What is the best 30-06 for hunting less than 800$?

I've got a Remington 141 in .35 that's my go-to gun. Iron sights.
Love the pump action. They're slender without anything sticking out.
 
My first choice for a quality budget 30-06 would be a Husqvarna 1640 from trade-ex. I don't believe that there are many new guns that can match the fit/finnish and quality of many older rifles. Accuracy? My three huskies all shoot sub M.O.A. with 2.5 weavers or 4x B&L. I agree with the P17/P14 as well, sporterized, the couple I've seen are very well made rifles. If I were to buy new, it would probably be Ruger or Winchester, choose either in the right model and they may prove to pass the test of time and become trusty hunting companions. As for optics, I've used many scopes over the years and my all time favorite is the old Weaver K3, not sure what experiance other hunters have had but these are surprisingly clear and have proven utterly reliable for me over the past 12 or so years. Price? 50-100$. One of my pet peeves with a lot of newer rifles is the trigger group, stamped steel, little pins and tiny circlips?? Sure they may work great but not a mechanical affair I would choose to trust miles from anywhere on a 6 day sheep hunt...

I must admit I am a little biased towards older rifles, most of mine are 40 years old or older, and I am not sure how these new remington/Tikka/Savage rifles would fare with the passage of 30, 40, 50 years?

Here is a photo of two Husqvarna's, the top one cost 600 with the scope, and the bottom cost 400.

Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for!

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^^^ X2, what lledwod said, you can get one for under $500 and have enough money for good optics leftover.

A better hunting rifle would be hard to find.
 
Remington 700
Tikka T3
Savage

Whichever suits you. People give Remington flak lately for alleged quality control issues but I haven't seen solid proof, and I own one.
 
New: Winchester model 70, (the new ones seem to be very good quality, at a very reasonable price for what you get).

Used: Husky 1600/1640 (Lots of them on the Tradeex website). I have one in 6.5x55 and love it.
 
Model 70 (See my signature line??)

I own two, a pre-64 30-06 (very heavy rifle to carry around) and a 243 Featherweight. Both of them shoot wonderful groups.

If I wanted another 30-06 I would seriously think about another Featherweight or a Sporter from the "new generation" of Winchesters.
 
I have read and thought about everything everyone has posted on here. Thanks for taking the time to help out a newbie. I intend to get old doing this, and your comments will guide my maiden decision. Looking like a husky from trade-ex or a brand new win m-70.
 
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