Earlier today, I stopped up at the local sporting goods store (i.e. hunting/fishing/firearms/archery/etc...) and picked up some more scent-free deoderant and an eye dropper bottle of "Active Scrape", which I needed.
ANYWAY... while I was in there, I just had to go browse around the rifles and shotguns and so on that they have. I found these three models that really caught my eye and need some opinions:
Remington 700, left hand bolt action, in a 7mm-08 caliber. Very nice rifle, but heavy. Came complete with a Leupold scope and was almost $800 bucks or something.
Winchester Model 70 featherweight left hand bolt action, in a .270 caliber. This was also very nice, but was used. No scope on it and no dings or scratches or anything. It felt nice and came right up to my shoulder.
Ruger 77 MKII, left hand bolt action, in a .270 caliber. This rifle was sweet. This rifle just... you know...just felt right. It came right to my shoulder with ease, like it was meant to be there. This rifle was the one that said "take me home".
Which of these 3 bolt actions rifles is the best quality? The Ruger 77 just felt perfect to me more so than the others. The salesman laughed to me also and said, "well there ya go... if a rifle feels right and shoulders perfectly, you can't ask for more". This Ruger 77 was $499 and had no scope or scope rings or anything. See the image below. I WANT THIS RIFLE!!!
hey butch, i have owned several rugers, 2 77's both required trigger work, and the only other thing i didn't like was the safety was very rough and loud, it was a m77 in 7mm mag that someone relieved me of[:@], it was a very accurate gun, i also have a 77/22 and the thing is a dream, and i have a no.1 in 7mm mag, imo they are great guns, but all i have bought in the past few years, aside from the 10/22 stuff, has been remington, a couple of 700's and a model 7, for whatever reason i have found the gun i will stick with, most i have worked the triggers over, but all of the remingtons i have bought have been great shooting guns, but like i mentioned the ruger also shot good, still have the 77/22 and the no.1, i don't think you could go wrong with any of those mentioned, i've got a cousin that is about rugers like i am about rem's, he will not shoot anything but a ruger, i guess it boils down to whichever feels best, good luck let us know what you end up with
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, left hand bolt action, in a .270 caliber. This rifle was sweet. This rifle just... you know...just felt right. It came right to my shoulder with ease, like it was meant to be there. This rifle was the one that said "take me home".
Which of these 3 bolt actions rifles is the best quality? The Ruger 77 just felt perfect to me more so than the others. .....
First off, I'd take a 270Win. ahead of a 7mm-08. There's just a lot more variety in the selection of ammo, and IMO, it's even more versatile if you
reload.
All three are good rifles, but as has already been noted, the one that "feels" best to you is the one you should go with. The balance/feel of a good rifle, how it carries, comes to your shoulder, points & holds on target, is more important than most give credit to. It's one of the main reasons the old Marlin & Winchester levers are still so popular with so many hunters.
The Ruger bolt action is excellent quality, but if it's one of the newer MKII models it may need some trigger work to lighten it some ($30-$50), and glass bedding the actions/free floating the barrels is often helpful for consistent accuracy. If the rifle is new, scope rings should come with it as they are supplied by the factory with new rifles.
Oh yeah, "scent-free deodorant"??? You're kidding, right?
I've used such as Irish Spring, Ivory, and Dial soaps for showering in the mornings, and I've had deer walk up with 10-15ft. of me, even when I used to smoke.[:'(] It's movement and odd noises that spooks 'em.
I've got a RugerM77 MKIIin 30-06 that I'm really very fond of. I wish the trigger were lighter but mine is not too bad. A gunsmith can work on the trigger for you for a minimal cost. The previous poster was correct regarding the scope rings. If the gun is new,they will be in the box. The Ruger seems to be a strong, reliable, rugged gun.
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Oh yeah, "scent-free deodorant"??? You're kidding, right?
I've used such as Irish Spring, Ivory, and Dial soaps for showering in the mornings, and I've had deer walk up with 10-15ft. of me, even when I used to smoke.[:'(] It's movement and odd noises that spooks 'em.
No I'm not kidding.... I hunt public land and constantly have to play the wind and be as scent free as possible (without going to extremes like scent-lock camo suits and/or keeping my clothes in an air tight compartment). The only time I had a deer 20 yards from me was when it was bumped by another hunter and it was very skittish and then tore off outta there! [:'(]
Anyway, thanks for all the advice everyone on the rifles. As you see in my signature, I have a little "one of each" type of thing going. The old Marlin 30-30 is great and is zeroed to 100 yards. That's the way I keep it. I love it dearly for hunting the thick stuff. But with a nice .270, I could really extend my range to double (heck, even triple) that of the 30-30.
I have two 77 Mk IIs one in 300 WSM and one in .223 both will shoot .5" groups at 100 yards. I would not trade either of these rifles for anything. You will probably need a trigger job or you could put a Timney in but that is all you shouldhave to do. Ruger makes very good guns. It should also come with scope rings.
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Ruger makes a good looking gun, only caveat with them would be the trigger. However that can be fixed. Im a Rem fan..but if that Ruger felt right..then thats what you wanna get.
Ruger Model 77 / WInchester 70 / Remington 700 (decisions.... decisions...)
You're kidding, right?
