package deal?

B

Bella

New member
I want to get a decent bolt action rifle for deer and antelope hunting. While I would love a fancy, expensive rig, my budget is modest.

I see that Savage has "package" rifles. You get a gun and scope for a decent price. In fact less than the price of just a rifle from other manufacturers.

Has anyone here had experience with these rifles?
 
Savage are budget rifles

That are very accurate. Package deals usually feature decent enough glass without being special. Also, rings might not be high quality as well.

You might want to get a bare rifle and choose the best glass and mounts that you can afford.
 
It's very hard to beat a Savage for out-of-the-box accuracy. So the rifles are excellent. The package scopes are serviceable, but low end. Something you can upgrade as funds become available. If funds don't appear, you'll still have a top notch hunting rifle that works just fine.
And a fancy, expensive rig is just that. Pretty and expensive. That's doesn't make 'em shoot better.
 
I'm going to "sort of" disagree with the first two responses. I have never thought that the pre-packaged scopes were worth the price you pay for them. Those rifles are a great value but I think you can do much better by buying the rifle and then buying your own scope separately. Personally, I would look to save a few bucks by buying the right used rifle and put that savings into better optics.
 
I also have to decide on the caliber. I see that Savage has quite a few chamberings to pick from. Like I said, my quarry will be mainly deer and pronghorn. I will be hunting in high desert type country, so the range might be long.

I would also like to employ this rifle on the occasional coyote or jackrabbit.

I have the caliber narrowed down to either the .243 Winchester or the .25-06 Remington.

Doyle, did you have bad luck with one of the package deals?

I want to thank all of you for your feedback.
 
First buy the rifle you can afford, you can upgrade later. Second I think I would go with the 25-06 because it's a long action and can be changed to just about any caliber in the future, but that may not be important to you.
 
I bought a long action package several years ago. The scope was not good. The eye piece broke off when adjusting a butler creek cap. I would add no value for the scope / mounts. IMO, the rifle alone was worth the price I paid for the combo (around $350), so no big deal.
 
I'd start with a 243 and keep the range under 300 yds until you get a lot of experience

That cartridge will be more fun to shoot often and learn with, and will do better on the smaller animals too

I suspect though, that if you are patient and have some money ready, you could find a good deal on a higher quality "combo" in a used gun for nearly the same price as a new Savage.

I've always regretted buying the one I "could afford" now instead of the one I really wanted, based on some arbitrary dollar amount

There are lots of great quality used guns for sale in gun shops,pawn shops and online, set up and ready to shoot
 
Savage is a good rifle.

The scopes included in these deals are usually pretty low end models. If you shop ebay you can find a nice used3x9 Leupold for $100-$125 (about $250 new) and these are pretty good quality.
 
I was comparing the ballistics of both cartridges. Talk about close! I see that the .25-06 has the ability to utilize heavier bullets, but the .243's bullets have a higher cross sectional density.

Which is more important?
 
Doyle, did you have bad luck with one of the package deals?
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Nope - just learned my lesson long time ago not to spend good money buying junk scopes. You might get 20 good shots out of the scope or you might get 100 but at some time in the not-to-distant future that scope WILL crap out on you and you'll be spending money again.
 
I was comparing the ballistics of both cartridges. Talk about close! I see that the .25-06 has the ability to utilize heavier bullets, but the .243's bullets have a higher cross sectional density.

Which is more important?
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Both will kill deer just fine. If you ever wanted to shoot elk, a .243 is generally considered on the light side (although it has taken many elk - especially in the hands of good hunters who are patient enough to put a bullet into the right spot). On the other hand, a .25-06 tends to have lots of muzzle blast in barrels shorter than about 24". Recoil is more pleasant with the .243 also.

Local ammo availability at your local Wallyworld or sporting goods store will probably be better with a .243.
 
The Savage package rifles are definitely hard to beat for the money. Savage offers them in many calibers and the Savage Trophy Hunter XP with/ the Nikon scope is the best deal for the money. You just pick your caliber by a box of ammo and head to the range.

As far as caliber my suggestion is 7mm-08 in a short action and .270 Win in a long action.
 
I have the caliber narrowed down to either the .243 Winchester or the .25-06 Remington.
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Either is capable of taking the game you mention and both are excellent choices in my opinion. The 243 is very popular, meaning ammo is usually carried by even small gun stores and there are many different types to choose from. The 25-06 has a cult like following for good reason but you won't find nearly as many factory loading available for it. Also, from what I've seen 243 is generally cheaper than 25-06. Let us know what you choose.
 
I plan on eventually reloading for whichever caliber I choose. I see that there are 55 grain bullets available for the .243. Wouldn't that be ballistically close to like a .22-250?
 
They may work just fine but to ME, they're not deals at all, because I believe a higher quality scope and rings are in order to match the quality of the rifle. Even a low cost rifle such as a Savage is very high quality, and needs good glass and rings to get the most out of it. If you have no time to shop for scopes and such, then get it. But if you any time at all, get some Talley rings or good steel rings/bases, and a higher quality scope, at least in the $150-$225 range for a 3-9x40ish type scope or similar.
 
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