My first serious (!) rifle

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SMLE_Dingo

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Hi I'm considering buying my first serious (!) rifle. I've been messing around for a while with an sks and some other cheap milsurp, but now I think I want something that will shoot 1 MOA or less.

I'd like to spend less than $1000. The less I pay, the more I can spend on optics.

So I've got a couple questions. First, is the savage arms hunter series good for my purposes? Second, would .270 win be an apropriate calibre for a novice shooter?
 
I didn't mention the scope budget, except to say that anything I save from the rifle will be added to it. I know good scopes aren't cheap.
 
You don't need to spend a pile of cash to get an accurate rifle and scope. I've shot well under an inch consistantly for much less than a grand, with several different rifle and scope combinations, with my handloads. The more you spend, the better your gear might be but don't get caught up in the 'you can't have an accurate rifle and scope for under $4k' mentality. Good glass is important but don't scrimp on the rifle just to get it. Buy a good used rifle in the caliber of your choice, which you should be able to do for under $600, spend the rest on an optic you can upgrade later if you want to or need to. If you don't handload, this would be a good opportunity to start as tuning your ammo to your rifle will help you achieve what you are after.
IMHO.;)
 
If you're only looking to shoot 1 MOA @ 100 yards just about any scope should be fine to start off with. It wont be as rugged and sometimes I wonder how a lot of these cheaper scopes handle recoil but if you've only got a thousand bucks to spend and you're goal is 1 MOA you'll have to take a raincheck on a better optic.

A Savage or Remington SPS series would be a good place to start. Do some online research about accurising a rifle (bedding, free floating, that kind of stuff you can do at home). 0You should end up with a 1 MOA gun. Then practice lots. Just cause the gun can shoot 1 MOA doesn't mean the shooter will too. Good luck.
 
Remington 700 SPSP seems to meet your budget. You could op it with a Leupold Rifleman or Bushnell 3200 and be under a grand.

Or a used rifle. You could likely find a Ruger M77 or Winchester 70 with scope for less then 1000
 
Yes the Savage will do you fine. In fact the $300 Stevens will give you an excellent platform to start out with freeing up $700 from your budget for optics and other accesories if you want to go that route. Also yes the .270 will do you fine. I've owned some very accurate, one exceptionally accurate .270 Winchester. And for what it's worth, we tuned up my friends Lee Enfield, (I'm only mentioning this because of your user name) we added a synthetic stock and mounted a scope up top. Then I worked up a handload for his rifle using the 150 grain Hornady soft point that will cloverleaf three shots at 100 yards. Almost any rifle can be capable of MOA if your willing to put in the time to make it so.
 
My Stevens 200 in .25-06 and Nikon Prostaf 3-9x40 get usnder 1" groups any day, and I didn't spend $1000. I did a bit of work to the rifle stock to stiffen it up, but that cost nothing. I have had several rifles over the years that would shoot 1" and none of them cost $1000, it just takes a bit of tinkering.
 
Most off the shelf rifles can shoot 1 MOA, some less. If you want something that will shoot right out of the box make sure the thing is free floated as a start. I believe all savages are supposed to come from the factory free floating, check just to be sure before buying.

You don't have to stick with the big brands and new. Their are many good quality rifles out their and many of them used that will fit your budget and the owner maybe able to prove that the gun can shoot MOA or less rather than guessing with a virgin rifle.

As for the Savage hunter series it should do just fine. My question to you would be, "are you going to use this as a multipurpose rig, *hunt/target* and would a heavy barrel be an option?" As for the remingtons, they to, will do what you are looking for, but some of the lower end models might require some work such as free floating, and the trigger is not as nice as the accutrigger. Truth is most off the shelf guns can shoot moa or less with the appropriate small tweeks.The biggest 2 things to achieve what you are looking for is practice first and foremost, followed by ammunition preparation. As far as the practice part goes, given the fact you have been tinkering with milsurp rifles I would imagine you are at the point that you can shoot better than the cheap ammo will show. If not keep hammering away with the milsurp as it is cheap and readily available.

As for the caliber choice, 270 is a great round. The down side to that one is the selection of ammunition assuming that you are not handloading. The 'good stuff' is rather pricey and usually meant for hunting purposes. Although it will punch paper just fine, it can reduce your trigger time due to cost. Maybe look for something that has a wider bullet selection. This of course is all useless if you have the ability to load your own. If so, then go to town.
 
I paid just under $600 to get a husqvarna 1600 in 6.5 swede from trade ex to my door. Shoots 2.5" (factory fed ammo) with irons and my bad eye sight, I expect 1" or better with a banner 4-12x40 I'm going to mount.
 
inexpensive rifle

If you want a brand name rifle, I have a Win 70 Featherweight that I took on a trade. It's about 20 yrs old, .270 a little worn on the blueing, good plus on the stock, the previous owner claimed MOA or less at 100M, his last deer was taken @190 yds, (one shot he claimed) and I will put a Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40 WA on it and get it to your door for $640.00. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get an accurate rifle.

B Jamiesom
 
SMLE_Dingo said:
Hi I'm considering buying my first serious (!) rifle. I've been messing around for a while with an sks and some other cheap milsurp, but now I think I want something that will shoot 1 MOA or less.

I'd like to spend less than $1000. The less I pay, the more I can spend on optics.

So I've got a couple questions. First, is the savage arms hunter series good for my purposes? Second, would .270 win be an apropriate calibre for a novice shooter?
Click to expand...

You haven't really said what the rifle is for and to determine if a rifle is appropriate that question must first be answered. A .270 is a good general purpose hunting cartridge for North American big game, but I don't see you mentioning hunting, only a concern for MOA accuracy, which is not a necessity in a big game rifle. Perhaps you would be better served with a .22 centerfire like a .223, as a .223 is cheaper to shoot than cartridges with larger bore sizes and greater powder capacity. The more you shoot, the better your marksmanship will become. A Savage .223 can be affordable or expensive depending on which model you choose, but it sounds like they are mostly capable of good accuracy.
 
If you are in no rush you should have no problem spending a grand or so for a decent set-up. My last setup was all new and it consisted of a Winchester M70 LH 270WSM SporterIII, Bushnell 4200 2.5-10X40, and Talley rings and the total was $1170.00 all in. If you look around you can find some decent buys but it's best to know what you are looking for and then act once you see it...good deals go quick.
 
I just picked up a Marlin XS7 in 7mm-08 for $389. The trigger is fantastic! Well worth the $20 more than the stevens and will leave you with plenty to spend on a decent scope!
 
I picked up a used Stevens 200 with a Fixed power redfield scope that Shoots MOA....I think that cost me 425$ shipped to my door. I think you could do very well with a 1000$ .
 
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