Accurate rifles that cost you little

[Saddlebag Preacher]

What rifles surprised you with their accuracy and didn't cost you an arm and a leg.

1. Marlin model 60W. Found at a LGS on consignment for $125.00. While I have a Marlin and a Ruger already, I was intrigued with the longer barrel. With the scope it is my most accurate .22 with CCI Standard velocity ammo. Bushnell rimfire scope added.

2. Anderson lower and parts, home built MSR with PSA upper 1/7 SS barrel. Cost around $500.00 including Bushnell Dawn/Dusk illumninating reticle for coyote hunting. Bought mail order sale parts over the holidays. Shoots 69 and 77 grain .223 Gorilla ammo amazingly well out to 200 yards (farthest I've tested it).

3. This one is kind of cheating. This Marlin 336 .35 Remington was handed down to me before my dad passed way. It cost me nothing, but continues to give me memories of him every deer season. Shoots .35 Remington Hornady LeveRevolution ammo with deadly accuracy every year. Once again, I mounted a Bushnell Dawn/Dusk scope on it as my eyes are getting older.

 

[RPRNY]

Thompson Center Venture 270 Win. $430. The most remarkably accurate rifle I own. The T/C Dimension in 30-06 is as accurate but was over $500 and that thing is ugly ;-)

1906 sporterized Swedish Mauser. $325 and more accurate than I can optimize.

 

[kudu]

Bought a Savage 112 .223 off of a member here, I think I gave $300 for it with a Burris scope on it. All painted up in flat camo. Cleaned it up a bit and it will shoot 5/8 groups with my reloads and Tac powder. It is currently at my Brothers house doing coyote control for them after one of their dogs was killed by a coyote.

 

[entropy]

My axis .223, $200. My avatar is my sight -in target at 50 yards.

 

[Captcurt]

Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor shoots under 1/2". I think I gave $350 for it. A Mossberg Patriot in 308 ran about $250. I have a 3 shot target that measures .38" center to center. Stevens 200 in 243 Win would do under and inch after a little work on the trigger. Had less than $300 in it. There are some decent shooters out there without breaking the bank.

 

[ilbob]

I have an Enfield that is allegedly a jungle carbine. As old as it is and as ugly as the black paint somebody painted it is, I could reliably hit paper plates at a hundred yards.

 

[chardin]

$295 cash bought me a sporterized Lee-Enfield with a Williams peep sight. I have never discovered its maximum accuracy in years of use; it has always improved as my skill improved, and I shoot it more accurately than any other rifle I have ever owned.

 

[Shawn.54]

Mossberg Patriot 375 Ruger $349.00
Vortex 1-7x32 scope $119.00
First group under 1" several three shot groups that fit under a dime.

 

[swampcrawler]

Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor. Like 480 out the door.


Average 5 shot groups with Federal Fusion. 1 inch bull. Groups are just under MOA. Undoubtably capable of better with handloads and a better shooter.

 

[highpower]

This is by far the most accurate rifle I own. I paid $150 for it and when I found out that the holes in the receiver were done back in Sweden because it was a match rifle, I sourced a set of original Diopter sights. I have just under $300 in it and it will shoot dime sized 5 shot groups at 50 yards and into quarter sized groups at 100.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

Great guns!

 

[Dr T]

When I was in college in the 70's, I bought a Remington 788 in 6 mm Rem that came with a not-very-good Bushnell Banner scope. As I recall, it was around $100. It is one of the most accurate rifles I own.

 

[csa77]

walnut stocked K-31 , great condition paid 400 $

 

[1911 guy]

I forget what i paid for it, but it wasn't much, relatively speaking. Mine is a Savage Model 10 in .308 Winchester. Came as a package with a cheap scope. Used it for a while, then upgraded glass when I discovered a handload it liked. Upgraded again to a Burris Mil-Dot when I discovered my handload in this rifle is about MOA to 400 yards when i can do my part. Which is not as often now as it used to be.

 

[chicharrones]

I was gifted a Swiss K31 from my brother back when those guns went for less than $100.00. I knew nothing of that gun at the time.

It is the most accurate centerfire rifle I own.

 

[12Bravo20]

The most accurate rifles that I have owned are each and every Savage rifle I have from an old Model 120 single shot (22) to my Mk II rifles (17m2 and 22) to my Model 12 (308).

Now the cheapest rifle that I have that gives my rim fire Savages a run for the money is an old Romanian M69 trainer that I gave $40 for.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

Savage

 

[Captcurt]

Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor. Like 480 out the door.


