Decent quality rifle w/ similar price-point as the Mosin Nagant, that could be found in .308 & 30-06

[BullHeadedGideon]

Hello guys & gals.

So... Just what title says.

Any decent-quality rifles that can be found in .308 & 30-06 for around the Mosin price? $300-450?

Bolt-action or semi-auto.

I've heard Savage Axis 2s & T/C Compass & Ventures.

If anyone could be more specific than Brands, & name models, that would be much appreciated.

 

[DocRock]

Both of those are in that price range and seem to be accurate. Add Ruger American.

 

[<*(((><]

For $300-450, I would be looking used, just because we are after hunting season and it always seems like there are good buys out there.

But if you prefer new based on what I’ve seen and heard I would go with a Ruger American or T/C Compass. Another one to take a look at are the new Mossberg Patriots (I believe is what they are called)

 

[Huntolive]

The TC Compass is NOT a quality rifle.

If you want New get a Remington 783 (I think) and it has a threaded barrel and optic mount or a Ruger American.

But try to find a used Tika T3 or T3 Light, Much better.
I'm not talkin based off of what I've read I Own all 4 rifles that I mentioned.

The only one I regret is the TC compass
I have lived long enough to learn
Buy once cry once!
If you want an unbeatable thirty-ought-six get the Ruger Guide Gun but that will cost more
Once
You should be strictly looking for bolt action in that price range anything semi-auto you find in that price range in those calibers will be pure crap.

 

[DocRock]

Petzl's review of the 783 pretty much sums up all of the rifles thus far mentioned in the sub $500 range:

https://www.fieldandstream.com/arti...petzal-remington-model-783-bolt-action-rifle/

 

[BullHeadedGideon]

You should be strictly looking for bolt action in that price range anything semi-auto you find in that price range in those calibers will be pure crap.

Very true - I don't know why that didn't dawn on me until I read it from someone else lmao

 

[LoonWulf]

Very true - I don't know why that didn't dawn on me until I read it from someone else lmao

Not necessarily true depending on what's being asked of them.

There are large frame ar variants that show up at about that which would work well enough, there are also used 7400s that show up in that price range.

Personally for anything less than about 800 I'm hard pressed to chose anything besides an American, but I really like them and have gotten used to smoothing out the edges.

Off the shelf I'd probably be considering howa1500/vanguard, or for a lighter option maybe a Patriot, tho I haven't owned one yet.

The Compass, Axis, American and 783 are peas in a pod as to value/performance. You can pay more but your not likely to actually get a more accurate rifle, and they will be functional if not horribly refined.

 

[BigBL87]

@Huntolive what was it about the Compass you that you disliked? By the by, I've heard mostly positive things about them, particularly for the price.

In regards to the original question, the Ruger American (I'd get a Predator for the heavier profile barrel) and Howa 1500/Weatherby Vanguard would be my first choices out of those already mentioned.

You mentioned the Savage Axis II which is a decent rifle, but in your price range you could bump up to a Savage 11/111 (11 is the short action model i.e. 308, 111 is the long action i.e. 30-06) which is a noticeably nicer rifle.

I imagine any of those 3 you'd be pretty happy. I will say I own a Weatherby Vanguard and a Savage 10 (same family as the 11/111's) and while both are nice rifles the Weatherby has a NOTICABLY smoother action, smoothest I've ever operated.

 

[Goosey]

Petzl's review of the 783 pretty much sums up all of the rifles thus far mentioned in the sub $500 range:

https://www.fieldandstream.com/arti...petzal-remington-model-783-bolt-action-rifle/

"My test gun, a .30/06, arrived with a bore that resembled a coal mine. After an hour of cleaning, I got a borescope inside and beheld more annular rings than a redwood tree can grow in several millennia. It was a mass of toolmarks, and there were long, heavy streaks of copper fouling."

Wow, you don't often see magazine reviewers be so blunt. Usually if there's a criticism it's left unsaid, euphemised or explained away. Eg, "Accuracy was never a problem with open sights at 50 yards", meaning 4-1/4" groups at that distance from the $1500 rifle (either that or the writer).

 

[LoonWulf]

the annular marks are pretty common, some of the worst I've seen were on 2 savages, both of which shot amazingly.....sucked cleaning them tho.

 

[Dibbs]

As <*(((>< mentioned, we are past hunting season, so use that to your advantage. There should be a fair amount of decent used bolt-actions available, at the LGSs and pawn shops
right now, in the price range you are asking. Might even find something with a respectable scope.

 

[DocRock]

the annular marks are pretty common, some of the worst I've seen were on 2 savages, both of which shot amazingly.....sucked cleaning them tho.

