lucky? Maybe , but the odds do not support that.

My experience with Savage was less than nice. Then Savage woke up and now are a top contender. I said in the past that they named the rifle after their trigger but that is totally untrue today. They make a fine rifle now. Not the prettiest girl at the Prom but a fine accurate rifle none the less.

The Browning A-Bolt and A-Bolt II actions are excellent for building off of. They are super smooth, and have a nice short 60* bolt throw. The only reason you don't see many of them being used as customs is because 1) aftermarket accessories are very limited, 2) the removable internal mag box is kind of short for seating long bullets near the lands, and 3) most people seem to be scared of them because of the internet BS about smiths destroying the actions when trying to remove the barrels...My smith said my A-Bolt barrel popped right off just like every other rifle he's worked on, but it did require slightly more force, because it had some sort of Loctite-type substance on the threads.

I like my A-Bolt II custom so much, I have debated on finding a cheap A-Bolt II .270 or .30-06, and build my .280 AI off of it.

 

[Sargesniper]

Im not offended in any way. My opinon is based on 3 Remingtons and four brownings. Two of the Remingtons wouldnt shoot,but the third will. Its a 15 year old bdl varmint special in 6mm. Shoots circles around the other two,around .75 with factory ammo. Im working on some handloads for it and am excited to see what it will do. For the Browning, it was one A- bolt in 280, 2 x-bolts in 7mm Rm and a x- bolt in 7mm-08. The A-bolt is sub.5 moa, both 7mmRm are right at .5 moa. The 7mm-08 was with factory ammo.... .75 moa with hornady American whitetail. So based on my experiences, Im sticking with Browning. I'm not saying Remington doesn't make a good rifle, but i dont trust them like i do Browning. I think Remingtons quality and reputation is not what it used to be( my above experience shows this as well as the complaints of many others). I'm actually planning on buying a Remington 700 to build a 6.5-06 AI.

Going to "roll the dice"?

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Going to "roll the dice"?

Yes I am.......and immediately replace the barrel

 

[Sargesniper]

The Browning A-Bolt and A-Bolt II actions are excellent for building off of. They are super smooth, and have a nice short 60* bolt throw. The only reason you don't see many of them being used as customs is because 1) aftermarket accessories are very limited, 2) the removable internal mag box is kind of short for seating long bullets near the lands, and 3) most people seem to be scared of them because of the internet BS about smiths destroying the actions when trying to remove the barrels...My smith said my A-Bolt barrel popped right off just like every other rifle he's worked on, but it did require slightly more force, because it had some sort of Loctite-type substance on the threads.

I like my A-Bolt II custom so much, I have debated on finding a cheap A-Bolt II .270 or .30-06, and build my .280 AI off of it.

I'll have to take your word for it as i have never owned a Browning. All i see on custom builds for the most part are some type of Remington cloned Receivers. Imitation is the best form of flattery i know of. I can say a lot for Remingtons though. Never had one that I could not make shoot 3/4" or better with a factory barrel and hand loaded for it. They will just plain out shoot for me. I do change out the triggers with a jewell though. We all know how bad the new triggers can be. Stocks are another thing that comes to mind. It will shoot with the flimsy stock but really should be changed. I polish out the bore on Factory barrels and it has helped a great deal in grouping.

When push comes to shove it boils down to personal preference.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Yes I am.......and immediately replace the barrel

That's not "rolling the dice"...That's immediately eliminating the most commonly problematic part of the rifle.

Rolling the dice, would be buying one, then shooting it like it is to test it out to see if it will shoot. And if it doesn't, then rebarreling it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I'll have to take your word for it as i have never owned a Browning. All i see on custom builds for the most part are some type of Remington cloned Receivers. Imitation is the best form of flattery i know of. I can say a lot for Remingtons though. Never had one that I could not make shoot 3/4" or better with a factory barrel and hand loaded for it. They will just plain out shoot for me. I do change out the triggers with a jewell though. We all know how bad the new triggers can be. Stocks are another thing that comes to mind. It will shoot with the flimsy stock but really should be changed. I polish out the bore on Factory barrels and it has helped a great deal in grouping.

