Still a great pump gun even though it is mostly plastic, ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxh4su9YgU1tWmjikirWcKJbjsFLEU62Bc but with care it will last a long time. It would be neat if Crosman would make a commemorative version of this with real wood stock, but of course it would weigh more and cost more, but hey, it would be cool. The included scope is more of a toy, but it does work for backyard plinking. I prefer to use pellets for greater accuracy, but BBs are just as good for plinking. This is not a Red Ryder folks; fully pumped it is 3 times the power of a Red Ryder and can be dangerous if not handled properly. Be safe out there.
I got a Ruger American in 7mm-08 three years ago. It shoots sub-MOA with Hornady factory ammo. Between my son and me, we have used it to take 6 deer in three hunting seasons. It is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. It was a great purchase for my son’s first rifle.
Half moa seems to be fairly common and even less. I've done 0.34-0.38 two different groups with one and that's hole cutting hole and that impressed me!
I just bought a Ruger American in .308 for deer. It’s sub MOA at 100 yards. Plenty accurate enough for game in New England. Not need as smooth as my Remington 700 LTR but easier to carry in the woods.
If Ruger would just improve the stocks they would be top notch. The triggers are a lot lighter than the factory 77 triggers ever were. And the accuracy is there. I had quite a few 77s that were extremely temperamental in ammo selection. Some just never got there. One of favorites I have is 77 Ultralight in 7mm-08. The only ammo that one ever likes is Hornady Light Magnum. And they don't make that anymore.
My first centerfire, was a Savage Mod.340D (about $69.00 in 1967-8) in .222 Rem. It had the ubiquitous barrel nut design. It was a great, accurate shooter, but with a bolt action that was anything but smooth. Did I mention lots of stamped steel parts? It didn't matter to me as a 13 or 14 year old boy. Hell, I didn't know better. As far as I was concerned, it was the finest rifle in the world! There is a purpose for budget rifles. They were great for a boy like me who saved his paper route money every week to get his precious gun off lay away! Twenty years or so ago, I walked into an old gun shop and saw an old model 340E in .22 Hornet. I bought it, and it brought back wonderful memories for me. NEVER disrespect budget rifles. When a kid making 12-13 bucks a week, can afford a good, decent entry level rifle. It hooked me into center fire rifle shooting, hunting, reloading for life! Congrats Savage, you bought me and a bunch of my future incom for $69.00 back in the day!
The old savage and Remington budget rifle are sadly a day of the past my grandfathers savage 340 is a 30-30 and he put more deer than I can count on the table with it.
I really appreciate this conversation. There are a lot of us out here looking for that right balance between cost and "quality" (however you define it). You earned a subscriber with this one.
Hi Guys, love the podcast. Ryan, if you are looking for a rifle with a three position safety, look no further than the Howa 1500 on the table to your left. I purchased that rifle in .308 for deer hunting and that safety has given me peace of mind when walking in the woods or to my blind.
They make optics, so they're level of finish is... on a different level. Especially in budget manufacturing, you're always in a constant tug of war between "good" and "good enough", and sometimes you get more comfortable with "good enough", especially as technology may be moving forward without you, than you should be. On the other hand are companies like Leupold where "good enough" isn't in their lexicon and they end up pricing out a significant portion of their customer base. In short, I think Vortex has an excellent feel for the compromise between "good" and "good enough".
I have a Tikka T3X Lite after coming close to buying a Remington 700, but the sales person convince me that the Tikka was a better choice due to it's accuracy and finish for a comparable price. Glad I listened to him! What a great rifle!
I really like the rugers, i have one. It definitely is on the same level with my savage 110, but the ruger is probably the best bang for your buck rifle.
I have a Savage and have ran the bolt on Howas, Rugers and others. The Tikka is the best bang for your buck. I’d trade my customized Savage in a heartbeat for just a bare tikka action.
Howa 1500s are pretty popular here in Australia. They are a good budget rifle so much so I have two of them. My first rifle was a .223 Howa that I was very hard on and still to this day is a very accurate and reliable rifle.
I chose the Savage 110 Tactical (6.5CM) as a way to get involved with my local PRS crowd. Exceptional gun. Trigger can be adjusted very well. Combined with some budget glass allowed me to play the game for a very reasonable price. 😎👍
I just got done doing a TC compass budget build since I was able to pick up a 6.5CM on sale for 259 at academy. After bedding the stock and stiffening it on my own, installing a $30 muzzle brake, adding a $20 mcarbo trigger kit, and good glass, it’s a consistent .5MOA gun that has no problems ringing steel out to 600 (as far as I’ve been able to shoot it). It will never be a custom gun, but it’ll hold its own with guns that cost 5x as much. Cheap definitely isn’t synonymous with inaccurate.
The Tikka T3Xs are very popular around here too, together with the über expensive Blaser R8. Please do a talk about the mighty .222 Remington. Greetings from Germany.
I picked up a Ruger American Predator 6.5CM in a trade, a few years ago. After adding some foam rubber and duct tape for a cheek riser, and grabbing a few boxes of the cheapest soft point ammo I could find, I was breaking clays on the berm at 600 and 700 yards pretty consistently. It made 1000 yard 10"x10" quite easy too. I've often wanted to get a nicer 6.5CM, but I think this one shoots better than I can at this point, so I just can't justify it at this point.
A good example is the Tikka T3x. Adjustable trigger, accurate barrel, smooth action. An accurate rifle out of the box. Manufactured with tight tolerances so that you can drop in an aftermarket barrel from companies such as Proof Research. The Tikka T3X is relatively inexpensive because it has a plastic stock, a plastic trigger guard, plastic magazine. Adding aftermarket "bottom metal", magazine, carbon fiber stock or stock with aluminum bedding block would more than double the price of the rifle.
One of the best bolt lug patterns I have ever seen was an older Remington 788. I had one in .243 and the bolt lug design different from anything I've seen before. It had ( my memory may be off here, I sold the rifle years ago) 9 locking lugs toward the end of the bolt as they say here. It was a damn strong lockup. Smooth as hell too. Wish I still had that rifle.
Bud I had 788 rem.243 long barrel they made 2 short and long in 243 shot deer running 400 yards. In 80s I saw close to 100 deer shot with 788 Remington in 243 and 22.250
The thing I like about the budget rifles is one of the first things they discussed and thats the variety of cartridges they are available in. What they did not touch on is connected to that fact, they come in a ton of different bolt heads. That means that if you can't find the chambering you want you might still be able to find the right bolt head then all you need to do is get a new barrel and head space gages. I'm planning on building a 6arc bolt gun the problem is no one makes the right bolt head for it so I'm getting a Ruger American in 6.5 Grendel and a barrel in 6 arc.
@@mathewt767 hell yea. Absolutely rock solid. Super clear. And track 100% I’ve got 3 you got me beat lol. But they are fantastic. I had the fixed 10 on my pig gun up until this last weekend. I got a cheaper night vision deal that records also. Maybe it stays on. Maybe not lol. Probably not. I’ve beat the hell out of that scope for about 3 years now and still super true the whole time. I dialed it a few times not many just to shoot 7x39 out to 700 yards just to see what happens. It was like 42 moa if I remember right lol. And it was dead on a 24x24 over and over again. Backed it alllllllllll lol lllllllllllll the way back to zero and it was right on. Damn thing goes to like 140x140 I think. Got a 1-4 and the 3-15. All absolutely rock solid scopes. Not super well known.
One of the smoothest actions for its time was on the Remington 600. I inherited one in .308 and was amazed at how smooth an action from the 1960s could be.
I have vortex from my Barrett m82a1 down to my most Budget guns. It's what I tell everyone to get an I will continue to get. Keep doing what you're doing and I'll keep pushing your products. No issues this far.
I have a Bergara in .308 on layaway at my local sporting goods store, which I also work at in the firearm section. As for a scope, thinking of putting a Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50 on it. I eyeball it every day at work and wonder what it'll look like on my rifle 😂 probably gonna throw a tacops ammo cheek pad/pouch on the stock and call it good. Gonna be a gorgeous looking rifle that drives tacks by the time I'm done.
Love my budget compass. 15$ mcarbo spring kit and I have a 2lb trigger. Have vortex crossfire ll 6x18 and shoot 600 yards hitting 8 inch steel all day with factory ammo. Stocks not the best but it's a shooter.
My honest opinion is most factory stock rifle out shot the shooter now days. We live in a world that the perception is the more it cost the better it is! This is certainly not the case. To be able to own several calibers brands is within grasp more so these days... than pretty much any era. One thing that I myself noticed is the used rifle market is HUGE. That being said... you certainly can get more bang for the buck looking there as well. Closing thought... you all did touch base on handing firearms down... and in my opinion... the classic wood stock blued steel will always hold more value than a synthetic stocked rifle. They look great too 🙂
I bought a savage axis in 6.5 creedmoor. We put a mcarbo trigger spring kit in it. We put a one piece base with vortex precision rings and a crossfire II 4-12x44 scope on. And put a Boyds spikecamp stock on it. It shoots so nice. Nice light trigger pull and super crisp. It shoots sub moa with lots of different kinds of factory ammo. By the time we were done putting it all together. We could've bought a bergara or a Tikka. But in the end this one means more to him. Cause it's the first one we customized that much.
Long time viewer of this podcast and as someone who is getting into shooting I have learnt a lot from these podcasts so thankyou. Just wanted to bring up the mauser m18 for consideration in the budget category. Also wondering if you could do an episode on lever actions vs bolt actions for general purpose rifles. Either way keep up the great work much thanks from Australia.
Well said all. In the end, how much you spend should be relevant to application and budget. For me being a lefty who needed a deer rifle capable of 100 yards average with 150 max...The Ruger American .308 with a cheap 4x Bushnell scope is the perfect platform. Hand loads using 180 Hornady round nose bullets. All in for under $500 bucks. Plus I had no qualms about sanding the stock to ensure zero barrel interference...and a custom camo paint job. Plan to cut the barrel down to 18 inches this winter. My son is right handed...so it probably won't get handed down.....so I bought him a Remington 760 gamemaster which we will restomod this spring.
Howa is simply amazing value for money when you see the quality of them. What's even better is they also offer them just as a barrelled action for you to install into whatever stock or chassis you want. They are tremendously popular in Australia. A few years back I build a rifle on the 308 sporter action in stainless for a friend. He wanted it in one of those nice Boyds laminated stocks (the red patterned kind). I bedded the action with the barrel free floated, added a mount and plonked his choice of scope on top. We took it out to zero and after initial bore sight and zeroing at 25m we took it out to 100m for final tuning and it delivered a single ragged 50c piece sized hole with 5 shots. This was with bog standard budget Federal 150gr soft points. I have to get around to building myself one sooner or later. Probably in something like 7mm Rem Mag because I already have a 308.
