Best budget Bolt Rifle

I had a friend who spend a small fortune on a Weatherby Mark V .270 Wby Mag. At one time, it was a gorgeous piece of furniture. It'd shoot solid 4" groups at a hundred.
 
I've had great success with my Savage Axis II in 308. Worked up some handloads with Nosler BT and it'll put 5 rounds inside a half dollar at 100 yards.

For the price, that's darn good.
 
SATRP said:
I had a friend who spend a small fortune on a Weatherby Mark V .270 Wby Mag. At one time, it was a gorgeous piece of furniture. It'd shoot solid 4" groups at a hundred.
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All my Mark V's shoot sub moa at 100 yards. They need proper break in to polish the throat. Once that is done, they drive tacks.
 
I had a friend who spend a small fortune on a Weatherby Mark V .270 Wby Mag. At one time, it was a gorgeous piece of furniture. It'd shoot solid 4" groups at a hundred.
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...Not exactly what the average person considers to be a "budget" rifle...
 
The reality is that manufacturing has come a long way in the past 50 years, and pretty much any of them would be fine for what you want to do.

My sample of one is a Savage Axis II I got my kid for Christmas a couple years ago. It isn't particularly pretty, but shoots great, has a decent trigger (AccuTrigger) came with a Weaver 3-9X BDC scope, which is also perfectly functional. Out the door it was ~$350, if I remember correctly.

The only thing I did to it was buy a replacement stock from the Savage youth version, so it fits him better. When he grows into it, I will swap it back, or I might not, the smaller stock saves some weight. As is, it is 7 lbs 8 oz unloaded with a sling, and that ain't bad.

My suggestion is to find a store that carries all the big players, and try them all for fit, trigger and weight/handling, and pick the one you like the best.
 
Budget bolt action rifles are pretty much the same, mechanically, as their higher priced non-budget brothers. Primary difference is the stock material and the finish.
However, you need to decide exactly how much you want/can spend, including sights. Neither Bambi nor a target will know or care what rifle was used.
"...Nothing wrong with with volume..." That applies more to milsurps than commercial hunting rifles. Commercial hunting rifles are all the same. You pay more for the name than the rifle.
 
LineStretcher said:
All my Mark V's shoot sub moa at 100 yards. They need proper break in to polish the throat. Once that is done, they drive tacks.
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My Mark V in 300 Wby is also extremely accurate.

As far as the topic goes, I think Ruger in general does a good job with budget minded guns so that's probably where I'd be inclined to look first. It maybe isn't the sexiest thing anymore but I don't think you can beat 30-06 for a general purpose hunting caliber.
 
RC20 said:
Well all the low cost rifles shoot fine, so no you don't have to spend 3 grand for a reliable rifle.

Reliable and expensive are not in the same wheelhouse.

A $300 Axis is as reliable as a Blazer.
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Yes...for most Whitetail hunters here in Michigan, the hunt itself does not represent a lot of money...we walk out in our field or woods and sit down. Spending a lot of dough on a deer rifle is not what we are looking for. When I was a young person, a Ruger bolt action M77 was cheaper than a Remington 700 or a Winchester M70...so Rugers outsold the others. Spending "...a couple thou..." on a deer rifle was considered frivolous if not pretentious.
 
I've had great success with my Savage Axis II in 308. Worked up some handloads with Nosler BT and it'll put 5 rounds inside a half dollar at 100 yards.
For the price, that's darn good.
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A range buddy has a Savage Axis in .308, in a synthetic stock, on which he mounted an old Weaver 1-3x scope in low rings. I think he bought it for less than $450.

I wasn't all that impressed with it until I watched him shoot a target at 100-yds. On 3x magnification, his 5-shot group was just over an inch, about 1.5". It's his November deer rig, and he hunts from a tree stand.

Unless you lived in Alaska where a larger chambering is no doubt justified, for use in the lower 48 a .308 Savage Axis seems to fit the definition of a 'budget bolt gun' for general-purpose use.
 
I endorse Savage but in my defense I am basing that decision on my only rifle I own in a 30-06 before the accu-trigger came into play. I bought mine over 35 years ago as a package with a Bushnell banner scope in 3X9. I remember trying to get one of those fancy rifles on a chassis and the gunsmith asked me why since he had already seen me shoot a milk jug at 500 yards with Remington cor-lokt ammo. He asked me if I was willing to pay a couple of thousand dollars for a new rifle so that it could do what my $188 rifle was already doing.

