I was wondering just how accurate the out of box Wal Mart rifles are. I know that Wal Mart does have some, or all, of its rifles with unique options over the standard rifles. Different stocks or barrel lengths for example. I was wondering if any shortcuts were made in accuracy. Anyone have any experience?

For reference, I am looking at Ruger, Remington, Winchester in 7mm or 270 calibers.

RobertD

When did Wal-Mart start making rifles?

Seriously, a rifle from Wal-Mart is just as good as simular model you would buy from a local sporting goods store. In other words a model 700 Sendero is a model 700 Sendero is a model 700 Sendero is a.... Ya know?

But I wouldn't have them mount a scope for me or I wouldn't ask them for ANY advice. Do all of your research first and if they have the model(or can order it) you want at the lowest price... go for it.

As pointed out above, the quality from Wal-Mart will be the same as from your corner gun-store.



Just as an FYI, for the money, I've heard the Weatherby/Howa Vanguards in .300Wby are great values.

I'm well pleased with my .300 Weatherby Vanguard and 7mm Rem Mag Winchester M70 from Wal-Mart. But the latter came with a pre-fitted Simmons scope that wasn't mounted well. The tube slid forward in the rings with recoil and the bases came completely loose. There was no tape inside the scope rings, and obviously no LocTite on the screws.

A guy here at work bought a win model 70 synthetic in .270 a couple yrs ago at Walmart. With the cheap simmons scope I think it ran about $329. Even with the cheap scope it was a 1-1.25" shooter. The scope lasted about 3-4 boxes of shells and the crosshairs broke.
He was scared to buy it because of the cheap price. I told him if he didn't like it he should be able to sell it pretty ez for about $225-250 so he sure wouldn't be out anything for his "experiment". He rescoped it and has been happy.
I don't think walmart buys "reject" guns but I do believe that it's real possible that their might be some minor differences in those guns to get the cheap price that walmart demands. I always relate to the Firestone/Ford SUV tire problems of years ago. It's my theory Ford went to the tire people and said we need so many tires and this is what we'll pay. In the long run Firestone went too cheap to satisfy them and they'r both to blame for the end result.

I've purchased a grand total of one (1) Wal-Mart rifle, a 270 M70, tupperware stock, and cheapy Simmons scope, a year or so ago. The thing shoots incredibly well, much better than a W-W Custom Shop 270 M70 that cost several times as much, and, if there's a difference in anything in there, I sure can't tell it. I've had numerous M70's apart over the years, and this one looks exactly the same inside as the other ones.



Was just looking at another M70 7WSM yesterday at the Wally SuperCenter yesterday, in fact. I think it's a "Black Shadow" or something - it's got raised, embossed bumps on the forend. Looks weird, but probably will shoot great. $389.00.



I think the economy of the rifles comes from the fact that Wal-Mart must buy quite a few of them at a time. I mean, how many Wal-Marts are there, 5 or 10,000? Just to keep one or two of each model at each store (our local Wally tries to keep at least 5 of each on hand at all times) means they're ordering a BUNCH each time. I imagine if I'd call up R-P and order 10,000 M700's, they'd give me a pretty good price, y'know?



R-WEST

RobertD, I have a Weatherby Vangaurd bought at Wally World, it's a great shooter with handloads, havn't shot any factory loads thru it.From a fixed rifle rest the largest groups Iv'e been able to get are right at 1.5 inches at 100 yards for a 5 shot group. It averages less than an inch most of the time.I will have it glass bedded in the future to see if it will do any better,but right out the box it has been a good rifle, and the price was more than fair.

Kraky

Most of the times when I saw pictures of the wrecks involving the Explorers they generally had a roof rack full of stuff and 4-5 passengers and luggage inside. Probably exceeded the max weight of the tires as most SUV's are sent out with P-xxx tires and most passenger tires are pretty close to max weight on vehicle alone.

In New Mexico you have to go buy load range D's or you WILL get a flat the first time you leave the paved surfaces and go over a rock or even a big cactus

Not defending Ford or Firestone (never had firestones and never will) but most people don't even consider what the tires are rated for.



Edit: Wouldn't own a Ford either as far as that goes.

Thanks to all who responded -- this is what I wanted to know. Looks like I got some shopping to do. RobertD

I have been selling tires (all brands) for 35 years. It wasn't a Firestone problem, it was Ford's fault. The sticker on the door of the Explorer said to run the tires at 27 psi. This was to keep the rollover prone Explorer on all four wheels. All of the problems occured in the southern states when the weather was very hot. Hot road + hot tires from being run half flat = TIRE FAILURE. I sell 1000 or more tires per year and I never saw a single instance of the Firestone problem here in Wisconsin. It is truly amazing what the press and our government can do to some companies. By the way, GM pickups came with the same Wilderness tires that Ford recalled till last year, and they now come with Brigestone Duellers which are made on the same assembly line as the Firestones, and are the same basic tire if you look at the tred. Sorry if this is irrelevant to the thread, but I just had to set the record straight.

Gentlemen,

My Dad shoots a Weatherby Vanguard 7mm Remington Magnum from Wal-Mart which is an extremely accurate, well-made rifle. A couple of friends have the .300 Wby Magnum version and they are very happy with theirs as well.