Love the new lighting, part of the reason I love my percision stevens 200 build a.k.a. savage 110. Is that the initial $300.00 price point allowed me to shoot it regularly while I was adding McMillan, McGowen, timney, and the other goodies during the build.
I also have an older stevens 200, it was a great platform in the Savage 110 action, and the non accutrigger wasn't too bad, i still have it in a drawer somewhere, just in case haha
I've looked at ( and shot with) quite a few cheaper bolt guns lately. TV compass, tikka, mossberg, ruger, Savage... and then I shot the CVA cascade rifle. Honestly speaking, what a rifle! Seriously, a great gun. Compared to the rifles mentioned above, it's in a different league. It's around 450 bucks. I also have a weatherby mark V in 300 why mag, on the ultralight platform, and to be honest, I like them both equally and that gun is 2 grand... if you're looking for a really nice quality gun that's cheaper, the cva cascade is probably your best bet, at least for now
From my experience the biggest let down of reasonably priced rifle is the stock quality and the fitment, aluminium block or not... A little work is often needed to get a "full finished" product...and that's fine with me.
I agree with the stock comment, although i might add trigger as a key down too 👍 i got a remington 700 tactical in 308. The stock is okay... Very tactical looking but for my hunting needs I don't like how it fits with my cheek. The trigger pull weight i will say it's atrocious! I'm not sure if it's like they for other rifles but this one with remington is too much.
Cheap to mid guns with some home bedding and a trigger often make some of the best hunting/1000 yard weekend warrior impress your friends guns around. I’ve got a moss mvplr I just bedded the lug on and got a Timney that shoots sub to 800 or rings 12” at a 1000 over and over and over on a decent day. Kills pigs at 500 yards pretty damn well too lol. No camo no worrying about wind etc just a rangefinder and a good time.
@@alejandrogarcia3227 Depending on when your 700 was made. Can answer why they trigger is not great. Good thing with the 700 is there is no shortage of quality aftermarket option for it.
Let’s not forget, initial purchase price vs accuracy. The ruger American has shown up many custom built guns. I’ve done it myself on a stock one. Once the initial purchase is made you can literally go shoot any distance you want for such a low price. Then in a month or 5 you can buy a new drop in trigger, stock, bipod, new scope etc. It’s always hard for me to bring my hand-me-down Remington 700 bdl deluxe .270 into the woods vs a new ruger American. I only can make myself do it when I go hunt a nice deer stand with an office chair that I can drive my truck to.
Tikka Tikka Tikka. I’ve had the 770s and 700s. They don’t hold a candle. The QC is also far better than I’ve seen from the Ruger precision line or the Savage 110 line. It will be hard for me to ever buy another bolt gun that isn’t a Sako or Tikka…or maybe a CZ. I’ve just been spoiled on those European rifles now.
I had a Savage Axis 6.5CM which had an action that had the clunkiest bolt I've ever cycled and I thought I made a huge mistake buying it. I picked up a variety of factory load offerings and headed to the range. Well, that rifle made one little ragged bughole at 100 yards! I couldn't believe my eyes! I think I gave $279. Apparently that ugly-feeling floating bolthead design is why it is so accurate and is intentional with Savage. I've since swapped it out for a 6PPC Shilen barrel and a chassis and my daughter handloads and shoots with that action. She's made a lot of guys mad with that rifle. I haven't put a dime over $1000 in that and that includes Vortex optics on top of it.😁
Interesting discussion about trigger. You concentrated on adjustability and feel. You also mentioned that it might fire on closing. But you forgot to mention how a rifle might drop fire. The blade trigger is a cheap way of making sure it will not drop fire. When designing a trigger without the blade, you have make sure that by dropping it in any orientation it will not fire. The SAAMI spec for drop testing is actually fairly gentle with a foot drop on a special rubber surface with safe engaged. If you're a manufacturer you want your rifle to not drop fire in any condition otherwise you're open to litigation. When drop testing a rifle in a forensic lab I can assure you we beat the crap out of them to make sure they wouldn't drop fire and if they did we'd record under what conditions. One popular brand of rifle would discharge if the rear bridge or grip cap was given a sharp blow in almost 50% of samples. So manufacturers could choose a cheap blade system, or more expensive non blade system. All this without considering the possibility of owner adjustment.
T/C Compass is obviously the best bolt gun value given the price point and T/C is known for their barrels and triggers. You can put decent scope on one and still be under 700.
Hell yeah. I picked one up on black Friday in 30-06. Threw a 6-18x Vortex on it, a 1" Limbsaver, a stock pouch, & some camo wrap. Under 600 bucks still. Shoots awesome.
Great conversation. Being a guy that’s bought a few “budget” rifles; I’ll say that I’ll pass. For the hunters that are even only going to hunt once or twice a year, you only get one chance per season and you don’t want budget problems (which I’ve had-hand raised). It ruined your hunt and experience. A HUGE shout out to the Winchester model 70. It’s the standard production model and I have to say the upgrade is definitely tangible. If it’s good enough for dangerous game hunting and African once in a lifetime hunt....that alone says the standard...... Don’t let budget prices become hunt ruining experiences, I wish I would have stayed away from budget rifles. Great podcast and video! Buy once cry once. 👍🏻😉
I have the opposite experience. I've only ever owned one "budget rifle" in my life. It's a Mossberg Patriot in .270 Winchester with a walnut stock that came with a Vortex Crossfire II scope. Not only do I have no complaints, this rifle is my favorite, by far, of any I have owned. The polymer detachable magazine is easy to load, doesn't rattle in the rifle whether full, empty, or somewhere in between, and it provides smooth, reliable feeding, every time. The stock fits my body nicely and makes for a comfortable gun to shoot and one that is easy to shoot well from field positions. It's a 1 to 1.25 MOA rifle; plenty accurate enough for big game hunting at the distances I'm comfortable shooting it. The LBA trigger is light, crisp, and predictable. The rifle is light to carry, but not too light to keep under control with a stiff breeze blowing across the barrel. Cocking effort is light.... I even like the scope that came on it. I didn't buy mine, but if I wanted another big game rifle (and I don't see myself wanting or needing another) I'd buy another Mossberg Patriot.... Probably the Patriot Revere with the higher-grade walnut stock and contrasting rosewood grip cap and fore-end tip.
@@jerroldshelton9367 thank you for the response. Reading your response implies that you definitely put some time into what you feel your “satisfied” with. That’s great. I’m happy for you that you got what you wanted at a rate that delivers on your expectations. Perfect! No where else to go. Stick with that. Statistically, your the 1 in 100 customer that the product was meant to fulfill and have no issues. I can’t say that because I’ve not had a good experience with “multiple” purchases and a majority of consumers out there are having the same issues. I’m happy you found what works for you; stick with that. I own a savage rifle and it’s a dream. It’s a higher end platform but not super high in cost and absolutely not considered a “budget “ rifle and I wouldn’t trade that rifle for anything. Would I buy a patriot from mossberg? Probably not and the reputation says that their not very good; however, you are one in a handful of people. Yes, hand as in 5 or less that said their purchase was good on a budget rifle. As for me I’ll pass. To each their own. Thanks for the response and good luck.
@@HikeHuntHaul You appear to have far more experience with the "budget bolt action" rifles than I do. Prior to Mossberg sending me my Patriot, my own experience was limited to firing a few shots through a few different makes and models at a few industry events, and to be frank, I was content to keep it that way. Honestly, I'm not saving any significant money because I've been using an inexpensive rifle that I got for free. I don't get a discount on travel costs to and from hunting grounds, the cost of in-state and out-of-state licenses, or the cost of reloading components or ammunition because I'm toting something from the bargain bin. Nobody who actually uses a rifle really does. Over a lifetime of use, the cost of something like a Model 70 Super Grade pales in comparison to the cost of the metal one will send downrange through it. I was contemplating buying a Model 70 in .270, either a Super Grade or a Featherweight, to carry me into my twilight years, before I got offered the Patriot. I almost turned down the offer, because of this. It would be tough for me to justify buying another rifle in .270, and frankly, as versatile as the .270 is for the shooting that I do, for coyotes on up to elk, I really don't need a bigger or smaller caliber centerfire rifle. If the Patriot happened to be sufficiently accurate and function reliably, I'd be stuck with it for a while. There's more to being happy with a sporting rifle than function and accuracy, to me, at least. While I've been more than happy with my Patriot, and wouldn't presently trade it for anything else, primarily because of the stock fit and how well I shoot it in the field, I'm more on your "page" than perhaps I first appeared. I would likely be trying to talk someone in to a more "upmarket" rifle, like a WInchester Model 70 or a SAKO, than suggest they "risk it" on a Patriot. When you don't have a lot of money to spend, you certainly can't afford to waste what you've got on inferior goods that fail to satisfy. My particular Patriot might have come out as perfect as one can imagine an example being made, but that being said, I have my doubts that they ALL roll out that good because the low price seems to preclude a lot of time spent on attention to detail. I don't have that same doubt about things like Model 70 Winchesters, Mark V Weatherby rifles, or SAKOs, to name a few. Less risk of problems there, I should think.
Yea if you are gonna pay for hunts or travel etc probably better to spend the money on quality. But that being said my ruger American in 762x39 shoots 1” at 125 yard zero. Cheap 154 grain tullammo. Never a hiccup in 7 years.
I also own two (2) of the TC Compass. The 308 I have will put 20 rounds inside an inch with hand loads. The trigger is also more adjustable than tbe lawyers will admit. Very pleased with that piece of equipment.
I handled a bunch of rifles, looking for something for my dad for a new deer rifle. Family wanted to get him one for Christmas and I was in charge of finding one. I kept coming back to the winchester xpr in that price range. The stock feels nicer than most budget stocks, the trigger, while not as light as some, has absolutely zero creep, and the factory cerakote barrel and action looks great and keeps rust away. It shoots .75 MOA steadily and dad loves it. However coming from an older model 70, he could definitely feel they aren't made as well. But it's a whole 2 pounds lighter, so for him it's worth it
I have always bought the budget rifles and neither have failed me. I like my Savage Axis .270 and I love my Ruger American. 308. I am at the stage of my life where I want to splurge a few thousand dollars on a gun and optic though and the Tikka T3X is the manufacturer I have decided on. Now, I can't make up my mind on caliber and optics though.
I love my savage 12fv cabelas special ! Got it on sale for 329.99 heavy barrel but crap stock. Clipped 3/4 coil out of the trigger spring and shoots lights out! JB weld in the forend stiffened up the stock.
