My Mission...

[Tomekeuro85]

My friend is about to buy his first rifle and my mission is to get him the best rifle he can get. This rifle will be used primarily for hunting and target shooting. I told him to buy a heavy bbl, but is it really necessary? He's not looking for .25 MOA, 1MOA is fine. The other four requirements: It needs to be left handed, wood stock, bolt action, and in .308 caliber so I can reload for him. He is only planning to buy this one rifle, but wants to spend less than $800. He already has a scope and rings. I recommended Remington 700's or Savage. Any other rifles that would meet these requirements? Thanks to all.

 

[gbran]

The Savage may be best bang for the buck. You can buy several of their models that already have a floated bbl, bedded action and have the adjustable Accutrigger.

I have one in 30'06. It shoots 3/4" to 1 1/4" at 100 yds pretty consistently.

 

[rust collector]

Beefy barrels look serious, but they've become a bit of a fad recently. Yes, they are decidedly beneficial if you are putting lots of rounds into targets or varmints. For bigger game and lower volume shooting, however, the rifle will be much more enjoyable if it has a standard weight barrel.

We have become a culture of extremes. Two of my more accurate rifles demonstrate that: one is a RRA AR15 type varmint rifle with a fat 20" stainless barrel, that turns a light and handy firearm into a 10 pound anchor. Very accurate and fun to shoot, but not to schlepp across a muddy field. The other is a Ruger ultralight also in 223 that has a pencil thin barrel and groups nearly as well for the first 5 shots. Much more fun to carry, but not a dogtown boomer.

I would suggest that your friend start out closer to the mainstream and go where his interests and needs take him. Savage sounds like the best deal, but I am not familiar with the various models.

 

[BigG]

Just as a comment: a properly made barrel can be thin as a twig and shoot just as well as a hugely thick one. I'm not recommending you get a Steyr Mannlicher, but any one of their lightweight sporters will shoot inside an inch and they usually have thin barrels. It's how they are made that counts.

The barrelmaker Harry Pope believed that a barrel had to be straight to begin with or he would scrap it. Today most makers straighten barrels after they are finished. According to Pope, metal has a "memory" and will return to its warped condition as it heats up. Sounds like a good idea as I've seen many barrels walk their point of impact as they heat up, although I'm no expert. YMMV

 

[Werewolf]

CZ-550 fits the bill and total cost with a medium priced scope will be less than $800 easily. Not sure it can be had in a left hand version though.

OTOH the Savage package guns are really good deals too and very, very accurate right out of the box.

 

[MachIVshooter]

For $800, your friend should have no problem getting a rifle, sling and decent scope. Most moderately priced bolt guns will shoot MOA or better with decent ammo. My suggestion would be a Ruger M-77 Mk II. He can get the rifle for under $500 and they come with scope rings. A good sling is <$30, so that'll leave him $250 or so for optics. In that range, there are such fine scopes as the Nikon Buckmaster and Leupold VX-II 3-9x. Reminton, Winchester and Savage are available in the $500-$650 range, but do not come with rings and bases, so add $40-$60.

For my sister, I opted for the Ruger stainless/synthetic in .280 rem. ($459) We got her a good leather and nylon sling ($29), harris bipod ($72) and Nikon Pro-staff 3-9x ($149). About $740 total, tax included. The rifle shoots .8 MOA with my handloads, and she dropped her first elk this year with it. The nice 450 pound cow was running by her at 60 yards; she hit it in the spine mid-back.

On a side not, I love my Reminton 700's (I have 5), but the Rugers have a smoother action. The blued models also have a nicer finish than any of the others, IMO. I have a wood/blue M77 in 6mm rem. that I paid $350 for slightly used. I'll never sell that rifle.