Best budget 30-06.

I like the Savage also.
If you don't mind a used Gun I would imagine you could save several hundred Dollars that way. I don't see a lot of pressure here in Texas on Hunting rifles, there are still many good deals out there.
I bought a very sweet Savage Model 11 for $300 OTD a year or so ago. It is remarkablly accuracte and the Accutrigger is a very good system.
Can't say enough about how pleased I am with it.

I totally agree with buying a used Savage. I bought my 110 for $225 and that was with a scope. Most people buy them and shoot them about 5 times to sight them in before deer season then they take them hunting and maybe shoot twice. And then they stick them in a closet until the next deer season. The only problem I had was the walnut stock warped after I had the rifle a while. I don't really know why. I replaced it with a B&C synthetic stock which has been great (and far better than the plastic stocks Savage makes).

I picked up a Savage Axis in .30-06 with scope for just over $350 after taxes.

The scope isn't the greatest thing in the world, but should get the job done for deer 300 yards out in an open field.

Went through the same decision making process. I picked a Ruger American in 30/06. I may feel a little light and flimsy but man does it shoot.

My vote is also the Savage, or more precisely the Stevens 200 which is the Pre Accutrigger version. I recently bought one for about $200 bucks, I put a Dednutz mount and a Redfield scope on it for about another $200. Its a great shooter for $400.

I've got a Remington 700 ADL from the mid 70's, '06 with Redfield Wideview scope 4X, this rifle is a shooter! I was at the range 2 days ago, shot 4 rds @ 100 yds, 1/2" group, 3" high above DC bull. See if you can find an older Remington, they're out there.

Another vote for the Savage. Here's my 111 in 30-06 with Burris scope. Bought lightly used last year for $350. Nothing fancy, but boy is she a shooter when I do my part.



Here's what she'll do at 100yds when I don't get in the way. First shot at upper left is dead center. Boy, didn't remember her kicking like that! Second shot was a little low and left. Wow, felt that one. I really pulled the third shot as I was thinking more about the recoil than my shot. :banghead:


If you're looking for a solid hunting rifle for a reasonable price, you won't go wrong with a used Savage, and you'll have plenty of $ left for ammo.

A pre-Remington Marlin .30-06 XL-7 is potentially a good choice. Mine (when I owned it) is a sub 1" shooter at 100 yards with 165 gr. Remington 165 gr PSP factory load and Federal 220 gr RNSPs (Speer bullet) load. Had a good deal on a .338 Winchester Mag and was good trade bait plus some cash.

I think if I were in the market for a good budget gun I would take a hard look at the Ruger American. It has several nice features you generally have to pay more for like a 60 degree bolt lift, rotary box mag, Hammer Forged barrel, a decent bedding system and a 6 lb weight. The majority of the reviews I've read on the American focus on it's purportedly stellar accuracy.

A few reviews by Real Guns:

http://www.realguns.com/articles/383.htm

http://www.realguns.com/articles/484.htm

Beyond that I'd look at a Howa or Vanguard S2, but both of those options are going to be a good bit heavier and eat up more of your budget.

I have TC Venture in 7mm08 that is a very nice for the money shooter with a bushnell elite 3x10 scope solid 1 moa shooter with my reloads. bolt is smooth trigger very nice.

Bull

I got my Weatherby Vanguard for $390 brand new and Wally World. I love the thing. It is super accurate. It is a little on the heavy side though.

Also, we got my wife's rifle, a Ruger M77, used at a pawn shop with scope for in the $425 range.

I would suggest looking the used route. While a lot of things are scarce right now, hunting rifles are still there to be had a good prices.

New? Savage.

I'd rather go to a gun show though and find an old sporterized Mauser 98 instead for $150 ~ 200 and spend the rest on a nice 4x or 6x fixed power scope.

I read an article in one of the big gun magazines recently, testing .30-06s in rifles averaging around $550. I don't recall which magazine it is, but I have it somewhere around in my mess called a "Man Cave". Anyhow, the Winchester M70 came in first place with best accuracy and zero failures. Weatherby's Vanguard, I believe, came in at 2nd place. I'll try to locate the article, and update if I do find it.

Geno

hands down a stevens 200... when you want to add stuff later this rifle will give you one of the most customizable actions available

Look for a good used Winchester Model 70 or Savage at a pawn shop. Buy a good set of rings. Put this on it.

http://swfa.com/Sightron-3-9x40-SI-Riflescope-P9199.aspx

You should be at about $400-$500.

i also vote for the marlin xl7. great gun

Best budget gun I ever bought was a Mossberg 100ATR 30'06.
Cold bore shot was dead-on the crosshairs at 100yds with cheap glass. What's not to love?
Oh, the recoil; that's what's not to love... (synthetic stock).

