Jim, believe it or not, best rifle (new) in what you want is a Weatherby! People who haven't looked at or bought recent vintage Weatherby's deserve the crap the other US manufacturers are getting them into. They are well put together and they work and they will stand by that accuracy guarantee. If LH were not a consideration, I'd second the CZ. If you are willing to go much over your price range, the options widen significantly.

I've got enough Remington long arms to frame a house and as much as I hate to admit it, it's the truth. They're getting terrible. My last purchase was an over/under from the custom shop (a bonus from work) and the lack of craftsmanship was unbelievable. I had to remove the center bead completely, (in order to sight down the barrel) it was so poorly aligned. The equipment now days is superior, but gunsmiths are dead and gone.

What about a Kimber?

[ 09-17-2003, 11:47: Message edited by: Bigsley ]

Jim, it would seem there is some thing about Remington you like to buy more after experiencing problems. If this is an accurate assesment find a good riflesmith by talking to local competitors in several shooting disciplines. Explain the problems you want rectified and tell him you want the rifle to be capable of sub .5moa 10 5-shot groups. If you must sell off less desirable rifles to finance the project of having a rifle you will truly appreciate.

When I bought a Winchester stainless CRF .300WSM I viewed the purchase as the 1st step in my project. After shooting a few rounds of factory ammo through it and average was 1.5moa or slightly larger to get a baseline I was extremely glad I had no intention of using the rifle as delivered.

This is only an unbiased opinion based on past experience, but it seems many have an unjustified rosy memory of the rifles produced many years ago. While the observations of better fit and finish are consistent with my experiences, the average accuracy was not even as good as is common today. Maybe many of us just want to remember the best rifles of their favorite brand.

Go with Ruger, they are the best right now.
Hey, and what's this crap about $13-$14 for a spring to reduce the trigger pull of a Browning A-Bolt? That's a little rediculous, isn't it?

Got the "good" news from my gunsmith today. Seems the scope mounting screw holes are out of alignement by only .018"good for 12" at 100 yards. The front of the reciever is out of square by a mere .009" good for another 20+ inches at 100 yards. Im kinda guessing on the moa at 100 but I know I can't get on papar with the scopes internal windage adjustments.
This is a 700 lefthand LSS, have had some of the other problems on Senderos. I have been trying to stay with the Remingtons because of parts availability and the left hand bolt and now with wanting a 338 RUM in a left hand rifle. Found an older 700 LH in 7mm mag that I will try to convert over. More money out, what a joke.
I don't understand the mind set that a factory rifle is just a starting point for a "good"rifle. Not any kind of a slam, but $500- $700 is a lot of money for a projet rifle. I would expect any new factory rifle from the top 5 mass produced rifle makers to function, be at minumum 1 MOA with factory ammo and have the ability to mount good optics that are within 5-8" of dead on at 100 yards. JMHO, worth what it cost you....

I shoot a sako 75 S.S. in 300 rum. and it is one of the 20% that has a bad safety, so there you go ,there not all 100%. For those that like the browning A boltII, do you know there is a complete RECALL on them, i forget the site, but has something to do with police forensic's, but it list's all the warning's and recall's on firearm's, my gun is not even mentioned.(to new ? i figure) So it seam's to me it do's not matter what you buy. I mean , take a look at the big 3 auto maker's, $40 to $60 thousand for a 4x4 lemon, just my 2 cent's worth. Rick.

Did you discuss the problems with Remington?

I had a bum Sako AV. I tried 3 barrels before I realized that only one lug was engaging. If I had to pick a rifle up off the shelf, it would be a Savage because they actually tried to improve their quality the last few years, and range results are confirming that they have been successful. However, I would just as soon go custom and remove most of the doubt.

I recommend the rifles made by Savage, Tikka, or Sako if you are buying new. Take a look at the 116-series Savages for a lefty in .338 for a reasonable price.