Top 5 hunting rifles at/under $1K

[Hugnot]

500 yards on elks - sounds like sort of open country is a possibility.

My thinking:
I am a Ruger M77 MKII/Hawkeye fan.
I survey local gun shops, find a good used one, preferably with a .473 bolt face, of the action length that will handle the round I intend to use.
Have it re-barreled with a high quality stainless barrel with caliber & twist for bullet I intend to use.
Have a pro trigger job performed.
Have the bolt lugs lapped in and the receiver face squared up.
Buy a suitable stock from Richards Microfit with a recoil pad installed and perform the bedding & finish work myself.
Spend the rest of the $ on the highest quality scope (2+ grand total).
My favorite would be a 6.5-06, I do my own inletting and recoil pad installation.

As I wrote this at least 10 other posts were generated. All were worthy and involved far less effort & work than my suggestion. I sort of liked the one that mentioned "shoes". Impressive accuracy from Tikka's.

 

[4thgencummins]

I'll second this, bought a Browning X-bolt, Hells Canyon speed, chambered in 300 PRC. $1200 for the rifle, and $800 on a vortex razor LHT 3-15X50.

X-bolt Hells Canyon Speed gets my vote. Light, accurate, shoulders nice, factory cerakote and factory brake. Should be right at 1k street price.

 

[gman19469]

I see your point, I was looking more for general purpose. With that said, I would prefer something lightweight as I will be walking a lot.

 

[cajun]

Tikka and look into vortex razor lite 3-15. Nice scope.

 

[mferrell]

As many have said there are several rifles out there that could do what you want. However, I can only attest to the Browning Hells Canyon LR. I have one in 300WM topped with a SWFA 3x15 and it consistently shoots sub MOA groups out past 500 yards. Note: I typically shoot handloads using the 210gr Berger VLD hunting bullets, but my go to factory loads are the Barnes 220gr precision ammo which shoot incredibly well out of it.

 

[Frank Kalisz]

One caution with Browning is that you will not be able to replace barrel on it. That said, I do have a Browning AB3 in 308 in a pillar bedded Boyds Stock and it is an excellent shooter - but I wouldn't get anything that causes more barrel wear. I run a Tract Toric 2-10x42 scope and it is awesome.

for Elk I'd recommend something with longer range like a Tikka 300WM and the Tract 3-15x50 with good quality medium rings and a pic rail.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

How come you can't replace a barrel on a browning?

 

[Scammie77]

I would go browning x bolt hells canyon or tikka. Both light rifles and leaves a good amount of money to put towards optic.

 

[SJBPEP]

Tikka T 3. Owned it for 10 years. Mine is in 270 and consistently shoots sub 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards.

 

[Jon Bischof]

I have two Sauer 100's now. Liked the first one so much I bought another. Wonderful trigger; easily adjustable.
Like the magazines too. The Creedmoor is the best shooting sporter-weight rifle I have ever had. Shot a couple of groups at 200 yards with Hornady Black (cheap ammo) that can be hidden under a dime. But there's one preference of the OP that the Sauer doesn't meet--it isn't really a $1,000 rifle. Got mine for $798, and ya'll know I'm the thriftiest guy on this forum for sure.

 

[JimFromTN]

I am a rem 700 guy but thats because I like to fiddle with them. My last one I built myself with a remage barrel. They are easier to install than a savage but that's because you don't have to strip the bolt down as far. If you are going to put a manners or mcmillan stock on your rifle, it will be more difficult to find used for anything other than remington. In order to avoid an argument, I am not saying its impossible but for every non rem 700 stock you will find, you will find at least 10 rem 700 stocks. Also, allot of places keep mcmillan and manners 700 stocks in stock so you don't have to wait 6 months while the manufacturer makes the stock for you. Savage is another one that is easy to work on and parts are easy to find. If you are not going to do any of that then it doesn't really matter. They all put out accurate rifles in your price range. You will hear one manufacturer sucks worse than others but don't buy into it. If you buy a mass produced cheap rifle, the quality control lacks and you are more likely to get a bad shooter. Not saying you will but you have increased the odds. Just find something you like and buy it. Since you mentioned Kimber, I have never owned one but the Kimber 84M hunter stainless looks pretty sweet at under 6lbs. All the rifles mentioned are great rifles and would do the job well.

 

[Sab62]

Hi All.
My budget for a setup is $2K for rifle and optic. I expect to spend at least half of that on glass. So now I'm trying to figure out the best rifle I can fit into. I have looked at X-bolt and Kimber Mountain. I don't need to shoot 3moa at 1000 yards or anything and don't expect to. Just looking for something accurate enough to to get a good kill shot on an elk at 500 yards maximum. Appreciate everyone's input!
Thanks!!

Here are two choices that are a little different. I won a Mossberg Patriot synthetic stock rifle from our hunting club. Put a Leupold VX 3i 4.5-14 40mm on it. Shoots 3 shot .5 inch w factory Rem 150 gr core lokt bullets. Picked up a Remington 6.5 Creedmoor 5R on sale and w rebates for 675$. Put a Timney Kalvin Elite trigger on it. Shoots Hornady target ammo into (4 shot groups) into .298-.450 depending upon rest! The Mossberg is ultra light, the 5R definitely heavier.

 

[55stone]

TIKKA Vote here..

 

[Ranchdog]

Well I'm personally with my fellow Tikka brethren. I just believe if you are looking for an straight up mean rifle for a reasonable cost the T3 allows you to do small upgrades and have plenty of money left for a great optic, it's the best route. Not eliminating other options like the hells canyon which is an awesome rifle just saying you can grab a 7mm, 300wsm or win mag and have a powerful reliable accurate tool for that budget. As others recommended to me, add a $10 trigger spring and a vortex razor and go. Then when you are bored this winter start your new custom build off an incredible action.