I know this may start a bit of arguement, but I am wondering what you folks think is the best all-around production rifle available today. Is it Sako, Tikka, CZ, etc. Just wondering . Thanks-Karl

These are the best in my opinion,

[you will obviously need at least one of each]

Light weight hunting rifles,

New Ultra Light arms,www.newultralight.com

General and long range,big game , hunting rifles

Weatherby,www.weatherby.com

Lazzeroni,www.lazzeroni.com

Varmint rifles,

Nesika Bay, www.nesika.com

Cooper arms,www.cooperfirearms.com

All the best,

Charlie.

Ruger makes a fine product at a reasonable price.
swede

sako

If I were buying an off-the-shelf production rifle today, I'd go with Weatherby.

AD

If I was buying a rifle tomorrow, especially for a magnum caliber and the only thing I could get done was to bed it and do no more than replace trigger return spring, then a Weather Mark V would be my choice.

However, if the caliber was smaller, like a 270 or 30/06 and I was allowed to make quite a few alterations, including the barrel, then I think I would buy Model 70.

Mike

I've quit buying off the shelf production rifles, entirely. None compare with the beautifully machined actions of the pre-64 70's, FN Mausers, OLD Sako's, and '03 Springfields.

I just can't stand investment castings, stamped parts, polymers, and plastic stocks.

Are we talking looks or accuracy?Tikkas look cheap but for half the price of a weatherby they guarantee 1" groups to weatherby's 1-1/2" guarantee.My factory weatherby's were not great shooters and were less accurate than many 700's and savages that I have shot.Overall the most accurate factory rifles I have shot were sako's tikka's and remington sendero's.

I second Ruger. It is hard to make a statement like that though since there is so many duds out there regardless of who name on it.

SAKO TRG-S 30-378 Wby Mag

[ 10-06-2002, 00:05: Message edited by: Norrfix Sweden ]

Saur Model 90

Hello Waxman - glad to see someone else knows what quality means. What calibre?

I have a Sauer 80 in 8x68, a Sauer 90 in 0.243 & 22/250 - couldn't find anything to do on them - other than wipe them down after shooting and admire then some more - felt a bit cheated.

They are the only actions that I have handled that are smoother than my Ross 0.280 rifle.

cheers edi

I know an older gentleman with a Sauer in 7x64. The action practically works itself. Balance is nice, too, and the stock is really comfortable and helps suck up some of the recoil. Feels like a little .243 or .257 with 140gr.@3000fps. Has some gorgeous engraving as well. A little impractical for this climate but a very attractive piece.

My vote, however, will go to the Weatherby line of rifles. Ain't nothin' quite like a Weatherby for long range and uber bragging rights. They kill game even deader than a normal rifle.

edi, My Saur is a 30-06. Besides being beatifull it also shoots well.

Sako.,Tikka.

Hello Waxman - no complaints from me about how they shoot. My first "real" hunting rifle was a 1935 Sauer on a K98 action in 9.3x62 - and it only weighs 7 lbs!

It taught me how to handle recoil - as well as the never-ending real-live benefits of a lightweight hunting rifle. The longer the day, the steeper the mountains, the greater that benefit.

Don't know what the Namibian kudu had to say about it - they just weren't in a condition to make conversation.

Years later I was at the gunshop when they unwrapped the first Sauer 80 to arrive in town.

The smoothnes, no, silkiness, the simple effectiveness of the barrel clamping system, that bolt with its triple flighted lock-up - as an engineer I just had to have one for that feature alone.

My Sauer 80 was ordered directly from the factory. They sent me a sheet of paper asking for the length of my trigger finger, distance of eye pupil to shoulder etc etc - I'm sure ny shoe size was also requested. Anyway I thought all that was really going over the top a bit. However the rifle arrived, I assembled it and what do you know? - surprise, surprise - look at the target, mount the gun and the sights were lined up dead on target. Now that impressed me.

I guess if you were in the gun business from 1751 you could claim to have learnt a little bit about how things should be done.

A friend of mine insisted on buying a brand new Brno - he brought it to me after he got it so that I could mount he scope for him. I pulled the bolt back - I couldn'r believe what I was feeling. Holding the rifle by the bolt handle, I lifted the muzzle until it was 70 degrees from the horizontal. Talk of friction!

I then let him play with the Sauer 80 - it so spoilt his day that I felt obliged to offer to clean up his action for him.

