Talk to me about CRF brands

freddyfour

freddyfour

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Brant County, Ontario
I am giving some thought to getting another bolt gun. Bolt guns have never been a dominant firearm in my cabinet , more into lever guns, so my knowledge of brands and quality are very general. The only bolt gun I currently have is a semi custom Savage 10FP and although a great shooter lacks class and ###y appeal.

What i think I want is a CRF in 308 or 30/06, a nice walnut stock, shorter barrel like 22" with a nice set if iron sights. I like used with some character. Obviously there is Winchester and Ruger, what else is there in that price range?

Regards

Brian
 
The older 600 series Brnos are very good as is the ZG-47 if you can find a good one for less than the cost of your kidney. One of the dumbest things I ever did was to trade away a M-600 Brno in 7X57. I don't remember what I got for it, but I do remember that 7X57 with the pop up peep. The new production CZ 550s are desirable, even though they demand a few more dollars than they once did. The M-70 Winchester is never a bad choice, although Dogleg managed to find a rare bird that was below par. I've since written that off as just one of those things, that can occur on any production line from time to time.

Zastava is an old Serbian arms manufacturer, which produces good quality rifles at what the North American market would consider mid priced. In context it could be considered what Brno was to us in the '70s and 80's. If you have a tight budget, but want a new CRF rifle, one of these could be a top choice. You might find that there is some benefit in having the action polished and the glass bedded into the stock, but that was also the case with some of the older Brnos when they were popular. What it does though is represent an increase in cost to these rifles which then might lead you to consider a slightly more expensive rifle like the M-70 which is pretty good right out of the box.

You might also want to consider Kimber's line as well, particularly the Montana.

Your first order of business though it to wade through Tradex's vast selection of rifles to see if you can find a commercial 1600 series Huqvarna that's in nice shape. IMHO, these are the best value rifles available today.
 
Boomer, thanks for the in depth discussion on the different brands. I like the looks of the Husqvarna 1600, seems that have all features I am after. I see He also has a few Parker Hale's there too. Am I right thinking they to are also CRF rifles? How do you find there quality say in compared to the Husqvarna's or the Brno's? I really like the look of some of the stocks that come with them.


Ardent said:
Kimber, Ruger, Winchester would be where I'd shop with Ruger first. I'd look for a M77 Mark II RSI .308 if I were you- that is the sweetest handling little bolt action I've had the pleasure of enjoying.
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Of the three Ruger is what I would buy, I have always liked the Rugers. They feel like a tank when your holding them, but I never see any in 308 or /06 with the factory sights. I have almost come home a few times with their M77 HAWKEYE COMPACT MAGNUM STANDARD, it has all the features I like but I really have no interest in the 300 RCM. If they made that exact rifle in 308 it would be sitting in my cabinet right now.

sheephunter said:
If you really want to check out the Cadillac of CRFs, take a look at the McMillan.
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Not even close to an option, I'm a middle class working man with wife and two young kids. McMillan is not something that will be in my cabinet for a very long time.
 
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If you're looking for something with irons and don't mind buying used then the Husqvarna 1600 series rifles at Tradeex are probably one of the best deals out there. The 1600 action is sort of a cross between a M98 and M96 action, made of modern steel, and very nicely made. They have a ton of them on the website for under 500 bucks. I would seriously consider buying one if I was in your shoes. I don't think you could go wrong with one of them.

I'd pick up one in .30-06 and put a nice scope on it and you'd have something that would serve you well the rest of your life.

The Zastava's would be another good option if you want new. I have a couple Zastava's and while they may not have the prettiest finish or the smoothest actions, they function 100% and are more than accurate enough for most hunting situations. I'm sure if you search Zastava you'll find many threads on here including one started by me featuring a stainless version in 7x64. They have a decent set of adjustable irons and are built using the great commercial M98 action.

If you don't need irons and want to spend a bit more then the previous suggestions of Ruger, Winchester, and CZ are great choices. I have all three and several of the Rugers. All are great guns. The Rugers are my favorite because of the design and construction but the Winchester fits me best. The 3 position safety of the Rugers and Winchesters is one of the best designs and features in a hunting rifle in my opinion.

Some other used rifles I would recommend are the Brno ZKK series, Win M70 pre 64's, ZG 47's, and the various commercial M98's like Parker Hales, Santa Barbara, FN, etc.
 
Do you guys know who makes the sights Ruger puts on some of their models ( I really like these particular sights)? If I could buy them after market that might a nice option to fill all my needs.
 
Indeed, though they used NECG though on the Express and RSMs.

freddy, if you're an irons guy like me, I have to give an even higher recommendation to an M77 Mark II RSI, they have factory irons, and are just magic to handle with the 18" barrel. They can be found, I sold my last one for around $800.

Angus
 
Hey Angus, I would definitely have to find one locally to handle it. I do not know how I feel about the full wood. Seeing and handling it in person may get me more excited then Google pics.
 
Ruger's scalloped barrel band front sight is one I'm fond of. My wife's .30/06 is a Husky 1600 that wears one with a rectangular post; I find the look appealing. The rear sight is an XS ghost ring attached to a Weaver base.

My grandson (12 at the time) shooting Gramma's '06 . . .




 
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