Love your podcasts...pretty much always. I’ve ordered a Bergara HMR Wilderness in 6.5. Would love a follow up video on scopes to match these “budget” rifles. For many of us dropping $1k on a rifle, getting binos, range finders, etc etc etc it ends up nearly leading to divorce lol. I know depends on application, but love the conversations on value. Will be shooting deer to 300 yards, might push to 400 in perfect conditions. But also with the HMR can hit plates at 1000. Thanks!
CZ 557. Around 750-800 dollar price range and it's a wonderful. I prefer the overall fit finish and feel over my tikka. It just feels right and shoots great.
Wish you guys spend more time on the Howa rifle, great workmanship, very accurate and reliable, 3 way safety and 2 stage trigger that's very smooth and light, great out of the box but better in a chassis
Although it’s unrelated to this particular video, I know you guys always mention that you never get requests for the larger calibers. Could you please do a talk about the 444 marlin?
I love Tikka with all it's options. Even though the Hunter model with the wood stock is just a small bit more more money, it is well worth it if you want a nice looking rifle. Added Bonus, the Tikka rifles are beautifully consistent.
For the money I love the Ruger American Predator 308. I put a thumbhole green Boyds stock on mine to give it some weight and its fast becoming my favorite gun!
I know you are an optics company but what do you guys think about open sights you walk into a gun store and you don't see any guns with open sights my father wouldn't buy me a scope until I was capable of shooting with open sights
My Wife's Ruger American in .270 Win shoots 3/4" 5-shot groups with Federal Classic 150s. It's trigger is fantastically crisp and consistent. She's killed everything she's ever aimed it at! You can pay a hell of a lot more and get a lot less.
Guy's, where's the Savage ? I own a M700 Tactical in 308, a T3x in 7mm/08 and a Ruger American Ranch in 450BM so when a friend offered me a worse for wear standard Savage Axis in 270 Win I was a little hesitant until he mentioned the $125 price. I figured a quick flip until I cleaned it (multiple applications of JB Bore Paste), worked the bolt (smooth as butter) and shot it, groups at 100 that you could cover with a quarter. I had to see what I could do with it. A new 4x12 Diamondback went on top, a $20 trigger kit from M*Carbo in Clearwater, Fla. dropped the trigger from 5 lb. to 2.5 lb. and I removed the barrel and action from the stock, drilled holes through the webbing in the forend and filled it with liquid epoxy. Besides the scope, $50 in parts and a couple hours of work and that Savage ended up shooting lights out, very sub-moa. The nice part is I bought a 243 barrel for it, installed it in less than an hour with a precision ground recoil lug ($40) and I was out after groundhogs. It received a cheap camo job with cans of bow paint and now sits behind the seat of my truck. The point is that highly accurate rifles are available today for hunting at rock bottom prices and at least for the Axis there is a cheap remedy for a heavy trigger that takes 1/2 hour to install. My other rifles came ready out of the box but at a much higher price point which would be the way to go for the average guy but even an entry level firearm can give great performance especially compared to 20 years ago. Now I just need that 26" heavy barrel in 6.5CM ........
Always love the unsponsored and honest insight the Vortex podcast gives. They have been slightly partial to the Ruger American. I assume that’s because most listeners/watchers of the podcast own a Ruger American. The addition of what I would consider a mid price range rifle like the Tikka is going to make the show even more enjoyable IMO.
Off topic. Sorry I couldn't make it in person. Just came back from the range. Test fired a full 16" 300 HAM'R Ruger American Ranch MDT XRS, Timney trigger, SiCo Omega 9k suppressor, modified conversion, and a neat lil 11.3" 300 HAM'R SBR. Both ran great, accurate as expected. Never built a bolt gun before. Built plenty of ARs. Was an NSW Armorer, so I have a clue. ARs are boring. I'm now currently in love with bolt guns, at least the one I just built. I'm not sure what budget means once a barreled action into a chassis, but holy crap what an exponential improvement in all aspects of the shooting experience. Other than the stock, for the most part, bolt action receivers as all the same. I don't know what the hype is surrounding the Remington 700.
My Savage 16 had an Accutrigger, it started to freeze when sending the bolt forward. Did some research and it has to do with adjustment spring. It’s apparently a very common issue yet Savage refuses to fix it. Rather than deal with Savage’s customer service, which in my experience has been the worst I’ve known. I dropped a Timney in it. Problem solved, but here’s the issue of spending beyond the budget of the initial cost. Should’ve bought a Ruger.
My Mossberg Patriot was difficult to shoot at first, even with a Limbsaver pre-fit pad. I was never getting a reliable 1 MOA. Mossberg does not have a 1 MOA guarantee. Put that in an MDT chassis, the scope I am most comfortable with and a clamp on brake from Kahntrol Solutions and Pachmayr Decelerator. Total reduction of about 80 percent recoil. Now, it feels like a hair above a 5.56. The factory synthetic stock at Mossberg for the Patriot series has a gap in the rear action screw guide. I have no idea why. And the plastic mag well that is a separate piece, is not made to take a lot of torque. You will never torque down that screw properly. This can allow the rear of the action to move. You would be lucky to be on paper at 100 yards, like the experience of the Backfire channel. Problem is, like others here, changing and modifying, we have left the realm of "budget rifle." However, do not get me wrong. Budget rifes in a good stock are fine. My TC Compass II, fresh out of the box, all I did was drag a snake through and put some grease on the bolt, shot 1/2 inch, measured with a measuring tape, at 100 yards at an outdoor range. The TC factory stock has some flex but the action sits on the aluminum bedding screws. I added stuff to make a higher cheek, changed to a Falcon Strike hydraulic pad. Very comfortable. Then I put it in an Oryx. I like chassis systems. Still have 1/2 MOA. So, the rifle was 400. Orx was about 430 ish. Still spending less than a grand. Your 500 dollar optic will make the total lay out around 1,300, which is not bad, at all for a good rifle that you can take hunting. There are rifles put together like that, already, and they cost a bit more. And, in some cases, are heavier. I once hunted with my Mossberg MVP with the medium bull barrel. That was kind of heavy but I did it. But then, all of my rifles end up weighing around 12 to 13 pounds. I would rather carry another pound and have a comfortable rifle than a 6 pound rifle with PITA small optics and kick that hurts so much than I cannot practice. Part of what makes my Compass II .308 Win consistently .5 MOA is me practicing fundamentals. When I zero the rifle, it is not in a lead sled. forearm on a rest, butt against my shoulder, that is my hunting posture. So, I cannot take a table and lead sled deer hunting. I need to be good on my shoulder. So, when it comes to buying a budget rifle, I would say that we should get the best price that we can because we need to budget putting it in a different stock, whether that is a chassis or a Boyd's or even a KRG Bravo. Or McMillan, whichever you prefer. Just consider that part of the budget. Outside of that, these cheap rifles come out and mostly, they will shoot and if you are at 70 yards in your aunt's milo pasture, you just might make it.
My build is a gen 1 Savage Axis Heavy Barrel 308. I consistently out shoot $2,000 guns with this model. Timmy trigger and chassis system on a $200 rifle.
I feel like if you buy a budget rifle and it shoots well, you’ll be pretty happy unless you compare it to more expensive rifles. I bought a venture ii in 300 mag and I can’t get over how well the magazine goes in comes out and feeds ammo. It works smoother than any other rifle I have. I spent more on the scope than I did on the rifle. It has a moa guarantee. It feels good, has a great trigger that resembles the accutrigger. Threaded muzzle, creacoated or something similar, hogue grips on the pistol grip and forearm, etc, etc. I will only use this rifle for elk hunting and that’s not going to be very often. My car makes me happy until I start looking at all the options on the latest model.
I remember my jump from my first bolt rifle 8mm ger.98 with almost 2" play in the trigger and the bad habits of pulling the slack out will bringing it up, my new m77 in 300 win. Mag after break in and sight in tried pull up shot and about 1-2" off the shoulder tried to take the non-slack out of the trigger. I will never forget that lesson. It is a nice trigger I just respect it more.
My definition of budget rifle is the following: Finding and purchasing made in USA $900 MSRP brand new rifle for 50% of that price. Adding a brand new Leupold scope with a quality scope mount and rings of my choice. I've done this multiple times without the need to purchase subpar budget combo rifles at $400 to $600 MSRP. I've purchased lightly used $1800 MSRP Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight in 338-06 A-Square for $800. Adding a lightly used $200 Leupold VX-III 3.5-10X40MM scope with standard steel Leupold base and rings. This rifle is my Thor's hammer and inexpensive to reload using 30-06 Springfield brass. This setup is also made in USA.
Hi guys This one, is for Ryan, I think that your dream safety that you are describing is a Sako 85 safety. I think that it's the best safety ever..! aldo the rifle isn't a "budget" rifle. Thanks for a awesome channel, i love to follow you here on youtube. Im one of your listeners from outside the states, i'm from Denmark. :)
I've shot with a guy that had a savage 10 or 110. Not for sure. But it had the blade. And he pulled just the shoe with a live round in pointed in a safe direction. The gun went click. But no detonation. Which he was raving about against my jewel. Both our triggers are light. But he was saying it's a light trigger and still safe for hunting. I was impressed with the safety of it. It's there for a reason.
Buddy talking about the tikka safety I couldn’t agree more. Own a tikka, love the gun, hated making it live to unload. I also own an X-bolt love the 2 pos safety with bolt release, but I like my tikka more. I ordered a trigger from their Tac A1/arctic models, and that trigger group includes an integrated bolt release when the tikka is on safe. Best upgrade I’ve made to that gun.
Own several Savage Axis & II's. All in factory stocks though none of them "stock". Bolts all have been upgraded with bolt lift kits, extractor/ejector upgrade kits, and bolt handles changed out to tactical style. All total on bolt mods $100. A little Arkansas hard stone work on the race-ways and polishing of lug bolts lead locking / aft crown edges and now the bolt freely opens and goes to battery (less cam-locking) with simply rocking the firearm to-and-froe. Feed ramps radiused and polished. The factory stock fore ends were filled with ROCKITE to remove fore end flex and are as rigid as you could want. The barrel channels were bedded 1 1/2" ahead of the recoil lug. All mounts were changed to EGW rails and then bedded. Rings were lapped to 80% minimum contact. A $10 LIMBSAVER barrel tuner goes a LONG way in achieving maximum accuracy with "factory" ammo also. (You'll have to re-tune the barrel each time you change ammo / manufacturers so keep records). Budget gun ($300-ish) yes, with ~ $160 in upgrade "parts", a little sweat equity and your pew-pew will be in the $1K range. I KNOW.., I've DONE it.., REPEATEDLY.
