Best $1000 Bolt Action Rifle?

Max-4 said:
Thank you for your opinions here guys!!! I am not that anal that the 22.5" barrel of the Tikka is going to be a deal breaker but the weight might. Can we please discuss weight, since this is a 30-06 and will be shooting 200gr bullets at moose each year isnt the 6.5lb Tikka Hunter too light for this?

I would think 7lbs is the lowest you would want to go here, does anyone have a Tikka T3 in 30-06 that can comment on the recoil.

I think I have narrowed it down to a Remington 700 BDL, Tikka T3 Hunter, Winchester M70 Featherweight, Ruger M77 Hawkeye.

So 2 mausers and 2 pushfeds are in the running, I have seen some posts talking about the Ruger M77 poor accuracy, can anyone else comment on this?

I am big on fit/finish and the use of steel parts all around, I do not like alloy on the trigger guard and floor plates.
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My M77MII in 30-06 is one of ,if not the most, accurate factory rifles I've owned. I've owned a few Rugers in various chamberings and have never found accuracy wanting. YMMV.

Personally, with your criterea of 22" barrel and wood/blued finishes, I'd go M77 Hawkeye or Winchester M70 Sporter. (The FW stock just don't 'do it' for me.:redface:) A third choice would be the M700 CDL w/ a cut/crown to your length of choice. (the BDL stock style,white line spacers and cruddy iron sights just don't 'do it' for me.) That one, the CDL, would be pushing the budget though....

Good luck and watch the EE.....:)

PS: Try the 165 TSX with a good (Limbsaver/Decelerator) recoil pad and your new '06 will be a pussy cat in the recoil department as well as a reliable 'meese slayer'.:)
 
I use a Tikka T3 Lite with s/s barrel and synthetic stock in 300 Win Mag topped with a Bushnell 3200 Elite with firefly features for moose hunting and the recoil is completely reasonable.

What is reasonable to me might not be to you - I'm 74 and still in pretty good shape but although recoil is a factor, this combination is completely within my tolerance limits.

And as far as composite material (plastic) parts on the T3, I'm afraid it has a few including the magazine, etc. But as a trade-off you have a lighter gun.

So, if you are a traditionalist, you might not be completely happy with this combination.

Duke1
 
Max-4 said:
I think I have narrowed it down to a Remington 700 BDL, Tikka T3 Hunter, Winchester M70 Featherweight, Ruger M77 Hawkeye.

I am big on fit/finish and the use of steel parts all around, I do not like alloy on the trigger guard and floor plates.
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You have narrowed your choices down to one. The Ruger is the only one that uses all steel for the triggerguard/floorplate...No alloy, no plastic...

BDL = alloy
T3 = plastic
M70 = aluminum triggerguard/bottom, with a steel floorplate
 
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blargon said:
Like you suggesting the 700 MR, which is no longer made in wood/blued. ;)

IMO, the only ones that meet the criteria are Rem 700 BDL, Ruger Hawkeye, and the Winchester Model 70 FWT.
Sorry all you Tikka guys, the barrel is 22.5", which does not meet the OP's specs...:D
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:agree: (Rem 700 BDL fills all the criteria -blue, walnut, 22", 7 3/8lbs, bolt), unsure about the hawkeye's weight but I'm sure it would be within.
Easy to pick up a used rifle though for well under the $1000 so the extra coin can go into decent optics and ammo.
 
Max-4 said:
Thank you for your opinions here guys!!! I am not that anal that the 22.5" barrel of the Tikka is going to be a deal breaker but the weight might. Can we please discuss weight, since this is a 30-06 and will be shooting 200gr bullets at moose each year isnt the 6.5lb Tikka Hunter too light for this?

I would think 7lbs is the lowest you would want to go here, does anyone have a Tikka T3 in 30-06 that can comment on the recoil.

I think I have narrowed it down to a Remington 700 BDL, Tikka T3 Hunter, Winchester M70 Featherweight, Ruger M77 Hawkeye.

