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Which bolt action

  • Winchester

    Votes: 5 17.2%
  • Savage

    Votes: 9 31.0%
  • Remington

    Votes: 7 24.1%
  • Other (please explain answer with a post)

    Votes: 8 27.6%

In your opinion, what gun maker makes the best bolt action centerfire rifle?

13K views 42 replies 30 participants last post by  CJ_56 
#1 ·
I personally am partial to savage, but I'm interested to see what you all say.
 
#27 ·
Browning (I clicked other) I love my A-Bolt, I like Remington 700's too! I hear great things about all of them but I have never owned a savage I had a pre 64 win mod 70, I liked it a lot too shoulda kept it but that;s the story of my life, first range trip after a co-worker sold my buddy the A-bolt (he said it wouldnt shoot good) I shot 2 times and he shot once from 135 yds, you could get a dime to cover all 3 holes, that's with a cheapo 30 dollar tasco scope, I told him if he got rid of it I had dibs, few months later he said he had too many rifles I told him I'd give him 500 for the Browning, he took it, has offered to buy it back from me too
 
#28 ·
Of the 3 you listed the current best is obviously Savage. But that wasn't always the case. Winchester is just a brand name now. The Winchester rifle company we all think of when we say "Winchester" really doesn't exist anymore. Several plants make rifles that are called by that name but none are the original by any means. Remington has had problems in recent years with their buyout too. I nearly bought a Sendero about 3 years ago. But I suspected it needed a new barrel and they wanted top prices for it so no thanks. I bought a Savage 12 LRPV instead. If there's a better rifle around it's a very good one. But people who own both generally say that Sako's are better. I've never shot a Sako so I can't say for sure. I do know they are high priced and Savages aren't. I can shoot a 2" group at a quarter mile with my .223 Savage LRPV with the target action and that's using off the shelf ammo. It's good ammo but it's off the shelf. I use Black Hills remanufactured, HP ammo in the 69-75 gr. range. If a rifle shoots better than this one I can't really get much advantage from it. How good is good enough anyway?
 
#29 ·
My vote is for a Model 98 Mauser. A controlled feed, battle proven, safari proven commercial or military action Model 98 Mauser. This is the action the the infamous Springfield 03 was copied from, and Winchester bolt actions, both Model 54 and 70 designed from the Springfield guns. The one, the only, the original Model 98 Mauser, a design that no one has been able to improve upon since its inception.


those who beat their guns into plowshares, will plow for those who didn't
 
#30 · (Edited)
I think most gun companies have at least one or two models that shine, caliber is important too IMO. I like the Ruger M77s, have a 22-250 and a 220 Swift that just rock. I have a Thompson Centerfire Icon Precision in Ruger .204 that I enjoy, but haven't put a ton of rounds through yet. Seems to be a very accurate and reliable rifle so far. Dad has some Winchesters, Savages, and Remingtons that are great too. If I had the ching I believe the DTA SRS is the rifle to get.
 
#33 ·
Bolts are Bolts I have shot old Ruger 77s and old Redfield widefields for more years than I care to remember. If there is a better combination take the I out of it the rifle and scope are as good as it gets. Gutpile
First of all, I'll be the first to welcome you here.

But I haven't got a clue on what you are trying to say in your second sentence.
"If there is a better combination take the I out of it the rifle and scope are as good as it gets".

"Take the I out of it the rifle" What does that mean?
 
#35 · (Edited)
That's Blaser, Old fat fingers and these new kep pads are dangerous.
That's why there's an edit feature.;) :)

Three things come to mind.
1) I haven't owned/used nearly enough different manufacturer's bolt action rifles to be able to say who has the best one. There are so many beautiful BA rifles out there today that I'd just love to own if money were no object.
2) Of the bolts I do own(ed) and have experience with, I don't necessarily have a favorite that I feel is the best. BA's I currently have include Remington, Savage, Ruger, Mauser, Krag, SMLE and Berthier. (Past owned would include Winchester.)
3) I can say that I like them all, even if for different reasons and that my most often go to BA is a Remington and the least favorite "actions" (not rifles) are the SMLE and Berthier.
 
