Best production bolt action on the market today?

The genius of Remington's Model 700 is that it allowed working men opportunity to buy an excellent quality factory production rifle at a price they could afford. It allowed many hunters to own an excellent quality rifle with which they could enjoy hunting. Remington's Model 700 made the sport of kings available to everyone who wanted to hunt big game.

My first big game rifle was a Model 700 .270 Win. I bought it brand spanking new some 44 years ago. It'll still shoot .25" at a hundred with hand loaded hunting ammo, not tricked out target stuff. I use the standard .270 Win load of W-W brass, Fed 210M or CCI 200 primers, 60 grains of H-4831, and 130 grain GameKings. Mule deer drop in their tracks with this rifle and load. If I'm drawn for a once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn tag this year, I'll kill a ram with my model 700 .270 Win with the aforementioned load.

Two of the most accurate rifles I've ever fired were Model 700's.

I've hunted the Rockies taking only my Model 700. I never thought about a back-up rifle.

I've read 'net reviews that Remington's quality has slipped. I hope they're just rumors.

I do own a couple Sako AV rifles. They'll shoot very tiny groups. If were talking reliability and accuracy, Sako might not have anything on a Model 700. However, Sako has a feel of quality that I cannot describe. I don't need another rifle, but were I to find a Sako carbine in .308 Win or a Finnwolf in .308 Win, I'm sure that it would become my primary hunting rifle.
 
My Remington early 80's 700 BDL .270 and Nikon Buckmaster scope deliver nickel sized groups at 100 yards. Drops deer like a sledge hammer. I bought my son a Remington 700 SPS Youth model .243 a couple years ago and it has also impressed me on woodchucks and deer. My old 721 .270 from the late 40's (Gramps), is a tack driver with its fixed 4X scope and Walker trigger... Very smooth. I'm pretty satisfied with Remington.
 
No such animal

The term "best "is too subjective. Best for whom, and under what circumstances. It's another one of those "if you could only have one" questions.
a wonderfully accurate Tika with a 4-12 scope in brush county, is as handy as carrying a Ford axle. By the same token, as fast handling carbine would be of little value for that once in a lifetime 450 yd. across the canyon shot .
Use the right tools for the job at hand and take more tools if you think that the job may change.:D
 
The new model 70 Super Grade rifles with controlled round feed action and free floated barrel with adjustable 3.5-5lb jeweled trigger is a great option for a hunting rifle. Fit and finish better than Ruger or Savage, and a lot better than Remington. I have one in .300 win mag.

Browning A-bolt with octagon barrel is also a great rifle, I have one in .270 win.

For the money? An accurate meat stick? Ruger American rifle. Accurate, decent trigger.

These are obviously hunting type rifles. For competition shooting, there really isn't a good production rifle Except maybe the Savage F/TR.
 
I'm with Mississippi on the above. I too own a new model 70 Super Grade but in 338WM. Love that rifle! While it would not be considered a "budget" rifle, I still think you get alot for the money in terms of very nice fit, finish, overall appearance along with flawless function and very good accuracy. Lightweight is not it's game though. Mine has a 26" barrel and between that and the grade V walnut it is by no means something that would be considered lightweight. But I don't mind :)

I also agree with gunman5646 that there really is no end-all be-all "best". Only best for a specific task for a specific individuals needs and taste. Good example is my cheap little Remmy 700ADL synthetic in 270 Win. It has a cheap plastic stock, matte finish, 22" barrel, and came from Bass Pro Shops new in 2004 as a combo with a Redhead (Bass Pro brand) 3x9x40 scope mounted for just over $400. Now it is nowhere near as elegant as my Super Grade, but the thing is freakishly accurate and the cheap scope holds it's zero year after year and just plain works in any environment I have hunted in from clear sunny to spitting snow and rain. Now that rifle is my best for going out in conditions that I don't want to subject my Super Grade to, it's much lighter and more compact for those days where I plan to do alot of walking, and along with that I can always count on it putting the bullet right where the reticle is centered.

To get the best, try to get something that is well suited to your intended task, and is to your personal tastes for function and form.

Better yet, have a couple options to choose from depending on the day ;)
 
They are all very close, so get the one that feels the best. My current favorite is a Savage LH Weather Warrior. It comes with the Accutrigger and Accustock (Full length aluminum bed). Shoots my 260 handloads 1/2" and comes in most standard calibers, short action and long action.
 
Cooper Rifles, Montana Rifles, GA Precision, Barrett, Kimber, Proof Research, Christensen Arms, Seekins and many others.
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Some of those ARE custom built rifles. Just because their website offers popular combinations with names to market them doesn't make them "production". I have several GAP rifles, one of which they market as a certain model, but it really isn't. If they have one it's because someone reneged and lost their deposit. They are all custom built. They send you a build sheet that's partially filled out if you choose one of the combinations they recommend/market, but it's not like it's cheaper than if you spec the whole thing yourself. Everything on the build sheet is ala carte and itemized. Replace the Defiance action with a Big Horn, and you can see exactly what it's going to cost or save you.

Even the decent, competition, chassis rifles are "custom built". Some stores/schools that carry finished rifles from custom builders are ordering them from the builder in a specific configuration, and then selling them as "their" version of that rifle, but they are still custom ordered and hand built after receiving the order.

I ordered a chassis gun this summer and it will probably ship in December, and it's one of many combos that builder shows on their website. Even though it is a chassis, and the chassis itself is "production", the rest of the rifle is hand fitted and assembled.

They're not rolling off a line and just tacking on a couple of thousand dollars for their names. They would not be in business long if that were the case, because the competitors who are shelling out that kind of money are very serious marksmen who will be a couple of impacts apart at a match. That's the kind of diminishing returns you are talking about in a built rifle.

I wanted a certain finish (that doesn't look like anything fancy at all) on a rifle built on a Manners stock, and they told me it would be an extra two months. They don't have a warehouse of them. They order them as they build them with a few on hand that sell a lot. If you want something different you have to wait till they till the stock builder can get to it.

I took the OP to mean the best off the rack rifle.
 
a Savage. I throw it on the bench and install a match grade barrel, bed it, tune the trigger, reload ammo, break-in and develop load and shoot consistently
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I've got one of those. But it's not a rifle, it's a do it yourself kit.
 
I don't hunt at all, so for me the "best" rifle is going to be one I shoot prone or from the bench at my local range. Tough to go wrong with a Tikka. Mine is well made, has a smooth action and shoots lights out.

Also, for an out of the box selection - Sig SSG3000. Again this is not a hunting rifle, and although a non-custom it's no longer produced. But based on what my rifle can do, you'd be hard pressed to find a more accurate rifle. My last outing at the range with this rifle (Saturday) shooting at 300 my worst 5 shot group was .90 MOA. Best about .35 MOA.
 
Hands down......Sako

Tikka are make by Sako and are very good rifles.

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