So 2 mausers and 2 pushfeds are in the running, I have seen some posts talking about the Ruger M77 poor accuracy, can anyone else comment on this?

I am big on fit/finish and the use of steel parts all around, I do not like alloy on the trigger guard and floor plates.
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Well, my new Sako A7 is very similar to T3 Light weight, 7.8lbs includes optics rings bases. It's in 7mm Rem Mag, which would be similar to a 30.06 in the recoil department. For a single shot (or 2), it's no problem for me just wearing a tshirt, and I'm not a very big guy. On the other hand, doing 20 over the course of an afternoon working load development was pretty painfull. So, depends how you want to look at it. I'll be taking a pad or jacket to my next range session, but for hunting I wouldn't be the least concerned about the recoil aspect.

Seems you may have ruled it out though, plastic trigger guard, bolt shroud, magazine, etc. I'd think twice though, I've had Savages Remingtons and a CZ, this Sako's barrel is by far the smoothest internally when running patches thru, and seems to shoot very well though it is early days in load development.

On the Rugers, from what I am led to understand the early barrels were much poorer (maybe outsourced?) but they have smartened up and they shoot decent or better now.
 
Purely on looks, it'd rank your shortlist: Ruger Hawkeye, Winchester FWT, Remington cdl, then Tikka. Of course this is meaningful only to me :)

On the accuracy front, I'd say if you were to take a bunch of each of these rifles and shoot them all, the most striking thing would be that the ranges of accuracy of each model would overlap greatly with all the others. You'll be able to find disappointments with any (except perhaps the winchester, but that's because of newness), if you searched hard enough for them on cgn. But it is unlikely that any would let you down.

As for recoil, I'm guessing from the posts that you are a new rifle shooter? If so, I'd suggest that a .30-06 is very much on the limit for recoil in a first hunting rifle for anybody. Certainly don't go too light. Sounds like you're pretty set on .30-06, but there is probably little practical difference from a 308 except for recoil. Maybe there is a difference with the heaviest bullet weights (over 180), but there is no moose that will stand up to a 180 grain partition.

What are your scope thoughts for this rig?

RG

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blargon said:
You have narrowed your choices down to one. The Ruger is the only one that uses all steel for the triggerguard/floorplate...No alloy, no plastic...

BDL = alloy
T3 = plastic
M70 = aluminum triggerguard/bottom, with a steel floorplate
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Aren't the 'new' M70s fitted with Williams steel bottom metal? For some reason I thought they were.
 
I wouldn't worry to much a about accuracy. You are looking for a light, short, gun, not a long range setup. Ontario deer, moose and bear is usually short range, accuracy will be more dependent on who is behind the trigger than the barrel in front of it.

There is always the Stevens 200, only it does have a synthetic stock, but has a 22" barrel. New they are $359 at Prophet River (link at top of page). It would give you some time to see/find what you want, and you could then sell it for almost the same price (they have some at the $359 which is still an old price, others are now much higher) It would give you time to look around for a really nice used Sako or such.

Most rifles now come without sights, so a scope is necessary.

You would have lots left over to put a very nice low powered scope on it. (1.5x5 or similar)

You might also want to take a look at the Marlin XL7, wood stock, 22" barrel, 6 1/2 lbs
 
LittleBoyLefty said:
Aren't the 'new' M70s fitted with Williams steel bottom metal? For some reason I thought they were.
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I thought that too, but only the actual hinged part is. Kind of dumb really... Here it is right from Matt Williams himself...

That's our floorplate and extractor, but FN didn't want to spend anymore than necessary, which is why you see the aluminum trigger guard.
Me make the floorplate and they assemble it to their aluminum guard.

An outside vendor did the engraving.
 
Max-4 said:
OBTUNDED: How about a wood stock???
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OK, if that's what you want, then its called the T3 Hunter Stainless. A few bucks more for the Walnut stock, but still under a grand. Personally, I like hunting with synthetic since it tolerates being beaten up a bit more, but what you want is what counts.
 
