Years ago a young doctor asked me which rifle he should buy a Remington or a Ruger. Not having the experience to answer at the time I told him to go ask around and see what other people liked the best. Two months later I asked him what he figured out. He said "It didn't matter who I asked, what ever they had was the best." I thought this was an excellent observation. Twenty years later I own no Ruger rifles. Just an observation.

My observation is that the best rifle is the one that you can hit with...

swede

Hmmm. I guess I am a little different .

I own one Remington 700(.270Win), one Savage 516(.308Win),
one Howa 1500(.300 WSM), one Tikka M695(Whitetail HD in .25-06),
one Remington 760(.30-06), one Browning BAR(.308 Win),
and an Armalite AR-15 lower with several Rock River
uppers, so I guess I can honestly tell you my assessment
of "the best rifle". At least in this lot. Well there
isn't one. Best as in smooth action, and exceptional
accuracy,...well then that is the TIkka. One that
is handy, and has excellent accuracy,...well the Savage
fits that bill. One that swings fast on brushy cover
loving whitetails,...well then the Browning is my favorite.
Or one that is just a ton of fun to shoot, with impressive
accuracy,...well that would be the AR-15. I think the
best rifle is the next one you want to buy! A Savage
16FSS in .22-250, or maybe something in a Sako, or
maybe a .223 Rem, in CZ rifle...Would be my votes for
the "best rifle" based on the next one to buy.


Squeeze

Clearly opinions are based upon memories which are fond to us regarding some basic performance or possibly handling aspect. So my vote goes to the rifle which has accumulated the most fond memories, successes, center hits, trophies, kills, whatever. The caliber isn't important, the action style doesn't matter, sight's don't enter into the equation. So this leaves me torn between my Red Ryder, and my 6.5/284 Hart/Remington. Maybe memories aren't as accurate as the rifles in question, which was?

Well,I am to say my Remington 700,BDL with a Bull Barrel,in 222 Remington.A true crow and chuck killer.