Bolt rifle thoughts

[Barcelona Rick]

Been looking at buying a new 7MM08 bolt rifle for hunting South Texas.....on a budget.....need advise or pros and cons.....Weatherby Vangard, Browning A Bolt or Ruger Hawkeye All Weather......looking for synthetic stock (a first for me)....have never owned a Japanese rifle but a good friend has a couple of A Bolts that are tack drivers....appreciate all opinions from my experts friends on this Board.....

rick

[6pt-sika]

You wanna get one thats inexpensive that will shoot . Get a Savage Axis in 7mm-08 and add a RifleBasix trigger . The gun NIB should be $300 or less and the trigger can be had for $100 I think .

I've messed with several of these rifles in 243 , 7mm08 and 308 for friends and they all shot well . But they all needed an after market trigger . The factory trigger is not adjustable .

[6pt-sika]

If you're stuck on getting a Jap rifle think Howa !

The Howa 1500 is a pretty decent gun for the money and can be had for a little more then the Savage Axis . Also the Howa trigger is pretty decent from the factory .

I've messed with three of these in 243 and 308 and all of them shot MOA or better .

Howa by the way is the same folks that make the Weatherby Vanguard .

[JReed]

Another vote for Savage but make it a M 10. The Axis is a good gun dont get me wrong but there are more after market options for the M 10

[El Chivo]

I also thought of Savage immediately (I have a Mark II 22lr) because almost all have the Accutrigger, which you can set yourself. It has a leaf you encounter first as the take-up, and seems wonderful to me after all the levergun triggers. Haven't adjusted mine. I really think you could be satisfied with a Savage Accutrigger out of the box.

[Shasta]

I sure like my Browning A-Bolt Stainless Synthetic in .270 Win. It is the only new rifle I have purchased in quite a few years that needed no work right from the box. It has a smooth action and a very decent trigger. Best of all, it's a lefty!

SHASTA

[Old Savage]

Savage has some good options. They can be very accurate.

[6pt-sika]

Nothing against and A-Bolt as some folks certainly like them . And once upon a time I had a A-Bolt 12 gauge rifled slugger that shot very nice .

But an A Bolt in my hands never felt quite right . Can't really put my finger on it , the balance didn't seem quite right and the low bolt cycle perhaps .

[nemhed]

You probably can't go wrong with any of the rifles mentioned and these choices typically come down to personal preferences. I recently decided to spend my year end bonus (which really wasn't very big) on a bolt action rifle in .308 Win. I'm really a big fan of the Savages and own a Model 10fp in .223, but Savage's prices have crept up quite a bit along with their popularity. I looked at the Axis line but it doesn't have the adjustable Accutrigger, I didn't care for the magazine, and to my eyes the Axis is just plain ugly. I ended up purchasing a Ruger American Rifle. The rifle in general seems to combine some of the best design features from many other brands. I really like the rotary magazine, the 70 degree bolt throw, the bedding system, and the adjustable trigger. The stock works for me, and overall the rifle is very attractive to me. Best of all and most importantly, it just plain shoots. There are several reviews of it on youtube, if interested check out the very thorough one done by a guy that goes by the handle "nutnfancy".

[RKrodle]

If your looking for a budget bolt that will shoot then give the Stevens 200 a look. I picked one up at Acadamy a couple of year ago on sale for $198.00 in 7mm-08. It does not come with the accu-trigger but you can adjust it some, and it is a shooter.

[shooter]

Bought my wife a Savage Axis last year. I think I paid less than $350 for the rifle/scope combo in 7mm-08. The trigger was unbelievably heavy, but I replaced the trigger spring and now it is good to go. It will shoot 1/2 inch groups easily at 100 yds. with the right loads if I do my part.

[Pisgah]

[quote="6pt-sika"]You wanna get one thats inexpensive that will shoot . Get a Savage Axis in 7mm-08 and add a RifleBasix trigger . The gun NIB should be $300 or less and the trigger can be had for $100 I think .

I've messed with several of these rifles in 243 , 7mm08 and 308 for friends and they all shot well . But they all needed an after market trigger . The factory trigger is not adjustable .[/quote

I second this idea. I have 2 Axis rifles, a .223 and a .270. Both sorely needed better triggers, but a simple, safe, effective 10-minute, couple-of-bucks modification can make the trigger world-class. The accuracy? That's world-class with no mods at all.

Pay $277 to Walmart for an Axis, invest in some decent glass and spend a few minutes on the trigger. "Price" is what you pay, "value" is what you get, and the Axis is low in the former and absurdly high in the latter.

[JB]

If price is a sticking point, I'd go Savage like the others suggested. But since you mentioned the A-bolt, your budget must not be too low. If you can afford a bit more than the Savage, I'd take a look at Tikka. I'd put them with anything in their price range as far as accuracy. You get Sako quality barrel without some of the the Sako refinement.

[86er]

Straight out of the box I think the TC Dimension is consistently more accurate, better trigger and more versatile than the others mentioned. You can add a different caliber later for just under half price of the whole rifle, and there is a market for trading calibers too. It has a 1 MOA guarantee on accuracy and a Lifetime Warranty on the rifle. Made in USA.