In pa we had 2 savage axis 243s both were cutting dullet holes at 100yards in Pennsylvania we kill deer every year your fooling yourself u think you need expensive guns. Or your city boys
I have Sako A7 soft touch with a Vortex Diamondback hp 4×16,42mm. It's my favorite gun, chambered in 25 06 Remington. Smooth bolt, great trigger, match grade real stainless steel barrel. It does have the bolt button on top that allows you to cycle the bolt while the trigger remains locked. Great gun I paid 1200 for it in Canada with a Burris E1 fullfield 3×9, 40mm included. Swapped out the Burris for the Diamondback and I couldn't be happier they're a match, great deer, pronghorn rifle.
Both my brother and I love the Savage Axis platform. Have yet to have any kind of performance issues. Only thing’s we’ve upgraded have been the scopes on them up to various Vortex optics.
The Bergara price wise is above the Tikka T3x lites. I have been considering one of their southpaw rifle for a while now ( have a Tikka T3x hunter and vintage Savage at the moment ). I like everything I am hearing about the Bergaras though.
I have a Savage VT (paid $450) in 243 that I bought new 5 years ago, shot 600 yds weekly with it, mostly 6” groups. Rebarreled it in 6.5 CM for $500 this past summer. Now it shoots 3” and 4” groups. It is now me not the gun. I shoot on a bipod. Adding a quality barrel made a world of difference. Great investment. I use a vortex 6 x 20 scope, need to upgrade ... I know that will Improve my accuracy significantly.
the safety on the blaser r8 is a big reason why that's my next rifle. if you manipulate it a certain way you can open the bolt without taking it off safe. it's also a decocker, so when it's on safe, it's very safe. also, when it's moved to the fire position it activates an illuminated reticle on compatible scopes (blaser/zeiss/swarovski)
Huh a clicker pen spring cut back and installed in a Ruger American and polished is one of the finest factory triggers I have owned. Take about a half hour and no money. Really makes a difference in pull and smoothness.
I love my 400$ savage 30-06. It came with a 3x9 scope. My only "upgrade" was that I bought 4 extra magazines so i can pretend it's a .308 battle rifle. I actually found this podcast researching the savage 110 elite precision. Thanks for mentioning that it's a good value.
Never been a fan myself but I’ve heard of people who love them and shoot great. I just struggle to go with one being I’ve shot a few and it seems their quality control isn’t great. Almost flipping a coin with one of those imo.
I had a buddy with a Remington 700 chambered in .260. He installed a Timney trigger, and we adjusted it too about 32-36 ounces. He was in the stand, put the scope on a deer, took the safety off, and click. Gun fired. Luckily he didn't have a round chambered. But we went back and readjusted the poundage. And this man is very well experienced in firearms. So I see the advantages of a two stage, or a safety trigger for novice shooters. Great Co tent, and points here guys!
I have more than a couple of $1000.00+ rifles. I am absolutely in “LUST” with both of my Ruger #1s, HOWEVER….I cringe, every time I grab one and expose that beautiful wood to the elements. I just bought a Ruger American in .243, so I won’t have to worry too much about dinging the finish or scraping it while climbing into the deer stand, AND…it shoots sub-inch groups with factory ammo. I couldn’t be happier with a gun that’s just as accurate as high dollar rifles for under $500.00. Just remember what you’re getting with one of these rifles. I’ve gone through my “best in class” phase of gun buying. If you were blindfolded, you couldn’t tell the difference anyway. They’re not made for beauty pageants, they’re built to be functional and reliable, and the American (Axis too) is awesomely light and accurate.
01:02:00 James was thinking of the Mossberg LC series. Stands for Light Chassis, specifically built for long range with handguard with picatinny rail on top for adding other stuff. Adjustable cheek rise and length of pull. I have the Mossberg MVP Long Range Thunder Ranch Kuiu Camo in .308 Win (the barrel is stamped 7.62 x 51 mm NATO.) Edited to add, I just took my Mossberg Patriot and put it in an MDT Chassis, LLS gen 2 (the same one they use for the LV rifle system.) A lot of budget rifles don't have much bedding and there is certainly not exact fitment in seating the action in the stock. In go the two action screws, tightened to spec and on you go. So, then, one should pay attention to spec. A really cheap rifle that is made well is the Thompson Center Compass and now, Compass II. They have aluminum bedding blocks and pillars in set in the plastic stock. So, you get the inexpensive stock, but you do have a better seating and they guarantee 1 MOA on the first 3 shots (before the barrel heats up.) The threaded barrel is heavy, which will stand up to repeated fire better.
Although I desired a Tikka for this hunting season, I went with the Ruger and slapped a VTX Viper, haven't taken it to the range yet, but after watching this video, I have great reassurance that I didn't make a horrible purchase. Thanks Team!
This was awesome I'm a walnut stock fan myself 👌 I have a mossberg patriot in 270 win and last week I upgraded to a 300wsm tikka T3 hunter the patriot had a vortex combo and was an amazing gun for the price it will be my son's first gun soon!
I have 2 Savage Axis rifles, a 243 and a 308. MCarbo makes a simple, cheap trigger spring kit that drops the trigger pull to a crisp 2.5 to 3.5# release. Both are deadly accurate. Plus a Mossberg Trophy Hunter (ATR with a. 4x4 box mag), in 270. Also quite accurate with a very nice trigger.
I had another thought related to the video, especially when Jimmy was talking about his built up Ruger and what to do with it. My brother-in-law shoots long range competitions and used a budget Savage 110 hunting rifle (possibly his first rifle, if I remember correctly) to build a competition rifle. Different stock, upgraded trigger, different barrel, etc. Fast forward a few years and he has a dedicated/custom built gun and didn’t know what to do with the FrankenSavage. He had kept all the stock parts so he and I took it back to stock. Now he has his old hunting rifle back and quite a story to go with it…something to consider Jimmy, as it sounds like you might have moved on from the Ruger.
I got a TC venture dirt cheap new but old stock. S&W sent me a free bigger firing pin spring, I bought a better bolt handle for $60 and an ebay trigger spring 1.5 pounds for $9.00. Heck of a gun now and only about $300 invested total. Very accurate, they came with MOA guarantee.
So what I've gleaned from this excellent discussion is 1) taking you're "budget gun" to a good gun Smith, and have them clean up the bolt, to a higher finish standard, would be the best money spent, to improve the gun.
I am an european hunter and I'm thankful to american gun manufacturers for their budget rifles quality! If anything, they did forced euro gun makers to check their prices. Im about to by german, Suhl made rifle for less 900 euro and that's golden! If we had backcountry hunting like in US, Canada, New Zealand I would definately consider Weatherby or Ruger, but right now I dont see models that fit my needs as the german or austrian guns for hunting in Europe.
I dipped my toes into f class with a Ruger American predator. I’m not finishing first in the practical division but I’m not finishing last it is very capable of accuracy. Have an action for a custom rifle now.
I got a timney trigger for my RAP on sale for 120, I'm pretty sure they retail for 150, the best thing imo to compare the American to is the precision, and there's a lot more you can do with the American, they're both basically the same rifle, and you can set up the American the way you want for what a precision costs right out of the box, and thats including a timney trigger, they aren't a winchester model 70 or a cheytac or barrett or anything like that, but the average person can afford it, modify it as they see fit, and have a sub half moa rifle that looks cool and feels good (if you polish the bolt) to boot
I have the savage access ll mdt Chassie bolt gun . Could not find it in 6.5 But I found it in 243 Ballistic wise It is about the same as a 6.5 Is until about eight hundred yards.then 243 starts to dropping off . Absolutely love your podcast and your wealth of knowledge keep up the good work guys. Sincerely the Baker family in maine
Winchester XP I think has a safety that is just like what Ryan described. I personally prefer the 3 position safety of Model 70's, Ruger 77's, or Kimbers.
Just like any Mauser since 1898. That's why it's called the "Mauser action". Along with other functions like push feeding, cocking the firing pin on opening the bolt, decocking the firing pin by holding down the trigger while closing the bolt, two locking lug, etc.
Still a great pump gun even though it is mostly plastic, ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxh4su9YgU1tWmjikirWcKJbjsFLEU62Bc but with care it will last a long time. It would be neat if Crosman would make a commemorative version of this with real wood stock, but of course it would weigh more and cost more, but hey, it would be cool. The included scope is more of a toy, but it does work for backyard plinking. I prefer to use pellets for greater accuracy, but BBs are just as good for plinking. This is not a Red Ryder folks; fully pumped it is 3 times the power of a Red Ryder and can be dangerous if not handled properly. Be safe out there.
I got a Ruger American in 7mm-08 three years ago. It shoots sub-MOA with Hornady factory ammo. Between my son and me, we have used it to take 6 deer in three hunting seasons. It is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. It was a great purchase for my son’s first rifle.
What a wonderful budget rifle. I’ve gotten my 6.5cm down to .5moa on good days. Fantastic rifle and I cannot recommend it enough.
Half moa seems to be fairly common and even less.
I've done 0.34-0.38 two different groups with one and that's hole cutting hole and that impressed me!
I just bought a Ruger American in .308 for deer. It’s sub MOA at 100 yards. Plenty accurate enough for game in New England. Not need as smooth as my Remington 700 LTR but easier to carry in the woods.
If Ruger would just improve the stocks they would be top notch. The triggers are a lot lighter than the factory 77 triggers ever were. And the accuracy is there. I had quite a few 77s that were extremely temperamental in ammo selection. Some just never got there. One of favorites I have is 77 Ultralight in 7mm-08. The only ammo that one ever likes is Hornady Light Magnum. And they don't make that anymore.
@@jefferytillis8309 adding a chassis or decent stock costs more than the base rifle sometimes with stock.
My first centerfire, was a Savage Mod.340D (about $69.00 in 1967-8) in
.222 Rem. It had the ubiquitous barrel nut design. It was a great, accurate shooter, but with a bolt action that was anything but smooth. Did I mention lots of stamped steel parts?
It didn't matter to me as a 13 or 14 year old boy. Hell, I didn't know better. As far as I was concerned, it was the finest rifle in the world!
There is a purpose for budget rifles. They were great for a boy like me who saved his paper route money every week to get his precious gun off lay away!
Twenty years or so ago, I walked into an old gun shop and saw an old model 340E in .22 Hornet. I bought it, and it brought back wonderful memories for me.
NEVER disrespect budget rifles. When a kid making 12-13 bucks a week, can afford a good, decent entry level rifle.
It hooked me into center fire rifle shooting, hunting, reloading for life!
Congrats Savage, you bought me and a bunch of my future incom for $69.00 back in the day!
