Most accurate out of box bolt rifle?

I have been happiest with my Tikka, older rem 700s, and my savages. Those are the ones I use when the shot is one I don't want to miss! (assuming I do my part):eek:
 
Two of my friends have Rem 700s and a third has a Tikka T3. I shoot them maybe once every other month, so whatever the result is, it's the rifle, not me. At 100 yards, the Rems consistently do 1-1.5" groups. I get .5" clover-leafs, or better, with the Tikka.
 
I put a replacement stock on my Ruger Hawkeye 223 and it made a significant improvement to the accuracy, or maybe I should say it improved the consistency of shot placement. It's a Hogue overmolded stock with the aluminum bedding channel. As stocks go, it isn't a light one, but I really like it. You can get a cheaper stock, but this one didn't need any tweaking, bedding, shaping, or whatever. I just dropped in the barrel and action and screwed er down tight and went to the bench. It fit perfectly.
 
browninghunter86

I have left my old Savage 10FP (no accustock and a hidden magazine) in .308with the original stock and have got great accuracy once I started hand loading for it. I found that even an accurate rifle prefers particular velocites and depths for different bullets and I couldn't get that from factory ammo.

Its top 10 loads average 0.457 with over 100 groups measured including loads with 150 grain, 168 grain and 175 grain bullets.
The top 2 loads average 0.326 (168 grain Sierra Match King) and 0.380 (150 grain Nosler Custom Competition) both with Hodgdon H4895 powder.

I'm not sure a new stock would make that much difference for this Savage other than in looks. It just shot great right out of the box.

With my Remington SPS in .22-250, I had to change a factory stock to a Bell & Carlson Medalist and the Remington trigger to a Timney to get the best accuracy from it. The stock and trigger cost me over $350 but achieved an improvement of more than 0.25 inches in group average size. The final results are actually now slightly better than the Savage .308 but that might be the result of the caliber more than having changed the stock.
 
In my house, The older M788 in .243 and the cheaper .22-250 Handi Rifle rule the roost. Rugers always require tons of stock work to shoot groups, and Winchester and Remington have never impressed me untill I "tweaked" them really well. I guess it depends on your standard of accuracy. If you're talking group size, Weatherby is the only company with nads enough to make a guarantee until T/C and S&W started making their bolt rifles. Sako/Tikka, Sig, the older Savage, and Howa all get my nod. To boot, most of them are the more affordable brands.:confused:

-7-
 
Scorch- Intresting what you post there. Where did you get this info?. If you look at the records Savage ( off the shelf Savage) win more competition shooting matches every year than any other rifle out there,including custom made rifles. I will grant you the low end ones have a cheap stock,but that is a $250.00 investment only. I don't doubt your info, i just question who wrote it.:D
 
There are alot of great rifles out there,Most will be better than you with a little tinkering.:D

I havent seen many guys that can shoot better than there rifle.;)
 
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Scorch- Intresting what you post there. Where did you get this info?
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Field & Stream did accuracy tests about 5-6 years ago with about 20 different production rifles and a few custom rifles.
 
I have personal experience with stock 3 commercial bolt action rifles. The Tikka T-3 in .308, the CZ 527, and the Winchester Model 70 Classic in 30-06.

I had a Match Grade Arms Win. Mod. 70 built years ago that was guaranteed 1/2 MOA with handloads but I could have bought a number of stock bolt rifles for what it cost to have that built. I later traded this rifle for a truck and kick myself for spending so much more money for that little bit of extra accuracy which is not needed in the type of real world hunting I do.

The Tikka is the most accurate non-custom rifle I have owned. Right at 1 MOA with factory Federal ammo. CZ 527 in 7.62 x 39 is consistently at right over 1 MOA with handloads. The Winchester Mod. 70 with custom trigger work is at 1.25 MOA with handloads and it took a long time to get it that dialed in.

