I have come to the opinion that every rifle manufacturer is like a family, and that every rifle is an individual within that family. So, some families may have mostly ugly daughters that I wouldn't want to marry, though there may be a real looker in the bunch. And other families may have some fine offspring, with the occasional ugly duckling.

Generally speaking, I've never had a Ruger rifle "speak" to me: they just don't feel right in my hands. Now I've seen wonderful fit & finish on selected specimens, & I've cycled some Ruger actions that were incredibly slick. To me, though, that was just every now & then. Remingtons, on the other hand, feel like they were made for me. Most models point like a trusted field dog, with silky actions & perfect stocks for my hands. However, I've seen some inexcusably sloppy workmanship on the odd rifle, such that it would call into question my everbuying that brand if I'd never owned one.

Last week I held a 700 CDL in .243 Win that felt like a dream: I had to pour a cup of ice down my pants to keep from buying it on the spot. Then I handed it back to the guy, & let him show me a 700 XCR in .300 WM. Besides the extra weight in the barrel's length & contour throwing the balance off, the trigger was as heavy as I've ever felt on a rifle, & the bolt was binding almost as if it were out of round.

If onewere tolook at different rifle models as different "kids",then I think the biggest thing to considerwould bethe fraternal twins: the variations from rifle to rifle in the same model. So if I'm going to "marry" a rifle, I want to be careful in courting it first. I'd like to handle several different rifles of the exact model I'm looking at, to get a feel forwhat that rifle is "supposed" to be like. Then I'll take my pick of the litter.

In the past, I've bought some guns on the internet, & had generally good luck doing so. But doing this supposes that mfgrs. are turning out an extremely consistent product: they are not. You may end up with a great rifle right out of the box. Then again, you may needto take your new rifle to a gunsmith for "finishing school", & lose any great savings you got by "shopping" your local gun dealer. There's always the possibility, too, that you'll get a specimen so disgraceful that you'll have to send it back to the mfgr for a "do-over", as I have in 3 cases.

In general, most of the major riflemfgrs have been around for years, & have some incredibly loyal (and sadly, sometimes blind) followers. Thiswouldn't happen if their product was universally crappy, or if they continually turned their back on unhappy customers. So even if you happen to buy a lemon, it's not too likely you'll be stuck with it. I just think it's important to remember that when you read the posts of the partisans on these message boards, about how 1 mfgr "stinks", or that 1 model of rifle is wonderful, that the posters are largely basing their experience on an extremely small sample size.

Go forth, find a rifle that fits you, then try as many different individual rifles in that model as practicable. You'll pick one, & you'll be happy with it. FWIW, I chose another rifle over a 700 SPS last Summer - I wish I hadn't done so.

FC