Tuff bolt gun

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trog

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Who has got it? Of current production bolt guns, which one is going to take a licking and keep on ticking.
The one that will go bang every time, cycle the next round and keep on until the mag. is empty. Will work everytime with little care. Parts are not likely to break with normal use (which means lite abuse), and has a tuff finish to stand up to years of use.
Must be lite enough to carry all day, and be chambered in normal all around hunting calibers, be accurate enough for hunting.
So, who do yall think has the most dependable rifle on the market today, straight out of the box, no alterations and no custom builds.
The one you would trust your life with when the chips are down.


I think Ruger is going to be hard to top, but there are a lot of good ones out there.
What do yall think.

And if yall think there is something tuffer than a bolt action, lets here it.
 
I am a huge Ruger fan, the other rifle I would look at would be a model 70 winchester. I am sure there are lots of super reliable bolts, but out of the major manufacturers those are the two I would look at from a sheer reliability standpoint.
 
Ruger, Savage, Winchester, I have had good experience with Remington, but that has not been par for the course for everyone as of late.

ETA: And most definitely, CZ

Sent from my HTC One X
 
Winchester or Ruger are going to keep working after being subjected to abuse that will stop any other gun. As would the Mauser based military actions.

Sako would be a close of the other actions.

Savage, and Remington's are designed for accuracy, not ruggedness. If given a lot of TLC they perform well enough, but do not hold up to being subjected to a lot of hard use, and abuse.

For a typical deer hunter this is a non-issue. But if I were going on a backpack hunt, to Alaska, or in any situation where my rifle were going to be subjected to lots of abuse and was going to be outdoors in a lot of rain, mud and sand with no way to properly clean it for days/weeks at a time. It would be a Ruger or Winchester in my hands.
 
for 99% of the people on here, and in the market for a bolt gun- ANY modern production bolt gun from a major manufacturer will do more than enough. Go with whatever you like the most, and can afford.
 
a lot of folks are posting opinions with no supporting information. what sets some apart from the others?

the winchester model 70 and ruger M77 both have a big, beefy, mauser-style claw extractor. what are some of the other differences?
 
Winchester M70 "Extreme Weather SS" (.308 Win.)
Winchester M70 " Alaskan Stainless Laminate" (.30-06 Spfld.)
I love the M70, obviously!:D
 
The mod 70, M77, and similar mauser styles are CRF and are generally viewed as far more reliable (but slightly less accurate) than push feed rifles like the 700.
 
a lot of folks are posting opinions with no supporting information. what sets some apart from the others?

the winchester model 70 and ruger M77 both have a big, beefy, mauser-style claw extractor. what are some of the other differences?
Click to expand...


I'll compare Remington with Winchester Classic. The Ruger has the same features as Winchester.

Remington uses an enclosed trigger group. It is very easy for dirt, debris to get in, but impossible to inspect or clean. This can and will cause problems in dirty harsh environments and is a contributing factor to the Remingtons flaw of firing without pulling the trigger.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=003-2.jpg

Older Winchesters and all Rugers use an open design. It is bulletproof. It can easily be inspected and cleaned if it becomes dirty.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=006-1.jpg

Remington bolt handles are brazed onto the bolts. They sometimes simply fall off if the joint becomes weak with age or if you are tryng to remove a sticky round from the chamber.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=005-1.jpg

Winchester and Ruger bolt handles are forged from the same piece of steel than machined

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=008-1.jpg

Remington and all pushfeed rifles use a tiny piece of sheet metal for an extractor. They are easily broken in harsh dirty conditions. A tiny piece of dirt or debris between this thin strip of sheet metal and the bolt face makes them useless. They also use a spring loaded ejector that can easily fail with only a tiny bit of debris or rust in the hole the plunger must slide in. Both can be seen in this photo.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=002-3.jpg

