Rifle decisions

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wicat3

New member
Hey everyone. I have decided to with some tax money to buy a new hunting rifle. I have been looking at rifles for over a month and have no clue which rifle to pick and in what caliber. Just when I think I have it figured out I stumble onto a new rifle. I have narrowed it down to a few rifles and a few calibers. My budget is 600 dollars give or take. My plan is to put about 400 into the rifle and 200 for a scope. I want a bolt action rifle, something that can be handed down to my kid and last me for a long time.

The rifles I have narrowed down are the following:
T/C Venture
Savage- axis heavy barrel or axis II
Savage- 10/110 or 11/111
Ruger- American predator
marlin-x series

The calibers I have chosen is in .270 or .308
 
I don't like long action Savage rifles so I'd rule out 270 if you choose Savage. I think the Savage 11 in 308 has the most potential to be something worthy of passing down to another generation. But I think the Ruger Predator in 308 is the slightly better rifle.

You should be able to get the Ruger for $400 or near that. There are some Savage 11's with a package deal with a decent Nikon Scope in the $550 range. If you choose Ruger there are some pretty good $200 scopes. I wouldn't go under that even if it meant going slightly over budget.
 
I was thinking of a nikon pro staff or a leopold vx-1 scope. I dont mind spending a little bit over but I dont want to spend a lot over. When first looking I was sold on the ruger predator. It comes with a nice heavy barrel, can get a vortex scope package in my price range and it has great reviews. When I asked around on a ruger form though there was a lot of people suggesting going to other brands or trying to push something out of budget. It surprises me that people on a ruger forum would want to push other rifles almost as if the ruger is a bad rifle. From my research so far is the ruger and the savage 11 or savage hog hunter is the closes on the market to the two makers.
 
I think all savages are built on the same length action meaning they are all 'long' action.

The savage 10/11 series gives you good solid foundation for down the road.
On that note I also suggest the savage hog hunter. It's around $400 and has a medium contour barrel, built on 11 platform, iron sights, and no chintzy dbm to lose or break.

I would choose the 308 over the 270 but these two calibers have a ton of overlap today with modern powders and bullet technology.
 
I see alot of the houge howa rifles and some with a scope package but I have never heard of a nikko scope and the price would make it so I couldn't upgrade to a good quality scope.
 
Wicat3: First define what kind of hunting? 270 has a lot more kick than a 308. 270 is nothing more than a 30-06 with a smaller bullet in it.



All Savages are NOT long action, they were many moons ago, but no longer and not for some time.

I don't know what Jmr40 has against long action Savage, but they are perfectly fine. I have a Target 30-06 I build on one, its a sub 5/8 MOA if I am shooting decently and I am not load testing.

I am partial to them. Savage barrels are button rifled. They are decently accurate.

If I was going to buy a gun with the Heavy Barrel you want (which you either cannot get or at high cost on others) would be the Cabella Only Savage Model 10T. Savage calls it a Varmint Barrel, but in real world its one step down from a Bull target and is a good one.

Downside maybe is its not a wood stock, but Savage has $75 rebates as does Cabella so you can get $150 off. That takes it down into the $420 area.

It does not come with a scope. It does have a rail I like.

Stock is a good plastic one, not top notch but good. Rifling is a set up up as its 5 grove and R profile.

It comes with an easy to adjust trigger, 1.5 lbs for target, heavier to hunt with. You pull it out of the stock, take the supplied too, turn the screw and you are good to go.

With the upcoming drop in gun sales, there are going to be good offers.

The Cabella only 12VF is also a great deal, not as handy as the barrel is 26 inch, stock is bare bone plastic. Same good trigger.

I put my 12VF in a Boyds Laminate stock, looks good, will last forever, impervious to weather (don't hold it underwater for long periods of time)

Cabellas offers some good scopes at great prices. Make sure its a made in Japan) good optics) . One of those in 12x is on my 30-06 target rifles and I love the cross hairs (split between the finer Leuepold and the Heavier Redfield aka hunting cross).

I do have a low cost Nikon, ok, be fine for hunting but not for target shooting. Light pickup not nearly as good as the Redfield/Leopold and Cabaleas scopes.

Redfiled Revolution is a great scope. Leupold own them, not as fancy as the Luepolds but great value for the money. It would be my go to for a hunting scope and some target shooing (which I do with it)

For target I have the 12x Revolution but for hunting and random target shooting the 9X is fine.
 
Hand me down rifles, to me are about the memories, the Legacy as much as the actual rifle. My first two hunting rifles were a Winchester 670 in .243Win which I have given to me 12 year old, and a Remington 700 in .30-06 which I have given to my 15 year old. I bought them each rifles in the other caliber as well. They like the ones I hunted with, because I hunted with them when I was their age.