The price is right, that's for sure.

The big brand-name rifles sold by Walmart are NOT rejects or factory seconds, ALL OPINIONS TO THE CONTRARY NOTWITHSTANDING.... I believe the Weatherby Vanguards even come with a Weatherby accuracy guarantee!

Cliff's right! The Explorer problem wasn't a tire problem, it was a FORD problem!!

A sterling example of the folks that think with their pocketbooks. "Gee, I bought my rifle from a gun shop and paid twice what you did at Wallys, so mine MUST be better."

FYI- I was looking for a Laminate thumbhole stock for Howa .308 the other day and call some howa dealers, I got ahold of this guy in Mercer,Mo. Have no idea where it is located. He is a Howa Dealer, and can order them new for people. But he said that he make alot of them also. He buys the barreled action from Howa and the stcok from boyds and puts them together beds them and all and sells them from.223-.338 for $395.00. I don't know alot about this guy or his work but after looking on the howa sight alittle closre he saves you about $200.00. I found his shop off the howa web sight for dealers in Missouri.

Roberto,
Good luck on your WalMart rifle project. Don't know if you realize it or not but WalMart in CA is not selling guns now or anytime in the near future. So, unless you are planning on buying out of state, you're out of luck here in the "Golden State".

Sorry,
NoCAL

I believe the "factory second" lie was fostered by the gun stores who must find a reason for folks to pay a lot more money for what they buy. ANY MANUFACTURER who makes enough "seconds" to supply Wal Mart does not deserve to be trusted with any of their models bought anywhere!
That said, I will not buy everything at Wally world due to their limited selection and to quirky tastes. I do have a Savage .223 I bought there and have shot 1/4 minute with it.

When I was in college I worked at a walmart in the sporting goods department. They get their rifles from reputable wholesalers across the country just like everyone else does.

I worked there to help pay for college; but when it came down to it I actually spent more money than I made. At 1 time they had a lot more selection in their firearms; and as stated earlier we could order a customer a rifle, shotgun and in those days a PISTOL as long as the wholesale house offered it.

I worked there for about 2yrs and in that time I bought a savage 110package in .338 for $289, a ruger red lable 20ga. that was clearenced for $400, a remington sendero in 25 - 06 for $311( also clearenced ) a browning a bolt in .280 that was ordered & never picked up; for $380 and lastly a ruger p89 for less than $300.

Scopes were another thing that came and went at reasonable prices. I bought 3 nikon(pre ucc) scopes for less than $200 a peice.

I don't know if they still have the option of ordering from the wholesaler like they used to; but if you ask, you might be able to order something else than the vanilla ice cream they stock.

tuefman

Don't know if others are selling it now, but when I bought my Vanguard Wal-Mart was the ONLY place you could buy one. I was in a huge rush to buy it because I knew the Vanguard had been discontinued several years earlier and figured Wal-Mart must've found some NOS ones to liquidate. They'd resumed making them for Wally World, though. Mine's got the black plastic stock. Since, they've introduced one with the flashy Weatherby wood stock. I was pretty skeptical of the plastic stock and thought I might want to replace it, but it sure does shoot well and is very comfortable to shoot, to boot. It's really grown on me. I've got no complaints about the M70's moulded black stock with the funny raised decorations on the forend, either.

At the Wal-Marts around here, some sporting goods counter "associates" will tell you they can order guns from a catalog. Others will claim they can't, and that you just have to wait till they get another shipment in several months. Just don't want to fool with it, I think.

BTW, adding to my impression that the new Vanguard was likely a leftover when I bought it in (I think) January '98 was a brand new tang safety Ruger M77 .30-06 on the rack near it. (I already had one.) The manager showed me his catalog then and couldn't find the Vanguard in it. I think it was just a brand new item that hadn't yet made it into the book. I'd then only seen one other in .300 Weatherby, but found a couple of others in area stores in .30-06 and 7mm Rem Mag.

Has winchester dropped the push feed models, such as the black shadow. Or have they renamed them, is there a model with the "Springfield" in the name now that Walmart carries.

Dunno. Mine's a push feed, blind magazine, and I think it's a "Black Shadow" though I don't recall seeing the name anywhere. But it's been 4 years since I bought it and I don't really check out the guns at Wal-Mart on a regular basis.

Hey, I clean forgot that I bought my Savage 12BVSS .22-250 at Wal-Mart. Mentioned it in the "Your Most Accurate Rifle?" thread. I hate the Accutrigger safety lever, but otherwise it's a lovely rifle and a real shooter!

Walmarts special order guns are from vendors just like any gunshop, They order through Sports south, Lipskeys etc. The guns are pulled from standard inventory as any other order. As far as Walmarts standard stocking guns I imagine they get special pricing due to volume and can get special runs due to this. I dont think any gun company is going to sell seconds due to liability reasons alone.

Elsewhere on the board there's a thread about a liquidator selling Weatherby "seconds" that have minor cosmetic flaws. I agree, no gunmaker's going to knowingly sell dysfunctional guns.