30-06... Looking for Recommendations

Just saw you are in NJ. If you'd like to look over a Winchester in person, PM me, I'd be happy to let you look at/shoot mine.

30-06... Looking for Recommendations

I have two 30-06s and a friend has one that I've been allowed to shoot. They're a Weatherby Vanguard w/ 24" bbl, Ruger 77 w/ 22" bbl and a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight with a 22" bbl, all with wood stocks and blued metal. The Weatherby is scoped with a Nikon Monarch, the other two with Leupolds. As far as the scopes, they're all good. But the Winchester is my favorite of the bunch and by a wide margin. Very smooth and ergonomic. I've had it since 2008 and it's one of the FN South Carolina products. I understand they're moving production to Portugal and I have no idea what the impact will be on product quality. The Ruger and Weatherby are both good solid rifles, but just a little less refined.

I would recommend a winchester 70 but I dont like to recommend foreign made guns since the model 70 is made in portugal now.

Tikka T3 Hunter. The best of the bunch in it's price range.

It would be a toss up between Ruger, Winchester, and Remington, and also Savage.
You cannot break a Ruger, The Winchester has the nicest adjustable trigger, and Remingtons are smooth. The Savage cannot be beat for reliablility and cost. Iknow savage has that Accutrigger thingy, but I cannot stand them.
Thinking on it, I would go with a Winchester, or Ruger.

Just to satisfy curiosity, how much do I lose if I go to a 20" barrel? Reason I ask is because the CZ comes only with a 20" barrel. I would imagine that it should be just as effective on deer or hogs at north east woods distances.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Click to expand...

You don't want to go with a 20" barrel with a .30-06. The loss of velocity with a barrel that short puts it in the same category as the .308, which would be a better choice with a short barrel. To say nothing about the muzzle blast... As previously stated, go with a 24" barrel with a .30-06. Oh, and like previous posters, I recommend the Winchester Model 70.

Don

rizbunk77
I would recommend a winchester 70 but I dont like to recommend foreign made guns since the model 70 is made in portugal now.

Click to expand...

Wrong.
The Model 70 is made in the USA.

Directly from the Winchester website: http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/category.asp?family=001C

Built Right, Built in the USA
The All-American Model 70s are built by American craftsmen in Columbia, South Carolina, at the same state-of-the-art factory as the rifles and machine guns used by America’s Armed Forces to defend freedom around the world. They are made to the exact ISO 9001 standard of quality that Uncle Sam insists upon for military firearms.

Click to expand...

If I had my choice between the Model 70 and a Tikka for the same price, I would choose the Tikka. Why?
1) I have yet to see a Tikka that did not shoot sub m.o.a. groups out of the box when the shooter was equally capable.
2) The Tikka probably has the smoothest action of any gun in that price range and smoother than a lot of rifles that cost a lot more.
3) Easily adjustable trigger.
4) I much prefer a tang safety. It operates exactly the same as the safety on my shotguns.
5) Controlled round feed is greatly over rated, IMHO. By the time the round pops free of the magazine, it is already in the chamber.

However, I do not dislike the M70.

I hope this helps.

I've seen the Mossberg 4x4, shot the Ruger American, and really like the CZ offerings but am seriously in need of help.

Click to expand...

The CZ is a nice rifle, but I certainly wouldn't consider the other two if you have $800 to spend on the rifle alone.

With that kind of budget, I would look at something like a Winchester M70, maybe the Featherweight. Here's one in great condition with a buy it now price of $770.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=395812535

Arkansas Paul said:

The CZ is a nice rifle, but I certainly wouldn't consider the other two if you have $800 to spend on the rifle alone.

With that kind of budget, I would look at something like a Winchester M70, maybe the Featherweight. Here's one in great condition with a buy it now price of $770.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=395812535

Click to expand...

That's a New Haven push-feed action gun. For that kind of money you could get a New Haven built "Classic Model" with CRF, or a brand-new FN produced M70, which are generally higher quality than what came out of New Haven at the end, and have CRF.

Poper - In 2012, Winchester/Browning/FN announced that beginning in 2013 all components for the Model 70 would continue to be produced in South Carolina, but assembly would take place in Portugal, at which point the rifles would be sent back to the U.S.. So yeah, they're built in the U.S. in the same way Springfield Armory, Inc. sells U.S. made 1911's.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...move-model-70-production-to-portugal-in-2013/

The finest weapon that I have ever fired was my father's Browning BAR in 30.06; it's accuracy, finish, and function has been flawless for the last 30 to 35 years. A distant second would be the Remington 7400 in 30.06.

Tophernj - this is a really nice New Haven built Model 70 "Classic". The blued extractor indicates it was built in the first run, which were made on brand-new machinery and generally considered the best of the Classics. This might be as close as you can get to a pre-'64 Model 70 as you can get without buying, you know, a pre-'64. And the price is pretty fair, even without the scope.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=395896072

I have no connection to the seller. Just saw a nice rifle that fits your criteria and thought I'd pass it on.

Go out and look and handle a lot of the different brand names at some gun stores. Then pick the one that fits you best. Lot of nice good quality rifles out there. I'd probably go for CZ as they are beautifully made and accurate pieces.

Poper - In 2012, Winchester/Browning/FN announced that beginning in 2013 all components for the Model 70 would continue to be produced in South Carolina, but assembly would take place in Portugal, at which point the rifles would be sent back to the U.S.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected.

P

No need for a Featherweight or Lightweight rifle if you're not going to be hiking with it. Why put up with the additional recoil? In your price range, a Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 Sporter would be ideal. Grade A Turkish walnut with a satin finish. Match grade two-stage trigger and a sub-MOA guarantee, right out of the box. Weatherby's stock design, with the dropped heel, Decelerator recoil pad and the Monte Carlo cheek piece which moves away from your face under recoil, really lessens felt recoil.

Here's mine in .257 WBY Magnum, a long action like a .30-06, with a Leupold VX3 atop it.

I'm waiting on a set of Talley Lightweights to mount a new-to-me Leupy VX-3 2.5-8x36 scope on my FN Winchester Featherweight, should be here tomorrow or the next day, then I'll take some pics and put them up.

With a budget of $800 you can buy almost anything you like.
The Remington 700 and Winchester M70 are both good choices are are Tikka and Sako rifles.

I like Savage rifles and Howa 1500 rifles too, I own both.
You can buy a Savage 111 combo w/Nikon scope for $600 or buy a M111 and a scope of your own. I have nothing against Leupold and the like but I think Nikon makes a great hunting scope for a fair price. Their new ProStaff 5 is a very nice scope.
http://swfa.com/Nikon-25-10x40-ProStaff-5-Riflescope-P61618.aspx

SAVAGE 110 accurate and inexpensive can also get a scope they way you plan to use it all within $800. Tikka T3 also very good I own both the savage and the Tikka they both shoot moa out of the box. I love the wood stock on the Tikka: http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?hunter

if i could buy a 30-06 for about that price, it would be a remington 700

GAF said:

CZ 550 Full Stock .

Click to expand...

What he said, it is just too beautiful.