The old savage and Remington budget rifle are sadly a day of the past my grandfathers savage 340 is a 30-30 and he put more deer than I can count on the table with it.
I really appreciate this conversation. There are a lot of us out here looking for that right balance between cost and "quality" (however you define it). You earned a subscriber with this one.
Hi Guys, love the podcast. Ryan, if you are looking for a rifle with a three position safety, look no further than the Howa 1500 on the table to your left. I purchased that rifle in .308 for deer hunting and that safety has given me peace of mind when walking in the woods or to my blind.
I find it incredibly interesting that Vortex is able to comment on these characteristics that the manufacturer themselves may not even be aware of.
They make optics, so they're level of finish is... on a different level. Especially in budget manufacturing, you're always in a constant tug of war between "good" and "good enough", and sometimes you get more comfortable with "good enough", especially as technology may be moving forward without you, than you should be. On the other hand are companies like Leupold where "good enough" isn't in their lexicon and they end up pricing out a significant portion of their customer base.
In short, I think Vortex has an excellent feel for the compromise between "good" and "good enough".
My TC Compass in 5.56/223, printed off a bench & bi-pod under 1/2" at 100yds with bulk ammo, not steel cased.
I couldn't be happier!
Gabby
Bergara is where it's at. Yes I am now a Bergara fanboy and for a reason.
I have a Tikka T3X Lite after coming close to buying a Remington 700, but the sales person convince me that the Tikka was a better choice due to it's accuracy and finish for a comparable price. Glad I listened to him! What a great rifle!
I really like the rugers, i have one. It definitely is on the same level with my savage 110, but the ruger is probably the best bang for your buck rifle.
I have a Savage and have ran the bolt on Howas, Rugers and others. The Tikka is the best bang for your buck. I’d trade my customized Savage in a heartbeat for just a bare tikka action.
Ruger’s are cheap get what you pay for
@@jonfisher9960 well a ruger american is cheap, but it works. Now a ruger No.1 or an M77 hawkeye is an expensive gun.
@@jhamelin119 Ruger was much better when Bill was alive period
Totally agree. The Hawkeye is crap. The M77 MK II's were fantastic.
Howa 1500s are pretty popular here in Australia. They are a good budget rifle so much so I have two of them. My first rifle was a .223 Howa that I was very hard on and still to this day is a very accurate and reliable rifle.
Same in South Africa, it's the most popular first-time/budget/semi custom firearm, and it's also the cheapest
I chose the Savage 110 Tactical (6.5CM) as a way to get involved with my local PRS crowd. Exceptional gun. Trigger can be adjusted very well. Combined with some budget glass allowed me to play the game for a very reasonable price. 😎👍
Right on - that's awesome!
I just got done doing a TC compass budget build since I was able to pick up a 6.5CM on sale for 259 at academy. After bedding the stock and stiffening it on my own, installing a $30 muzzle brake, adding a $20 mcarbo trigger kit, and good glass, it’s a consistent .5MOA gun that has no problems ringing steel out to 600 (as far as I’ve been able to shoot it). It will never be a custom gun, but it’ll hold its own with guns that cost 5x as much. Cheap definitely isn’t synonymous with inaccurate.
My compass outshoots my Cooper and even a couple Semi Customs
Love my Compass in 270Win. I added a Nikon scope and it shoots awesome.
Future plans are either stiffening the stock, or maybe even a Boyds.
The Tikka T3Xs are very popular around here too, together with the über expensive Blaser R8.
Please do a talk about the mighty .222 Remington.
Greetings from Germany.
Don't need to convince me..., used to shoot one in Remington 788. Uber accurate and fastest lock-time still.
SAKO!! BROTHER!!
I picked up a Ruger American Predator 6.5CM in a trade, a few years ago. After adding some foam rubber and duct tape for a cheek riser, and grabbing a few boxes of the cheapest soft point ammo I could find, I was breaking clays on the berm at 600 and 700 yards pretty consistently. It made 1000 yard 10"x10" quite easy too. I've often wanted to get a nicer 6.5CM, but I think this one shoots better than I can at this point, so I just can't justify it at this point.
A good example is the Tikka T3x. Adjustable trigger, accurate barrel, smooth action. An accurate rifle out of the box. Manufactured with tight tolerances so that you can drop in an aftermarket barrel from companies such as Proof Research.
The Tikka T3X is relatively inexpensive because it has a plastic stock, a plastic trigger guard, plastic magazine. Adding aftermarket "bottom metal", magazine, carbon fiber stock or stock with aluminum bedding block would more than double the price of the rifle.
Or just get an xbolt
Or just being a left handed shooter will increase the Tikka on you lol.
Got my T3x Hunter used, saving me $250-$300.
I do like it.
One of the best bolt lug patterns I have ever seen was an older Remington 788. I had one in .243 and the bolt lug design different from anything I've seen before. It had ( my memory may be off here, I sold the rifle years ago) 9 locking lugs toward the end of the bolt as they say here. It was a damn strong lockup. Smooth as hell too. Wish I still had that rifle.
Bud I had 788 rem.243 long barrel they made 2 short and long in 243 shot deer running 400 yards. In 80s I saw close to 100 deer shot with 788 Remington in 243 and 22.250
Someone need to buy the patent and produce them again
@@vtwinaddicted5852 yeah and they’d cost 2 grand
@@guaporeturns9472 not with modern machinery
@@vtwinaddicted5852 With modern gouging.. aka “capitalism”
The thing I like about the budget rifles is one of the first things they discussed and thats the variety of cartridges they are available in. What they did not touch on is connected to that fact, they come in a ton of different bolt heads. That means that if you can't find the chambering you want you might still be able to find the right bolt head then all you need to do is get a new barrel and head space gages. I'm planning on building a 6arc bolt gun the problem is no one makes the right bolt head for it so I'm getting a Ruger American in 6.5 Grendel and a barrel in 6 arc.
Now let's hear about best budget scopes to pair with these rifles
Check out the primary arms FFP 4 × 14 × 44 arc 2. Great glass, great price! You won't be disappointed.
Swfa
@@mathewt767 my man 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@@MrT13
Best scopes I've ever used. I have 5 of them.
@@mathewt767 hell yea. Absolutely rock solid. Super clear. And track 100% I’ve got 3 you got me beat lol. But they are fantastic. I had the fixed 10 on my pig gun up until this last weekend. I got a cheaper night vision deal that records also. Maybe it stays on. Maybe not lol. Probably not. I’ve beat the hell out of that scope for about 3 years now and still super true the whole time. I dialed it a few times not many just to shoot 7x39 out to 700 yards just to see what happens. It was like 42 moa if I remember right lol. And it was dead on a 24x24 over and over again. Backed it alllllllllll lol lllllllllllll the way back to zero and it was right on. Damn thing goes to like 140x140 I think. Got a 1-4 and the 3-15. All absolutely rock solid scopes. Not super well known.
One of the smoothest actions for its time was on the Remington 600. I inherited one in .308 and was amazed at how smooth an action from the 1960s could be.
I have vortex from my Barrett m82a1 down to my most Budget guns. It's what I tell everyone to get an I will continue to get. Keep doing what you're doing and I'll keep pushing your products. No issues this far.
Bergara is doing alot of things right lately. Nice rifles!
And they are offering their rifles in lefty too. I have been thinking about picking one up
I have a Bergara in .308 on layaway at my local sporting goods store, which I also work at in the firearm section. As for a scope, thinking of putting a Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50 on it. I eyeball it every day at work and wonder what it'll look like on my rifle 😂 probably gonna throw a tacops ammo cheek pad/pouch on the stock and call it good. Gonna be a gorgeous looking rifle that drives tacks by the time I'm done.
Savage has really upped their game in the space. I saw one the other day, and I was really impressed with the rifle.
Savages flat kick ass period.
Love my budget compass. 15$ mcarbo spring kit and I have a 2lb trigger. Have vortex crossfire ll 6x18 and shoot 600 yards hitting 8 inch steel all day with factory ammo. Stocks not the best but it's a shooter.
My honest opinion is most factory stock rifle out shot the shooter now days.
We live in a world that the perception is the more it cost the better it is! This is certainly not the case.
To be able to own several calibers brands is within grasp more so these days... than pretty much any era.
One thing that I myself noticed is the used rifle market is HUGE. That being said... you certainly can get more bang for the buck looking there as well.
Closing thought... you all did touch base on handing firearms down... and in my opinion... the classic wood stock blued steel will always hold more value than a synthetic stocked rifle. They look great too 🙂
I bought a savage axis in 6.5 creedmoor. We put a mcarbo trigger spring kit in it. We put a one piece base with vortex precision rings and a crossfire II 4-12x44 scope on. And put a Boyds spikecamp stock on it. It shoots so nice. Nice light trigger pull and super crisp. It shoots sub moa with lots of different kinds of factory ammo. By the time we were done putting it all together. We could've bought a bergara or a Tikka. But in the end this one means more to him. Cause it's the first one we customized that much.
Long time viewer of this podcast and as someone who is getting into shooting I have learnt a lot from these podcasts so thankyou. Just wanted to bring up the mauser m18 for consideration in the budget category. Also wondering if you could do an episode on lever actions vs bolt actions for general purpose rifles. Either way keep up the great work much thanks from Australia.
Well said all. In the end, how much you spend should be relevant to application and budget. For me being a lefty who needed a deer rifle capable of 100 yards average with 150 max...The Ruger American .308 with a cheap 4x Bushnell scope is the perfect platform. Hand loads using 180 Hornady round nose bullets. All in for under $500 bucks. Plus I had no qualms about sanding the stock to ensure zero barrel interference...and a custom camo paint job. Plan to cut the barrel down to 18 inches this winter. My son is right handed...so it probably won't get handed down.....so I bought him a Remington 760 gamemaster which we will restomod this spring.
Howa is simply amazing value for money when you see the quality of them.
What's even better is they also offer them just as a barrelled action for you to install into whatever stock or chassis you want.
They are tremendously popular in Australia.
A few years back I build a rifle on the 308 sporter action in stainless for a friend. He wanted it in one of those nice Boyds laminated stocks (the red patterned kind). I bedded the action with the barrel free floated, added a mount and plonked his choice of scope on top.
We took it out to zero and after initial bore sight and zeroing at 25m we took it out to 100m for final tuning and it delivered a single ragged 50c piece sized hole with 5 shots. This was with bog standard budget Federal 150gr soft points.
I have to get around to building myself one sooner or later. Probably in something like 7mm Rem Mag because I already have a 308.
Love the new lighting, part of the reason I love my percision stevens 200 build a.k.a. savage 110. Is that the initial $300.00 price point allowed me to shoot it regularly while I was adding McMillan, McGowen, timney, and the other goodies during the build.