I think I have it narrowed down to the Winchester M70 Featherweight and the Ruger M77 Hawkeye both in walnut and blued metal. Does anyone know the length of pull or the drop at comb and heel of the Ruger?

Is there a run away winner between these two rifles?
 
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Savage, especially for hunting.
A gun is made to shoot well and work when you need it to. They are unbelieveable out of the box. For the price you can't get better. Try to get one with the new Accustocks.
 
Max-4 said:
I think I have it narrowed down to the Winchester M70 Featherweight and the Ruger M77Hawkeye both in walnut and blued metal. Does anyone know the length of pull or the drop at comb and heel of the Ruger?

Is there a run away winner between these two rifles?
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Have you seen and handled both of them yet? If not and because you seem fairly well set on what you want, I would make sure to handle both of them and look carefully at the workmanship, quality of machining, etc, etc.

Don't forget to check the operation of the safety and how noisy they are - a factor for deer hunting and so on.

Also, it might be easier to find after market parts and accessories for a Winchester as compared to a Ruger. I find the Ruger to have a better finish of the metal but this might be just me.

And, in your case, I would never buy a gun sight unseen and never forget that the actual LOP and drop at comb mean very little if the gun doesn't fit you properly and the only way you are going to find out is by handling both of them.

My last 2 cents,

Duke1
 
Obtunded said:
Tikka T3 synthetic. Most accurate hunting rifles out there, light, butter smooth actions, center feed mag. What more do you want?
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...how about a C.R.F. rifle that doesn't make a shiver run down my spine due to pure "fugliness". I would want a rifle constructed with more metal and less polymer, and how about a magazine with a reasonable replacement cost. [ hey c'mon...you did ask! ] ;)

"most accurate hunting rifle out there" is a pretty broad statement. I have shot and hand-loaded Tikka T3's and while function-wise I have never encountered a problem with one, I never found them to be drastically more accurate then any other "Remchesterweatheruger" in the same price range.
BTW, you forgot to mention the best thing the Tikka has going for it...and that's the trigger.
I'm sure there has been ALOT of north american game taken with these rifles in the last two years as it seems everyone and their dog is lining up to lick Tikkas' "coin-purse" :p

Back on topic and to the original poster, like most folks have said find a rifle that fits you well and you feel comfortable operating with your preferred features in a price range you can stomach and get it to the range on a regular basis.

Cough cough...try a CZ ;)

Mikey :)
 
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duke1 said:
Have you seen and handled both of them yet? If not and because you seem fairly well set on what you want, I would make sure to handle both of them and look carefully at the workmanship, quality of machining, etc, etc.

Don't forget to check the operation of the safety and how noisy they are - a factor for deer hunting and so on.

Also, it might be easier to find after market parts and accessories for a Winchester as compared to a Ruger. I find the Ruger to have a better finish of the metal but this might be just me.

And, in your case, I would never buy a gun sight unseen and never forget that the actual LOP and drop at comb mean very little if the gun doesn't fit you properly and the only way you are going to find out is by handling both of them.

My last 2 cents,

Duke1
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x2 to Duke1's comments about finding a place where you can handle the rifle. I was pretty much set on purchasing a Ruger Hawkeye stainless for my next rifle, but when I handled it, it just did not fit me right --- it felt quite bulky and didn't feel "good" coming to shoulder. Mind you, this is for my specific body and is nothing against this particular Ruger model.

I'd never even considered a Remington 700 since I prefer CRF, but when I picked up a synthetic stocked version, it just felt right and came to shoulder more comfortably. I bought the 700.

It sounds like your giving lots of good consideration to your next rifle, so please don't miss what I now believe to be the most important aspect of making your purchase --- actually handling the rifle... otherwise, you may find that all your research, measurements, and statistics don't mean a thing.

Good luck with your purchase... it's always exciting spending $$$ on guns.

Stirling
 
CZ 550 would get my vote...

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