Budget precision

"...Could I use a .308 for hunting in Ontario?..." Yep. Just not in Southwestern Ontario(West of K-W mostly) and some municipalities around TO.
Ditto on the 10x. Too much magnification. A 3 to 9 or 2.5 to 8 would be more suitable.
The Bushnell Elite 3200 runs around $250 to $300, but you need bases and rings too. Bushnell does make lower end scopes for far less money. Their Legend, Trophy and Banner models will do. A 2-7x32 MATTE Legend runs around $200. One them will leave you enough money for the bases, rings and installation.
Scopes do get put on sale in gun shops too.
 
I was looking for a similar rifle earlier this year and chose the .308/7.62 Nato calibre too. The rifle I bought was the Australian International Arms Lee Enfield offered by Marstar.
The scope and mounts come with the rifle, and I can obtain all the accuracy i'm capable of with this rifle. Not sure everyone will agree with me here, but for me it was the best bang-for-the-buck I could afford, and I am not sorry i bought one. It has proved to be a good rifle, but not a famous "brand name" as recomended here.
 
You can always buy a Stevens for about $350-$400, spin a Shilen (ask mystic) for $400 on it, and you can shoot holes around most factory rifles. You can even sell the factory barrel and probably get 50 bucks for it (chambering fee :D). On a budget, that's what I would do.

In fact, I almost did it (for F-Class) but my friend sold me his M700 in 308 on the cheap, so it was a no-brainer (building 6BR).
 
Savage makes a contender for the Night Train but the name escapes me at the moment. Also the Savage 111 series are pretty good and come with a scope right out of the box. They shoot decently with the stock barrels but you can get a better precision barrel for it later on.
 
Gunslinger said:
The Stevens is attractive, but it's really only the price that makes it so. The Stevens will go bang, but in no time you feel cheap and dirty and start wanting to upgrade and improve it and you'll end up spending the same ammount at the end. Another temptation would be the Mossberg Night Train,.......don't do it.

Honestly you're better off scraping together more funds and setting youself up with something that'll service you long term.

My idea on a cheap rig:

Remington SPS .308 $925
Choate $225
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361609
TPS rings & Base $200
Bushnell 10x40 $225
Harris bipod $150
Misc.. $75
Total $1800
Click to expand...

:nest:

I really don't see how that is any better than a Stevens 200. Other than the $500 extra wasted on the rifle could be put towards a match barrel. An SPS V is still a factory barrel and the finish on the SPS is brutal. A Stevens has a nice bluing at least.
 
stevebc said:
Savage makes a cheap pos rifle that breaks too? :nest:
Click to expand...

it is a modle 25 lightweight varminator in .204 ruger or .223 and i still havent broken it yet
broken no records either
with learning to handload it is bettin better but can not spin on a new barrel (damn pins)
 
Well my savage is a great rifle and according to Jerry from mystic precision who I hope chimes in here it is a great rifle regardless of the price. With a bedding job and a decent scope setup, which will all still cost me less than a Tikka, or Remington, or any other big name gun I expect to be very happy. I have a Savage 11fcxp (the combo) however mine came with a bushnell rather than the simmons scope, and I am new to rifle shooting and am able to shoot 1 1/4 inch 3 shot groups at 100m with the factory setup consistently. This is better than I hoped for and have got alot of encouragement from some guys who know what they are talking about. There is so many parts for these rifles on the market they have to be doing something right. A rifle basix trigger, a good scope and a bedding job should give me some improvement, and all for less than $1000. I am happy regardless of what some people say cheap is not always poor quality. My Norinco 1911 can prove that.
 
NewInWestsyde said:
it is a modle 25 lightweight varminator in .204 ruger or .223 and i still havent broken it yet
broken no records either
with learning to handload it is bettin better but can not spin on a new barrel (damn pins)
Click to expand...

I was more thinking of the Savage Model 11FCXP3, comes with a 3-9x40mm scope (mounted and bore-sighted), detachable box magazine, free-floating and button-rifled barrel, etc for around $700 if Im not mistaken.

And from what I heard you can swap out the barrels on these pretty easily down the line.
 
drache said:
I was more thinking of the Savage Model 11FCXP3, comes with a 3-9x40mm scope (mounted and bore-sighted), detachable box magazine, free-floating and button-rifled barrel, etc for around $700 if Im not mistaken.

And from what I heard you can swap out the barrels on these pretty easily down the line.
Click to expand...

You heard right except the price. They are great rifles for the money and have tons of aftermarket parts. like triggers, and stocks. I got mine for $450 new from Ellwood Epps. I got mine more for hunting purposes so I got the Package. The Stevens is the same rifle as far as I know, without the detachable mag, and I would say buy it instead without the scope, and then spend the extra on a nice scope and rings, and a bedding job. And yes the barrels are easily swapped out if you want to invest some coin and get a tac driver. Talk to Mysticplayer from mystic precision, he has some great tips on savage and stevens rifles, and seems to have a good opinion od them and I trust his opinion more than some of the haters on this thread.
 
Well around here "locally" the prices of firearms are drastically more but you're right, they are about $500 online.

As for the "11FCXP3 without a scope" you can't really get that since the FCXP3 IS a package rifle and Savage doesn't sell just the rifle on it's own. You can buy a Savage Model 11FCNS but it's actually MORE than the FCXP3 :D
 
Appreciate all the kinds words and referals to my services.

http://www.mysticprecision.com/htm/rifle.php

A bunch of articles that can help you on your journey.

I have owned and shot a bunch of Stevens and Savage rifles. I have also swapped in various barrels I have picked up from other owners. With proper bedding and handloading, I have yet to meet a Savage barrel that wouldn't shoot sub MOA at 200yds. Some have hovered in the 1/2 min range.

Important to keep the barrels from overheating cause I have never shot a Savage barrel that didn't walk when it got too hot.

The 308 is a nice choice but recoil can be tiresome. The 243 is certainly milder to shoot but harder on barrels if you intend to shoot alot. Dies are not that expensive and you will likely want to upgrade to make the best ammo possible- Dies can make or break the accuracy potential of your ammo.

I love the new det center feed mag and use it for my field/hunting rifles. For the difference of $100ish between the package rifle and the Stevens, I would get the Savage. The triggers are the same for better or worse. You get a set of useable bases and rings (save $30 or so). The scope is so so and you can likely get a few dollars on the EE for it ($50 maybe).

Now they may be using a better recoil pad on the package rifles ???? I know the STevens continue to use recycled hockey pucks making recoil that much worse. The Savage recoil pads work really well and equal to the 35 to 45 aftermarket pads.

So the gap pretty much is nil AND you get a mag system that works wonderfully. Rem owners would need to spend a whole pile of cash to get similar results.

Whichever rifle you get, bed it properly. I can certainly help you with that and other tweaks if you don't feel like doing the work yourself. It really must be done to get any semblance of consistency.

However, once done, your efforts to work up a load will pay dividends and save you a ton of cash and frustration.

Feed it quality components - bullets, powder, primers and properly prepped brass - and you should have a sub MOA rifle for little money. My last 223 Stevens averaged 3/8 Mins at 100 and 200yds. My 7RM LR hunting rig is sub MOA at 900yds.

Upgrades in the future are plentiful and affordable. Enjoy and let us know how you make out.
Jerry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom