cheap bolt action any good?

A rem 700 is an excellent rifle for the money and there are probably more available mods for it than any other. A good used one with machine checkering and glossy finish may be one of the best bargains out there, if you can get one under 500.

I generally recommend one in .30-06 or .308. The barrels usually go 5-6000 rounds and almost nobody shoots a hunting rifle 1,000 rounds, most under 100.
 
I'd say milsurp is a great idea.

The modern "cheap" rifles are getting pretty good. The Ruger American is excellent for the money.

I own a lowly Rem 770 in 7mm mag. I never would have bought one myself but it was a gift so I said what the heck. Well... yes it needed a little love out of the box so. I've floated the barrel, bed the action, adjusted the trigger to 2.5 pounds, polished the bolt, mounted a nikon monarch 3 4-16x42, mounted a bi-pod with a custom made mount and worked up some handloads.

The Results... It went from 1.5-2 MOA to one hole clover leafs at 100 yards and 2" groups at 200 from the bi-pod. Cheap does not mean inaccurate.

The 770 is not as tough as a battle rifle though. For shtf I'd still take my Springfield or Enfield though. For a low budget hunting rifle it's pretty hard to make a bad choice nowadays.

I'm pretty curious about the new 783. I hope it fixes some of the 770's weak points.


Boomer
 
New "cheap" rifle: Ruger American

Used "cheap" rifle: Be on the lookout for a decent sporterized Mauser for cheap. I did some trading for mine but I only have about $150 in it, plus about $80 for a cheapo Bushnell Banner 3-9x40 scope from Wal-Mart. So its a $230 complete setup that shoots MOA with factory ammo, I haven't got around to handloading for it yet. I bought it cheap because the guy thought the barrel was "about shot out". It just needed a good cleaning :D bore looks almost new now. I was planning on rebarreling it to 6mm rem but after cleaning and shooting I decided to leave the good old 8mm military barrel on there awhile.

You might not find one that cheap that is also that accurate, but then again you might. Buying used rifles is kind of a game of luck.
 
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Most any of the low end factory rifles will do minute of deer, and we've seen reports of the likes of the Ruger American doing much better than that.
 
I have both the savage edge/ axis ( same thing ) and a Mossberg100 atr. Of the two I recommend the Mossberg. Better trigger, stock, design and feel. I also have Remington700 and a Winchester 70 and a Ruger 77. The last 3 are far and away better rifles. All were purchased used and were around $500. If you shop the used market you can find very nice rifles in your price range. Many will come with a scope for close to the same price.
 
Buying a cheap rifle with the intention of spending a lot of money on it is the logic I question.
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Please provide your recommendation as to the "non-cheap" rifle/combo you would purchase?
 
A good friend of mine recently bought a Mosberg combo rifle with a scope included the price was too low for him to walk away from. (Had 10 rounds fired out of it. The previous owner half mooned himself with the scope, and decided to sell it at a loss to get rid of the darned thing.)

After a bit of adjustment at the range the scope was at a proper distance, and the eye relief was good. A quick sight in. It then turned in MOA or better with 5 brands of factory hunting ammo shooting 5 shot groups at 100 yards. using sand bags for a rest. We waited 5 minutes between shots.

He did have one minor problem with the rifle. The sling studs are plastic. The front one broke. A call to Mosberg customer service had a shipping label in his mail box 2 days later. 5 days after that he had a new stock on his door step when he got home.
 
The 770 is the rifle version of the thompson and 1911 when it comes to maintenance and lubrication. You need to clean it well, and make sure its lubricated right. And you have to let the magazine wear in for say 2 boxes of ammunition. or you can just cycle 4 rounds through it for half an hour.

dependable out of the box. Doesnt need to spend 400 or 600 hundred on it. I have a 770 and LOVE IT. the scope is better then you think. Its a quality piece. The most comparable one i can find at the local dicks has a 140 dollar tag on it. Youll need to add that tag, plus mounts and bases to that 350 for the ruger american. And on the ruger. the magazine BLOWS.

Yeah Ill say it again. THe ruger american magazine sucks. The only one the store wold let me look at, i had to hold it in my lap, push the release, and push down on the magazien from the top to get it out. FUN>
 
And you have to let the magazine wear in for say 2 boxes of ammunition. or you can just cycle 4 rounds through it for half an hour.
Click to expand...

First, barrel break-in, now magazine break-in. Learn something new every day. :-)
 
Fancy does not shoot better.
My Winchester Ranger (the 'cheap' Model 70) has won bench rest competitions and turned in jaw dropping groups with handloads. It has also taken deer. I use an El Cheapo garage sale scope.
I favor the Ranger style over the Mod. 70 because I do not like floor plate magazines. The box magazine will not drop your ammo on the ground.
Care in loading ammo, sighting in and shooter ability trumps big bucks any day.
I bought mine new but have had success with other guns as well by buyin the "Pawn Shop" brand. :D
The rest is up to you.
 
Twins, for a hunting rifle? TC Venture or WBY Vanguard.
I am not a rifle snob. It just does not make sense to buy a combo and six months later replace the scope and rings. A year later upgrade the stock.
 
I love my savage. Was inexpensive and a year after I bought it I put a nice scope on it. Great gun accurate and affordable. My best friend hunts with the even more affordable Steven, also a great affordable gun.
Whiskey
 
magazine wear in is due to the design of it. Remington modified it somehow since the first year of introduction, but its very easy to get the unmoded mags. no big deal really.

Now as to what is better. ..

300 plus tax gets you that 770 with scope.