I also have an older stevens 200, it was a great platform in the Savage 110 action, and the non accutrigger wasn't too bad, i still have it in a drawer somewhere, just in case haha
I've looked at ( and shot with) quite a few cheaper bolt guns lately. TV compass, tikka, mossberg, ruger, Savage... and then I shot the CVA cascade rifle. Honestly speaking, what a rifle! Seriously, a great gun. Compared to the rifles mentioned above, it's in a different league. It's around 450 bucks. I also have a weatherby mark V in 300 why mag, on the ultralight platform, and to be honest, I like them both equally and that gun is 2 grand... if you're looking for a really nice quality gun that's cheaper, the cva cascade is probably your best bet, at least for now
From my experience the biggest let down of reasonably priced rifle is the stock quality and the fitment, aluminium block or not... A little work is often needed to get a "full finished" product...and that's fine with me.
I agree with the stock comment, although i might add trigger as a key down too 👍 i got a remington 700 tactical in 308. The stock is okay... Very tactical looking but for my hunting needs I don't like how it fits with my cheek. The trigger pull weight i will say it's atrocious! I'm not sure if it's like they for other rifles but this one with remington is too much.
Cheap to mid guns with some home bedding and a trigger often make some of the best hunting/1000 yard weekend warrior impress your friends guns around. I’ve got a moss mvplr I just bedded the lug on and got a Timney that shoots sub to 800 or rings 12” at a 1000 over and over and over on a decent day. Kills pigs at 500 yards pretty damn well too lol. No camo no worrying about wind etc just a rangefinder and a good time.
@@alejandrogarcia3227…both the stock flex as well as any trigger issues can be taken care of by searching for M*CARBO UPGRADE SETS
@@bisleyblackhawk1288 I'll look into that... I modified my stock trigger a few months ago but I'm open to improvements always
@@alejandrogarcia3227 Depending on when your 700 was made. Can answer why they trigger is not great. Good thing with the 700 is there is no shortage of quality aftermarket option for it.
Let’s not forget, initial purchase price vs accuracy. The ruger American has shown up many custom built guns. I’ve done it myself on a stock one. Once the initial purchase is made you can literally go shoot any distance you want for such a low price. Then in a month or 5 you can buy a new drop in trigger, stock, bipod, new scope etc.
It’s always hard for me to bring my hand-me-down Remington 700 bdl deluxe .270 into the woods vs a new ruger American. I only can make myself do it when I go hunt a nice deer stand with an office chair that I can drive my truck to.
Tikka Tikka Tikka. I’ve had the 770s and 700s. They don’t hold a candle. The QC is also far better than I’ve seen from the Ruger precision line or the Savage 110 line. It will be hard for me to ever buy another bolt gun that isn’t a Sako or Tikka…or maybe a CZ. I’ve just been spoiled on those European rifles now.
I like the lighting a lot more! Great job fellas keep up the great work!
I had a Savage Axis 6.5CM which had an action that had the clunkiest bolt I've ever cycled and I thought I made a huge mistake buying it. I picked up a variety of factory load offerings and headed to the range. Well, that rifle made one little ragged bughole at 100 yards! I couldn't believe my eyes! I think I gave $279. Apparently that ugly-feeling floating bolthead design is why it is so accurate and is intentional with Savage. I've since swapped it out for a 6PPC Shilen barrel and a chassis and my daughter handloads and shoots with that action. She's made a lot of guys mad with that rifle. I haven't put a dime over $1000 in that and that includes Vortex optics on top of it.😁
Interesting discussion about trigger. You concentrated on adjustability and feel. You also mentioned that it might fire on closing. But you forgot to mention how a rifle might drop fire. The blade trigger is a cheap way of making sure it will not drop fire. When designing a trigger without the blade, you have make sure that by dropping it in any orientation it will not fire. The SAAMI spec for drop testing is actually fairly gentle with a foot drop on a special rubber surface with safe engaged. If you're a manufacturer you want your rifle to not drop fire in any condition otherwise you're open to litigation. When drop testing a rifle in a forensic lab I can assure you we beat the crap out of them to make sure they wouldn't drop fire and if they did we'd record under what conditions. One popular brand of rifle would discharge if the rear bridge or grip cap was given a sharp blow in almost 50% of samples. So manufacturers could choose a cheap blade system, or more expensive non blade system. All this without considering the possibility of owner adjustment.
please tell Ryan that Howa (1500) has the safety he’s been looking for ...
yes....that is exactly what the 1500 Howa safety is Ryan
T/C Compass is obviously the best bolt gun value given the price point and T/C is known for their barrels and triggers. You can put decent scope on one and still be under 700.
Hell yeah. I picked one up on black Friday in 30-06. Threw a 6-18x Vortex on it, a 1" Limbsaver, a stock pouch, & some camo wrap. Under 600 bucks still. Shoots awesome.
I bought two Thompson compas 7mm mag 5 month old 200.00 and year old 3006 175 in pa
Great conversation. Being a guy that’s bought a few “budget” rifles; I’ll say that I’ll pass. For the hunters that are even only going to hunt once or twice a year, you only get one chance per season and you don’t want budget problems (which I’ve had-hand raised). It ruined your hunt and experience. A HUGE shout out to the Winchester model 70. It’s the standard production model and I have to say the upgrade is definitely tangible. If it’s good enough for dangerous game hunting and African once in a lifetime hunt....that alone says the standard...... Don’t let budget prices become hunt ruining experiences, I wish I would have stayed away from budget rifles. Great podcast and video! Buy once cry once. 👍🏻😉
I have the opposite experience. I've only ever owned one "budget rifle" in my life. It's a Mossberg Patriot in .270 Winchester with a walnut stock that came with a Vortex Crossfire II scope. Not only do I have no complaints, this rifle is my favorite, by far, of any I have owned.
The polymer detachable magazine is easy to load, doesn't rattle in the rifle whether full, empty, or somewhere in between, and it provides smooth, reliable feeding, every time. The stock fits my body nicely and makes for a comfortable gun to shoot and one that is easy to shoot well from field positions. It's a 1 to 1.25 MOA rifle; plenty accurate enough for big game hunting at the distances I'm comfortable shooting it. The LBA trigger is light, crisp, and predictable. The rifle is light to carry, but not too light to keep under control with a stiff breeze blowing across the barrel. Cocking effort is light....
I even like the scope that came on it.
I didn't buy mine, but if I wanted another big game rifle (and I don't see myself wanting or needing another) I'd buy another Mossberg Patriot.... Probably the Patriot Revere with the higher-grade walnut stock and contrasting rosewood grip cap and fore-end tip.
@@jerroldshelton9367 thank you for the response. Reading your response implies that you definitely put some time into what you feel your “satisfied” with. That’s great. I’m happy for you that you got what you wanted at a rate that delivers on your expectations. Perfect! No where else to go. Stick with that. Statistically, your the 1 in 100 customer that the product was meant to fulfill and have no issues. I can’t say that because I’ve not had a good experience with “multiple” purchases and a majority of consumers out there are having the same issues. I’m happy you found what works for you; stick with that. I own a savage rifle and it’s a dream. It’s a higher end platform but not super high in cost and absolutely not considered a “budget “ rifle and I wouldn’t trade that rifle for anything. Would I buy a patriot from mossberg? Probably not and the reputation says that their not very good; however, you are one in a handful of people. Yes, hand as in 5 or less that said their purchase was good on a budget rifle. As for me I’ll pass. To each their own. Thanks for the response and good luck.
@@HikeHuntHaul You appear to have far more experience with the "budget bolt action" rifles than I do.
Prior to Mossberg sending me my Patriot, my own experience was limited to firing a few shots through a few different makes and models at a few industry events, and to be frank, I was content to keep it that way.
Honestly, I'm not saving any significant money because I've been using an inexpensive rifle that I got for free. I don't get a discount on travel costs to and from hunting grounds, the cost of in-state and out-of-state licenses, or the cost of reloading components or ammunition because I'm toting something from the bargain bin. Nobody who actually uses a rifle really does. Over a lifetime of use, the cost of something like a Model 70 Super Grade pales in comparison to the cost of the metal one will send downrange through it.
I was contemplating buying a Model 70 in .270, either a Super Grade or a Featherweight, to carry me into my twilight years, before I got offered the Patriot. I almost turned down the offer, because of this. It would be tough for me to justify buying another rifle in .270, and frankly, as versatile as the .270 is for the shooting that I do, for coyotes on up to elk, I really don't need a bigger or smaller caliber centerfire rifle. If the Patriot happened to be sufficiently accurate and function reliably, I'd be stuck with it for a while. There's more to being happy with a sporting rifle than function and accuracy, to me, at least.
While I've been more than happy with my Patriot, and wouldn't presently trade it for anything else, primarily because of the stock fit and how well I shoot it in the field, I'm more on your "page" than perhaps I first appeared.
I would likely be trying to talk someone in to a more "upmarket" rifle, like a WInchester Model 70 or a SAKO, than suggest they "risk it" on a Patriot. When you don't have a lot of money to spend, you certainly can't afford to waste what you've got on inferior goods that fail to satisfy.
My particular Patriot might have come out as perfect as one can imagine an example being made, but that being said, I have my doubts that they ALL roll out that good because the low price seems to preclude a lot of time spent on attention to detail.
I don't have that same doubt about things like Model 70 Winchesters, Mark V Weatherby rifles, or SAKOs, to name a few. Less risk of problems there, I should think.
Yea if you are gonna pay for hunts or travel etc probably better to spend the money on quality. But that being said my ruger American in 762x39 shoots 1” at 125 yard zero. Cheap 154 grain tullammo. Never a hiccup in 7 years.
I also own two (2) of the TC Compass. The 308 I have will put 20 rounds inside an inch with hand loads. The trigger is also more adjustable than tbe lawyers will admit. Very pleased with that piece of equipment.
Heck yeah!
I handled a bunch of rifles, looking for something for my dad for a new deer rifle. Family wanted to get him one for Christmas and I was in charge of finding one. I kept coming back to the winchester xpr in that price range. The stock feels nicer than most budget stocks, the trigger, while not as light as some, has absolutely zero creep, and the factory cerakote barrel and action looks great and keeps rust away. It shoots .75 MOA steadily and dad loves it. However coming from an older model 70, he could definitely feel they aren't made as well. But it's a whole 2 pounds lighter, so for him it's worth it
I like the 3 position safety on the TC Compass.
As a certified welder I can tell you brazing is closer to soldering than it is welding.