[piller]

I have the Stevens model 200 in 7mm 08 also. I have used it at the range, and have not hunted with it yet. It is very accurate and light. The trigger is crisp right out of the box. I like it better than the trigger on a Remington 700. I have played with the trigger on one of my Model 700s, I know it voids the warranty, and think the Stevens has a better trigger. I plan on getting a Timney trigger for my model 700. I put a Bushnell scope and Burris rings on my Stevens, and I would not use Burris again as they are the most difficult things to get straight and on target that I have ever seen. I recommend Weaver style mounts and rings.

[Bill in Oregon]

Not the cheapest, but I am thrilled with the Tikka T-3 I bought in this caliber for my daughter, and so is she.

[RIHMFIRE]

the three rifles you mentioned are fine rifles...
but the caliber..7mm08 is not the most common round
if you get it...hope you reload...
if you dont...i would go with a more common off the shelf
ammo like 308... 30-06... 7mm rem mag etc. etc.

I like remingtons and winchesters...

[COSteve]

Done

[harry]

the three rifles you mentioned are fine rifles...
but the caliber..7mm08 is not the most common round
if you get it...hope you reload...
if you dont...i would go with a more common off the shelf
ammo like 308... 30-06... 7mm rem mag etc. etc.

I like remingtons and winchesters...

That must be a local thing, here the 7mm08 is more popular than the 308. And ditto on the savage guns. I use there action on all of my builds.

[M. M. Wright]

Why burden yourself with an ugly bolt gun? Get a BLR!

[44-40 Willy]

Not a fan of bolt rifles here, but my son in law is very happy with his Marlin XL7.

[tman]

.308 is a lot cheaper and the Savage is alot of gun if on a budget. Used BLR's and SAVAGE 99's can be had in either 7-08 or 308. These levers are as accurate as bolts, the Savage bolt has a lot nicer trigger.

[El Chivo]

Currently lusting after the 10/110 Predator Max 1 in either 243 or 260 Rem. 24" barrel. I'm a sucker for the longer barrels. And it has an "Accustock". Whatever it is, it sure sounds good.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/mode ... HUNTERMAX1

If I decide on 243, I could also consider the 16/116 in stainless. This one loads through a floorplate, no detachable mag (CA may have a new law soon requiring registration for anything with a detachable mag).

[olyinaz]

The Weatherby Vanguard is guaranteed to shoot MOA out of the box and they're very affordable. The rifles from Thompson-Center are also MOA guaranteed if I recall correctly and the price is great on those too.

You can mail order a Savage Axis on Gun Genie; they're in stock and my price is $280. Put in your zip code and they'll suggest a local dealer for shipping and give you the bottom line price in your local:

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Defa ... code=85737

I like bolt guns with a 60 deg. bolt lift (like the Browning you mention). My price on this one is $440:

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Defa ... code=85737

That Savage is really hard to beat!

[L_Kilkenny]

I'm a dyed in the wool Savage fan and would take the Stevens over the Axis any day of the week. As a matter of fact I'd take the Stevens with an after market trigger over a Savage 10/110 with the accu-trigger. Never have been able to warm up to that set up. But........ a buddy picked up a Vangard 7mm-08 on my urging (cartridge, not gun) and that thing is a shooter.

I had a TC Venture in .243 for awhile. Decent gun, shot nice, handled good, decent trigger. The 60 deg bolt lift can be stiff. Only reason I sold it was I decided I didn't need a .22-250 AND a .243 so I sold it and home-brewed my old well used Savage 110 into .243 Carbine.


That brings into another advantage of the Stevens and Savage 10/110 line. They're like the 10/22's of the bolt action centerfire world. You can buy cheap now, shoot the crud outta it and do about anything you want to it later with a few hand tools.

[fordwannabe]

As a member of savage shooters.com well I guess you can tell where my vote is gonna go. I am not very familiar with the axis line but we have 5 savage/stevens in my house. My results may not be typical but I won a shootoff this year with a savage bolt gun in 223 at 300 yards I was 1/4 inch from the x and it's not a real high tech build mostly factory stuff. My savage 10 in 308 keeps all shots in 4-41/2 inches at 400 yards easily. Just my opinion and if you decide to get one pm me and i'll let ya in on a few "secrets" to get ya up and running. Good luck

[RIHMFIRE]

the three rifles you mentioned are fine rifles...
but the caliber..7mm08 is not the most common round
if you get it...hope you reload...
if you dont...i would go with a more common off the shelf
ammo like 308... 30-06... 7mm rem mag etc. etc.

I like remingtons and winchesters...

That must be a local thing, here the 7mm08 is more popular than the 308. And ditto on the savage guns. I use there action on all of my builds.

i think you are probably right....
never seen a box of them....nor a rifle infact...

[Old Time Hunter]

Well, can not say too much negative about any of the choices...but.

Did you ever look at a CZ 550FS chambered for 6.5 X 55?

Somebody mentioned the Rem 260, pretty much identical as the 6.5 X 55, and basically a copy. So if copying is the best flattery, why not get the original.

And, if you can find it in a M38 Swede carbine, the cost will be fairly low.