Sub moa rifle on a budget
 

I'm currently in the market for a new hunting rifle. I'm looking to spend less then $800. Is there anything out there that comes close to 1" moa or better out of the box, chambered in .308 winchester, in that price range?

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeepkid
Buy this one;

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/607479761

Then you'll have $250+ left for a quality scope plus some ammo...

If you aren't "dialing" for long shots then a $150 Vortex scope will work excellent for many years.

IMO - You would be hard pressed to do better than this for the money you have to spend !

Drop-in trigger and have the barrel "hand lapped".


The rest is up to you..........................??

I just posted the following on another thread:




FWIW I recently bought my GF a Patriot in .243. $500 OTD with a 3-9x scope.


With inexpensive Herters ammo (Sellier and Bellot?) it put five shots into 3/4" at 100 yards. WooHoo!

How about a Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 in .308? Guarenteed sub MOA. $476.80 plus $7.99 shipping. Money left over for a scope and mounts.

https://grabagun.com/weatherby-v-gar...24-syn-bl.html

That's really good for a Berg! Hang on to that one.

I second the vanguard i got one in 257 it's a shooter and solid built gun. I got it either the leupold combo 3x9x40 vx2 for around 800 at cabelas

The very best of the "budget" class of rifles I've personally seen & shot, the most consistently accurate is the Ruger American model lines. The Mossberg quality/function was spotty to start with, and that made me shy away from them. The Savage Axis/Edge is accurate but the accuracy/quality is a bit spotty with them. The defunct Marlin X-7/XS-7/XL-7 were great shooting rifles but discontinued since the same holding company that owns Remington killed them off-a damn shame! Whatever you do-STAY AWAY from the POS Remington model 710, and it's slightly revamped version model 770! If you get a Ruger American in 7mm08 or 308, something like a Nikon Prostaff or better on it, mount it properly, feed it GOOD quality, consistent factory ammo, or better yet precision carefully handloaded ammo, there's no reason why it wouldn't shoot sub MOA. The best part is you won't have much over 500$ in it if that much!

+1 for the Ruger American. I just bought the "compact" version of this rifle in .308, and put a Nikon Prostaff BDC 3x9 by 40mm scope on it for well under your budget. Mine likes Federal Premium 165 grain ammunition. It is a shooter and it has a nice adjustable trigger. Stalking Bear's advice is spot on.

Thank you! Always glad to help & being a retired (mostly) gunsmith (and gun nut/competitor/hunter), I'm happy to share what I've learned & pass on the hard earned bit of knowledge I accumulated over the years!

MY 2 cents is this, when ever you go budget line rifles, you like buying a puppy, some will be better than others of the same make model, all comes down to how the stars line up the day it went down the production line
but that said, MOST all modern rifles will be able to shoot small groups with a little work on your part
first and biggest hurtle is finding a load/bullet combo it likes, and this goes for ALL rifles, or 99% of them

I have high end custom rifles that will shoot poorly with some loads and with one's it likes, it s a well past sub 1/2" MOA rifle all day long

BUT when you start with proven parts it leaves you with a larger window of room to make things better
the rem 700 action is a long standing starting point of some of the most accurate hunting rifles out there

MY simple rule of thumb is this on NEW rifles
Savage seems to make the MOST accurate rifles out of the box on AVERAGE
rem IS A SECOND place holder, and after yrs of selling and shooting rifles, I class the rest in third, they all seem to be GREAT or so so, back to pick of the liter deal!

HOW accurate YOU are makes a BIG difference here too
your expectations on a rifle will ONLY be as good as you are behind it too
so keep this in mind, MONEY doesn't buy skills!

I see what you are saying, and agree somewhat. The Savage rifles are accurate partly to a cost cutting design. Savage makes their bolts multi piece, so that the bolt head is more or less "floating" and thus it flexes so both locking lugs get contact. The slop actually accidentally makes for more accuracy on average. The Remington 700 action is basically a round tube. You cannot get any simpler than that. I've NEVER seen a 700 action that didn't require quite a bit of truing up or "blueprinting" before being consistent. My own personal preferred action is the Browning A-Bolt 2. It's far more advanced design, with several design features I consider to be greatly superior to the 700 action, and with the same attention, it'll shoot with any 700 or Savage, all other things being equal.

I know this is probably late, but want to put in my 2 cents. I purchased a Savage Axis II chambered in .270 a few years ago for $300 dollars. It came with a Weaver scope and an Accutrigger right out of the box. On my first outing with it, I shot .66 MOA. I was floored. I will not be in the market for another big game rifle until this this fails on me. I love it! I have shot with many buddies who have spent well over $1000 on their rifles and shot just as well and often better. This firearm setup is designed to do sub MOA, now its just up to the shooter to do the good shooting. Lots of guns out there! The Ruger American is very comparable. Get one and try it out. As for me and mine, I will not be letting go of my Savage Axis II any time soon. Great thread start!

Old thread, but I would go with a Leupold VX-2 for around 2-250, if you are going to hunt. After that lots of $350-500 rifles out there. Gets you under $800. I am not a huge fan of Savages, I have had some failures I don't think should happen with a bolt. But they are popular.


Next I would buy a Lee classic press for around 150.

You could find a new Kimber rifle for under $800 at Cabela's when on sale

There are so many options on sub MOA rifles out there anymore. Im very partial to Savage rifles, any of the 10-12-16 rifles will perform well under MOA once you find the proper food for it. Of course optics quality are just as important as the rifle itself. The midrange Athlon Optics scopes will fit into your price range with a new savage and will last you a very very long time. As far as my choice of factory ammo (I roll my own) id stick to BHG or Federal Gold Medal Match with 168 grain Sierra Gamekings.
Happy shooting!

This summer's Outdoor Life magazine had a review of the best sub-moa bolt gun rifles --- Most were in the $2,000 range...but the "Best Buy" was the Mauser M18 in 308, for $700; that had averaged .88 moa five shot group.@ 100 yards. Sub moa guaranteed.