I have always bought the budget rifles and neither have failed me. I like my Savage Axis .270 and I love my Ruger American. 308. I am at the stage of my life where I want to splurge a few thousand dollars on a gun and optic though and the Tikka T3X is the manufacturer I have decided on. Now, I can't make up my mind on caliber and optics though.
Thats kinda where I am. My cheapos have done great and will still do great. But I'm wanting to have a nice one in the cabinet now.
I love my savage 12fv cabelas special ! Got it on sale for 329.99 heavy barrel but crap stock. Clipped 3/4 coil out of the trigger spring and shoots lights out! JB weld in the forend stiffened up the stock.
Love your podcasts...pretty much always. I’ve ordered a Bergara HMR Wilderness in 6.5. Would love a follow up video on scopes to match these “budget” rifles. For many of us dropping $1k on a rifle, getting binos, range finders, etc etc etc it ends up nearly leading to divorce lol. I know depends on application, but love the conversations on value. Will be shooting deer to 300 yards, might push to 400 in perfect conditions. But also with the HMR can hit plates at 1000.
Thanks!
Ruger Am 6.5 & Mossberg Patriot 30-06. Both with Vortex Crossfire ll. I love them both
CZ 557. Around 750-800 dollar price range and it's a wonderful. I prefer the overall fit finish and feel over my tikka. It just feels right and shoots great.
Cz 557 30-06 ❤
Wish you guys spend more time on the Howa rifle, great workmanship, very accurate and reliable, 3 way safety and 2 stage trigger that's very smooth and light, great out of the box but better in a chassis
Ryan’s safety is on every Sako 85. All the best bits of a Tikka, with upgrades.
and a Howa 1500
Although it’s unrelated to this particular video, I know you guys always mention that you never get requests for the larger calibers. Could you please do a talk about the 444 marlin?
And the 338 Federal.
I love Tikka with all it's options. Even though the Hunter model with the wood stock is just a small bit more more money, it is well worth it if you want a nice looking rifle. Added Bonus, the Tikka rifles are beautifully consistent.
For the money I love the Ruger American Predator 308. I put a thumbhole green Boyds stock on mine to give it some weight and its fast becoming my favorite gun!
I know you are an optics company but what do you guys think about open sights you walk into a gun store and you don't see any guns with open sights my father wouldn't buy me a scope until I was capable of shooting with open sights
My Wife's Ruger American in .270 Win shoots 3/4" 5-shot groups with Federal Classic 150s. It's trigger is fantastically crisp and consistent. She's killed everything she's ever aimed it at!
You can pay a hell of a lot more and get a lot less.
I learn new thing every time i watch this videos.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you gentlemen
Mauser and Winchester safety’s are nice. 3 position lock the bolt, unlock safe, and unlock fire. Great for hunting with the utes
Guy's, where's the Savage ? I own a M700 Tactical in 308, a T3x in 7mm/08 and a Ruger American Ranch in 450BM so when a friend offered me a worse for wear standard Savage Axis in 270 Win I was a little hesitant until he mentioned the $125 price. I figured a quick flip until I cleaned it (multiple applications of JB Bore Paste), worked the bolt (smooth as butter) and shot it, groups at 100 that you could cover with a quarter. I had to see what I could do with it. A new 4x12 Diamondback went on top, a $20 trigger kit from M*Carbo in Clearwater, Fla. dropped the trigger from 5 lb. to 2.5 lb. and I removed the barrel and action from the stock, drilled holes through the webbing in the forend and filled it with liquid epoxy. Besides the scope, $50 in parts and a couple hours of work and that Savage ended up shooting lights out, very sub-moa. The nice part is I bought a 243 barrel for it, installed it in less than an hour with a precision ground recoil lug ($40) and I was out after groundhogs. It received a cheap camo job with cans of bow paint and now sits behind the seat of my truck. The point is that highly accurate rifles are available today for hunting at rock bottom prices and at least for the Axis there is a cheap remedy for a heavy trigger that takes 1/2 hour to install. My other rifles came ready out of the box but at a much higher price point which would be the way to go for the average guy but even an entry level firearm can give great performance especially compared to 20 years ago. Now I just need that 26" heavy barrel in 6.5CM ........
I got my remington 770 chambered in 30-06 back in 2015 and loved it ever since
Always love the unsponsored and honest insight the Vortex podcast gives. They have been slightly partial to the Ruger American. I assume that’s because most listeners/watchers of the podcast own a Ruger American. The addition of what I would consider a mid price range rifle like the Tikka is going to make the show even more enjoyable IMO.
Off topic. Sorry I couldn't make it in person.
Just came back from the range. Test fired a full 16" 300 HAM'R Ruger American Ranch MDT XRS, Timney trigger, SiCo Omega 9k suppressor, modified conversion, and a neat lil 11.3" 300 HAM'R SBR.
Both ran great, accurate as expected. Never built a bolt gun before. Built plenty of ARs. Was an NSW Armorer, so I have a clue.
ARs are boring. I'm now currently in love with bolt guns, at least the one I just built.
I'm not sure what budget means once a barreled action into a chassis, but holy crap what an exponential improvement in all aspects of the shooting experience.
Other than the stock, for the most part, bolt action receivers as all the same.
I don't know what the hype is surrounding the Remington 700.
My Savage 16 had an Accutrigger, it started to freeze when sending the bolt forward. Did some research and it has to do with adjustment spring. It’s apparently a very common issue yet Savage refuses to fix it. Rather than deal with Savage’s customer service, which in my experience has been the worst I’ve known. I dropped a Timney in it. Problem solved, but here’s the issue of spending beyond the budget of the initial cost. Should’ve bought a Ruger.
I had a Mossberg with the same blade-style trigger and I hated it. Replaced it with a Timney. Much better.
My Mossberg Patriot was difficult to shoot at first, even with a Limbsaver pre-fit pad. I was never getting a reliable 1 MOA. Mossberg does not have a 1 MOA guarantee. Put that in an MDT chassis, the scope I am most comfortable with and a clamp on brake from Kahntrol Solutions and Pachmayr Decelerator. Total reduction of about 80 percent recoil. Now, it feels like a hair above a 5.56. The factory synthetic stock at Mossberg for the Patriot series has a gap in the rear action screw guide. I have no idea why. And the plastic mag well that is a separate piece, is not made to take a lot of torque. You will never torque down that screw properly. This can allow the rear of the action to move. You would be lucky to be on paper at 100 yards, like the experience of the Backfire channel.
Problem is, like others here, changing and modifying, we have left the realm of "budget rifle." However, do not get me wrong. Budget rifes in a good stock are fine. My TC Compass II, fresh out of the box, all I did was drag a snake through and put some grease on the bolt, shot 1/2 inch, measured with a measuring tape, at 100 yards at an outdoor range. The TC factory stock has some flex but the action sits on the aluminum bedding screws. I added stuff to make a higher cheek, changed to a Falcon Strike hydraulic pad. Very comfortable.
Then I put it in an Oryx. I like chassis systems. Still have 1/2 MOA. So, the rifle was 400. Orx was about 430 ish. Still spending less than a grand. Your 500 dollar optic will make the total lay out around 1,300, which is not bad, at all for a good rifle that you can take hunting.
There are rifles put together like that, already, and they cost a bit more. And, in some cases, are heavier. I once hunted with my Mossberg MVP with the medium bull barrel. That was kind of heavy but I did it. But then, all of my rifles end up weighing around 12 to 13 pounds. I would rather carry another pound and have a comfortable rifle than a 6 pound rifle with PITA small optics and kick that hurts so much than I cannot practice.
Part of what makes my Compass II .308 Win consistently .5 MOA is me practicing fundamentals. When I zero the rifle, it is not in a lead sled. forearm on a rest, butt against my shoulder, that is my hunting posture. So, I cannot take a table and lead sled deer hunting. I need to be good on my shoulder.
So, when it comes to buying a budget rifle, I would say that we should get the best price that we can because we need to budget putting it in a different stock, whether that is a chassis or a Boyd's or even a KRG Bravo. Or McMillan, whichever you prefer. Just consider that part of the budget. Outside of that, these cheap rifles come out and mostly, they will shoot and if you are at 70 yards in your aunt's milo pasture, you just might make it.
Funny savage customer service is the highest rated there is, sorry you had problems but that is definitely rare.
The Winchester XPR has a side safety with a bolt release in front that would fit Ryan’s description of a desired safety. I love mine in 350 Legend.
My build is a gen 1 Savage Axis Heavy Barrel 308. I consistently out shoot $2,000 guns with this model. Timmy trigger and chassis system on a $200 rifle.
I feel like if you buy a budget rifle and it shoots well, you’ll be pretty happy unless you compare it to more expensive rifles. I bought a venture ii in 300 mag and I can’t get over how well the magazine goes in comes out and feeds ammo. It works smoother than any other rifle I have. I spent more on the scope than I did on the rifle. It has a moa guarantee. It feels good, has a great trigger that resembles the accutrigger. Threaded muzzle, creacoated or something similar, hogue grips on the pistol grip and forearm, etc, etc. I will only use this rifle for elk hunting and that’s not going to be very often. My car makes me happy until I start looking at all the options on the latest model.
I remember my jump from my first bolt rifle 8mm ger.98 with almost 2" play in the trigger and the bad habits of pulling the slack out will bringing it up, my new m77 in 300 win. Mag after break in and sight in tried pull up shot and about 1-2" off the shoulder tried to take the non-slack out of the trigger. I will never forget that lesson. It is a nice trigger I just respect it more.
My definition of budget rifle is the following: Finding and purchasing made in USA $900 MSRP brand new rifle for 50% of that price. Adding a brand new Leupold scope with a quality scope mount and rings of my choice. I've done this multiple times without the need to purchase subpar budget combo rifles at $400 to $600 MSRP.
I've purchased lightly used $1800 MSRP Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight in 338-06 A-Square for $800. Adding a lightly used $200 Leupold VX-III 3.5-10X40MM scope with standard steel Leupold base and rings. This rifle is my Thor's hammer and inexpensive to reload using 30-06 Springfield brass. This setup is also made in USA.
Hi guys
This one, is for Ryan, I think that your dream safety that you are describing is a Sako 85 safety. I think that it's the best safety ever..! aldo the rifle isn't a "budget" rifle.
Thanks for a awesome channel, i love to follow you here on youtube.
Im one of your listeners from outside the states, i'm from Denmark. :)
We'll certainly let Ryan know- we appreciate it! :)
I've shot with a guy that had a savage 10 or 110. Not for sure. But it had the blade. And he pulled just the shoe with a live round in pointed in a safe direction. The gun went click. But no detonation. Which he was raving about against my jewel. Both our triggers are light. But he was saying it's a light trigger and still safe for hunting. I was impressed with the safety of it. It's there for a reason.
