Texas Hunting Forum: What brand rifle

Opinons are like noses and other bodily orifices....everbody's got one

After studying this kinda question couple years ago when I was looking at consolidating and downsizing from a bunch that included stuff I never shot anymore to just a handfull of everday shooters...and owning 40-50+++??? "deer rifles" over the years I settled on two Tikka T3's - swapped a Tikka WTHunter for a T3 in the same caliber but went from blue/wood to SS/syn & may yet swap that 'un for a 'nuther one in a slightly different caliber but still in a T3, an early '90's M70 Classic Grade SS/syn in a longer range medium large caliber - in a dead up swap from a Browning A Bolt SS/syn in the same caliber and have always felt like I got the better of that deal bigtime - I'll explain later, and a CZ 550 American wood/blue - to get a specific caliber only offered by CZ in this country.

In the popularly price range guns you've mentioned I'd rank the guns , based on ZERO extra dollars needed to be spent in corrective & factory flaw rehab 'smith work done X's out of the box accuracy for a brand new outta the box SS/synthetic stock sporter weight hunting rifle:

IMO Tikka T3 as the best overall value for the expended dollar. Usually Hyper Accurate with a wide range of bullet weights and brands of ammo, but will never win a beauty contest. Prone to rust even in SS in 100% humidity & salty climates because of the heavy bead blasted non glare finish holding moisture particularly in the coastal Alaskan environments that are the harshest test of a rifle's fucntionality and toughness I know of...that is easy to fix by having a finer grit polish job done - like the "brighter & slicker" finish on a SS Ruger MkII - or a CerraCote finish applied but you can do that to a blue steel gun too, but have T3's are the only guns besides SAKO to have SS trigger assemblies that are a single screw & consumer adjustable thru the magazine well.

Ruger Hawkeye - might still need the new style trigger touched up a bit but a signicant step better than the old ones from what I hear ...and mebbe a float and glass job too but overall a good value for the dollar. See comments above on the new bead blasted non glare finish on H'eyes with same issues as T3's.

Remington Mtn Rifles are a tad pricey for me but lots of folks like them - I understand they still will have trigger issues especially in the super wet to frozen conditions like the high Rocky's and Alaska, where the triggers are prone to rust or freeze solid as they are still blue steel. Lot's of aftermarket tuning goodies around to play with...and some of them really need the help. To be fair however, I've never been a Remmy fan and have had several mechanical failures in used guns I'd traded for that I thought were unnecessary, and due to poor craftsmanship...and the knock in craftsamnship on the newer stuff especially at the lower end price points is not something you want to hear about and think of when you spend double + $$'s for the same basic design in a little fancier finished gun. Lots of '70's, '80's & even early '90's 700's being sought after for the better receiver's to be built into custom guns...kinda like the last days of Winchester and M70's that were pure crap for the most part.

I grade Browning as my last choice mebbe because I went thru all the trigger, bedding & beginnings of exterior corrosion & pitting issues on an early '90's SS/syn gun. My gun needed a new trigger 'cause I didn't want to play silly games cutting springs and it was totally "adjusted out" and still was tripping the scale at over a 6lb pull, and the Timney swap out is the cheapest easyist way to go at about $125 for the trigger alone. My gun shot decently but I hated the Rube Goldberg design of the bolt as well as the trigger unit and won't buy another one unless I can steal it to sell to someone who gets off on the Browning name.

IF I had a "lil' mo money" to invest I'd look at a Kimber Montana or better still a SAKO except in the lastest greatest new one that is a Tikka ripoff at twice+ the bux, ummm... an mebbe a Steyr too.

Understand I am a picky old fart about deer rifles ... but you asked...and I've have seen more than a couple thousand rifles up close and personal working the industry for 13 years from the mid '70's thru the late 80's and choose to own what I own for a particular use or application with no illusions of grandeur or ego tied up in them. As always this is JMHO an YMMV.

Ron

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Edited by WileyCoyote (06/12/08 10:06 PM)