Bolt action rifle $700 or less

M

Mattj4867

New member
Hi all. I am beginning to take my whitetail hunting into open fields rather than the thick brush I normally hunt. After watching a monster buck chase a doe at about 400 yards, I realized my marlin 336 in 30-30 isn’t adequate for that far of a shot. I would like to get a new bolt gun in 7mm Remington magnum. I need help on choosing a rifle because the market is endless. Thank you
 
Matt,
You don't NEED a 7mm Rem Mag to do 400 yards.
A decent 7mm-08 or 308 would do that distance just fine.
With emough energy to kill Bambi.
Easier on recoil too.
 
If you were me, you would look for the best 2nd-hand model 70 Winchester that you can find within your budget. And it would be either a 270 Winchester or 30-'06 Springfield and have a Walnut stock. I favor Leupold scopes, or, for a vintage rifle, I like the steel-tube Weaver K-4.
 
My vote goes to the Winchester too. Only thing is it will prolly crush your budget of $700.

For that, look at the Weatherby Vanguard or the Ruger series of bolt guns.

Any of the three would do well.

Caliber is your choice.
 
Dont need a 7mm rem mag for whitetail but it is a great cartrige. I use it for Elk but i hunt whitetail with a 270 win.

If you want an out of the box shooter with a great trigger. Tikka T3. Both mine shoot sub moa with the right ammo.
 
I saw the Thompson Center Compass Model in several different calibers. It has a 5R barrel and a 1 MOA Guarantee. It also has a threaded barrel for a muzzle brake. Its selling for $274.00 with a $75.00. They have it in .223/5.56, 6.5 Creedmore, .308, .30-06 and /.270 Winchester. It was at Sportsman's Super Outdoor store who will ship to a FFL in your area. I have purchased from them with no problems.I just ordered one in .223/5.56 because that is one of the calibers I don't have in a bolt action. I read an article that said scope bases are included.
 
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I lean towards the Remington sps-700 in .260-7mm08-.308 right at 500.00. don,t over look a good used rifle of your choice, eastbank.
 
Tikka T3X in .270 Winchester. IMO Tikka is the best balance of accuracy, weight, action and trigger smoothness. If I was in the market for a bolt action to take deer hunting with a $700 budget Tikka would be my only option.
 
Tikka, in 6.5 Creedmoor would be my choice.
No need for an ultra wiz bang Magnum for whitetail.
If you just want a 7mm mag, then go for it, but I would still choose a tikka so chambered.
 
A 7 mag may be a better option for elk at 600-700 yards, but at 400 yards on whitetail it isn't necessary. Although it will work. The 7 mag's recoil is actually not bad at all, virtually the same as 30-06 and only slightly more than 270.

But cartridges like 7-08, 308, and the hot selling 6.5 Creedmoor will have significantly less recoil (1/2 to 2/3) than 7 mag. Either of them are still adequate for elk out to at least 400 yards and deer even farther. If you're good enough. That would be true of even a 7 mag.

While any of the above work, as would a dozen other options, I'd pick 6.5 Creed or 308 simply because very good factory ammo is available at good prices. And while I've been a 308 fan for years, I'd pick the 6.5 over 308 today.

With a $700 budget, I'd buy a Tikka.
 
I got a Howa 1500 for just over $500 new, including BCG, scope, rings and mount.
But that's from a very specific store here in the Reno area...
 
You don't need a 7mm Rem Mag for any game in North America. Any cartridge between .25 and .30 calibre will do, if you can hit a 9" pie plate at 400 yards every time. Knowing the ballistics of the cartridge is essential. A 165 grain .308, for example, sighted in 4.5" high at 100 will drop roughly 13" at 400. It's that info you need to know. Where your rifle shoots at a given distance and can you hit with it. Magnums aren't fun to shoot all day.
Anyway, you can have a BNIB Savage package rifle(comes with a 3-9x40 Bushnell or Nikon scope) for your budget. However, this time of year is or very close to the end or after deer season. It's a really good time to find used deer rifles in your local gun shop. ('Used' is not an ugly term when it comes to hunting rifles.) Guy misses an easy shot or one he shouldn't have tried, blames the rifle and decides to sell it for some useless magnum he can't shoot at all. You can get a higher end rifle and scope for your budget.
 
Matt,

I'm thinking for a 400 yard'er rifle a Remington 700 in .270 Winchester. 130 grain bullets with Superperformance powder get 3200+ fps and I think out to 400 should be fine (My problem is a 500+ rifle but my research shows the .270 can go way out there!)

Deaf
 
Weatherby Vanguard or Howa 1500... available in about any caliber you want and nicely within your budget.

I got my Vanguard for under $500.00 and dropped it in a really nice B&C weatherby style stock for another $225.00. Right on your budget, very nice package for the money and it's quite accurate.
 
$700, including the scope or no??

A smidge over $800 will land you a brand new Winchester 70 Sporter with a 24" bbl in 270 Win on Buds Gun Shop.

But if your $700 budget includes a scope that will put you quite a bit over your stated max.

If that's the case, hard to ignore a Rem 700 ADL synthetic combo. I have one that was bought brand new in 2004 from Bass Pro Shops as a combo with a Redhead (Bass Pro Brand) 3x9x40 scope for just a little over $400. I'm sure that price has inched up over the last 13 years, but I'd bet you would still be within your budget.

This looks like the current offering of what I have. Only difference compared to mine is this one has a 24" bbl to mine with a 22", and the stock design is slightly different. My ADL while not the prettiest in my cabinet is a fricken lazer beam with my handloaded 130gr SST's! Unfortunately, Bass Pro shows all out of stock, maybe you could find one on GB or Buds?

Here it is, and I think at $450 it's pretty hard to beat.

http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/remington-model-700-adl-bolt-action-rifle-combo

Just checked Buds, they have 700 ADL with scope combo in stock for a shade north of $400.

While I have no doubt that the Savage and Ruger offerings in "budget" class rifles are quite good, my only experience in that area is my cheap little freak of a Remmy 700 ADL and the thing simply amazes me every time I take it to the range
 
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A smidge over $800 will land you a brand new Winchester 70 Sporter with a 24" bbl in 270 Win on Buds Gun Shop.
Click to expand...


+1 more on a model 70, or a browning. At that price point you are on the verge of an actual quality rifle
 
I would say get the 7mm Mag if you want, but be aware of what you're getting into. I recently did something very similar for very similar reasons. I ended up with a nice 300 Win Mag and a the right scope for it. I could hunt anything I wanted to in North America...

And all I hunt is white tail. Even at 400 yds 300 WM is too much for white tail. And the 7mm Mag is going to be the same thing, I think. NOT too much in the sense that it will always be overkill, but too much in the sense of ammo cost, recoil punishment and the reluctance to practice, super loud, non-versatility.

I had to drop and punt on the 300 WN and I ended up with a Ruger 7mm-08 deer rifle that I LOVE and I will shoot anything out to 500 with it.
 
Do yourself a favor and go to a Walmart to look at rifles. You won'l find many high dollar one's there. I've only spent the kind of money your talking about for one rifle in my entire life! I've only got seven now and that rifle is among them. Wait, got nine right now!
 
Probably just over your budget cap, but I second the recommendations for a Tikka. I bought a CTR in 6.5 CM. Last time I took it to the range I shot 5 consecutive 5 shot groups using Hornady factory ammo. Best group was under .4 MOA. Worst group was still under .9 MOA.
 
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