Bolt action rifle advice?

[Sparks280zt]

Hey guys, Im looking to pick up a bolt action rifle for target shooting. I dont hunt so it wont be used for that. Im pretty familiar with guns as I have a Remmington 870 express, SKS, and a Beretta Storm and I get to play with my roomies Bushmater ar15 sometimes. Anyways I have never bought a bolt action rifle and wanna get one. I dont want a .22, so please no one recommend one. Any recomandations for a low maintence bolt action with a descent sized round? Thanks

[Oleh]

91/30 or other variants. cheap ammo, good quality, cheap, i got mine for 80 bucks.

info = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosin_nagant

[Boobala]

Well if you got the cash you can get a M40A3 (Marine Sniper Rifle) clone here...

 

http://www.freudscustomrifles.com/

 

 

Or, for less cash get a Remington Model 700. (Which the M40A3 is based)

 

 

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_700

 

Model 700 for Law Enforcement: http://www.remingtonle.com/rifles/700p.htm

 

 

 

I don't think the general public can get these...

 

http://www.remingtonmilitary.com/

[Sparks280zt]

Ah the Mosin Nagant, my brother has went to the range with one of those and seems to like it alot. They are real cheap, can a scope be mounted on those easily?

[JMortensen]

My dad has a couple of Ruger 77s. They're about 20 years old, and I think they might have changed the design of the bolt somewhere along the way, but they're great guns. He has a regular old 77 in .270 and a varmint barreled .308. He won an offhand 500 yard silhouette competition at a fairly large gun club with the .308 when I was about 10 years old. Beat my uncle who was the president of Freedom Arms at the time. Needless to say it is damn accurate.

 

Other than that I always liked the 700 Remington too.

[Z-TARD]

I've always been partial to the old enfield No.4 rifles, very ergonomic and they just seem to hit whatever you put in front of them. However, the ammo for those is getting difficult to find (quality ammo, anyway) and the potential for upgrading is pretty limited unless you want to REALLY want to get into gunsmithing. The same could pretty much be said for the Moisin Nagants as well. Good rifles, but you will find their limitations pretty quickly.

 

For military surplus guns, the Mauser 98 is about as good as you can get. Accurate, very upgradable, and about the strongest action ever made in bolt action. They will safely handle any round that will fit in the action (Provided that the barrel is properly chambered for it). The aftermarket parts for these are almost unlimited, converting to another caliber is super easy. Scope mounts are also pretty easy to find, and generally much more durable than mounts made for other rifles like the Nagants and Enfields.

 

For off the shelf guns, most modern bolt actions are really good. A lot of guns now routinely shoot sub 1" groups at 100 yards. Savage rifles are really good if you're on a budget. I have the 110 FPLE tactical version in a Mcmillan stock, and it is an absolute tack driver for under $1000. They have versions of the same rifle for considerably less . The new trigger design they have is probably the best trigger available for any off the shelf rifle. The Remington 700 is pretty much in a class by itself though. pretty much an icon of bolt actions. Get the 223 or 308 varmint version and you won't be disapointed. Older versions of the Winchester model 70 are good as well. They recently got bought out by a French company though, and all their newer stuff is crap. Hope this helps

 

Mike

[auxilary]

m1 garand actually, you can get them from the govt. in shooter grade model for under 300 bucks

 

mosin nagant 91/30 is a good full size rifle for target shooting, as is the yugo-48 mauser (8mm)

[Sparks280zt]

thanks guys, i will look into all of these suggestions

[SuperDan]

I have owned a lot of high end rifles in my life... best bang for the buck? Savage.

[Michael]

Nagants are inexpensive, but most are really beaten up and impractical for a first rifle. Standard Red Army (USSR) issue for many years – and before that, used in Czarist Russia. I’ve never seen one with a scope, however. You would probably have to have the receiver casing drilled and tapped. Nagants, unless I’m mistaken, take a 54x7.62 cartridge, which is difficult to find, and is reputed to kick pretty hard.

 

My advice would be to stay away from antiques and military surplus rifles, unless you happen to enjoy gunsmithing. For reasonable deals, check out a generic department store (as opposed to dedicated gun shop). For example, most Walmart gun counters have a photo album with reconditioned or returned rifles. I bought a Weatherby Vanguard for $250 (brand new) from our local Walmart, in 270 caliber. The Weatherby is a decent brand, with good machining quality and a good bolt. Its weak point is the trigger, which in my case required some lapping of the sear to improve trigger feel.

 

The choice of caliber is a debate in its own right. If you have no plans for hunting, consider the 223 – ammo is cheap (for centerfire calibers) and recoil is very light. But in most states 223 is illegal for hunting. And stopping power – for a rifle, that is – is considered to be mediocre. For hunting or other general purposes, common choices are 243, 270 and 30-06. I’d definitely avoid a magnum or an oddball like 220 Swift – ammo is expensive and rare.

