looking for a high-end hunting rifle.

cellfishracing

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i am getting my Hunting licence and am going out with my father this season. i only want to buy one hunting rifle, so i want to do it right the first time. My bench rifle is a Sako TRG-22 with NF nxs scope. i really like the fit and finish of this setup and would like something similar for moose hunting. common sence says the sako 85 hunter, but what is consdered the rolls royce of hunting rifles. is their something i could use with open-sites/old style no scope.

btw i prefer a bolt action.

thanks for the help
 
If you really want to go high end, look to Europe. Blaser builds beautiful rifles. As does Mauser. Look up their website and look at the 06, I belive is the model. Styer is gorgeous. Hunting over open sights is still very popular there, thus they come equiped with high quality units. Sako builds a beautiful rifle, but I have never been a fan. To me, they are heavy and clubby. But they do work well for their intended use. Congradulations on stepping it up a bit.
 
If you can find all the features you want on an off the shelf rifle you are a lucky man, but if the $'s aren't a problem I suggest building a custom rifle.

Pick an action you like - push feed or control round feed, appropriate to the length of cartridge you want. I would try to find a square bridge Mauser along the lines of the Winchester M-70 or Brno CZ, rather than the round receivers of the M-700's or Sako's. Either way, proper bedding is essential to a stable zero, but the square bridge has more surface to contact the stock's bedding material.

A custom stock is a good choice if you are going to shoot with metallic sights as most modern off the shelf rifles are stocked with high combs for alignment with scope sights. If you like wood, buy the best you can afford, but good synthetics are cheaper and more stable than good wood, and cheap wood or cheap synthetics leave something to be desired. Take care to order the stock for a good fit. You might find that your hunting rifle requires a shorter length of pull than your target rifle - and take into account the clothing you will wear while hunting.

A trigger that is adjustable is important, but a non-adjustable trigger than can be tweaked by the gunsmith for weight, travel and over travel is acceptable.

Barrel length and weight are personal preference, but should not be to the extreme resulting in detrimental to handling. Barrel length may effect velocity, and barrel weight will effect handling. My own opinion is that far too much is made these days about light rifles, and I believe a moderately heavy well balanced rifle is superior to a poorly balanced light rifle.

I think a hunting rifle should have metallic sights as well as a scope. If in the future you wish to scope your rifle be careful not to over power the scope. A magnification of 2X at the bottom end is more useful than 10X or more at the top end, when mounted on a general purpose rifle. I think QD rings are a good idea, and I've had good luck with Talley. The scope on my .375 can be taken on and off repeatedly without a shift in POI. There are various makers of ghost ring rear sights if you like apertures. I discovered that a solid brass front sight gives very good contrast between the sight and the target regardless of light or the color of the background. It appears as black on white or as white on dark.

The choice of a sling and how it is mounted to the rifle should not be over looked. If you intend to shoot the rifle slung-up, the front swivel cannot be attached to the barrel, but if attached to the radius of the fore-end, when the rifle is carried slung on the shoulder muzzle up, does not raise the muzzle more that a couple of inches compared to the barrel mounted swivel. The Safari Ching Sling from Galco is an ingenious design which allows a single strap carry sling to be used effectively as a shooting sling.

I assume you have some ideas on the subject of caliber, but if not, the .30-06 offers so many advantages for the chambering of an all around big game rifle as to be the obvious choice. Save for the .375 H&H, any other choice will be "almost as good".
 
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The Rolls Royce can be the custom built rifle that Boomer speaks about. However, the real Rolls is a custom built double rifle. It'll cost you about 2 year's pay.
If you don't want to sell a kidney, another Sako would likely be best, but you'd have to have an aftermarket iron sight installed. Sako's don't come with sights.
 
A "Martini and Hagn" custom Mauser with most of the bells & whistles would be my first choice for a high-end hunting rifle. Their rifles make a Sako look like nothing more than a mass-produced toy.

As we are not to post links to non-advertising dealers just do an Internet search for this Cranbrook BC based company.

Prices start at ~$12,000.00

boltaction_barrett416.jpg
 
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12,000 is a little out of my range. 3000 for a decent hunting rifle is more up my alley. never thought hunting rifles could cost more then tactical, learn something new everyday.
 
... i only want to buy one hunting rifle, so i want to do it right the first time. ... is their something i could use with open-sites/old style no scope.

btw i prefer a bolt action.

thanks for the help


To only buy one hunting rifle - there is a challenge indeed. Good luck.

The Stevens Model 200 is a bolt action, available in several popular calibres including the very versatile 30-06 which could be used for any big game anywhere in N. America and a lot beyond, and any competent gunsmith could install iron sights on one. Given the ordinary care any rifle should have, a Stevens 200 can reasonably be expected to last a lifetime of hunting.

So, from that starting point, on up to whatever your budget allows, get whatever you like the look and feel of.
 
I like Stevens, but not as a high end rifle! :D

If you think those rifles are costly, you should look into double shotguns. $100,000 is very common. But of course, you did say you wanted the best. If your allowing yourself $3000, there is nothing that will seperate a $1000 Remington, from a $3000 Weatherby other than appearances. You would be better off buying an extremely good scope. If you go the custom route, you can spend as little or as much as you want. I'm not certain about the 66 action being your rolls royce. But the .375 is a good cartridge. Again, the only thing your going to get out of a custom compared to a $1000 Remington is what you want. Both can be made to shoot tight little groups. Both can look nice. But it's your money, and you have to decide what to do with it. Personally, I could never see spending huge dollars on a hunting rifle. It will be used less than a shotgun or .22, but is more likely to be dinged up during a hunt. If a rifle is capable of shooting minute of deer, it's good enough for me. Is there any reason you are looking to spend huge dollars on a rifle? If it's to show off to your buddies and look good, don't. There's no quicker way to lose friends. You decide what you want, good luck with your choice.
 
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