Help with bolt-acton rifle selection

DrSpaceJam

DrSpaceJam

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I know these type of threads pop up constantly, but I don't know much of anything about bolt action firearms and a lot of gun manufacturers have awkward setups on their websites. It has made finding a rifle that meets my criteria somewhat difficult. On top of that, it's always helpful to see what people's actual experiences are.

I'm a recreational shooter but this year I'll be doing some hunting, deer and bears. I'm looking for something in .30-06 or .308, though I reload and am open to other caliber suggestions similar in range and function. I'd like a bolt-action gun and have some criteria for it that don't all have to be met, but the more the better. It's just hard to look this kind of stuff up, and sometimes it feels like drinking from a firehose trying to narrow down the available choices so I thought I'd ask people with some knowledge in the field. I'm looking for a rifle that has these features:

  1. Iron sights: I like having the ability to either quickly remove optics or see-through mounts to use irons. Any gun I own with optics has this ability now and I'd like to continue the trend. I also enjoy shooting with irons more than a scope at the range.
  2. Detachable Magazine: I like detachable magazines. This is probably the least important feature for the gun to have, but it would certainly be nice.
  3. Shorter Barrel: 20" maximum. I just prefer the shorter barrels.
  4. Heavy Barrel: Not mandatory, but preferred. I like thicker barrels.
  5. No 'Scout' Scope Mounts: I don't like this type of setup, and neither do my eyes. This is why I haven't just tried to buy a Ruger Scout rifle.

Again, a good rifle doesn't have to meet all those criteria, but the more it has the better. I've found a few guns that come close to what I want, but somebody out there might know of something that suits me even better than I can find.

As a secondary thing, the Savage Hog Hunter is pretty close to what I want (just no detatchable mag). Does anybody own one of them? Care to comment on it if so?

Thanks for any help.
 
I own several Savage rifles and i personally am a fan of them. I like the accutrigger, they shoot where i point them and they don't cost an arm and a leg. My hunting rifle of choice is a savage 16 stainless with a detechable mag. I am on the east coast, shots tend to be 25-150 yards and it does everything i need it to.

That being said, to sum up the general idea from most of these posts are:
Remington - Can be good, can be bad (depending on who you talk to and who the QC was that looked at your particular rifle). Seem to be the brand of choice for people who like to tinker.
Savage - Accurate, ugly (to some), (relatively) inexpensive, accutrigger (some like it, some hate it)
Tikka, Browning, CZ and other more expensive brands - Accurate, nice to look at, good triggers, but $$$
 
If you pick one of the more popular actions (i.e. remington 700, savage actions) you can pretty much drop that action and barrel into whatever stock configuration you can dream of. Check out some of the aftermarket stocks, if that's something that might interest you.

Edit: Do you like the AR platform and all its accessories? check these guys out, I believe they have chassis for rem short and long actions.
 
Drop the heavy barrel in a hunting rifle. Its almost useless. That extra weight might not seem like much on paper, but I assure you it is when it counts in the field. Get a 308. Shorter action, realistically similar performance, more readily available, and cheaper, target ammo (FMJ). Bulk 7.62x51 if you want it as well. Similarly priced hunting ammo. No one ever lost an internal magazine/floor plate. Lots of people lose detachable magazines.

Look at a nice Winchester Model 70, IMO. You wont regret it.
 
DrSpace If you want a short barreled rifle look at the Tikka Battue rifle. Clip, open sights, light, they shoot . A 308 in one of these would be a super little hunting rifle. A 30-06 wouldn't be wrong either. Thats would be your call.
 
blasted_saber said:
Drop the heavy barrel in a hunting rifle. Its almost useless. That extra weight might not seem like much on paper, but I assure you it is when it counts in the field. Get a 308. Shorter action, realistically similar performance, more readily available, and cheaper, target ammo (FMJ). Bulk 7.62x51 if you want it as well. Similarly priced hunting ammo. No one ever lost an internal magazine/floor plate. Lots of people lose detachable magazines.

Look at a nice Winchester Model 70, IMO. You wont regret it.
Click to expand...

All my hunting rifles are having heavier and shorter than "needed" barrels and 1lb more weight on average.
It helps in accurate shooting especially off hand, moderates the recoil and are just easy to handle.
If a man complaints about say 8lb rifle ready to shoot is to heavy then either he needs to loose a lot of weight or develop some muscle in gym!
Did I mention that I hate pencil barrels?
 
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DrSpaceJam said:
I know these type of threads pop up constantly, but I don't know much of anything about bolt action firearms and a lot of gun manufacturers have awkward setups on their websites. It has made finding a rifle that meets my criteria somewhat difficult. On top of that, it's always helpful to see what people's actual experiences are.

I'm a recreational shooter but this year I'll be doing some hunting, deer and bears. I'm looking for something in .30-06 or .308, though I reload and am open to other caliber suggestions similar in range and function. I'd like a bolt-action gun and have some criteria for it that don't all have to be met, but the more the better. It's just hard to look this kind of stuff up, and sometimes it feels like drinking from a firehose trying to narrow down the available choices so I thought I'd ask people with some knowledge in the field. I'm looking for a rifle that has these features:

  1. Iron sights: I like having the ability to either quickly remove optics or see-through mounts to use irons. Any gun I own with optics has this ability now and I'd like to continue the trend. I also enjoy shooting with irons more than a scope at the range.
  2. Detachable Magazine: I like detachable magazines. This is probably the least important feature for the gun to have, but it would certainly be nice.
  3. Shorter Barrel: 20" maximum. I just prefer the shorter barrels.
  4. Heavy Barrel: Not mandatory, but preferred. I like thicker barrels.
  5. No 'Scout' Scope Mounts: I don't like this type of setup, and neither do my eyes. This is why I haven't just tried to buy a Ruger Scout rifle.

