Help me spend my money
 

I am in the market for a new rifle. I want it to be chambered in 243 win. It will be used for deer out of state, and coyotes in state. I want a good looking walnut stock. A few that have gotten my attention are, Browning A bolt hunter, and Abolt medallion, and a Tikka T3 Hunter. I am wantiing to stay under $800 for the rifle. Any opinions on these rifles, or any other ones? And what optics do you all recommend. I usually lean towards Leupold, but am open to suggestions. I noticed Browning now has rifle scopes that sell in the $250-$300 range. Are they any good?

So, help me spend my money.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

As far as rifles, that's a toss up. But for optics, definately go for the Leupolds, (I prefer the VX-II line for features and price.) My first two scopes where a Bushnell and Nikon, both of which had to be returned because they didn't work. The Nikon had severe water damage, and it was NIB. And the Bushnell's windage and elevation adjustments were just for looks, it was also NIB.Now, I only buy Leupolds and have had nothing but exceptional performance.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

lr you might wanna take a gander at the new Savage 14 American Classic. It is available in many calibers (I believe the long actions are model # 114) and the rifle looks VERY similar too an A-bolt Medallion or Weatherby Vanguard Sporter. The MSRP on it in the low $600 range but I bet being it's a Savage it will be able to be had in the $500 range. And yes it DOES have the Accu-Trigger. To be honest I am interested in one myself. The Savages shoot so danged good and that AccuTrigger is "da bomb".

Optics wise, the Browning scopes are built under license by Bushnell. I believe they are very similar too the Legend series and while they have the Buckmark on them they don't have the Rainguard or Firefly reticle which is two things I MUCH prefer if having to look at a Bushnell product. The VXII and III are great optics as well. Don't let Nikon fool you, they are EXCELLENT glass. I suspect something was wrong with the shipping of Redheads scope, red was it a ProStaff or Buckmasters? I doubt a Monarch would be broken in the package. The Monarch 3x9x40 would be a GREAT scope for the 243.

Good luck,
RA

RE: Help me spend my money
 

You might want to consider the (new for '05)Weatherby Vanguard Sporter. It's worth a look.

http://www.weatherby.com/products/guns.asp?prd=Rifles&prd_sub_type=3&prod_co de=VDM243NR4O

It's the Rifle I am seriously considering in .243 Win. The price is right and it is offered in a 24" barrel which I find a plus as well.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

It was the Nikon Buckmaster.I bought it from my local gun dealer, so if something was wrong with the shipping, it would have been from the manufacture or distributor. Whether or not it was Nikon's fault, it successfully drove me away from their products.

RedAllison,
By the way, thanks for your input on the 340 wby question I had. I appreciate the attention to detail, in explaining the reason for your choices. Versus just writting a caliber in the biggest boldest font available.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

You can spend more money and not get a better rifle than the M-70 Winchester. Push feed or CRF don't matter.....both work well and shoot well and carry with pride and comfort.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

I think you should look at the savages. I've heard there very accurate and durable. They also have the accc-trigger. Plus you can get one with a 3-9X40 leuopld for under $600.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

Here's a pic of my latest A-bolt. Bought it less than a month ago. It'sone of the prettiest wood stocks I own....all of myBrownings have beautiful grains.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

Check out the Kimbers.

RE: Help me spend my money
 

Red- I will definitely take a look at this one. The pic on Savage's website was a little small, and hard to see cery well. But definitely worth a closer look.

Fastshootingcart- Normally I don't care for Weatherby rifles. This one looks pretty good for not costing an arm and a leg. I will look at this one as well.

Vapodog- This is another one I overlooked, and definitely will check into more.


Jason- That Abolt looks great!


Thankyou for all the input. I appreciate it very much. I will more than likely just put a leupold scope on what ever rifle I finally decide on. That is what I have had great experiance with in the past.