has anyone seen or used one of these $300 bolt guns? i saw one on the wss website and cant help but wonder if it's any good. for as little as $300 think of the ammount of extra cash you could sink into optics, bedding etc... and it comes in 30-06 or 270win.
how's the $300 mossberg 100 ATR stack up
- Thread starter mikeystew
- Start date
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Buy a Savage/Stevens or a Marlin XS7/XL7. Same price and way better rifles for the money. I bought the Savage 11fcxp, and have no regrets. $440 with a scope, but you can just get the stevens 200 and save $100 if you want to add your own glass. Now the Marlin is about $350-400 with no scope but is a very nice gun as well.
It doesn't stack up against anything but a tire iron. It's pure junk. You could properly use the extra cash for medical expenses when it blows up in your face. There's some threads going on about bolt failures. Stay away.
They started off well enough, with most owners reporting a nice enough fit and finish for a budget rifle and good hunting accuracy, but there have been these incidents of bolts coming apart when fired and bolt handles breaking off. This seems to be due to a design fault rather than defective materials that could be easily corrected in later production batches. Waiting for Mossberg to sort it out you could save up the extra $100 for a Stevens 200 or Marlin XS/XL7 which haven't had any such problems reported. Especially the Stevens, which has been around a few years longer than the Mossberg, while the Marlin is more recent.
(If you haven't the patience for that, you can probably find an old Enfield sporter in serviceable condition for $150 to get you shooting while you resume saving for the Stevens or Marlin, and when you get your new rifle you can probably sell the Enfield for what you paid and put that towards scoping your new rifle.)
(If you haven't the patience for that, you can probably find an old Enfield sporter in serviceable condition for $150 to get you shooting while you resume saving for the Stevens or Marlin, and when you get your new rifle you can probably sell the Enfield for what you paid and put that towards scoping your new rifle.)
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I haven't handled the Mossberg, but for the extra $60 or so, the Stevens 200 is a great buy. I picked up one of the first ones available in .223 a few years ago and it has provided great out of the box accuracy with no issues. The Stevens is a no frills, synthetic stocked version of Savage's M110 platform that's been going strong since at least the late 1960s. Others on this site have painted up their stocks real nicely or used the action to build up target rifles, which tells me that they're really happy with theirs as well.
Cheers,
Frank
Cheers,
Frank
My father bought one of these, before I could get a handle on the quality and reviews of the rifle. But what is done is done.
As for the opinion of the rifle, you are getting what you pay for. The bolt is very loose when pulled fully back in the action. They have the new LBA trigger in them. Better trigger than what is in the stevens, at least you can't hang the gun off it without it going off! The fit is alright, and the stock is a better quality as compared to the stevens. The finish is pretty good, durable and uniform over the rifle. It was bought for the purposes of a lender rifle/backup rifle, so it won't see much action anyways. But so far so good. It has been shooting 1"-1.5" at 100 yards with factory ammo. I may be able to better that with some hand loads and a nicer scope. It has less than a box of ammo through it, so I can't speak as to the possibility of failure of the bolt.
Although their are horror stories that are well justified and have pictures to verify it. But as far as his goes, so far so good.
As for the opinion of the rifle, you are getting what you pay for. The bolt is very loose when pulled fully back in the action. They have the new LBA trigger in them. Better trigger than what is in the stevens, at least you can't hang the gun off it without it going off! The fit is alright, and the stock is a better quality as compared to the stevens. The finish is pretty good, durable and uniform over the rifle. It was bought for the purposes of a lender rifle/backup rifle, so it won't see much action anyways. But so far so good. It has been shooting 1"-1.5" at 100 yards with factory ammo. I may be able to better that with some hand loads and a nicer scope. It has less than a box of ammo through it, so I can't speak as to the possibility of failure of the bolt.
Although their are horror stories that are well justified and have pictures to verify it. But as far as his goes, so far so good.
I ordered one for $269 from Cabela's. Will put it through the paces and post up the results. It’s a lot cheaper than the Stevens 200 ($410 at LeBarons). I believe the design is based on a Charter Arms model.
Outside this board, the reviews read the same as any other, some people swear by them. Others curse them. As I said before, my Stoeger 2000 has been flamed on the internet, but it’s the best gun I’ve ever owned.
Outside this board, the reviews read the same as any other, some people swear by them. Others curse them. As I said before, my Stoeger 2000 has been flamed on the internet, but it’s the best gun I’ve ever owned.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Wasnt their a thread entitled "Mossberg ATR trainwreck" not long ago?
For $300 you could pick up a good used gun.
For $300 you could pick up a good used gun.
Umm, it’s pretty rare to see a good used full bore hunting rifle on the EE for $300. Maybe a sportered milsurp, but I haven’t seen any modern rifles in a modern caliber for that price here.
Before buying my XL7, I test fired Stevens 200 and only handled ATR 100. Stevens; respectable gun. you get more than what you see. I am sure I would be happy with it. Just ugly.
ATR; horrible workmanship! Both guns I looked at in Bass Pro where obviously put together with no regards to minimum quality.
ATR; horrible workmanship! Both guns I looked at in Bass Pro where obviously put together with no regards to minimum quality.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Well, 300 maybe isnt common, but it coudl happen. $400 is pretty common though. And I didnt say it had to be on the EE. Theirs places to buy guns that dont involve CGN (believe it or not)
Case in point - I picked up a Ruger M77 in 308 with scope for $400ish last fall. The gun has wear marks, but was in good condition. Bore was still very good. It shoots awesome, and I couldnt be happier with it. Plus, its a quality built gun.
From what I understand it has a class action lawsuit on it the US, if memory serves...
Something about the bolt coming apart, the rifle will fire with out the lugs engaged (even though you've closed the bolt) and has seriously harmed a few shooters. Again if memory serves...
I'd go another route personally.
Something about the bolt coming apart, the rifle will fire with out the lugs engaged (even though you've closed the bolt) and has seriously harmed a few shooters. Again if memory serves...
I'd go another route personally.
There are pictures showing how the bolt was put together, with splines holding the bolt body to the bolt head. One side was splined, the other wasnt and it came apart apparently. But that might be what LH is talking about ^^^^.
As for other Mossberg guns, the 4x4 rifles are supposed to be a great entry rifle. Ive seen two of them shoot phenomenally with handloads...
As for other Mossberg guns, the 4x4 rifles are supposed to be a great entry rifle. Ive seen two of them shoot phenomenally with handloads...