I think the Tikka T-3 is the most accurate rifle for the money. It needs nothing to make it run well. Outstanding trigger. Smooth. And always on the money. My gripes about it are the cheesy magazine, the small loading port which makes loading singles a PITA, and the stock is flimsy.

My favorite out of the 3 is the Mod. 70.
 
FSJeeper said:
I have personal experience with stock 3 commercial bolt action rifles. The Tikka T-3 in .308, the CZ 527, and the Winchester Model 70 Classic in 30-06.

I had a Match Grade Arms Win. Mod. 70 built years ago that was guaranteed 1/2 MOA with handloads but I could have bought a number of stock bolt rifles for what it cost to have that built. I later traded this rifle for a truck and kick myself for spending so much more money for that little bit of extra accuracy which is not needed in the type of real world hunting I do.

The Tikka is the most accurate non-custom rifle I have owned. Right at 1 MOA with factory Federal ammo. CZ 527 in 7.62 x 39 is consistently at right over 1 MOA with handloads. The Winchester Mod. 70 with custom trigger work is at 1.25 MOA with handloads and it took a long time to get it that dialed in.

I think the Tikka T-3 is the most accurate rifle for the money. It needs nothing to make it run well. Outstanding trigger. Smooth. And always on the money. My gripes about it are the cheesy magazine, the small loading port which makes loading singles a PITA, and the stock is flimsy.

My favorite out of the 3 is the Mod. 70.
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I have always felt that model 70 triggers were so nice. Both of the ones I have now I adjusted myself down to just under 3 pounds and are very crisp. My friends Tikka T3 in .270 Win is very nice but it doesn't shoot any better than my Model 70 in .243 Win. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe it's just the inherent accuracy of the .243 but it shoots right at 1 MOA with factory ammo and has been as good as just under half-MOA (100 yards 5-shots) with my best handloads.

I'm in the camp that thinks certain rifles (of any brand) are very accurate. The Tikka and Weatherby accuracy guarantee is nice though.

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I own two Remington Model 700's; one is a 7mm Rem Mag, and the other is a .308 5R and both of them are very accurate out of the box.
 
From my experience odds are Savage will give best accuracy out of the box, I tend to stick with wood or laminated stocks..
 
Scorch- Intresting what you post there. Where did you get this info?. If you look at the records Savage ( off the shelf Savage) win more competition shooting matches every year than any other rifle out there,including custom made rifles. I will grant you the low end ones have a cheap stock,but that is a $250.00 investment only. I don't doubt your info, i just question who wrote it.
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It still amazes me how many people think Team Savage is winning with off the shelf rifles. They aren't off the shelf rifles, they are just as custom as anyone else shooting on the circuit. You can buy the same model of rifle off the shelf as Team Savage, but it will not have the same treatments to make it shoot as well.
 
It still amazes me how many people think Team Savage is winning with off the shelf rifles. They aren't off the shelf rifles, they are just as custom as anyone else shooting on the circuit. You can buy the same model of rifle off the shelf as Team Savage, but it will not have the same treatments to make it shoot as well.

Wrong Taylorce1. They are off the shelf 6MMBR's With hand loads.

Now ganted i just started F-Class open this year and im from a small town MHD,MN. But No Tikas, No Howas, Mainly custom made rifles,Remmy's and Savages. The only tweak made to the Savages is a adjustment to the Accu-trigger,other than that stock all the way.
 
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Savage stock?

BH86,
I have had good luck with Bell&Carlson; Carbelite for sporter weight and
Duramaxx for varmint weight Savage/Stevens rifles.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!
 
Wrong Taylorce1. They are off the shelf 6MMBR's With hand loads.
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No there not and the rifles were not 6mm BR, the are put together by Savage gunsmiths and not by the people on the line. Plus have you heard any new records being set by Team Savage since 2009/10? They are not rifles you can go out and buy off the shelf and expect the same results. All components are selected and put together off assembly line by people paid to build competition firearms by Savage.