Again, a good rifle doesn't have to meet all those criteria, but the more it has the better. I've found a few guns that come close to what I want, but somebody out there might know of something that suits me even better than I can find.

As a secondary thing, the Savage Hog Hunter is pretty close to what I want (just no detatchable mag). Does anybody own one of them? Care to comment on it if so?

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
steyr scout has all those features except the heavy barrel, the iron sights are flip up, It has a long weaver rail for scope mount so you are not stuck with a scout scope, it is available with a set trigger and comes with a second magazine which is held in the stock.

I have this rifle and have taken many animals with it, it is light and very accurate. I have quick release mounts on mine that allow me to remove the scope to use the irons if needed as I do not like the height of see through mounts, scope/rifle has maintained zero every time I have re&re'd it
 
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Space Jam,

I have a preference for the 308 and 30-06.

You may like something like mine. Weatherby Carbine in 308. McMillian Stock. Came with the irons. One hell of a shooter.



For the 30-06, I am opposite of your opinion for the shorter barrels. I have a 26" barrel on my Eddystone sporter, a 25" on my Parker Hale and a 23" on my Midland. All have the mauser action and they are very reliable shooters. The Eddy and the Midland are strictly open sights. The Parker Hale has two mags.

I prefer the floorplate as I have lost a few mags in my time in the bush and find that is not possible with a floorplate - and just as quick to empty.
 
I got a Savage Hog Hunter in .223(cheaper at the range than my .270 and 7mm mag). overall impressions...the iron sights suck(but then i added a nikon scope) it cycles pretty good. the stock sorta blows, and im not a huge fan of the internal mag but its not a big deal for all i do with it. for what i paided which was less than $500 i dont think its a bad choice for range days and the bit of coyote hunting i'll be doing. if there are 3 things i like about it for being a cheaper rifle they are:

Heavy Free-floated barrel, accu-trigger and dirt cheap on ammo.
 
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I know you said you prefer bolt guns, but what about levers? The BLR has everything you want in a handy package, and even comes in a takedown version. I was strictly a bolt guy until I got one, and I likes it, yes I does. :)

The only downside with the BLR is the crappy triggers. It's a pain at the range, but you don't even notice when hunting.
 
Because you put a premium on iron sights, I suggest you choose a rifle from either CZ or Ruger. A full stock CZ will make you forget all about a heavy barrel rifle, these things are just drop dead pretty. A Ruger Scout on the other hand is a good utilitarian rifle, that incorporates several features that many prefer, and as Dogleg and Gatehouse have said, can have it's scope mounted in a conventional manner. A heavy barrel is of no benefit to a practical marksman who carries his rifle in the field, and tends to shoot at targets of opportunity at estimated, but unknown ranges. If you have a craving for long range shooting, that is a different discipline which requires a different type of tool and a thick wallet. A competent practical marksman can easily engage targets in the field to a quarter mile, and is not likely to fire more that 3 rounds at that target. A modern rifle with a short sporter weight barrel is fully capable of MOA accuracy when loaded with suitable ammunition, and under realistic conditions, it is only the gifted marksman who on demand can shoot tighter than 2 MOA under field conditions, which means that regardless of range, light, wind, or mirage conditions, he can always place his bullet within 1 MOA of his intended point of impact. Such shooting is of a very high order, which requires dedication, ruthless self criticism, and constant practice as shooting is a degradable skill.

But I started by talking about sights for your rifle, so I should get back to that. Factory sights on modern rifles are universally poor. Having said that, the situation is not completely hopeless, particularly with Ruger and CZ rifles. Both can accept NECG peep sights which can be opened up to ghost rings, with out alteration, and CZ has answered the public's demand to fashion their Ruger peep sight to the same style as that for the CZ. The advantage of the ghost right, which is a thin rim, large aperture peep sight, which ghosts out of your vision as you shift your focus to the front sight, is that you look through it not at it. Thus it is very fast to use, simply put the front sight on the target, and provided you can see the front sight through the aperture, you're ready to fire. The front sight should not be a bead, but a rectangular post. The bead provides no index of elevation, tends to cover up the target, and is difficult to hold focus on. The rectangular post with its wide flat top works like the cross hair of a scope, the flat top equates to the horizontal cross hair, and the human eye is very good at quickly finding the center of an object, so you have no trouble in drawing a line down the center of the post which equates to your vertical cross hair. Thus, the rectangular post front sight is both faster and more precise than a bead. Both the Ruger and the CZ front sights allow for quick change inserts which can be done easily by the shooter without need of a gunsmith. The only way to make the rectangular post front sight better is to have it made with a brass face of fully out of brass. Brass is interesting because it appears black on a white background and white on a dark background. If you want a custom look to your rifle, NECG also makes a beautiful barrel band ramp for the front sight.

NECG's CZ peep sight on a Brno ZG-47 . . .


A brass rectangular post in a non-fluted Ruger barrel band front sight . . .
 
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