.25-06 Rifle- Should I upgrade or sell?

[djardine]

I have a Stevens 200 .25-06. I am a HUGE fan of the .25-06. I have not had a chance to shoot this gun yet as I just recently purchased it. I am assuming it will shoot like all the other Stevens I have owned- under 1" at 100 with factory ammo (I do not reload). I adjusted the trigger which lightened the pull from 6.5 (factory) to about 4 pounds. Because I am finally out of my Master's Degree program and I am making a little more money, I am wanting a nice gun with a nice trigger. I don't have too much to spend because my wife is sick of how many guns I have purchased lately. So to make a long story short... Lately I have been wanting to get a nicer rifle in .25-06 or upgrade mine by installing a aftermarket trigger.

I am considering the following
1. Buying a Rifle Basics trigger or similiar for the Stevens for roughly $100 and eventually replacing the stock with a Bell and Carlson.
2. Selling my Stevens and buying a Marlin XL7 in .25-06 which has a better stock and trigger IMO.
3. Selling Stevens and buying a Howa/ Weatherby .25-06 for $400 or buying a Savage Model 111 .25-06 (accutrigger model) for $499.

What do you think?

To make matters worse, I can get a .243 Savage with Accutrigger right now for $400. I am pondering wheter or not I really need the .25-06 or if the .243 will fit the bill. I have had the .243 in the past and I love the round but I had reservations as to shooting big mule deer in Nevada- thus I purchased the
25-06. I will be shooting mostly deer and the occasional coyotes with the gun (I allready have a .223 setup for coyotes).

 

[W.E.G.]

Ask your wife!

 

[unwise11]

get a howa. they make some of the best tactical builds, and mine in .308 shoots sub moa.

 

[Captcurt]

Djardine,

You might want to wait a little while on the XL7. I broke my extractor and have seen several other post concerning this. Marlin needs to kick an engineer's behind.

I would tune up the Stevens, put it in the safe and buy something else. That way I can hunt with the Stevens (read scratch and ding) and have another gun for backup.

 

[unwise11]

whats wrong with a .30 cal?
.308? 30-06? 300 wm?
all those are good.

 

[Ala Dan]

Whatever choice you make, stay with the .25-06 caliber~! Enjoy

 

[GooseGestapo]

1. keep the gun you have. There's not $0.50 worth of difference between what you have and the other guns you listed.
2. Get a decent scope. The Redfield/Leupold Rifleman or Nikon Prostaff are good for price.
3. Start reloading. You will shoot 200% more for the same money. Justify the cost of loading equipment to wife as lifetime investment (true), and save money on ammo (false), you'll spend same or more, you'll just shoot much more! BTDT. (And still use the same powder scale- Hornady/Pacific I bought in 1972 while in high-school.)

 

[Coal Dragger]

As others have mentioned you are not really considering what would be considered a real upgrade over your Stevens. The Marlin, or Savage you mentioned are still entry level guns that, while functional and a good value, are not really "nice".

What I would do if I were in your shoes would be to either wait awhile until I had some money saved up for a really nice rifle, or I would liquidate or trade off some of the not so nice rifles you do have for something nicer.

I decided a few years ago that life is too short to spend shooting cheap firearms that don't do what I want them to or are compromised in quality or function. I now have a job that allows me to indulge in nice firearms, and you will get there too at some point.

Now, all that said, if you want a really nice .25-06 (good caliber for a lot of game) then by all means find one you like and buy it. The Howa, and Weatherby Vanguard are good entry level options to get into a nicer centerfire rifle. Also Tikka is worth a serious look in the same price range.

If more money is to be spent, then I would save up for a bit more than a Winchester, Ruger, or Remington will cost since they don't really do anything a Howa, Vanguard, or Tikka won't do. They just look a little prettier for the most part. If I really wanted something nice in .25-06 that was done right, with a great trigger, refined finishing, excellent machining, and a good barrel I would look into either a Kimber, or a Cooper. I looked at both for my recent hunting rifle purchase and selected the Cooper Model 52, in .280 AI. Hard to put the rifle down, and it is guaranteed to shoot 1/2 minute of angle at 100 yards with match ammo. The included factory test target is three shots in a hole.

Until you can really afford a true upgrade my advice is to enjoy what you've got, hunt when you can, and set aside some $$$ for future upgrade that will be a real upgrade.

 

[Big Bill]

Sell and buy the Marlin.

 

[oldgold]

I have not had a chance to shoot this gun yet as I just recently purchased it.

Why
????????????????

Waht happens if you trade off a 1/2 minute rifle for something prettier that shoots two minutes or worse. At least give it a try.

Personally I'd stay with the 25-06. I know of four .243s around here and two are tack drivers and two are not, with anything. Seems to not be unusual for .243s.

All the 25-06s I've seen shoot great.

As far as a stock goes, I've got this one on my Savage 30-06;

http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/ROSS-FT-SAVAGE-110-LONG-ACTION-p/610-120-ft.htm

Excellent stock, good price.

 

[bpl]

selected the Cooper Model 52, in .280 AI

You got any pics of it? I'm very interested in the 280AI myself. I was hoping that the Kimber 84L would be chambered in 280AI, like they originally said it would.

 

[djardine]

Thanks guys- I ended up putting a Savage .25-06 with Accustock and Accutrigger on layaway. It's exactly the gun I wanted. I have a friend who is going to buy the .25-06 Stevens from me.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Good choice!

Djardine--While I would not have traded off a rifle I've not shot (except one that I decided I hated; go figure) you have made what I consider to be an excellent choice:

a Savage .25-06 with Accustock and Accutrigger on layaway

There are those who deride the looks of the Savage, but no one, repeat no one, denies their out-of-the-box accuracy, and the accu-stock/trigger items are the latest upgrade in that.

Grats on the MS. (MA?) That's a grind. But it does increase your earning power.

Good luck and we will need a range report, WITH PIX!!

 

[loadedround]

Why not give your Srevensa try at the range. You just may be pleasantly surprised of what you got by the nice small groups your rifle produces. Remember the grass isn't always greener on the otherside.