Savage 111.

Comes with Nikon scope, Accutrigger, and sub-moa accuracy from most folks' accounts. The stock is kind of bad if you plan to use a bipod or rest, but for field positions with a sling, it works well enough.

MtnCreek said:

When shopping, give the TC Venture a look too. IMHO, I'd take a venture over a 110 or 700 any day.

Click to expand...

times 2

I'll try to locate the article, and update if I do find it.

Click to expand...

I'd like to read that. Please do.

OK you made me do this. Let's talk about the ability of bone stock, out of the box Savages to win international competitions against custom built rifles. If anyone can show me where other rifles are doing that on a regular basis (like Savage is) then I'll start to consider them to be on the same level as a Savage.

Like it or not Savage is leader of putting top technology into stock rifles today. New innovations cost money to implement and Savage is the company spending that money to upgrade. Companies like Remington are seriously cutting corners. For example people have been lumping the Axis in with the Remington 770. Wow is that ever a bad comparison. The Axis is 5 times better than the 770. The 770 is about the worst piece of junk I've ever picked up except for possibly the 710. I might buy them if I was supplying arms to the enemy but I sure as heck wouldn't buy them for my side. People want to talk about how the gun magazines rate rifles, the Axis has been listed as being a sub-MOA rifle in tests I've seen. And it's a $300 rifle brand new. No other budget rifles produce that kind of accuracy.

So for my money Savage is producing the best equipment from top to bottom. I constantly hear how other rifles are as good as Savage on the high end but for some reason no one wins competitions with them. I hear how Axis and the 770 are equals yet the gun mags pretty much all agree that's wrong. They say the Axis is great and the 770 is junk. Take this article for example. I certainly don't agree with their comparison methods where they "guess" which rifle will be more reliable and durable (that's just stupid) but they do reveal some things that aren't about guessing. Things like accuracy, fit and finish. They place the Stevens near the middle of this list (6th place out of 10 rifles) but the knock they put on them is based on their guessing and not what they actually see. Keep in mind that they also include far more expensive rifles. If you compare just the rifles in the $300 range and you throw out the stuff they guessed about you have some useful information. And once again the 770 ranks well below everything on the list. And I'm talking useful stuff like accuracy and fit and finish. I wouldn't get into guessing about the durability of these rifles but I've seen 770's and they are plastic junk. I own what is essentially a Stevens 200 (a Savage 110 without an AccuTrigger) and it's 20 years old and still going strong. So much for it not being durable.

At any rate, just as I said, this article puts the 770 much lower than the Axis, which is it's true competition. They are priced similar but in every test like this I've seen they rank far lower.

Add the fact that the top end Savages are actually going out and doing things the other rifle makers can only dream of doing and I think the choice is very, very clear. Savage is making the best products for the money period. Again show me a Howa or Weatherby that is winning popular international competitions and I'll start to believe they are catching up to Savage. I have Savages and some of them shoot fine (like my 110) but some of them shoot fantastic (like my 12 not to mention my MkIIBTV .22). I just don't see any company matching what they're doing. That's why I've been buying mostly Savages for the last 5 years. I also buy a lot of Marlins but they are all rimfire rifles.

Cee Zee is right on the money.

My bolt guns are all Savages except for one Mdl 70 Winchester. That being said, I was on a hog hunt last weekend. There was a Dr and his son there. The Doc used a 30-06 and the son used a .243 both Remington 770s. I was checking their rifles out and I was pretty impressed with them for the price they paid. For an inexpensive rifle that came with a 3X9 Bushnell scope, they seemed like a good value for a utility gun. The both got their hogs and both with one shot.

The 770 worked fine for their uses and they were happy with them.

I just bought the new Ruger American in 30-06 and put a Bushnell DOA600 scope on it for right at $500. Only able to shoot a few rounds at 70 yards but the holes were all touching. The recoil, thanks to the new pad, feels just a tad stronger than a 243. The trigger was absolutely amazing.
Great gun and most all reviews and reports are positive on handling, recoil and accuracy out to long ranges.
I've had and still have a couple Savages and at the low price point the American is far better than the savages in everyway other than maybe accuracy and that has yet to be fully determined but early results are favorable. The American just has so many better features for the money then the 110 or 111 series.
That being said, I love Savage guns. You definitely can't go wrong with one especially if you like to tinker with them and customize one.

Savage puts out a package. Rifle/scope. Great set-up.