ORIGINAL: wolverine72
Here's my recommendation to help you get a lotmore gun for your money -- be patient and look for a used one. I have never lost money on a used gun purchase -- can't say that on a new guns, however. I know to never say never, so it is very unlikely that I will ever buy another new gun at new gun prices.
My experience is that most used guns for sale have hardly been used, and if you're patient and look diligently, you'll eventually find what you're looking for without making too many sacrifices. Usually with a little elbow grease and an hour of you time, you can make a used gun look a whole lot better....
I saw a 700 BDL .30-06 at Gander Mountain yesterday, like new not a scratch in the stock or metal, for $625, and it had a perfectly fit Pachmayer Decellerator pad, not the factory plastic butt. It also had leupold rings and bases. Brand new that gun is around $825 at Gander Mountain, but they are usually a little high on new and used guns....
Look in newspapers, discussion forums, gunbroker.com, etc...I just purchased an 870 Wingmaster from a gentleman on this forum, about an hour away. It was a good deal, and I made a friend to boot.
+ 1!
If these are
reallyyour criteria:
ORIGINAL: 59f100292
Im shopping for a new rifle with a few criteria: (bolt gun)
Wood stock - period
Hinged floor plate or removable mag
safety which allows you to work the action in "safe" mode
and...
ORIGINAL: 59f100292
actually to be more realistic I should probobly limit that budget to something more like 600$
... then buying used is the best way to go. Finding a new model with a wood stock for $600 would be a real coup.
"Accuracy out of the box" sounds like a great concept, but it has to be reconciled with that other maxim, "each rifle is a law unto itself".So, you may find a crappy Remington 710 that functions flawlessly & shoots bughole groups, and, conversely, you could also come across an brand new Sako that misfeeds, misfires, or shoots patterns rather than groups. This applies to both new AND used rifles. So, howdo youknow that therifle you're buying will shoot well?
If you look at many of the forums/auctions, you can find a gun in your price range, & then contact the seller to see if they'll show you pictures of groups to show how well
that particular rifle shoots, and/or with what loads. I'd recommend fondling several new rifles, to see which brands/models seem to "fit" you best. Then you can go online & start looking for those models.
Also, what exactly do you want to do with this rifle? Punch paper? Shoot varmints? Hunt deer? Hunt bigger things than deer? Carry it all day, or shoot it froma bench? That may help direct feedback for you.
And, are you looking to buy a rifle AND a scope for that $600? If you're planning on woods hunting with shots < 75 yards or so, then you can probably get by with iron sights. Otherwise,
serviceable scopes start around $125, and go up quickly from there.
FC