$1,200 - what would you buy or build?

Another definite +1 for Win 70 Supergrade, in classic .270 among the caliber choices you've mentioned. The one poster mentioning prices is correct, but in this market look around, you'll find one within your budget. Without getting into a Connecticut (old/closed plant) vs Carolina (new/FN plant) argument, I wouldn't worry about which of these it's from (ie which triggers)--for your criteria a Supergrade is a Supergrade, and considering both of these sources--LNIB vs NIB may be the only difference--will open up your possibilities to find one in your budget.
 
Before you make a decision check out E.R. Shaw, the barrel makers, who also offer rifles configured to customer specifications from an a-la-carte selection yielding over 75,000 combinations. I think almost all of those combinations will fall within your budget. It's called the Mk VII Rifle. I have spent over 6 hours with their online gun builder and I still haven't made a decision

I do wish they would offer a larger selection of stocks...
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i'd be curious to know what the quality of their rifles is like, and if they're good shooters. I agree though, more stock choices would be nice. but then again, I think there are several gun companies out there that allow you to customize your own rifle, like Weatherby.
 
but if you really want a beautiful rifle, the prettiest thing I've seen in a long time was made by Cooper Rifles.
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Totally true statement about Cooper beauty and accuracy, but beware. I have had some real issues. Two of the ones I have, have been back to the factory twice, and I know of several others that have had some real issues and have been sent back, some more than once. There seems to be some real quality control problems right now and I would not trust one for other than a range gun.

For anyone interested, I can give you details via PM.

Bill
 
Longfellow wrote
Excuse me please...
Did I just read "It will be a thing of beauty?"really?really?God love ya.

+1 - given your criteria, and especially if passing it on for your antecedents is an issue, I'd forget about any of the tacticool stuff and ultra sub MOA (etc) focus (although beautiful certainly need not mean inaccurate). Great bluing and a gorgeous piece of wood in a classic caliber from a classic (traditional or custom) name is the way to go IMHO. Some of these other things come and go over time as to opinions on what's en vogue for the day or year or technical state-of-the art, etc. Classic pieces of wood and metal never go out of style.
 
Well if you have the balls to take dakota, cooper, sako, or any top quality grade out and scratch it up you are more of a man than me lol. I just can't stomach it.
 
E.R Shaw.

From the pics on Shaws website the Action Looks like it is a savage action. Could be a very nice rifle.

I'm in the same boat. looking for a nice rifle in the 1200-1600 range and the shaw has caught my eye. just cant find out much info about them.
 
Fiddled around with the Weatherby build-your-own last night... kept coming out around $3K. :)
Just wanted to mention that suggestions along the lines of "buy a [insert cheaper gun here] and add optics/ammo/reloading stuff" are missing the point. That's not what I am looking for right now. Reread my original post! :)

EDIT: Gak nailed it on the head!

I can drag my synthetic Tikka around the woods... :)
Sent from my GSBv1.8.1 ERIS using Tapatalk
 
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To me if I were going to buy a off the shelf factory built rifle, the Sako's are hard to beat. Actions are smooth as polished glass, beautiful stocks, fit and finish are supurb and they just feel nice. Top notch all the way. My favorite hunting rifle is my Sako 75 in 7mm-08.

Nothing wrong with the M70 Supergrades either, I have a couple of them also. They just don't feel like the Sako to me.
 
If I were doing one within those parameters I would build a 7X57, 8X57 270 or 30-06 on either a GEW or KAR Mauser with nice fancy wood, or just buy a Kimber or Winchester.

If you build on a Mauser you would get your choice of stock styles and the thing would be fit to YOUR specs. Good trigger, good barrel nice wood and so on.

For $1200 you would not get fancy checkering or engraving.

At $1200, probably the "nicest" factory made rifles available would be the M-70 Winchester or the Kimber, but I am unsure of their prices these days.

There is a kind of "gap" in the world of bolt actions in the $1200-$1700 range in my opinion. After you spend $1200 I don't see that there is much available for any extra money until you get to about $1700 You can spend extra over $1200, but you don't get a lot for it until you get to about $1700.
At $1700-$2500 the world really starts to open up.
At $2000-$2500 and up you start to get goodies that make a rifle quite special. Rust bluing, fancy sights, barrel bands, custom checkering, engraving on floor plates, inlayed medallions and so on.

To be 100% out front, I have not priced factory rifles in a while. I don't have a wholesale/retail store. So I am only dealing with custom work for the most part. So if the readership would like to correct me on my numbers, I'd be happy to learn myself.
But for factory rifles, what I see in the Win M-70 and the Kimbers is very hard to beat within the price range.
At lower price is the Savage. To my eye, they are a bit homely, but let no one say they are not well made or accurate. , Out of the box they shoot VERY well. The long shells eject better then the short ones in most cases, because the geometry of their basic 110 action was made for the 30-06 shell. The plunger ejector is about maxed out in it’s thrust to make a 308 length shell jump from the action with much force, but they still work. The only ones I have seen that were troublesome were made for 223s 30-06 length shells and full size magnums (7MM Rem. 300 Win and so on) all work fine.

SAKOs are very good, but higher priced then what you are looking for, and I can’t say I see they are in any way “better” then Winchesters or Rugers.

Weatherby’s get good reviews too there days. The Nicer Mark 5s however cost enough to make someone look at a custom build instead. The lower priced Weatherby’s are good, and from what I am hearing are a good value.

Anyway……….my 2 cents worth. May be worth that much too, ----if you are allowed to make payments ---- over 10 years -------- and with no interest charged.
:)
 
Sako all the way
IMHO the best production rifle money can buy. The Walnut that Sako use would have to be some of the best stuff I have ever seen (when I walk into a gun shop I can pick the Sako's a mile away as they are the ones with the nicest looking stocks). The accuracy guarantee from Sako is also by far the best on the market: Sub MOA with 5 shots with "ANY" factory ammo (NOT Match Grade like all others with a guarantee). Sako's have the smoothest action around and the trigger is the best of any factory rifle (good as any comp trigger like Jewel) and the fit and finish is about the best on the market. I would put a Sako up against any other production rifle including Cooper. To sum it up "Sako's just ooze CLASS".
 
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As i said before Sako fills a lot of that criteria you have listed. My camera doesn't do it justice. You also stated 7-8lbs which a sako is. Kimber is just as nice but IMO is a very light rifle. Out of my rifles in the gun cabinet the sako is also balanced very well. Just look around. But for you given price, Sako, kimber, and winchester are probably what you should be looking at the most.

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For around that price range i would go with building a custom remington 700. caliber i wound go with a .260 but i have been interested in making a 6.5 grendel bolt action recently. As for the stock i would go with something like this or one of thier similar models http://rifle-stocks.com/silhouette.htm
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As opposed to laminate, I was thinking more along the lines of this something like this stock (from the same website you linked)
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:D
 
If you plan on ordering from Richard's (rifle-stocks.com) I hope your not in a hurry! May want to plan on sharpening up your stock finishing skills judging from the ones that friends have received from them.

It was nothing that couldn't be completed, but they were not even close to "drop in".
 
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