As I don't have to make a living from gunsmithing I do those jobs slowly - once. About 15 - 16 hours later he understood why you pay so much more for quality.

As you said they shoot accurately too.

cheers edi

I have a Weatherby Ultra Lt Weight that I am VERY happy with, its "custom rifle" accurate. For all of $850 (got it a few years ago).

But.....THE most accurate and enjoyable rifles for me have been CRF M70's and Rem 700's that I have had worked on by a competant Smith. I have them adjust the trigger, check the bedding and do whats needed to make stock to action fit proper,if the chamber is on the sloppy side I've had them cut the barrel back a thread and rechamber, check feed and function and do whats neccesary for it to be flawless. I have had this done for as little as $90 or as much as $300. In each and EVERY instance I ended up with a very good hunting rifle. One that was accurate and dependable.

I had an older Sako redone maybe five or six years ago and that rifle after "blueprinting" and a rebarrel is a dandy.

I guess what I'm saying is that there are few off the shelf rifles that are the "best". Its IMHO much easier and cheaper to buy a Sako,Win,Rem and have it gone through to end up with a good , dependable rifle.

FN in MT

If I were buying a push feed I go with the Sako.
CRF gun; I cant belive anyone has thrown their support behind CZ. For the money it cant be beat, an all steel rifle.

Sauer, Blaser, Heym.

hoehne,

Heym, Blaser, CZ, Sako.

I think Steyr-Mannlicher should be on the short list as well.

Best performance dollar overall and won't need a gunsmith - Tikka

Best value for performance AND great gunsmith support - Rem 700 Sendero or VS

Best value for performance and gunsmiths who don't have a clue - Steyr

Best value for looking good but shooting cheap - Browning.

Best value for feeling cheap but shooting good - Ruger.

My $0.02

This same question was asked on the HA forum.

I liked my #1 till I bought a CZ.

I agree with RickMD. Mass-produced rifles of today do not compare favorably with commercial Mausers, pre-64 Winchesters, Huskys, Remingtons, older Sakos and Brnos, etc. made from the 1930's through early 1960's. Today's rifles may have a slight edge on accuracy but quality, finish and aesthetics don't come close. One can purchase one of these classics which will only increase in value for about the same price or less than today's new rifles. By far the best rifle for the money today is a 50's vintage "house brand" rifle made with an FN action ($250-$400).

[ 10-08-2002, 00:56: Message edited by: fla3006 ]

I recently bought a model 70, and it had major problems. It was my second model 70 in a row to have problems. After dealing with Winchester's customer service for several months, I got frustrated and convinced them to give my money back. So, I went to the service center to get my gun so I could send it back to Winchester. That particular service center is also a gun shop, and they had a new Sako 75 .338 WM on the rack. I thought the Sako would be of better quality than the Winchester, so I picked it up. With the bolt closed and locking lugs in place, the locking lugs fit so loosely that I could shake the gun and the bolt would rattle. I would say there was about 1/16th inch of play. I showed the clerk and he said, "I hadn't noticed that. I guess will have to send that one back." On the other hand, my dad just got a Ruger 77 30-06, and after an extensive barrel break-in shot a three shot group. It measured 5/16th inch. Are all 77s like that? Definately not. My opinion is with today's guns you just don't know for sure what you will get.

I also have had exceptional luck with Rugers. I purchased a M77 stainless in the Laminate stock and when I first shot it to sight in, it shot less than moa and was within 4 inches of the aim point with out adjusting the new scope that I had mounted on it. A small adjustment of the scope and it was nearly perfect. Says a lot about the fit of the scope rings and the alignment of the bore.
I also have a M77 V in 22-250 that has shot groups so small at 100 yrds that I fear to tell about them for fear that folks would think I was exagerating things. Love 55 gr. Noslers and H-380.

SAKO. for quality and accuracy

SAVAGE for accuracy and savings.

Pop I totally agree with you. My Savage is a shooter right out of the box and I just adjusted the trigger pull to 3.5lbs. to help with accuracy improvement,but I could have lived with it.

If I was spending new dollars on a rifle I would think really long and hard about a Sako TRG. Nice smooth action and a dream to shoot.

