Which rifle to buy?

Gunaholic

New member
I'm looking at the Weatherby, Remington, and Winchester. I don't want to spend more than $800. It will be in 30-06 for hunting various game.
 
For hunting critters that require 30-06 or more, I'd go Winchester Classic for the reliable controlled-feed action.
 
Where the primary intent is hunting, and the probable maximum range is no more than 300 to 400 yards, I don't think brand-name makes a bit of difference. They are all adequately accurate.

Therefore, whichever most appeals to your own aesthetics, and which fits you the best when you mount it to your shoulder.

I would give consideration to total weight, if you're a walking hunter who would cover several miles of rough country in a day. The '06 doesn't recoil enough to worry about, for hunting shots (as opposed to lengthy benchrest sessions).

Points to ponder,

Art

"Be cruel: Make somebody think."
 
I'm not sure how the dealers in your area operate----but fairly close to here the dealer basically has a policy then once something has been sitting on the rack for so long----they say get rid of it and don't care about a profit or not. So now I have 2 new Weatherby's purchased below dealer cost---1. A Lightweight Sporter with a standard cal. action that was priced at $899 for $549 and 2. An SLS Magnum Action that was priced at $1169 for $699.

The standard cal Weatherby's are especaily nice-----nice and trim and small----plus 24in barrel to get full velocity out of the cartridge---and 54 degree uplift-----fairly light weight overall.

If you can find a deal like I did---get the Weatherby---otherwise its out of your stated price range unless you get the plastic stocked one---which I didn't care for one bit----the stock seemed really cheap to me.

PS---Both of them are tack drivers.


Never had a Winchester so can't say much about them.

The Remington is another story---I've had 3 and not a single one would shoot worth a damn. You couldn't pay me enough to own another model 700---The only thing good about them is that I was able to get most of my money back when I got rid of them.
 
Choices, choices...

Weatherby is nice, I love the way it fits my cheek, but they were always too costly. I just saw a nice fluted barreled synthetic stocked variant in 7mm Weatherby Mag Mark V used for ~$500. If it was in .30-06, it would have been mine. Real Weatherby magnum ammo is expensive and not always in stock.

Winchesters are nice. The pre-64 Model 70's are classics in the truest meaning of the word. I like them for their feel (when guns were walnut and blued steel) not necessarily the controlled feed.

Post-64 Winchesters and Remington 700's are a tossup. I like the new Winchester Classics, but for deer or black bear hunting do not see an advantage to the controlled feed. I personally go Remington 700 and have 3 (.30-06 BDL, .308 PSS, .223 LTR). The triggers are highly adjustable if you are reasonable with pull weight and competent. All mine are factory stock except for torqued action screws and are MOA or better rifles with the right factory load, with the PSS being much, much better than MOA. A used 700 ADL with blind magazine can be had for under $350, although I would get a BDL with hinged floorplate. Avoid the DM (detachable magazine) models as they have had some feeding problems.

For bang for the buck, used Remington 700 (especially the long action ones as the short actions are scooped up for various varmint/tactical projects. (Leaves a lot of spare $$$ for the scope.) Then the Winchester. Finally the Weatherby. That said, I have never met an unhappy Weatherby owner so take your choice.:)
 
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