Best Target Rifle In The Low Cost Rifles

I have 2 axis. Both sub MOA rifles. 243 Camo and 223 regular. Did trigger job on both before I shot them ( very simple and fast to do ). Never notice any crosshair movement. I shoot off a bulls bag with them.
 
Some of the rifles you mention are quite light and probably wouldn't be comfortable for doing a lot of bench shooting with an '06. I suggest looking into a Weatherby Vanguard S2 or something of similar weight/accuracy. Remington 700 ADLs and the heavier Savages are also very accurate and shouldn't be painful for longer range sessions.
 
Good point. I have seen that with my dads 1903 Sporter. I put an aux but pad on it and still marginal and I am not only heavier than I should be, I was never recoil sensitive (shooting all my life but not always a lot and rifles only a lot recently). Apparently getting to be over 60 has some more things in store other than bad eyes.

I have been chewing on it and thats an option as I could buy used and still get pretty good price.

Helps to kick it all around
 
I own a Marlin XL7 and a Savage Axis and I have spent some time with my nephew's Ruger American. Of the three, I would take the Marlin for extended shooting sessions. It has a decent trigger and the perceived recoil is less than the other two, IMO.

None of them are a poor choice, they all seem to perform quite well for budget rifles. The Savage has a very heavy trigger, and the stocks on the Savage and the Ruger do not feel as substantial as the stock on the Marlin. The Marlin has a blind box mag vs. the removable mags on the others, so it's a bit more hassle to load and unload unless you are doing single fire, in which case the Marlin is easier to load (as also noted by Huffmanite).

Another possible candidate is the Stevens 200, basically the old Savage 110 in a gray plastic stock. The Stevens is relatively easy to customize as many items made for other Savage models will fit.

Good luck with your quest. :)
 
Thank you. I prefer the blind magazines and am used to them with all the rifles I have had and currently own

I find myself misplacing magazines all them time and having to hunt them down.

I just single load most of the time target shooting and that works just fine.
 
The main target shooting venue for that caliber is the CMP GSM games.
Click to expand...

Kraig

None of the one's listed are ex-military issued rifles and can not be used in the games. For hunting the 30-06 would be perfect, The Garand is not known for 1/4 MOA accuracy, and a 308 with surplus ammo would be cheaper to shoot.

Just my 2 cents
Jim

For "Target" shooting I like the 243 in the 6 mm group and all else the 270 Winchester fills my needs. While the 30-06 is over 100 years old, there are others that will do the same or better with less recoil. (save those shoulders for making love not war) LOL
 
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Ruger American Hands Down and heres why

I have had many rifles. I worked in a firearms store and even worked with the gunsmith in his shop for a few years.
I have to say after all the rifles Ive owned in 30-06, and that's about every manufacturer out there, I bought a Ruger American 30-06 this year after giving it some time on the market and getting some experience in gunsmith shop with it.
I will have to say that this Ruger American is they most accurate rifle in 30-06 I have ever owned! I love it! I love the aluminum bedding block in it that mates the action with the stock perfectly and floats the barrel. I also like the adjustable trigger (a la savage accu trigger) The barrel attaches to receiver in same fashion as Savage which is known for accuracy out of box in part because of this barrel attachment. Upon shooting I can shoot 5 shot groups at 100 yards and every bullet hole is touching. That is with factory Federal blue box ammo and with my Reloads of Barnes TSX 168 gr. match bullets. It is amazing how true this gun shoots. It does have a little more perceived recoil because of light stock but its by no means unbearable. I am very pleased with this rifle. My vote goes for the Ruger American hands down. I also do have a Savage Axis I bought for my daughter in 7mm-08 and it is a great shooter too, but not the gun the Ruger American is. I like the Ruger American so much I bought one in 308 for my 13 year old son. Accurate the same.
One reason these newer Rugers are accurate in comparison with the M77 Rugers is the stock and action connection. The M77 bolted to the stock in the front of the receiver with an angled approach. Instead of screwing straight vertically through the stock into the receiver, the front screw went in at an angle. From what I understand, Ruger knew that this wasn't conducive to the best accuracy but what it done was overall made every rifle generally good. They were willing to sacrifice top accuracy and hit and misses to get a product where every rifle was resasonably accurate but nothing to brag about. The Ruger American of today mates the stock and receiver with 2 vertical screws like most other tried and true rifles.
 
Some Ford Chevy concepts here, but here is my two cents. Will start off with some generalizations.
Are you coming into this as a reloader? If so, the 270 is boring as there aren't as many options at the 308 or 30-06. Learn to like 130 grainers seems to be the middle of the road that most settle on.
Distance with a 270 will be more iffy to wind drift than a 30-06 heavier options.
Using a budget gun, the 308 will be easier on the shoulder than the 30-06 so you can shoot more type of loads.
Scopes are unique. If you get a cheap scope that works well, over time with higher recoil, that cheap scope will make you want another cheap scope so get a good one to start with.
When you think about distance, out past the 500 yard stuff gets into more spendy equipment to really nail it down consistently. Other than that you lob and hope for the most part.
Use a chrono for your load development and find the best chrono to accuracy load you can find.
Look into trigger and glass floating and other options before you buy for better accuracy.
 
Nice write-up..... all that shooting was done according to the article with brand new un fired gun and no clean up was done the entire time... :confused:

WOW,,, did not know that could be done.
 
Interesting article. Most folks typically don't yield those results from the local banter I hear for the 308 pushing past 800 yards. In my neck of the woods, the ranges are 225 yards max unless you drive several hours. The 30-06 yields better but less shooting due to shoulder complaints. Notice all the padding in the article for the shoulder. Generally I hear more folks like the 308 for spending a day at the range and not coming home sore. You want a real budget gun, check out the Mosin Nagant and how some of those perform against a 30-06 (if you are fortunate enough to come across a good shooter). Some are real junkers and only good for parting out, and others are amazing w/ load your won ammo. Or you can buy the 12$/20 round ammo and just shoot for the fun of it. I'm just getting into the MN and still don't know if it's a good one or a junker. Waiting on my head space gage and bolt tool from ebay. But so far I like the looks of it having just removed the cosmoline.
 
Keeping in mind the intent is to use as a test rifle and most of the rounds would be though a much heavier Model of 1917 most of the time.

It does make the list due to the impressive performance. I like the two stage triggers on the 1917 (or that affect if not intent) though I do fine with a 1903 trigger pretty much.

Weight wise it would match up with the 1903 Sporter and I would expect close to the same recoil.

I put a aux pad on the 1903 (same as the built in for the RA) and I have a PAST unit for the same reason (winter heavy coat replaced it but summer in a T shirt not so much and even the 1917s get to hurting.

I handled one the other day and it is a good feeling rifle. Oddly the one that felt the best was a Weatherby (a lot more costly of course)

I would like to see a bit more 100 yd 5 shot comparisons and with handloads and will keep an eye on the gun mags to see what they come up with in that regard
 
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