I have an H&R 444 Marlin barrel that looks atrocious. Seems to have no impact on accuracy.

 

[Demi-human]

Wow, you don't often see magazine reviewers be so blunt.

It is kind of nice, isn't it?

Maybe I read between the lines a bit, but that did not play out like a glowing review...

Terrible trigger, bad bore, unkempt finish and an admitance of " no real R&D, just an amalgam of stuff that worked from other manufacturers".

And an astonishment that one group was "tiny", even though the other two were over an inch. Nine total shots does not a super small grouping rifle make, in my opinion.

But writers sell print and Remington sells rifles. The sun also rises.

And a Savage will still out shoot it!
(And that would be my suggestion, Bullhead. Savage for the win!)

 

[12Bravo20]

I'm partial to my Savage rifles. Everyone that I have ever owned shoots good. Plus Savage rifles are easier to find in left hand versions.

Everyone has given good suggestions. Go check them all out and find the one that fits you the best (and fits your needs) in the price range you want. There is no really wrong answer since making an accurate rifle for a low price has become the norm these days.

 

[Random 8]

Any of the above listed new rifles will be a good bet. If you're confident checking the condition of bore and mechanicals on a used rifle, there should be some real bargains out there. I found an Ithaca marked, Sako built 30-06 last summer for under $350. Unfortunately, it was a cash only sale, and it was gone when I got back from the ATM! I would look to Savage M10 or M110, Rem 700 ADL or BDL, Ruger M77 as top picks in the used market.

 

[mcb]

Whoa Mosins are going for $300-$450!? When did this happen? When I bough my M44 I handed the guy $150 and walked out with an M44 and two 440rd spam cans of ammo.

 

[boom boom]

Just one minor point to add, commercial hunting rifles are not battle rifles like the Mosin. You get a lot more refinement such as trigger pull and accuracy but old battle rifles were designed to go bang in horrible conditions like trenches in WWI and were more likely to survive combat than the men who pulled the triggers were.

This is not to say get a Mosin for hunting, just that commercial hunting rifles and military bolt actions were designed to do different things.

So, the moral of the story is don't treat your commercial rifle the same as an old Mosin. Take care of it, clean it properly, and don't abuse the parts and avoid doing stuff it is not designed to do. Treat it right and it will do you right.

 

[Skylerbone]

Shoulder all of the above suggestions you can and choose the one you like and can afford. In that range you aren’t buying performance, you’re buying a quasi-MOA for 3-shot group hunting rifle. I’ve been there, painted the pigs to some measured improvement, but none are all you dream of out of the box. Add a look at the new Mauser rifles as well for another solid performing action.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Ditto on the used rifle market. The sporting rifles I've kept all hovered around $700-800 new, while $300 recently bought me a cherry Husqvarna Mauser 98 lightweight sporter with a postwar FN action.

 

[Ryden]

That looks like a good one! What calibre?

 

[jmr40]

The TC Venture is a decent rifle, but I have no idea what today's street prices are. The Compass not so good. I know the Ruger American rifles are great rifles and are in the $350-$400 price range. I have 3 of them in 223, 6.5 CM and 308. They shoot as accurately as many guns costing $1000+ and are my go-to choice in a budget gun.

 

[Garandimal]

For the money - the Mossberg Patriot Synthetic - Vortex Scoped Combo - for < $400 is it.

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GR

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

That looks like a good one! What calibre?

8x57 in a commercial action (solid side rail). Date code is late 40s.

 

[7mmsavage]

I’ll add my vote for a used, older model Savage 110. I think I paid $279 for mine and later upgraded the hardwood stock to a Boyd’s laminate and metal trigger guard.

Of course if I could find a Husqvarna Mauser like that one Dave posted I’d jump on it for $300.

Seems like all of the new budget rifles are good shooters but they just don’t do it for me.

 

[Huntolive]

There is a particular model of the 783 I believe it's called the 783 tactical that I have that's the one with the built-in rail and rifled barrel mine is short and compact with a bull barrel design it's extremely maneuverable so even with the suppressor on it it's still as short as many other 308.

The problem with the TC compass I have is the bolts is just very very sticky and the least smooth of any bolt action rifleI have ever owned to the extent that it feels like plastic and I swear to God it felt like an actually bent a couple of times.

I do like the Ruger Americans too and I will say that Ruger stands behind their products in a way that sig Sauer and several other manufacturers do not.

I'd still take a Tikka T3 used over any of them and you might be able to get one of those for 400. But the Remington 783 tactical I have has tremendous potential I haven't shot it much yet at all but the upsides look really good especially for suppressed shooting and I don't think I paid much more than 300 for it if that

I bought that brand new and I bought the TC Compass brand new 4 well under 300 but I would never buy another TC compass