Have you found the "perfect" factory hunting rifle ... at any price?

[cdb1]

Out of all the hunters I’ve known in my life I only know one who I believe is ethical when shooting big game at 500 yards. It’s my closest neighbor and he’s a freak. He only has two rifles, which I find interesting, a .308 and a 7mm Remington Magnum.

 

[Steve S.]

My wife is perfect, she makes life better. My factory rifle - M70 (Portugal FN) EW .308 VX 3i 3.5-10x40) is not perfect but it is very appropriate - very substantial.
I am hopeful that the OP will get started on Kimber; I own an 84 and 82 that I really like - I am curious.

 

[GAF]

Out of the multitude of rifles I own my favorite`s are a pair of Browning BLR White Gold Medallions in 308. One with maple stock and one with walnut stock.They are perfect for me right out of the box because for some reason I can hit a running deer and I have never been able to do that with any other rifle I have ever owned.

 

[Chuck R.]

Out of all the hunters I’ve known in my life I only know one who I believe is ethical when shooting big game at 500 yards. It’s my closest neighbor and he’s a freak. He only has two rifles, which I find interesting, a .308 and a 7mm Remington Magnum.

I have steel at 407 and 547 yards right off my back deck:



I practice on them frequently and I would hesitate on a 500 yd shot unless the conditions; weather and shooter stability, were just about perfect. It does not take much of a missed wind call at all to drop one outside of an 8" kill zone once to get to 500 and beyond.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Well, I plopped a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14 on my box stock 700 BDL C/D .25-06, adjusted the trigger to about 3 lbs and threaded it for a can. Added a sling and worked up good, accurate loads. To me, that's near enough to perfect for most of my hunting. I also have a 700 BDL C/D 8mm mag, a 700 BDL SS .375 Rum, a 700 VLSF .17, A Ruger KM77VT .220 Swift and a 673 .350 mag to cover everything from praire rats & coyotes to big hogs and dangerous game, and have never felt the need to do anything with them besides tune triggers, thread muzzles, find an appropriate optic and work up loads.

As most know, I can modify anything in just about any way to suit a need, but for hunting rifles, I haven't really found the factory options to be lacking. All of the above mentioned factory guns I've bought for hunting purposes have proved more than accurate enough, and the ~9lb scoped & suppressed weight of the 700 BDL has never bothered me hiking through the Rockies.

 

[BigSteve57]

Blaser R8 for me. No complaints, no suggestions. Engineered to perfection, IMHO.
My bolt action rifles are all Browning and I love them.
But I'd sell every one of them and replace them with Blasers.

 

[LoonWulf]

YouTube that have a channel called Backfire

OH... and thanks for that, there went a whole afternoon.

I also agree with your assessment of the channel.

 

[Legionnaire]

I have steel at 407 and 547 yards right off my back deck ...

Color me jealous! That's a nice spread!

 

[MCMXI]

OH... and thanks for that, there went a whole afternoon.

I also agree with your assessment of the channel.

Yeah, definitely entertainment only ... and my apologies!

 

[Rembrandt]

Limited what we can hunt with rifle in my state, but when hunting in other states this one would be my "perfect" factory hunting rifle. Colt Sauer in .270. Appreciate the fact that it performs well and being pleasant to look at.

 

[JumboJVT]

Ruger 77 tang-safety. Any caliber...if it shoots. The only type safety that can be operated silently will a full firing grip; locks the bolt too. (no issue with two positions only - just gotta know how to run it). Five round internal mag with floorplate: no mag sticking down to screw up carrying cradled under the action, or to misplace at an inopportune time. Straight, high-comb wood stock properly aligned for medium scope heights. Scope bases machined as part of the receiver, eliminating one mechanical connection and leaving the action area unobstructed and accessible. Push feed so a round can just be dropped into the chamber and the bolt closed (sometimes you're in a hurry), but with a big claw extractor. Yes its a 90 degree throw, but I find the extra travel around the cams preferable for primary extraction. Got to find the right one with a slim stock (some were pigs) and a good barrel (some won't shoot), but when you do, for one reason or another, I find them much more appealing than anything new. Make's 'em one of the best used buys around for me.

 

[daniel craig]

The mosin-nagant. It always goes bang when I need it to and has enough weight to mitigate the recoil. Everything else I don’t really give a crap about.

While that is only sort of a joke I’m serious in that I think a lot of people write off a hunting (as opposed to target) rifle as not perfect for rather trivial reasons (to me).

Literally just about any firearm right out of the box is perfect for me if it uses a decently common caliber and doesn’t change in reliability when it gets cold. That’s pretty much it. Trigger, sights, barrel length and twist are all largely irrelevant to me.