Pick a Rifle from this List

[carnaby]

In the next couple years I'm going to save up for a premium big game, primarily deer and elk, hunting rifle. Of the ones listed here, which would you choose?

Also, wood or synthetic? I sure prefer the look and feel of wood, but synthetic seems to have the advantage in wet weather. I might get a second less expensive rifle in synthetic for those bad weather days.

My choices are between Sako, Kimber, Ed Brown and any other premium hunting rifles that I missed.

 

[possum]

get the kimber with the wood stock, then get you a savage model 10 for a synthetic gun. it is so hard to be a sexy wood stocked gun. that alone is enough reason to have one. if i was gonna have one all purpose gun which is what my budget allows then i would do with out the wood but since you have the money or so it seems. i say get the nice wood stock kimber and a synthetic savage model 10

 

[eliphalet]

Don't fall for the "wet weather" line of thought unless you live in a rain forest or something approximate, even then a sealed walnut stock glass bedded, free floated rifle is fine. IMHO for the most part its a ploy to save the manufactures money and convince us it of a so called better product.
Guys have been doing just fine hunting with quality wood stocks for hundreds of years now.

 

[Art Eatman]

How much background in rifle shooting and in hunting do you have?

Art

 

[carnaby]

How much background in rifle shooting and in hunting do you have?

Been deer hunting three years now. Been shooting small caliber and air rifle since a kid. Only been shooting center fire for about 4 years. I shoot under 2" at 100 yards with my Savage in .300 Win Mag. With the Limbsaver recoil pad, I have no trouble at all with recoil. I typically shoot 20 - 30 rounds in a session, and I shoot my AR in 6.8spc while I wait for the barrel in my hunting rifle to cool down.

I reload my own ammo, and I shoot quite a bit.

I've only ever taken one deer, my second year. That was the only time I've even seen a legal animal in the woods. The deer hunting thing is a lot more difficult than originally looked, especially in the areas in Washington where I hunt.

I'm just looking down the road for a nice hunting rifle to keep forever. I really like my Savage, and it shoots just fine. The accu-trigger is good, but the Sako triggers I've tried at the store simply blow the Savage out of the water.

I'd prefer a wood stock, but I always here/read that wet weather is tough on them. Only hunted one day in the rain so far, and my wood-stocked Savage seemed to hold up fine. I was careful to fully strip and clean it afterward, and to let it dry out before I put it back together.

 

[GunTech]

Dakota 76.

 

[MCgunner]

I'm a Remington kinda guy, but this is a neat concept...

http://www.sauer-waffen.de/index.php?id=241&lang=en

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Pre-64 Model 70 Winchester. Mine was made in 1939, in .30-06.

 

[Eightball]

The Kimbers have a pre-'64 model 70-style action, IIRC. Good stuff. The Sako action, if done right, is as good and has the same claw type extractor, but without the weight penalty of the full-length bit. Sure, plenty of purists will gawk at this post for my saying that, but from a purely mechanical standpoint, a Sako bolt is slightly better than the pre-'64--so long as it's not the 75 series with that internal key. Designed later and with better machine technology. Same goes for the Winchester model 70 "classic" action--pre-64 design, pt. II--with modern technology.

And you said you like wood. Get wood. It's that simple.

 

[carnaby]

Good, I was worried about the wood, but I'll probably just stick with it. I'm partial to the Sako 85, especially this one:

 

[rangerruck]

cz 550 or safari magnum...

 

[carnaby]

Yeah, the CZ's do look nice. And probably more in my price range. I put Brown in there just for fun, but the price is a little too out there for me this decade

Sako, Kimber, and CZ are all probably in there. The Sako's that I've handled in two different shops have had the best triggers I've ever touched, and these were older ones that sold for $1000 used with Leupold glass. Don't remember which model.

 

[CH47gunner]

Sako

Definitely Sako.

Has the smoothest action of any hi-power bolt action rifle I've ever used.
I have an older model Sako Finnbear AIII, in 30-06. Action is like butter.

Bruce

 

[surjimmy]

Don't forget Tikka, it's made by Sako but alot less.

 

[missouri dave]

I'd put another vote on the CZ. I've got two 550 FS. Either are the most accurate rifles I've ever owned. For the price they are very hard to beat.

 

[one eye joe]

Another vote for CZ. Sako's are nice, but the CZ is more rifle for the money IMO.

 

[30-06 lover]

Any way you go, get a synthetic for hunting. I have used wood guns in the past in the field, and no matter how hard I tried they always seemed to get scratched, indented from a drop, or even cracked! Synthetics don't have those problems. While extremly rare, wood does swell with moisture while synthetic never will (Why risk a potential problem when it can be avoided altogether is my thought). Ed brown is way more than I would pay for a hunting rifle, so it would be between Kimber and Sako with Sako being my choice.

 

[Reyn]

Im gonna get an Ed Brown Damara one day.

 

[carnaby]

Darn it, 30-06, I was all set on wood, and now you go and make me second guess myself.

 

[pbrktrt]

if you have the funds to spare, check out the Cooper offerings.

 

[browningguy]

If you are saving up for a premium rifle then definately go with a wood stock. You can always buy a Savage with a synthetic stock for crappy days. I was out this past week and took these, the pretty guns go out when the weather is good, and I carried one of the synthetics when it was pouring down rain Friday.

Having a $1200-2500 hunting rifle with a synthetic stock is a travesty in my eyes. You're spending the money for a fine blued finish and a good piece of wood, not for a finely fitted piece of plastic with a sandblasted matte finish. You can get the plastic and matte finish on a Savage for under $500 and it will shoot just as good. I had my custom .275 Rigby built for under $800, with a synthetic stock, on a high end rifle the wood will cost that much as a blank.

Expensive rifles:




Not expensive rifles:

 

[carnaby]

True. And I'm not really in the market for an Ed Brown, fine as they are. The price is too steep. I'm looking in the sub $1500 class, plus glass. And I'll have to save up for it for a couple years too.

 

[Eightball]

While extremly rare, wood does swell with moisture while synthetic never will (Why risk a potential problem when it can be avoided altogether is my thought).

Why buy something that is less-than-exactly-what-you-want to avoid a potential problem, is my question. Get the stock set so that if it swells, it won't hit the barrel (i.e. some form of bedding/free floating).

Personally, I like the "well-loved" look on a good hunk of wood on a good rifle. Indicates, to me, that the thing does its job. Plus, adds a touch of character to the thing, IMO.

 

[pablo45]

I like the Remington 700, Tikka T3, Savage 110 personally.

 

[Firepower!]

I voted OTHER, because I prefer my 7mm Rem. Mag in Holland and Holland.