bolt vs. pump action

All different rifles actions have their place in many types of shooting. As far as the question of accuracy goes, attend any serious bench rest competition around the country and I will guarantee that every gun will be a bolt action.
 
Old Sap, you must have never seen anyone proficient with a bolt. A bolt used to be an infantry rifle and there have been some very fast people with bolt rifles through the years. My favorite off the shelf bolt action will consistently shoot under 6" at 1K yards.
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You have seen some shooters manipulate a bolt action quickly - but this does not translate into the bolt action being quick to fire, especially with any accuracy. Having to let go of, then later re-engage the trigger is a major factor in the four separate motions necessary in order to shoot a follow-up shot with a bolt action. This does not lead to a combination of speed - and accuracy.

One would seriously doubt that, with shooters being equal, anybody could keep up with the rate of fire - and accuracy while doing it - of a good pump with any bolt action rifle ever made.

Why is quick, accurate fire important? - Sometimes the game animal needs a second shot, right then and there - and sometimes they do not pose for you but instead are rapidly heading into thick brush. In such a situation, a good sportsman is more concerned about a quick, accurate follow-up shot than he is about stunt shooting at 1,000 yards - and rightly so.

A sportsman puts the animal first, realizing that good intentions does not always lead to a one-shot kill, in much the same way that elaborate and certain battle plans do not always hold up in the fog of battle.

Since most game is taken at 100 yards or less and not at 1,000, there is a lot to be said for the responsible hunter considering a design that will give him the fastest, most accurate follow-up shot possible at those ranges, and that design is not the bolt-action rifle, which is only marginally quicker for fast, accurate fire than a good single-shot.

Then there is reliability to consider. If an autoloader jams after the first shot, then the second shot will be mighty slow in coming. And, as we all know, autoloaders jam more often than any other design, period. So, once again putting the animal first, what you want is the ability to reliably deliver a second shot if necessary, as quickly and accurately as possible, at ranges most often encountered in hunting situations.

The surest route to that is either the lever or pump action rifle.

I use a BLR in .308 Winchester - but that's just me... I will readily acknowledge that the pump aficionados here have the facts on their side.
 
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In the Remington brand, one may be just as accurate as the other. A 700 can be rebarreled easly. Not so with a Rem 7600 pump.
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umh are you sure? I have seen several over here in Sweden that comes with two barrels.

for a period in the past they were very popular in a certain rifle discipline (running deer)
 
A friend of mine and I were in Newfoundland moose hunting a few years back. He was a few thousand yards from me on another slope when I heard 3 shots so close together that I thought it was a semi auto. He was carrying a 700 in .270.
The bulls were in the rut and a young 5 year old charged him and he put the 3 .270's the size of a pie plate in his chest. So much for thinking a bolt action is to slow for repeat shots.
 
It's all about application. A pump puts you back on target by pulling your muzzle out of recoil and down as you pump forward you never have to remove trigger hand. However they suck to shoot from a rest . I only have experience with a Remington 7600 they are just as accurate as the stock Remington 700 and yes they trigger can be made "good" mine is 2.5lbs with very little creep and no over travel. I am not knocking bolt actions if your shooting from a tree stand or window of a blind bolt is probably better.
 
Z MAX, a particular 7600 might be as accurate as a particular 700, but the 7600 in general is no where close to as accurate as the 700 in general. I can guarantee you that the most accurate 7600 in the world is not even close to being as accurate as the top 10% of 700's.
 
My Father always shot a 7600 in 30-06 (many deer wished he didnt) and when I turned 15 he bought me a brand new one. His has now been handed down to my son. They are 100% reliable, first and second shot are right on the money every time. Mag fed, light enough. On those first 2 shots I would put either one of mine against any bolt gun. After that they tend to wonder around the paper pretty good. If your hunting Whitetail with a 30-06 you should never need more than the first shot anyway. If you want to use it at the range you may want to consider bolt or other.
 
Never owned a 760 or 7600, but have often been loaned them by some friends who did. I found them completely reliable and plenty accurate. And they are very natural to handle and shoot if you are used to pump shotguns.

They are a lot like Chevy pickups, not for snobs, but damn useful.
 
I have the Rem 760 Gamemaster in .06 and it's an awesome deer rifle for in the woods. Not to heavy, and that pump action gives you nice follow up shots if need be. I have my scope sighted in with 150gr. loads, but the 180 shot true through the peep sights that were on mine. Keep in mind I only need to reach out 100-200 yards absolute max.
 
If you shoot PA shotguns a lot, the transition to a PA rifle is pretty easy....muscle memory & all.

I'd always thought Remington missed out on a great opportunity when selling 870's to LEO agencies by not including a "tactical-ized" version of the 7600 as part of a package deal.
 
Oneoldsap, let's move to .22 rimfire rifles. Has any pump action rimfire off the shelf rifle equalled the 1/3 MOA (at worst) 50-yard accuracy of some off the shelf bolt action rifles?

Back to centerfire ones. Has any pump action centerfire off the shelf rifle equalled the 1/3 MOA (at worst) 100-yard accuracy of some off the shelf bolt action rifles?

If so, please state the make and model.
 
This thread isn't about rimfires BartB . You should start another thread . I've never owned a rimfire pump rifle ! I have three semi-autos and several bolts .
 
Thread drift -- I learned on a Remington Fieldmaster (572?) that belonged to a friend -- later my wife bought me a Remington Model 12 from about WW-1 that is still my squirrel rifle. Never shot either at paper except to check the sights, and didn't know what MOA was back when I started with them.... but I did hit what I was aiming at.

Accuracy for some of us is a "good enough" thing. If it isn't for you, well, so what?
 
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