Winchester, Ruger and all CRF rifles use a massive extractor that grips the cartridge rim on 2 sides. It grips nearly 1/2 the diameter of the rim. They also use a blade type ejector that has no moving parts. It is almost impossible for it to fail. The extractors show in this photo, but since the ejector is inside the action I was unable to get a good photo of it.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=009-1.jpg

For most people and the way they use their rifles the differences will never become apparent. But the harder you push your rifle, and the more dirt, debris and abuse you put it through, the better a solid CRF rifle functions. It is like comparing a Ford Explorer to a military Hummer. If your only off roading is on dirt roads it would be easy to conclude the Explorer is just as capable as the Hummer. And under those conditions it would be. But when you start abusing both vehicles, the Explorer will quickly fail while the Hummer continues to run. It is the same with CRF vs PF rifles
 
Looks like they used babelfish to do the translation:

The bore is locked with two symmetrically situated rests during the turn of the bolt sliding length wisely.
Click to expand...

Being a huge mosin fan, I like it!

But, back to the original question. As others have said, I think any of the new-production major-mfg bolt guns will be more reliable than the person using them. I'm still partial to older guns with my main hunting rifles being mausers (1910 mexican and M44 spanish) and springfield (RIA 1903).

Matt
 
A Mauser pattern action is going to be hard to beat as far as being bullet proof.
 
I would put my Sako TRG22 up against anything any day of the week and I do not say that just because I own one. The thing is built like a tank, it can be taken apart very easily, is the most accurate rifle I have ever shot, etc. I can go on and on. It is not exactly a typical hunting rifle though, nor would I call it lightweight by any means but I am certain it can take anything you throw at it. However, you will pay for it as TRG's are not cheap, nor are most Sako's and I am not talking about Tikkas. Don't take my word for it though read up on the net. Many countries have chosen this as a standard issue sniper rifle for their elite police and military units. If you want better than that then I would have to go with an Accuracy International and at double the price of a Sako I cannot say whether or not the benefit is worth it.

On a side note I would also take a Mauser for a budget gun. You can find some pretty nice ones in the $300-$400 range.
 
Almost all of the bolt guns available are reliable. My choices would be Ruger, Savage, Marlin, and then whatever strikes your fancy.
 
jmr40 said:
Savage, and Remington's are designed for accuracy, not ruggedness. If given a lot of TLC they perform well enough, but do not hold up to being subjected to a lot of hard use, and abuse.
Click to expand...

Have there been numerous reports of issues with Remington based sniper rifles issued to various branches of the US military? I would think that those rifles used in Iraq and Afghanistan would be exposed to some harsh enviroments.

jmr40 said:
Remington and all pushfeed rifles use a tiny piece of sheet metal for an extractor. They are easily broken in harsh dirty conditions. A tiny piece of dirt or debris between this thin strip of sheet metal and the bolt face makes them useless.
Click to expand...

Again, have there been reports of extractor or ejector problems from Iraq and Afghanistan?


Zak Smith has a video on his website showing a Winchester with CRF having issues in a match with dusty/windy conditions and yet an AI with push feed seems to work just fine.

http://demigodllc.com/video_serve.php?id=ss-rifle-fail
 
Again, have there been reports of extractor or ejector problems from Iraq and Afghanistan?


Zak Smith has a video on his website showing a Winchester with CRF having issues in a match with dusty/windy conditions and yet an AI with push feed seems to work just fine.
Click to expand...

That's true in practice, out in the real world. But when you get away from the firing line, it just doesn't work that way in theory!



;)
 
don t overlook the swedisch build mausers.
tough , reliable and exellent accurasy with the 6.5x55 mm cartridge.
its been the swedes hunting choice for decades.
 
when i gently used my bolt guns, they were all accurate and reliable.
since i started using them hard, none of them really are. in fact, i'd say my ARs are all more reliable than my bolt guns.

RO a couple practical rifle matches and you will see so many bolt gun malfunctions it will shock you.
 
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