cherokee_outfitters

I agree is Bigcountry, I would not try and buy a new 300. win mag in a guy under $400.00, it would probally stomp the day lights out of you.

M77man

I agree with this, these two will last a life time. Might also want to look at the Ruger M77's

demoIL

It bugs me when people say "I'm only going to use it a couple times a year so I don't want to put much in it"... Most of us only use certain rifles a couple times a year but those couple times you use it,,, You want it to work don't ya?
Don't buy the 710 unless you want a problem.
Look for a used rem.700 or something similar. I had one at the shop a few days ago that was a 700 sps with stainless bbl in 300 mag.. Sold it for 350.00...
Savage and Ruger both make dependable guns in a lower price range also..

Then spend at least 100.00 on a scope, you'll want around 4inches of eye relief and good optics. In lower price range look at Bushnell Trophy, LeupoldVX-1 or Nikon..

Good Luck.

CBM SC

Talk about dejavue !!

I just went through this about a month ago !! I have bowhunted religously for 10 years but the land I am currently hunting got clear cut and my son's getting big enough to start going !!

I wanted roughly the same things as yourself and did as much reading as I could for 2 weeks and got one !! I am not one to tell you what's best or what's not............but I ended up with a Tikka T3 stainless .270 WSM for $499 + tax !! I am extremely happy with the gun and it's features for the price I paid !!

I shot a cull buck the weekend I got it at 125 yards and dropped it with a ribcage shot !! I was extremely impressed with the performance !! It took me some time practicing to get it sighted in as good as I wanted .......but now I have it shooting fist sized groups at 300 yards out of a vise with factory ammo !!

The factory trigger comes set at apprx. 3# which is lighter than most !! I wanted to take it down to 2 lbs and did it myself last night ........incredibly easy to do on this gun !! Anyway .......good luck.......this is just what I ended up with !!

M77man

The last two posts are very good examples of good advice as well. The Remington SPS and Tikka T3 Lite are two very good options although I give the nod to the SPS because Remington is about as American as you can get!

Remington, Ruger, Savage and Tikka are all very reasonable options. BTW, the 710 is no longer in production, it was replaced with the 770 or something like that.I don't know about it, but if the barrel can be replaced on it, it might not be bad either. Otherwise, stay away from it also.

Good luck

demoIL

CBM SC, Good Point.. I have a friend who was looking for the same type of thing and he also chose the Tikka T3 after we looked at all his options.
You could also look at the Vanguard by Weatherby, another decent gun for the money.

Oh, and I don't want my post above to come across as rude so let me explain. If you are basing your 400 price on the fact that you'll use the gun very little.. That IS what bugs me and alot of the shooters I know.
BUT, if your price range is 400 because of money issues then trust me when I say that I understand 100% and by no means should you stress your home life to spend more on a rifle. Buy what your budget allows..
But if it allows a little more then... IN this case... Spend a little more or look for used and you'll be better off...

When it comes time for that shot of a lifetime and you have to drop the hammer you need to have full confidence in your rifle...

NMFowler

Thanks for everyone’s advise. As for my $400 budget: it's not that $400 will break the bank it's just hard to justify anymore than that to the wife since I have such expensive bow, and waterfowl rigs. Plus whenever possible I try to take the bow, but in order to try and draw tags for the units and animals I want to hunt, I need to broaden my horizons. I already have a muzzleloader, just need the rifle. I'm headed to sportsman’s warehouse in Albuquerque next week to see what they have on the shelf, and for what price. Hopefully they will have exactly what I'm looking for.

Ripstop

Sportsmans Warehouse sells the Mod 70 Super Shadow for $439.

NMFowler

I got my rifle today! Weatherby Vanguard 300 weatherby mag for $399.99 from Sportsmans Warehouse. Thanks for all you input.

Folically Challenged

Many people speak highly of Howa rifles:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/280/products_id/16144

-or, in a package...-

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/280/products_id/16278

-or, in a wood stock...

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/280/products_id/16229



Here's a Howa with the Weatherby name on it (and a Weatherby Stock)

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/69127

I couldn't find any Savages @ sub-$400 on their site, but they may well be out there.

You'll need to consider, too, that a long-range gun will only be able to hit what you can see through your scope. I'd figure on at least $100 to get a serviceable scope. There are certainly cheaper scopes out there, but if a scope doesn't hold zero, or fogs up, or breaks after riding around in the truck, or is just plain blurry, then your gun is out of action.

You can getdecent advicefrom these guys

http://www.opticsplanet.com/msgboard/viewforum.php?f=9

or you can get more forum fodder from the swfa.com folks at

http://www.opticstalk.com/

Good Luck,

FC