I bought a Ruger American Predator in .243Win for myself this year and I am very impressed with it. The Marlin and T/C are also ones I looked at as well as Savage to make sure I was getting the most bang for the buck. The price point and accuracy is hard to pass up in the Rugers. Sink every penny you have into good glass.
 
I live in upstate NY near the Canadian border. I hunt mostly deer, anything else I would be hunting would be more varmint and wouldn't use a caliber this large and more something like a 22. or a shotgun.

I looked into the m77 hawkeye today and decided it was not for me. Looking at most of the reviews one out of four backed the ruger while the other reviews basically said it wasn't worth the price tag. Heavy trigger that isn't adjustable, similar to a Winchester model 70. One reviewer said you get a better product from a savage hunting rifle then this ruger. Most of the time I take reviews with a grain of salt but after many reviews stating the gun is alright but there is better rifles out there.
 
I have a Ruger Mk2 and two Ruger Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes have a fantastic LC6 trigger that needed no adjustment from the factory. The one on my 30-06 breaks cleaner than any other trigger I own. The MK2 trigger is heavy, but tolerable. I like the LC6 better than the Ruger American trigger as it came from the factory.

But you gotta go with your gut and if your gut is steering you away from the Hawkeye, listen to it. Of the choices on your list, the Savage in a combo with that Nikon scope and a $75 rebate is a fantastic deal. You can get into one for under $450, and it's a gun that's worthy of passing down from generation to generation. They tend to be incredibly accurate and have good triggers. What calibers are you most interested in?

If you end up not buying a package, give serious consideration to the Redfield Revolution for $129. It's made in the Leupold plant in the USA and has very favorable reviews. I have two and like them as well as scopes that cost 2-3 times as much.
 
I have heard great things about the red field revolution. I was recommended that scope with the ruger predator for an all American rifle combo.

As for caliber I want something for a youth to handle. I originally wanted to keep with a caliber that I already own for the convenience of only having to buy one caliber of ammo but I have changed my mind. If I was to go with the ruger predator the only 2 choices that I would consider for hunting with would be the .243 or .308. I have leaned toward the .308 in that case. In the savage I'm open to consideration as long as it's a common caliber I can find ample stock of. I've had issues in the past trying to find ammo before so rare or off ball ammo is out of the equation
 
My experience with the guns on your list are with a Savage 110 in 270 Win (pre accu-trigger) and a Ruger American in 308.
The Savage was more accurate and in a laminate stock, the Ruger more suited to harsh environments but still plenty accurate.
If I had to pick one over the other, Savage 110 in 270, just my opinion. :D My pick for affordable glass is Weaver or Pentax, very decent optics in the $200 range.

That Ruger Hawkeye in 280 Rem, ( above ) would get my vote over both your picks.
 
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If you were me, you would look for the best used model 70 Winchester that's as close to your budget as you can find, in 270, of course, maybe settle for a 30-06, but there are plenty of 270's out there. Then, look for a deal on a Leupold 3-9×40, new or used. Insist on Walnut.
 
I've looked at the Winchester model 70 but the only thing close to being able to afford one is the Winchester xrp which is there new rifle that is in the plastic stock and looks like every other budget rifle. I would love a ruger 77 but it would have to be in a common caliber and have a super slick action. The ruger does not have great reviews which scares me.
 
If you were anywhere near south Louisiana I'd sell you a brand new Ruger American 243 with a Vortex scope for $400 if you were interested. I bought it for my grandson and decide to go a different route.
 
All Savages are NOT long action, they were many moons ago, but no longer and not for some time.
Click to expand...

The short action was introduced 50 years ago, but it is not "short". What savage does now, is limit the bolt travel and size of the cutout for loading. The throw is short, but the over all length is the same for all the actions. If this is changed, I want to see drawings.

I found this on the savage website:
https://savagearms.zendesk.com/hc/e...he-stocks-on-the-110-and-111-interchangeable-
For the most part, the stocks on the 10/110 and 11/111 are interchangeable. ... except ....
Click to expand...

I am no savage expert. Show me the proof.

CZ, Sako and maybe one other have 4 action lengths. The naming varies from company to company: First is short or mini for 223, medium or short for 308, standard or long for 30-06, and a magnum length for 416 Rigby. These are totally different over all length and parts.

I believe Remington has 3 distinct actions. Two are medium (Model 7 &700) and one is long, M700. Nothing special for the 223.

Ruger dropped the magnum, now offers two true lengths, nothing special, no mini, for the 223.

Winchester has 3 actions, but they are all the same over all length. They use the same method as Savage. The down side is the small caliber guns tend to be heavy. Upside, is stocks may interchange and is can simplify manufacturing.

Howa and Zestava make true mini actions. I dont know what else they offer.
 
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