Buddy talking about the tikka safety I couldn’t agree more. Own a tikka, love the gun, hated making it live to unload. I also own an X-bolt love the 2 pos safety with bolt release, but I like my tikka more. I ordered a trigger from their Tac A1/arctic models, and that trigger group includes an integrated bolt release when the tikka is on safe. Best upgrade I’ve made to that gun.
Own several Savage Axis & II's. All in factory stocks though none of them "stock". Bolts all have been upgraded with bolt lift kits, extractor/ejector upgrade kits, and bolt handles changed out to tactical style. All total on bolt mods $100. A little Arkansas hard stone work on the race-ways and polishing of lug bolts lead locking / aft crown edges and now the bolt freely opens and goes to battery (less cam-locking) with simply rocking the firearm to-and-froe. Feed ramps radiused and polished.
The factory stock fore ends were filled with ROCKITE to remove fore end flex and are as rigid as you could want.
The barrel channels were bedded
1 1/2" ahead of the recoil lug.
All mounts were changed to EGW rails and then bedded. Rings were lapped to 80% minimum contact.
A $10 LIMBSAVER barrel tuner goes a LONG way in achieving maximum accuracy with "factory" ammo also. (You'll have to re-tune the barrel each time you change ammo / manufacturers so keep records).
Budget gun ($300-ish) yes, with ~ $160 in upgrade "parts", a little sweat equity and your pew-pew will be in the $1K range. I KNOW.., I've DONE it.., REPEATEDLY.
In pa we had 2 savage axis 243s both were cutting dullet holes at 100yards in Pennsylvania we kill deer every year your fooling yourself u think you need expensive guns. Or your city boys
I have Sako A7 soft touch with a Vortex Diamondback hp 4×16,42mm. It's my favorite gun, chambered in 25 06 Remington. Smooth bolt, great trigger, match grade real stainless steel barrel. It does have the bolt button on top that allows you to cycle the bolt while the trigger remains locked. Great gun I paid 1200 for it in Canada with a Burris E1 fullfield 3×9, 40mm included. Swapped out the Burris for the Diamondback and I couldn't be happier they're a match, great deer, pronghorn rifle.
Both my brother and I love the Savage Axis platform. Have yet to have any kind of performance issues. Only thing’s we’ve upgraded have been the scopes on them up to various Vortex optics.
Savage axis 2 with accutrigger is the best budget rifle out there! Love mine in 270 with vortex crossfire 2 on it
I have an older version of your rifle. Savage edge in 308 with a crossfire2 sweet shooter and accurate as all hell.
Bergara b14 and their premier rifles are the perfect example of these discussions. I have 5 now between the 2 lines
The Bergara price wise is above the Tikka T3x lites. I have been considering one of their southpaw rifle for a while now ( have a Tikka T3x hunter and vintage Savage at the moment ). I like everything I am hearing about the Bergaras though.
I have a Savage VT (paid $450) in 243 that I bought new 5 years ago, shot 600 yds weekly with it, mostly 6” groups. Rebarreled it in 6.5 CM for $500 this past summer. Now it shoots 3” and 4” groups. It is now me not the gun. I shoot on a bipod. Adding a quality barrel made a world of difference. Great investment. I use a vortex 6 x 20 scope, need to upgrade ... I know that will Improve my accuracy significantly.
the safety on the blaser r8 is a big reason why that's my next rifle. if you manipulate it a certain way you can open the bolt without taking it off safe. it's also a decocker, so when it's on safe, it's very safe. also, when it's moved to the fire position it activates an illuminated reticle on compatible scopes (blaser/zeiss/swarovski)
Huh a clicker pen spring cut back and installed in a Ruger American and polished is one of the finest factory triggers I have owned. Take about a half hour and no money. Really makes a difference in pull and smoothness.
I love my 400$ savage 30-06. It came with a 3x9 scope. My only "upgrade" was that I bought 4 extra magazines so i can pretend it's a .308 battle rifle.
I actually found this podcast researching the savage 110 elite precision. Thanks for mentioning that it's a good value.
The Mossberg Patriot is one hell of a rifle imo.
Never been a fan myself but I’ve heard of people who love them and shoot great. I just struggle to go with one being I’ve shot a few and it seems their quality control isn’t great. Almost flipping a coin with one of those imo.
I had a buddy with a Remington 700 chambered in .260. He installed a Timney trigger, and we adjusted it too about 32-36 ounces. He was in the stand, put the scope on a deer, took the safety off, and click. Gun fired. Luckily he didn't have a round chambered. But we went back and readjusted the poundage. And this man is very well experienced in firearms. So I see the advantages of a two stage, or a safety trigger for novice shooters. Great Co tent, and points here guys!
remingtons have fired without pulling the trigger, no remingtons for me.
I have more than a couple of $1000.00+ rifles. I am absolutely in “LUST” with both of my
Ruger #1s, HOWEVER….I cringe, every time I grab one and expose that beautiful wood to the elements.
I just bought a Ruger American in .243, so I won’t have to worry too much about dinging the finish or scraping it while climbing into the deer stand, AND…it shoots sub-inch groups with factory ammo.
I couldn’t be happier with a gun that’s just as accurate as high dollar rifles for under $500.00.
Just remember what you’re getting with one of these rifles.
I’ve gone through my “best in class” phase of gun buying. If you were blindfolded, you couldn’t tell the difference anyway.
They’re not made for beauty pageants, they’re built to be functional and reliable, and the American (Axis too) is awesomely light and accurate.
I can listen to this all day
01:02:00 James was thinking of the Mossberg LC series. Stands for Light Chassis, specifically built for long range with handguard with picatinny rail on top for adding other stuff. Adjustable cheek rise and length of pull.
I have the Mossberg MVP Long Range Thunder Ranch Kuiu Camo in .308 Win (the barrel is stamped 7.62 x 51 mm NATO.)
Edited to add, I just took my Mossberg Patriot and put it in an MDT Chassis, LLS gen 2 (the same one they use for the LV rifle system.)
A lot of budget rifles don't have much bedding and there is certainly not exact fitment in seating the action in the stock. In go the two action screws, tightened to spec and on you go. So, then, one should pay attention to spec. A really cheap rifle that is made well is the Thompson Center Compass and now, Compass II. They have aluminum bedding blocks and pillars in set in the plastic stock. So, you get the inexpensive stock, but you do have a better seating and they guarantee 1 MOA on the first 3 shots (before the barrel heats up.) The threaded barrel is heavy, which will stand up to repeated fire better.
Recent Savage 110 Magpul Hunter (308) owner and I can’t wait to learn the long distance game
Although I desired a Tikka for this hunting season, I went with the Ruger and slapped a VTX Viper, haven't taken it to the range yet, but after watching this video, I have great reassurance that I didn't make a horrible purchase. Thanks Team!
My Ruger American in .308 with a Vortex Viper easily shoots sub MOA at 100 yards. Not the smoothest bolt but for the money it’s a great shooter.
This was awesome I'm a walnut stock fan myself 👌 I have a mossberg patriot in 270 win and last week I upgraded to a 300wsm tikka T3 hunter the patriot had a vortex combo and was an amazing gun for the price it will be my son's first gun soon!
I have 2 Savage Axis rifles, a 243 and a 308. MCarbo makes a simple, cheap trigger spring kit that drops the trigger pull to a crisp 2.5 to 3.5# release. Both are deadly accurate. Plus a Mossberg Trophy Hunter (ATR with a. 4x4 box mag), in 270. Also quite accurate with a very nice trigger.
I had another thought related to the video, especially when Jimmy was talking about his built up Ruger and what to do with it. My brother-in-law shoots long range competitions and used a budget Savage 110 hunting rifle (possibly his first rifle, if I remember correctly) to build a competition rifle. Different stock, upgraded trigger, different barrel, etc. Fast forward a few years and he has a dedicated/custom built gun and didn’t know what to do with the FrankenSavage. He had kept all the stock parts so he and I took it back to stock. Now he has his old hunting rifle back and quite a story to go with it…something to consider Jimmy, as it sounds like you might have moved on from the Ruger.
I got a TC venture dirt cheap new but old stock. S&W sent me a free bigger firing pin spring, I bought a better bolt handle for $60 and an ebay trigger spring 1.5 pounds for $9.00. Heck of a gun now and only about $300 invested total. Very accurate, they came with MOA guarantee.
So what I've gleaned from this excellent discussion is 1) taking you're "budget gun" to a good gun Smith, and have them clean up the bolt, to a higher finish standard, would be the best money spent, to improve the gun.
I am an european hunter and I'm thankful to american gun manufacturers for their budget rifles quality! If anything, they did forced euro gun makers to check their prices. Im about to by german, Suhl made rifle for less 900 euro and that's golden! If we had backcountry hunting like in US, Canada, New Zealand I would definately consider Weatherby or Ruger, but right now I dont see models that fit my needs as the german or austrian guns for hunting in Europe.
I dipped my toes into f class with a Ruger American predator. I’m not finishing first in the practical division but I’m not finishing last it is very capable of accuracy.
Have an action for a custom rifle now.
I got a timney trigger for my RAP on sale for 120, I'm pretty sure they retail for 150, the best thing imo to compare the American to is the precision, and there's a lot more you can do with the American, they're both basically the same rifle, and you can set up the American the way you want for what a precision costs right out of the box, and thats including a timney trigger, they aren't a winchester model 70 or a cheytac or barrett or anything like that, but the average person can afford it, modify it as they see fit, and have a sub half moa rifle that looks cool and feels good (if you polish the bolt) to boot
I have the savage access ll mdt Chassie bolt gun . Could not find it in 6.5 But I found it in 243 Ballistic wise
It is about the same as a 6.5 Is until about eight hundred yards.then 243 starts to dropping off . Absolutely love your podcast and your wealth of knowledge keep up the good work guys. Sincerely the Baker family in maine
Winchester XP I think has a safety that is just like what Ryan described. I personally prefer the 3 position safety of Model 70's, Ruger 77's, or Kimbers.
Another good podcast, I'd like to see a similar one with hunting clothing and budget vs high end. Solids vs camo too
#VortexNationPodcast @VortexNationPodcast now THIS is a good idea.
Savage has a the position safety that lets you lock the bolt or unlock the bolt still on safe
Just like any Mauser since 1898. That's why it's called the "Mauser action". Along with other functions like push feeding, cocking the firing pin on opening the bolt, decocking the firing pin by holding down the trigger while closing the bolt, two locking lug, etc.
@@tomislavobrovac9313 I've owned a passel of civilian and military Model 1898 Mauser rifles and not a single one of them has been a push-feeder.