350 gets you ruger american without scope

decent scope is going to set you back at least 90 -150 depending on your needs.

hmm simple math here. simply put great to get 770.

some people prefer to drive their uncles escalade to a first date. others driver their huffy.
 
$550 + tax gets you a Savage 11/111 Trophy Hunter rifle with Nikon Pro-Staff scope. Rifle can be upgraded with later on and the scope comes with a lifetime warranty. Scope breaks and you send it in and it is repaired or replaced. Barrels, bolt handles, trigger, and stocks can be changed as more money becomes available, as well as the optics.

Buy a $300 M770 and anything major goes wrong with the rifle or scope and you're having to buy another rifle or scope. Only thing you can really change on the M770 is the scope. No replacement options available to upgrade the rifle.

Simply more value for your dollar to buy the Savage.
 
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I'm with taylorce on this one. The bad thing is, i'm a fan of the Remington 788's and its hard at times to find parts if needed. The 700 platform just has room to grow. It can be a budget rifle or spend $1,000's turning it into a full on long range sniper rifle. For the simple parts available/repairable, go with the 700. You won't be kicking yourself for spending the money.
 
The manufacturers are simply taking advantage of the improvements in technology that we've seen in the past couple of decades to give the shooter what we want. With better bullets, better powder, new manufacturing methods, and the increase in gun ownership, they're simply taking advantage of all these things to give us affordable, accurate, reliable rifles. In the past decade we've seen many, many rifles that benefit from these new techniques, and the market will weed out those that don't meet expectations.

The very internet is doing a lot to drive that innovation. For example, I routinely do business with organizations that twenty years ago I wouldn't have ever known about. I can play on this $300.00 computer (which 30 years ago wasn't available at any price) and talk to people all over the world, order parts, tell jokes, and support people I've never met. That same computer technology helps manufacturers cut costs, reach consumers, and manufacture incredibly efficient rifles.

Thirty years ago, a rifle that would cloverleaf three bullets right out of the box was almost unheard of, at a price the average consumer could reasonably afford. Nowadays, any one of a half-dozen brands will do it when the shooter does his part. My grandsons own rifles that are more accurate, more durable and more affordable than anything available when I was growing up. I'm convinced that we're living in a golden age of rifle manufacturing.
 
I'd go with a Rem 700 or Savage 110 first. Don't try to build up. Rather, start with a good chassis and take it from there.
 
I've messed with the milsurps off and on for more yars than I care to count and sure as God made little green apples, you get one and it won't be long before you want to "upgrade" it.
Case in point, the year was 1957 and my whole take home pay was $75 a week. A bit more if I got some overtime. I bought a very cherry 1917 Enfield by Winchester for $25.00. That's real old timey solid American dollars BTW, not the current funny money prined by the feds. Well first thin I did was get rif of the handguardm shoerten the fron part of the stock and hunted it that way for a year. I then dropped it off and my friendly gun smith who shortened that 26" Barrel to 22" put it in a Bidhop of fjen sporter stock, I forget which, driled and tapped it and mounted a Weaver El Paso scope on the gun. Those ugly ears were also ground off the rifle. If memory serves the final tarfiff was just a bit over $250 solid American money. That rifle cost me just under 3.5 weeks of hard work. My latest custom on a milsurp is my .280 Rem. on a 1909 Argentime Mauser ithat I had done two years ago. THat one ran me $3,500 and change and the gunsmith gave me a break on the job because I'd sent some business his way, not to mention all the work he's done for me. Based on what I was making when I retired, that gun cost just about 4 weeks of labor. As custom rifles go, mine are peanuts compared to a darcy Echols or david Miller gun. Those run in the $20,000 and up range for a full bore go all the way rifle. Echols has something like a 10 year wait for one of his guns. Guess than even if I had the money I'd pass. At 75 I doubt I'd live ong enough to see the finished gun. :(
There is a gentleman who goes by the name of Bullet on a coupe of forums who did a review of the marlin XL7 and Ruger American. His opinion was that the Marlin was the better of the two but either one was a good rifle. I'm guessing the Marlin just felt a little better to him. How a rifle feels can be vey important to the shooter. One day while cruising a gun show, I spotted someone's custom .35 Whelen at an estate sale. Very nice looking rifle. Forearm and grip cap solid elephant ivory, excellent chechering so I sked to see it. I snapped it to my shoulder and the fit was so perfect that when he told me the price, I didn't even bother to haggle. On the three hunting trips I've used it, it's been a very lucky rifle. Didn't get a deer on that hunt although I could have taken one. Problem was the buck was standing with a bunch of does. easy shot that would have taken thar deer and probably a couple of does as well. Never saw another legal buck that I wanted. On the other two hunts for elk the gun is two for two fo two. Two shots, two elk on two hunts.
I know money can be tight. Been there and done that. The thing is, get the vey best you can afford and live with. Forget the milsurps. By the time you scope it (gunsmiths ain't cheap. Mine charges $20 a hole.)
You might want ti hit the gun shows. You can find some very good deals there.
Paul B.
 
I just bought a cheap Savage Axis XP 223 mostly because I want to spend time with my son & grandson at the gun range. After reading about the Axis it looks like the trigger & scope will need to be changed. I have a 22 savage rifle that I enjoy and that's the reason I went with the Axis. Maybe I should have bought a better Savage rifle but for my need I thought the Axis would fit the bill.
 
right out of the box, with a fast cleaning of the barrel and reciever, my 770 was putting 5 rounds into an inch at 100 yards. now me, im happy with that. sure i had to adjust for windage and elevation but im HAPPY. and i saved lots of money.
 
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