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Best Bolt Action for the money?

4K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  SilasW 
#1 · (Edited)
I know this Forum is full of really smart people with great knowledge about rifles etc. What do y'all think is the best Hunting Bolt Action rifle on the market today for the money?Not the best bolt action rifle.

From what I have seen at gun shops I'd have to go with the Ruger American .308 $350-389 at most shops in Ca.
 
#5 ·
best bang for buck and bolt action?

probably a 91/30 mosin nagant... :)
I agree to this for sure like 100 to 200 bucks it's just seem like not much of a hunting rifle and more of a collectible not saying it couldn't do the job at most animals I know of people taking moose down with one just in my eyes not to practical. But I will admit my original post didn't say hunting rifle. So yes mosin nagant takes the cake.
 
#10 ·
Best bolt action for the money is a pretty open ended question. Are we going cheap, most customizations available, ect ect???
IMO; for under a grand you can't get much better than the Remington 700, those things are like lego blocks and there track record speaks for it self.
 
#11 ·
+1 also fer the Remington 700. Thats what the military snipers use and a lot of long range shooters also. And it is compleatly custumizable to suit yer tastes. As fer caliber that just depends on where yer at and what ya want to do with it. Ifn I was buyin one I'd get it in .30/06 just cuz round here I could have bought those anytime and been able to shoot instead of only havin however many I had loaded to work with. And it'll take anythin I would ever think bout huntin if I did t want to use my levers. Or my 8mm mauser.
 
#16 ·
yup, though 8x56r is a bit harder to find, and then you are looking at a carbine length rifle. I have 2 m95, one in original mil cond 8x56r, the other unfortunately sporterized, though in the much more rare chambering of 8x59 r, I need to find some original furniture and get it back like it should br
 
#17 ·
I'm planning on getting myself the whole set of "classic commie" guns. It started when I shot my buddies 91/30 and now I want one of those with a makarov, tokarev m57, and yugo m70 o-pap to match. I'll have um all one day lol.
 
#19 ·
Brown Line Tan Maroon Beige

Winchester Model 70 Featherweight.
Not cheap at $800 but a real beautiful rifle. I can't justify spending this kind of money on a gun I may use once a year so I will go with the Ruger American. My guys at my LGS tell me it is by far the most bang for the buck. They sell a lot of guns here and they tell me they never see them come back for repairs.

Product Gun White Line Trigger
 
#20 ·
When talking new rifles, the clear winner is the Remington 700 ADL. They are limited production guns that you have to buy through one of the huge companies (Cabela's, Gander Mtn., Bass Pro, Dick's, Walmart), but they are definitely a step in front of the Ruger American or Savage Axis.

The Axis and American have basically no upgrades available. They are cheap guns, and they're not made for turning into precision rifles. The 700 ADL is only abour $75 more when on sale, and it has numerous manufacturers making every possible upgrade. It has gobs more potential for just a bit more cash.
Want to change the stock? Good luck on an Axis or American. But there's barely a stockmaker in the world that doesn't do 700s.
Want a better trigger? I think you can see where this is going.

But in a used rifle, the best value for your money is likely a sporterized Mauser. Somebody already spent good money turning an old gun into a great shooter, but now they've lost a lot of popularity (and therefore the price has dropped nicely).

Find one that somebody did well and you'll pay $300 for a rifle that would cost you nearly a thousand bucks to build.
 
#22 ·
Want to change the stock? Good luck on an Axis
Want a better trigger? I think you can see where this is going.
Boyds and one other company make Axis stocks now, in many different variations


And Timney and Rifle Basix make wonderful aftermarket triggers for the Axis.
http://www.timneytriggers.com/shop/timney-axis/edge-trigger-replacement-trigger.aspx
http://www.riflebasix.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=181

Savage now makes the Axis II which comes with the same AccuTrigger as their higher end rifles.
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/axis2xp

Check out the Savage forum for Axis builds that perform just as well as some $1,500 Remingtons and Kimber for 1/3 the price
 
#21 ·
For me it depends on what I want in a "best bolt action for the money". Not to take anything away from the mil-surp rifles...goodness, how could a person, they're literally bulletproof....but they definitely do not trip my trigger even though I own a few. The Savage, Ruger and Remington don't do anything for me either but you won't hear me bad mouth any of them. I've had them all and every one I had was at least a decent shooter and I can remember a couple that were impressive, one Savage in particular. For my money one of them would be the Model 70 Featherweight as pictured above....and I guess I can say I mean it because I have one. Mine is in 270 WCF. But that's my second choice. First place goes to the pre-WWI and between the war Mauser sporters and I can say I mean that also as I own a couple. While it's assured neither are inexpensive in 10-20 years when most of the others are barely at $400.00 to $800.00 the Mod. 70 and Mauser will be over a grand for the Winchester and the sky's the limit on the Mauser's, depending on the rifle. I see them as toys, tools and investments, but that's me, I've always kinda marched to the beat of my own drum. The cartridge they're chambered to almost doesn't matter to me, I like the old, odd, obscure and obsolete anyway. That and I have enough of everything I'll ever need to last the rest of the time God grants me and if I don't have it I can make it.
 
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