peacemaker45
Member
This is a follow up to my earlier thread:
Help me pick a hunting rifle.
After reading all the good advice contained therein, as well as a few books about elk hunting, some of Chuck Hawks articles, other reviews, as well as another elk rifle thread, I went shopping again as a much more informed buyer.
I went to one of the biggest gun shops in the area, and was able to fondle, shoulder, and try the triggers on most of the models I was interested in, or at least their right handed brethren. (Cliff notes version of other thread: I'm left eye dominant, but always shot right handed until earlier this year, I cut off a good chunk of my right trigger finger. Persuaded me to make the switch)
Here are some of the impressions I received:
All in all, I decided to have the shop order me a Rem 700 BDL LH, in .30-06. However, we soon found out that the nice one Big Green still makes in a left handed action is the CDL, not the BDL, which hasn't been available in LH since 2004. I very nearly went with my second pick, the Tikka T3 instead, but decided to go home and think about it a bit more.
While I was thinking, (and browsing) about it, however, I found this beaut on GA:
It's now on its way to my local dealer. I hope that A) I wasn't inordinately swayed by my love of shiny objects, and B) the handling I liked so much isn't spoiled by a scope. Given its popularity, though, I don't think one can really go far wrong with a Rem 700.
Help me pick a hunting rifle.
After reading all the good advice contained therein, as well as a few books about elk hunting, some of Chuck Hawks articles, other reviews, as well as another elk rifle thread, I went shopping again as a much more informed buyer.
I went to one of the biggest gun shops in the area, and was able to fondle, shoulder, and try the triggers on most of the models I was interested in, or at least their right handed brethren. (Cliff notes version of other thread: I'm left eye dominant, but always shot right handed until earlier this year, I cut off a good chunk of my right trigger finger. Persuaded me to make the switch)
Here are some of the impressions I received:
- Tikka T3 Light: This was a very impressive rifle. The trigger was the best of the bunch, the action felt like a precision instrument, and it was very, very light. The safety was easy to reach in the center of the tang. My only qualm was with the stock fit. It didn't feel bad, exactly, but it didn't feel very good, either.
- Savage Axis: Even lighter than the Tikka, but I think it's because they forgot to include a rifle. This just felt abysmal in every way.
- Savage Lightweight (110 action?): I forget the exact model designation, but it's the one with the fluted bolt, lightening cuts in the forearm, and a good deal of metal milled out of the side of the receiver. For all the radical weight reductions, this was still heavier than the Tikka and the Axis. The bolt throw felt smooth, but a very different kind of smooth from the oiled glass of the Tikka. The Accutrigger, well, it would take getting used to. Also, in their quest to make this as light as possible, I think they left two inches or so off the back of the stock. Really spoiled the handling for this six footer.
- Remington Model 700 SPS: this may have been the blandest rifle I've ever handled. There was nothing I disliked about it, but nothing I especially liked about it, either. Just thoroughly "Meh."
- Browning X-Bolt: This one had the second best trigger of the bunch, and that not by much. The Tikka just edged it out. Unfortunately, more has to go. To a great rifle than just a great trigger. The stock was atrociously awful. The grooved forearm felt funky, the pistol grip size and angle felt uncomfortably wrong, and it didn't index the sights naturally at all. Much stock squirming required. People come in all shapes and sizes, so this must have fit someone on American Rifleman's staff better than it did me.
- Remington 700 BDL: Wow. The trigger on this one was good, but not stellar. I'd place it third, behind the Tikka and the Browning, but ahead of the rest. The bolt had that oiled glass feeling, like the Tikka. What really won me, though, was the handling. Oh, the handling. The Monte Carlo stock felt more like a fine (though a bit heavy) fitted shotgun, and shouldered more naturally than any other rifle I've tried. The side mounted safety was convenient. Oh, and this one was *pretty,* too.it may be because my dad and granddad both favored Wingmasters and glossy 1100s, but a higher grade Remington like this really speaks to me of what a gun should look like.
- Winchester M70: I really wanted to like this one. The cult of the M70 in print had just about convinced me that this was the great American rifle. I was even willing to chase one of the few left handed actions Winchester made, or else have Montana make me one of their lefty clones, if needs be. However, the triggers, (on all four I tried) were the second worst, ranking above only the Axis. The vaunted M70 safety struck me as odd and awkward. The stocks, though none especially bad, didn't fit me especially well either. Controlled round feed might be nice, but it's not like an elk is going to try to eat me. Write on, gentlemen of the press, but I find myself unmoved.
All in all, I decided to have the shop order me a Rem 700 BDL LH, in .30-06. However, we soon found out that the nice one Big Green still makes in a left handed action is the CDL, not the BDL, which hasn't been available in LH since 2004. I very nearly went with my second pick, the Tikka T3 instead, but decided to go home and think about it a bit more.
While I was thinking, (and browsing) about it, however, I found this beaut on GA:
It's now on its way to my local dealer. I hope that A) I wasn't inordinately swayed by my love of shiny objects, and B) the handling I liked so much isn't spoiled by a scope. Given its popularity, though, I don't think one can really go far wrong with a Rem 700.