 

For pursuit of accuracy, you might find that you’ll have more money in the scope than in the rifle itself. This happened to me ($350 scope). 1†groups at 100 yards are REALLY hard to achieve, by the way; it requires a good gun, a good scope, good sighting-in of the scope, good ammo, and most importantly – a good shooter

[Z-TARD]

http://www.savagearms.com/10fpchoate.htm

 

Brand new Savage 10FPLE with Choate varmint stock, excellent rifle capable of sub 1" accuracy.

 

Or,

 

A surplus VZ-24 (AKA Mauser 98) converted to 308 with a new Shilen 26" barrel, and various other mods totaling about $700. Also capable of sub 1" accuracy. BIG 5 Has Mausers on sale now for $99.00.......

 

Two options for relatively cheap that will outshoot most other guns at the range.

 

Mike

[Sparks280zt]

I liked this one, http://www.savagearms.com/16fxp3.htm comes with the scope, good price. How much am I looking to spend on a decent scope? I dont really see myself every shooting over a couple hundred yards

[5foot2]

Another vote for the Remington 700. Even the entry level 700's have an action like butter.

[Z-TARD]

I liked this one, [url=http://www.savagearms.com/16fxp3.htm]http://www.savagearms.com/16fxp3.htm[/url'] comes with the scope, good price. How much am I looking to spend on a decent scope? I dont really see myself every shooting over a couple hundred yards

 

I have 4 of these now http://cgi.ebay.com/FITCO-3-12X44-SIDE-PARALLAX-RIFLE-SCOPE_W0QQitemZ7236245670QQcategoryZ31714QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The same guy sells a few other scopes that are higher magnification for about $10.00 more. They're cheap because the magnification markings are wrong, other than that they are pretty good scopes. The resolution could be a bit better, but more than enough for a few hundred yards. The mil dot reticle is pretty useful for determining range and holdovers once you get used to it. The side focus adjustment is pretty nice to have too, and is pretty accurate for determining range by itself. I've had one on my 300win mag now for a while, with no ill effects from recoil. These are pretty tough scopes.

 

I'd stay away from rifle/scope packages. Most that I've seen have come with low grade simmons or tasco scopes. I've had a few simmons scopes come apart on me under moderate recoil, one even on a 223.

 

One thing to consider when getting a rifle is how you intend to use it. If you plan on carrying it around a lot in the field, and only shooting a few times, then you'll probably be better off with a lightweight rifle with a fairly short, thin barrel.

 

If you plan on shooting from a bench or prone position, taking 20 or more shots in one sitting, then you'll probably want a heavier rifle with a long heavy contour barrel. The extra weight will help keep it steady while you aim, as well as reducing the amount of felt recoil. The thicker barrel will also be able to shoot more rounds before it begins to heat up. Typically when a barrel starts to soak up a lot of heat, they will begin to string shots, meaning that each shot you take will be further and further from your point of aim the more the barrel heats up. Heavier barrels are much more resistant to this than smaller barrels found on lightweight rifles. This one goes for $569.00 and should be a pretty decent shooter:

http://www.savagearms.com/12fv.htm

[Sparks280zt]

Thanks Z tard, i think im gonna go with one of the stainless steel barreled guns. I just love stainless! What do you think about this one? When I do shoot I would be putting more than 20 rounds down range probally.

[zguy95135]

I want a M1 Garand so bad...

[dr_hunt]

Well, as far as actions go, the Remington 700 wins more competitions than all others period. I shoot benchrest and occassionally 1000 yard. The smoothest action you will ever shoot is the sako. I have a benchrest gun built on a L463 action with a canjar single set trigger, caliber 6.5-06, shoots in the .1's, wins alot of benchrest. Also I have a 700 in 6mmBR, wins alot too. 40xbbr in 6x47. I have browning, TC, weatherby, ruger, winchester, savage also. But if you ever shoot a sako, you'll fall in love with how smooth the action is and how infallable the feeding is, by far my first choice.

 

Savage is an incredibly accurate rifle most of the time, simple and cheap too. M1 garand is a good rifle, won the big one it did. So many choices, so little money and time.

[Sparks280zt]

I thought the m1 is a 8 round semi auto? Not bolt?

 

This is the stainless one i liked....http://www.savagearms.com/116fhsak.htm

[dr_hunt]

It is.

[JMortensen]

I gotta say I like the muzzle brakes, and that would be a selling point for me on that Savage. I went to the range one time with my Model 70 .243 and there was a guy a couple spots down with a 7mm Mag. He asked if we could trade guns for a couple rounds, because when he got his brake they told him his gun would kick like a .243. It actually had LESS recoil, and was nicer to shoot than my Model 70. I dunno, maybe I'm just a wimp but even when I was really into shooting and was going every weekend or two for a couple years I ALWAYS got a bruise on my shoulder and usually was just shooting about 20 rounds thru my .243 and maybe 100 rounds out of the 20 gauge shotgun. The point is even on the "smaller" rounds, brakes are a good thing!