Savage F-TR Team — World-Beaters on a Budget
It seems hard to believe you can compete and win at the highest levels of long-range shooting competition with a stock factory rifle, but that’s exactly what Team USA did at the recent F-Class World Championships in Bisley, England. The U.S. F-TR team, which included Team Savage shooters, dominated the F-T/R division, winning a total of 14 medals at the World Championships (and various side matches associated with the event).



Three Oregonians, Darrell Buell, Stan Pate, and John Weil, together with Forum member Monte Milanuk of Wenatchee (WA), crossed the Atlantic to represent the USA and Savage Arms. The competition is held once every four years and features some of the best talent and most expensive custom rifles from around the globe. The matches are held over several days, at distances of 800, 900 and 1,000 yards.

The Savage Shooters used the Model 12 F-T/R from Savage Arms, chambered in .308 Winchester. This exact model can be purchased from any Savage dealer for a suggested retail price of just $1,265. The results speak for themselves: Team Savage came home with seven gold medals, two silvers, and two bronze from the World Championships. The Team also earned two gold medals and a bronze at the associated side matches, including the Bog Oak Trophy Match held in Ireland.

NOTE: In addition to the four Team Savage Members, the full F-TR Team USA included a number of other shooters, using other rigs. The USA F/TR team that traveled to Bisley consisted of 11 shooters: Darrell Buell (Captain), Gary Rasmussen (Wind Coach), Brad Sauve, Dale Carpenter, John Weil, Jeff Rorer, Stan Pate, Mike Miller, Paul Phillips, Warren Dean, and Monte Milanuk. Gary Rasmussen coached F-TR Team USA and Kathy Buell was official record-keeper. Monte Milanuk explained: “While almost half the team was using a Savage-actioned rifle of some sort (Warren, Darrell, John, Stan & Monte), the rest were using four Barnards (Brad, Paul, Dale, and Mike), one Stolle Panda (Jeff), and a Wichita (Gary).”

All of the above participated in the FCWC as individuals, and worked together throughout the entire event (both team and individual stages).

The final firing team that represented the USA in the main F-Class Team World Championships, selected according to performance during certain ‘team’ event stages during the Imperial Meeting, consisted of: Darrell Buell (Captain), Gary Rasmussen (Wind Coach), John Weil (Shooter), Paul Phillips (Shooter), Monte Milanuk, (Shooter), Jeff Rorer (Shooter), Dale Carpenter (Reserve/ Plotter).

The remaining four shooters entered in the Rutland Cup, a match held concurrently with the FCWC, primarily for countries which cannot field a full 8-man team for F-Open. The USA F-Open and F/TR teams both used their ‘extra’ shooters in this event. In the Rutland Cup, the USA F/TR team consisted of Stan Pate (Captain/Shooter), Mike Miller (Coach/Shooter), Brad Sauve (Shooter), and Warren Dean (Shooter).
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Now this article leads you to believe that Team Savage is using off the shelf rifles, but now where in it does it say they are off the shelf. All they state is you can buy the same rifle from a Savage Arms Dealer. I guarantee you they are the same model but they are no where near the same rifle. It is basic marketing 101, getting the consumer to believe that he/she is getting the exact same product. However, Savage couldn't build a market a rifle that will actually compete bone stock at F-T/R competitions at factory tolerances and still price it at MSRP of $1300 (2012 price) and stay in business long. Now you can get the same exact product with a little fine tuning but not out of the box.

Now I'm a huge fan of Savage rifles and some of my most accurate are Stevens 200 rifles that I built/tweaked. However I have several other rifles that shot just as well as my "stock" Savage rifles out of the box. Most recent were a M700 ADL and a T/C Venture, and I have an old bone stock Parker Hale 1200 .270 and JC Higgins M50 .30-06 that are bone stock and will run with any of the newer hunting rifles for sub 1" accuracy with handloads. Plus I purchased both of them for about $100 less than I can buy a new M110 Savage for.
 
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