So my suggestion would be to find an old used Savage before the accutrigger was developed and you have one fine rifle.
 
My opinion of the best bang for the buck rifle is going to get me a lot of haters. If you have a Walmart that sells firearms go buy a Remington M700 ADL package for $397 + tax. I've had a couple and been able to get them to shoot better than MOA without replacing anything other than the scope.

Biggest reasons people will complain is they say Remington quality has fallen off, the crappy triggers need to be replaced. I haven't found that to be the case, but I'm only one person. However, I've owned a lot of the rifles mentioned here as I have Savage 10/110, Ruger American, and Howa all represented in my gun safe and I could add TC Venture as a great budget rifle as well.

To be honest I've been perfectly satisfied with all of the rifle brands I've mentioned, but this is why I think the M700 gives you the best bang for your buck.

1. M700 is probably the most common commercial bolt action being used to date.

2. Aftermarket support is second to none, so if you do want to make a few changes it is the easiest rifle to buy things like, triggers, stocks, scope bases, and other parts for.

3. You won't have a problem finding a gunsmith to work on one if you need or want something done.

I've built a lot of rifles on Savage actions and a few years ago I'd have said Savage was your best bet for a budget rifle. I believe they have made a big mistake by going to the Axis rifle instead of keeping a bare bones rifle like the Stevens 200. With the same tools I bought to rebarrel Savage rifles I can swap barrels just as easily on the M700.
 
Hoffman123 said:
I’m in the market for a bolt action rifle for punching holes and hunting white tail. I’d prefer to buy a more affordable rifle in .270 or 30-06. I see many newer budget bolt action rifles but I’d like your input on best bang for the buck. Thanks in advance.
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Let's see, hole punching and white tail deer. Most inexpensive rifle's are seemingly more than accurate for what he want's. Just pick one you like. Cartridge would be another matter to me. I don't generally recommend the 243 for big game hunting but in fact it has done very well on a lot of deer! Should be a lot easier to shoot well that rifle's with more recoil, ie 270 and 30-06. In fact most anything on the 30-06 case is going to recoil more to some degree. My 25-06 is pleasant enough to shoot but much nicer shooting one of my 243's. My 6.5x55 is not bad to shoot but I think you'd be farther ahead to look for a 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. Less recoil and better bullet's.

You can come to a conclusion some way that one rifle is better than another based on what you read but if you don't handle the recoil well, you won't shoot it well. Simple fact of life! I doubt there are many 30-06's being used in 100 yds bench rest match's. For 1000 yd match's, Jim Carmichael claimed to have brought about the 260 Rem, he called it something else, to help over come the effect's of recoil!

Most rifle's today seem to be very accurate for the most part. But the bad one does get by now and then from every maker. Even a bigger percentage can be made to shoot better through bedding and load development and learning better shooting skill's. Pick a rifle you like in the price range you want, choose the cartridge carefully and develop shooting skill's if need be. There is no best!
 
Hoffman123 said:
I’m in the market for a bolt action rifle for punching holes and hunting white tail. I’d prefer to buy a more affordable rifle in .270 or 30-06. I see many newer budget bolt action rifles but I’d like your input on best bang for the buck. Thanks in advance.
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You will be hard pressed to beat the Mossberg Patriot Synthetic - Vortex Scoped Combos for ~ $400.

Got my boys .270's a few Christmas' ago.

Very nice rifles.




Red
 
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I vote for t/c compass,I bought a 6.5 cm for $177 out the door after rebate ,shot it ,then hurried up and got another in 308.Get a Boyd's wood stock and paint the plastic one camo of your choice.
 
I think they are ugly but I have been impressed with the accuracy of the Ruger American. My SIL won a 22/250 at a gun blast and we put a cheap Pentax 4x12 on it and sighted in
with Rem factory ammo. Gun shot 1 1/4" at 100yds. That is a 22/250 a finicky cartridge in
sporter weight rifles. Two others in family have Americans a 22 and a 308 both preform very well for the price.
 
In all honesty if you have not reached a decision any inexpensive rifle you buy today out of the box is an MOA shooter. Our technology in metallurgy is quite advance to what it was a century ago. Sadly what remains the same is the shooter he or she may not be MOA consistent.
 
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