When push comes to shove it boils down to personal preference.

My first preference will always be a Remington 700 (or clone). Second choice is the A-Bolt II. If I can't find either one of those actions to build off of for a reasonable price...To bide my time, I'll just build another AR...I can always find the parts I want for those.

I agree, hand-lapping the bore and taking a couple threads off the back of the tennon and cleaning up the chamber with a custom reamer, and re-crowning really helps the factory barrels to shoot.

As for the triggers, I always immediately remove those horrible XMP triggers before ever even shooting the rifle.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

That's not "rolling the dice"...That's immediately eliminating the most commonly problematic part of the rifle.

Rolling the dice, would be buying one, then shooting it like it is to test it out to see if it will shoot. And if it doesn't, then rebarreling it.

You and I know that but apparently the other guy doesn't since how I said I wanted a remmy 700 for a 6.5-06AI build.

 

[Sargesniper]

That's not "rolling the dice"...That's immediately eliminating the most commonly problematic part of the rifle.

Rolling the dice, would be buying one, then shooting it like it is to test it out to see if it will shoot. And if it doesn't, then rebarreling it.

Well I guess maybe I have been lucky with all of mine and a few of the friends I shoot with must be lucky with theirs also. Seems like I have the good luck and you have the bad. I might add that the barrels on mine are all Varmint contour with the exception of a Mountain Rifle from the 80's. None have been "problematic" to me. As far as barrels go, any factory rifle can leave out the door with a bad barrel but I have not gotten one as of yet. I don't shoot any type of competition so I am content with 1/4" - 3/4" MOA rifles from Remington.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Well I guess maybe I have been lucky with all of mine and a few of the friends I shoot with must be lucky with theirs also. Seems like I have the good luck and you have the bad. I might add that the barrels on mine are all Varmint contour with the exception of a Mountain Rifle from the 80's. None have been "problematic" to me. As far as barrels go, any factory rifle can leave out the door with a bad barrel but I have not gotten one as of yet. I don't shoot any type of competition so I am content with 1/4" - 3/4" MOA rifles from Remington.

All but 1 of my Rem 700's have shot well with factory barrels. I wasn't saying that was a problem area with just Remington, I was stating that it is the most problematic area of ALL factory rifles.

I think we're all saying the same things, but somehow what I'm saying is getting misinterpreted.

I see both sides to this argument...But in the end, I will have to side with Sarge, as my personal experiences with factory Remington barrels have largely been good.

 

[Sargesniper]

My first preference will always be a Remington 700 (or clone). Second choice is the A-Bolt II. If I can't find either one of those actions to build off of for a reasonable price...To bide my time, I'll just build another AR...I can always find the parts I want for those.

I agree, hand-lapping the bore and taking a couple threads off the back of the tennon and cleaning up the chamber with a custom reamer, and re-crowning really helps the factory barrels to shoot.

As for the triggers, I always immediately remove those horrible XMP triggers before ever even shooting the rifle.

I've never gone that far with a factory barrel. If it has to be pulled then a custom barrel would be more logical. I just have never had to do that with any of them other than to replace a 22/250 barrel that went south due to round count. I only polish them out and they shoot for me. Like I said it is all personal preference. I may some day end up with a Browning who knows? I would certainly not rule it out. I just have a personal preference for Remington.

 

[Barrelnut]

There are LOTS of factory "out of the box" Remingtons that will shoot just fine. The only reason you hear so much about people complaining is because there are more 700's in people's hands, because they have been around for so much longer than Savage, the odds of more Remington lemons being out there is significantly greater.

The Savage 110 is actually older than the Remington 700. The 110 came into existence in 1958. The Rem 700 not until 1962. The Savage 110 is the oldest continuously manufactured bolt-action rifle in America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Model_110

 

[Sargesniper]

You and I know that but apparently the other guy doesn't since how I said I wanted a remmy 700 for a 6.5-06AI build.

Excuse me for saying but you started out saying you liked Remingtons then you said you wouldn't touch one then said you wanted one for a build. You appeared to be confused about Remington Rifles. Sorry for pointing it out but it was confusing for me!