#38 · (Edited)
Savage has long made good accurate rifles that in years past performed as well and cost less than the products of many competitors. The Remington 700 is often regarded as the strongest mass produced commercial bolt action, and as accurate as the Savage. Mauser designs are controlled feed and adequately strong. Their accuracy depends on barrel and bedding, as is true of all rifles.
 
#41 ·
Any rifle from a reputable maker with a good barrel and a good trigger will shoot well, or can be made to shoot well.

My Varmint buddies between them have a Custom JD Jones Savage in .22-250, Remington Varmint in 22-250, a custom Winchester Model 70 in .223, and a M700 Varmint identical to the 22-250 in .223. Plus a few other oddballs, a Savage in.17, a CZ .22 Hornet, a TC in .243, another Savage in .204 Ruger....

ALL of them will shoot into pretty darn close to one hole at 100. The first Savage above has the BEST trigger I have ever felt...like a THIN icycle breaking...

But although Ruger M77s don't have the same reputation across the board with target guys, I lucked into my sweet used M77V in .220 Swift, no longer made in that caliber but with the old style adjustable trigger almost as good as the custom Savage, and can and has put them into one hole at 100 too...even with me behind the trigger:p


But that having been said, I still would vote for a Savage...

I have NEVER shot any Savage, in everything from .17 HMR to .22 to .222 to .300 Savage to the above mentioned that was NOT accurate. They just ALL seem to SHOOT.

Plus, that Accutrigger they have now for a few bucks more than stock is as good as many much more expensive aftermarket triggers.

And I always liked that "Barrel Nut." While not yet having "shot out" a barrel, I know all the stories of the Swift and I DO "push" it...

I will have to have a 'smith do it if I need to someday on my Ruger---but with a good vise, and a set of headspace guages, technically you could "DIY" with a Savage!


But to each their own, remember the rifle's accuracy is is 95% BARREL and TRIGGER. You can make, modify, or buy aftermarket the stock that fits you and bed and freefloat it properly on ANY rifle, and mount good optics on it properly as well for all the rest, so try them all and buy the one with the best BARREL and TRIGGER.

A good barrel with a good trigger (OK, with good optics mounted properly on it as well) on any cheap old rifle will generally out shoot even the most expensive rifle made that has a bad or shot out barrel and/or a crappy (creepy?:p) trigger....
 
#43 ·
I don't think it is personal myself. I chose to buy a Savage because they were winning F/TR and F Class shooting events using stock rifles up against custom rifles. That is very impressive stuff. I have nothing against the other gun makers. I nearly bought a Remington and would have been happy with it I'm sure but it probably needed a barrel so I looked elsewhere. I was actually going to buy a new Savage but I found such a good deal on a used one that had not been shot more than maybe 10 times that I just couldn't pass it up. I actually lucked out in that I was going to buy an F/TR rifle but the one I found was a 12 LRPV. It has the same target AccuTrigger (not the same as the regular AT) and it's a single shot with a left feed mechanism. A single shot can be much more rigid which is always good for shooting and sure enough the Savage turned out to be very rigid.

I found out later that most of the people on the Savage board think the LRPV is the best rifle Savage makes because the F/TR is front end heavy due to it having a 4" longer barrel. The 26" barrel on this rifle is said to be as good as it gets from Savage.

I know a person can buy a better barrel and get a custom trigger (an SSS Evo trigger probably is the best one around) and make their Savage shoot even better but Savage has tried hard to incorporate all the improvements the gunsmiths make to their guns into the production of their guns on down the line. So if a person wants a very good rifle for not a lot of money (compared to stuff like the Accuracy International rifles) then Savage is really hard to beat. Sure you can add a lot of upgrades to many rifles and make the shoot great. But Savage sells stuff right out of the box that can compete with a lot of custom rifles. I'm not saying they make the best rifles on earth. That would be silly. But I've shot a lot of rifles in the last few years and Savage has been better than all of them. Other rifles are really good but I just think Savage goes the extra mile.
 
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