There are a lot of people who haven't got the ready cash to dump into a Kenny Jarrett beanfield rifle or whatever; they have wives, kids and so forth which come first. But they WANT to get into Milsurp collecting 'on the cheap' for the next few years.... and they want to do it without letting their kids go without.
The OP started a previous thread on exactly this topic, down in OT a couple days ago. He got SOME decent advice there, then he came up here (as recommended).... only to be told that it can't be done. Exactly what kind of rifle do some of you guys think shot all the deer meat that you grew up eating?
I can guarantee that the rifle, if it was a bolt gun, started off as SOME kind of military job. Look at the Rosses out there: nearly ALL are ex-military. Lee-Enfields: ALL military and that includes my 1897/1920 'sporter' with Union markings, it includes my A.G. Parker s/n 0019 with the custom barrel and gold front sight (started off as a LM II). My BSA Custom Shop 1959 sporter started off as a M-1917 and still has the 1917 barrel on it! I have a Remington Model 30 Express rifle here: VERY slightly modified M-1917, as was the famous and elusive and collectible Winchester 54.
CURRENT bolt rifles all are military types which have been dumbed-down for cheaper production. The barrels are a BIT better but not really a great deal; 2 MOA is all you really need for hunting unless you are doing it around HERE, which is where you CAN get 500-yard default shots. MOST old military rifles were actually shot very little and, when they were released, about 9 out of 10 had just been inspected. If they don't shoot well TODAY, it is usually down to lack of maintenance and the effects of Time on the woodwork. Bedding compound takes care of the wood, a cleaning kit takes care of the bore and you can tweak about 90% of them back into being honest 2-MOA rifles.... or less. For hunting in bush, you need something with 2 MOA and a heavy bullet that will plough bush....... and that is something available for any Milspec rifle.
A rifle does not need a plastic stock or nineteen Picatinny Rails, a Starlight scope, a variable 2-to-40-power with illuminated reticles, flashlights, laser rangefinders and a GPS. It needs a breech mechanism, a decent barrel, a set of sights and stock. Military rifles of the pre-1950 period HAD all of that.... and they were tougher than the last bull steak I tried to cook. Get the thing good and cold and the wood stock won't break like plastic, the iron sights won't fog like a scope and it will STILL bag your dinner at 200 yards with one round.
I STILL recommend a Lee-Enfield of some sort for starting-off at minimal cash outlay. They are as SIMPLE as it is possible to make a rifle, there is very nearly nothing to go wrong, parts are available, the single weak spot in the wood an be fixed for a dime, you can load you own ammo or 10 to 60 cents a shot (depending on what you want) and, once you clean 50 years of crud out of the barrel, it is amazing how well many of them will shoot. No-drill scope mounts are available for all of them that were built after 1907, prices starting about $35 for a Gairlochian mount for a Number 4/5 or $50 for an ATI mount for the SMLE and they are SOLID..... and the entire mount may be moved from one rifle to another AND it costs less than the drill-and-tap job and it is just as solid. What's not to like?
Let's think for a moment about dangerous game. The late (and greatly respected) Simu Hayha stalked the most dangerous "game" in the world..... and he did it better than any other man who lived to tell of it. He did it with a full-wood Moisin-Nagant bolt rifle which likely was older than he was, rebuilt and rebuilt again and again. His comrades in Finland are STILL using those ancient rifles (rebuilt yet again and again a few more times) for their PRECISION shooting..... and their winters are JUST as abominable as ours.
Hope this helps.
