What do you get for the money? Cheap rifle?

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I own a Savage in .308 I purchased at Cabelas. My wife has the Stevens 200 in .243. Both are excellent guns for the money. They get the job done. They kill the deer and elk just like the more expensive guns do. Are they competition guns? No. But I don't need them for that.

The one budget gun I would stay clear of is this Mossberg ATR-100. They had some bolt problems you can google if you want to read up on them. They had been known for sending the bolt back into the shooters face.
 
Snakum said:
I researched and spreadsheeted and asked and read and looked and pondered a new .308 over the last three or four weeks and in the end, my rifle recommendations are, in order, as follows:

Budget Rifle
1. Marlin XS/XL - best buy, stellar accuracy, awesome trigger, light and nimble
2. Savage 110 (can still be found new) - nothing needs to be said; legendary rifle
3. Stevens 200 - accurate, reliable, trigger can be improved, flimsy stock though

Midpriced Rifle
1. Thompson Venture - 5R rifling gives sub MOA with factory ammo, VERY sturdy
2. Savage 111 - improved 110, accustock and accutrigger are excellent
3. Weatherby Vanguard - great accuracy even if not an "MOA" model, Howa action
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Cant argue too much with this list, although if I were buying a 308, I'd get a Savage short action 10 or 11 rather than a long action 110.

Rifles to avoid:

Mossberg ATR, etc: not much cheaper than a Marlin XS7, but a big drop in quality

Remington 770, 710 etc: A sorry pile of junk.
 
My purchases in 2009 when AR and AK and handgun prices went crazy...

and waited until after deer season to scour all the stores.
All brand new in box:

Rem 700 in .270 with synthetic stock, old style safety, no sights. $325.
Weatherby Vanguard 300 WbyMag no sights: $349
Marlin 336 in 30-30 with the nice walnut stock, free sling, iron sights: $318.

Added scopes to the bolt guns (a Nikon and a Rifleman).
I got three excellent rifles, good for a lifetime.
 
For a bolt rifle:Can't go wrong with Savage/Stevens for the money +1
SKS semi-auto love 'em.
 
I got me a Stevens 200 7mm-08 with a dog ugly stock, it shot dime 100 yard groups all the time, I put a Boyds nutmeg thumbhole stock on it, now it is a beautiful tack driver.:)
 
No, the same does not go for the model 700. While not quiet as good as it used to be, it's still a quality rifle, leaps and bounds ahead of the 770 or 710.
 
Have Mossberg ATR-100 in .30-06. Will hold under 2"@100yds in MY old shaky hands with most of the cheaper hunting ammo (read as Rem. Core-Lokt softpoint).

Shooting Budd got a smidge under 0.7" @100Yds w/ Fed gold medal match ammo, 5 rounds.
 
No, the same does not go for the model 700. While not quiet as good as it used to be, it's still a quality rifle, leaps and bounds ahead of the 770 or 710.
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Agreed, but i'd still take a Savage over it. Heck I would take a Marlin over the 700 and put the extra cash into optics. ;)
 
Yes, some quick research on this site shows no love for the Remington 770 and 710. Does the same go for the 700? Dicks is running a clearance right now - $499 for the 700 in .308 and a scope.
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Well, as said above they are not as bad as the 710's and 770's. However I still wouldn't buy one especially for that price. The older ones as in 20 or 30 years old were pretty great rifles. The new ones seem to have some quality issues. I see people recommend it but often it's guys that have old ones and think the new ones will be the same. I've read some reports of people happy with their new ones but also a lot of reports of people unhappy with them too.

I don't know what scope it has but $499 sounds a little high too. Our local Walmart had one on clearance last year around this time for $300 but it didn't have a scope on it. That was in .270. You could easily have put a good scope on it for $200.

My thing about it is why spend $500 on a rifle that may or may not have quality issues when you get it when you can spend $400 on a Savage with a scope that will be a great rifle. Probably a lot better than the Remington 700 and you'd save $100 too. The scope wont be the best but the rifles are great. If you don't want to spend that there is also the Marlin XL/XS 7's that are around $300. I'd easily choose one of these over the Remington 700's too.
 
$499 sounds a bit high, unless scope is top-notch.

700 is a totally solid platform. I won't bash it at all.

The cheap deals (like Dick's) are rough finish, ADL (no magazine floor plate on the bottom), plastic trigger guard, plastic stock, and the scope might be cheapie. Same with mount and rings.

But it's solid and it all works great. Little by little you can upgrade and improve (drop in trigger, scope, stock, etc.). LOTS of good parts available. But as a deer rifle or starter setup, it's excellent right out of the box.
 
This afternoon I picked up a Savage 111 in 30-06. It seems like a great rifle and I am excited about hitting up the range and trying it out.

Thanks all for your advise. I appreciate the input and think I wound up with a better rifle because of all the feedback.
 
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Yep you made a excellent choice. What kind of scope are you planning to put on it? Let us know how you like it.
 
I don't understand what is not to like about a Rem 710. My son has one in 30/06 that shoots just fine for a huntin rifle. It won't win matches, but it'll put meat on the table.
ll
 
Because you can't replace the barrel if you wear it out. Really if you break anything you minus well throw it away. Then the fact that the bolt feels rough and just cheap. The complaints aren't that it's not accurate. For someone who shoots one or two shots a year it is probably going to work.

However, why buy it when you can get a rifle like the Savage that's soo much better for the same price.
 
As stated before, do not overlook the used rifle market.

I was doing a trade cash deal on a high end rifle and the guy needed to sweeten the pot on the deal. He threw in a Tikka T3 in .308 with a Zeis Conquest 3x9 scope and the box of 20 rounds he sighted it in with and had 12 rounds left. This thing shoots just under 1 MOA with Federal premiums. I have $400 in the whole package.

Hold your powder if you can and get a quality rifle for the same price as a cheap one.
 
lloveless said:
I don't understand what is not to like about a Rem 710. My son has one in 30/06 that shoots just fine for a huntin rifle. It won't win matches, but it'll put meat on the table.
ll
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Crude machining, rough finish and butt ugly. Inexpensive is one thing, but the Remington 710 is cheap.

I don't understand why Remington is still making the things, since Marlin is owned by the same company and is making a vastly superior product in the same price range.
 
Excellent choice. I just bought my 2nd Savage, well actually a Stevens but same thing, and it probably wont be my last.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hometheaterman
Yep you made a excellent choice. What kind of scope are you planning to put on it? Let us know how you like it.


Yes, the scope is the next big question. I have a lot more research to do to figure that one out. It seems like this is a more compicated decision than picking the rifle. The Savage came with a cheap Bushnell but I am guessing that won't do it justice.

Any recommendations here? I would like something good but on the lesser expensive side. Also, I understand it makes a difference what I plan to use it for - would like to set it up for deer hunting although I am primarily using it to just shoot targets right now. Also, I am more interested in a traditional type scope - I like the red dots, but am more interested in fitting them to my CX4 or AR.
 
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