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Which is the best rifle to buy
ba71corkey
Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
I was looking to purchase a new rifle tomorrow and had a few in mind and was curious as to if I could get some opinions on which is the best to buy. I have been looking at the Tikka T3, Remington 700, Savage, and Howa brands of rifles.. Let me know and your input is greatly appreciated
Comments
1) Savage: Great trigger, very accurate, low priced
2) Tikka T-3: better fit and finish than the Savage but it is more expensive
3) Howa: great rifle, but Savage has an edge
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7) Remington 700: Great name and a good rifle if you buy a used one that is atleast 5 years, old but even then you will have to replace the trigger.
savages are accurate,..no doubt, but "clunky" in their appearance and bolt operation. I also don't really like the accutrigger. The extra lever on the trigger shoe distracts my years of training myself to break a "glass rod".
Tikka is nice,...but let's face it,....a poor man's sako. If I want a Sako,..then I will buy a Sako. There is Sako,..and then whatever else is beneath it.
Howa,..good workable actions with lots aftermarket parts and a good manufacturer doing the work. Gunsmiths will agree.
In the medium tier price range,..the remington 700 is the most easily customized, easily worked on, best shooting rifle I have used. There is a reason that 90% of all non-custom actioned benchrest rifles, utilize the remington 700 platform. And resale will always be higher than anything that was in the same price range.
I'm assuming that you have gone to the local gun shop and handled the rifles you are talking about here. I know that in some smaller towns that the gunshops don't keep much inventory on hand, so it can be difficult to make a decision if you can't get your hands on the rifles to compare them properly.
I'd say that you buy the gun you personally like the best. That is, the one that handles best and feels best in your hands.
Some rifles just don't fit me very well and it's uncomfortable to shoulder them and sight them properly; then it actually hurts to sight them properly. The stock proportions and length of pull makes a big difference.
Is the gun just ugly to you? That means something, too.
How do you like the mechanics of the gun? Trigger? Loading process?
Easy to unload? Etc.
Barrel and barrel length?
Stock material?
Reputation?
Availability of the chambering (caliber) you are interested in.
Ultimately, the decision is yours. All the guns you mentioned have a following amongst shooters, usually for some or all of the reasons noted above.
Get the one that your wife likes.[8D]
the new ones that cost around 800-900 are awesome. Almost takes the fun out of 100 yrd shooting. Sometimes seems to easy.
dgac
I liked that enough to buy him a .270 Savage, same look and feel. And, as was said before their trigger is very nice. Just back from a hunting trip that he did very well using the Savage, shots at 185 yds, 200 yds and the only thing he needed a finishing shot for was due to bullet drop at close to 300 yds on a smaller animal (springbok).
That said the only issue we had was the screw that attached the action to the stock had to be tightened, could likely be my fault for not properly torquing after trigger adjustment.
Looking at the price difference between a new Winchester and a Savage, I could add a nice Zeiss or get a long ways towards a Swarovski!