Average 5 shot groups with Federal Fusion. 1 inch bull. Groups are just under MOA. Undoubtably capable of better with handloads and a better shooter.

I can attest to the effectivness of a 130gr Accubond on whitetails. Took several out to 300 yards and all one shot kills. The Creedmoor in a Predator is an awesome combo.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

I have a Turk Mauser that shoots better than I do, even with dirty surplus. I'll have to sit down on a bench and group it with factory ammo sometime. Shooting offhand, it will put the bullet on the front sight post every time, and it shows every single wobble and flinch when you shoot just like a scope would.

Got it as a $100 project gun. The wood was trashed, the metal was so rusted that several screws were impossible to remove. But I lucked out, because that barrel was clean.

 

[bassjam]

I have a Remington 514 that I gave $135 for a few years ago. I know it'll outshoot my Marlin 60, and if I drilled and tapped it for a scope I suspect it would shoot better than my Savage Mark II.

 

[Newtosavage]

Savage

+1

 

[swampcrawler]

Now the cheapest rifle that I have that gives my rim fire Savages a run for the money is an old Romanian M69 trainer that I gave $40 for.

LOVE my m69. Mine had a bad pit in the bore so the best I can get her to do is about 3/4 inch at 50 yards, but man has that little rifle put some critters in the pot!

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

Dr. T, I got a Remington 788 chambered in .308 I bought for $175 brand new in early 70s. with 150 grain factory loads and a Leupold VX3 3x9x40, it still shoots groups in the 1" range all the time and I take hogs with it regularly at over 300 yards, love that old rifle and I am thinking about putting a nice Boyds walnut stock on it to replace the old blonde stock it came with.

 

[Damon555]

Depending on your definition of accurate or cheap it's subjective.....I bought a cheap (to me) Remington 700 SPS Varmint 204 Ruger a few years ago for $300.....I didn't really want a rifle in that caliber but the deal was to good to pass up. It hated factory ammo, which didn't matter because I just shot it to get the brass. After a very easy load work up the rifle will drive tacks at 100 yards and is easily sub 1" at 200 yards with 32 grain Z or Vmaxes and my bulk WC844.

That rifle surprised the heck out of me. I didn't expect much at first but after shooting it she's a keeper. That 204 out of a long barrel is really flat......It's hard to get used to after having shot so much 223.

 

[someguy2800]

I have a NEF handi rifle that came with a 24" 223 heavy barrel that I bought off the used rack for $200 with a scope. The scope was junk but I thought it would be a fun project to accurise. My favorite gun as a kid was a NEF single shot .410 with a 22 inch full choke barrel so I always wanted one of these. It shot miserably when I bought it, about 5 or 6 inch groups at 100 and it wasn't particularly nice to carry around as it was so nose heavy. After experimenting with bedding the forend and bedding the barrel to receiver fit and lots of handloads it came down to a mediocre 3" at 100 shooter. That accuracy is not interesting to me so I put it away. One day a couple years later I got the urge to mess with it again so I got it out and held it up and said ya know this barrel is way too long for this gun. I took it in the shed and lopped off the barrel to 18" with a bandsaw. I squared off the cut with a flap disc in an angle grinder and beveled it nicely and then crowned it with a 90 degree chamfer tool in a drill. Loaded up some 40 grain noslers in it and it shot 3/4 inch groups at 100 no problem, which for what it is I am okay with.



It got revenge on me though. I've always wanted to get a 444 marlin barrel for this gun so I sold the 223 barrel and bought a 444 off ebay. The new barrel did not fit on the frame so I had to do a bunch of fitting to get it to lockup right. Groups were 6" at 100 and the recoil broke my scope in the first 20 shots. The barrel is heavily pitted inside, had no throat in it at all, and the headspace was off. After correcting the headspace, I rented a throating reamer and cut a throat into it, then bedding the scope base and put new glass on it, no real improvement. Next I slugged the bore to figure out the land and groove dimensions. It is .431 groove diameter at the chamber and .432" at the muzzle and the rifling is so shallow you can almost start a .428 sierra bullet down the muzzle with your thumb. After lead lapping the barrel to smooth it out internally, fine tuning the bedding and head space to perfection, and ordering .432" diameter 310 grain hard cast bullets from montana custom bullets, I finally have a shootable 444 that will group 1.5 inches at 100. I'm not sure it was worth the trouble and the money! I think I might put the 444 barrel away and try a 308. I guess I'm a gluten for punishment.