[ 10-10-2002, 10:34: Message edited by: Dave In LB ]

I'm not trying to offend anyone but I seriously wonder if some of the posters have even seen a pre-64 winchester let alone a 98 mauser or springfield. I have two pre-64 winnies, a 270 and 300 h&h in standard grade and they're anything but well finished. Both were made in 1954. The stocks are mediocre at best, but well fit and while the actions are smooth running and feed flawlessly it doesn't take a tool maker to find machine marks and finishes on the rougher side.I won't even get into the 98 or springfield except to say the finish on the winchesters are better by far. Maybe what you have seen are custom guns, highly worked or in some cases a super grade finish. I own several of the newer classic actions as well and the ones I have are finished better BUT all needed some work to ensure feeding and action fitting. Someone did say recently that virtually all guns purchased today are "in the rough" and need some adjusting. Seems true. I've owned most of the major and minor brands over the years but have settled on the winchesters. In some ways I find it stange that my favorites were made when I was just 12 yrs old, the first year I hunted.

I was in a shop today that had a Whitworth in .300 Magnum for sale. The price was low at $300 and I had that feeling you get when you might buy a rifle and you start looking at it in terms of a plan for it, loads etc. Then I remembered that I have a bunch of pre-64 M-70's!

I put the Whitworth down and bought some powder.

Dakota M-76 or M-10 SingleShot

Hello Pathfinder - Yup, I have a 1938 Model 70 Super Grade in 250/3000. First thing I did when I bought it way back in 1975 was to strip it completely. Apart from a bit of cleaning and lubricating I could find nothing to tinker with in the metalwork. Action is smooth, trigger break is clean and the gun is accurate out to 300 +m

The checkering was almost 80% worn away, dings here and there in the woodwork. Some steaming, a few pleasant hours re-checkering, still more time sanding and oiling the stock and the stock looks almost like new.

It's become my favourite small game (fallow deer, mountain reedbuck, springbok). It has only failed me once when I omitted to check the scope zero after having the action out of the stock and went hunting 6 months later. My fault.

I'll re-blue it when it's time to hang up my hunting cap.

Smoothest action you will ever handle - Sauer 80 or 90. It unbelievable. Second best that I have felt - the Ross 0.280 Deerstalker.

cheers edi

I have a rem 700 LSS that I absolutely love. It shoots great and looks even better. My dad just got a tikka white tail hunter in 25-06 and that is one hell of a rifle too. I have used old weatherby vangaurds and really liked the action feel to them but the wood was far from nice. But by far the nicest rifle I have ever handled was a Sako. I can not justify spending that kind of money on a hunting rifle for myself but that is just me. I also have a new M70 coyote in 243. Its a good design I like alot of its features but over all i am unhappy with it. It doesn't shoot very well. The stock has a poor feel to it. But it feeds perfectly everytime and the trigger is so easy to adjust to very lower breaking weights. It just will not keep a zero from one day to the next.

But its just like vehicles there are good ones and there are lemons.

Steyr_Mannlicher

Weidmannsheil

Martin

For a rifle on which absolutely to do nothing except sighting in and screw checking: Steyr.

I have yet to see one who won�t shoot most ammo really good, and most exceptionally.

Hermann

I have to agree with Pathfider. In 40+ years of buying and sellling centerfires I have not seen a factory rifle that could not stand to be tweaked at least a little.

I did own a Sauer in 375 H&H once that was close but even it needed glass bedding to keep it shooting straight.

Coming back to the original question, I think your best bet is to buy a Mod 700 Rem., give it a trigger job, tighten the bedding screws, mount a scope and go kill things.

In my opinion:

Best production rifle for $500 CZ
Best shooting rifle for $500 Tikka
Best looking and feeling production rifle $1,000 Ruger deluxe
I am negative on the recent Winchesters I've seen and have yet to see a Remington I like.

Hey'
I most likely am wrong,but it is my understanding,that Howa,makes most of Weatherby's current rifles.Why not then buy a Howa,and save several hundred dollars.Please advise if I am mistaken about Howa's involvement with Weatherby.My Rifle preferences,are Sako and Tikka.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

1GeeJay....a howa action and a weatherby action are 2 totally different animals. However, Howa does use the same action as the Weatherby vanguard. I own a mark V and 2 Vanguard's and for the difference in $$$ my Vanguard VGX is untopable by any current mass manufactured firearm. I'm talking looks acuracy and finish.
But my head still had to have a Mark V.

Oh while i'm blabbing away...most accurate out of the box Rifle I ever owned.....Browning Medalion 7mm mag boss.