Which is the best deer rifle......
 

That has to be 30-06 and Under 500 dollars.:s9: And better than the mossberg ATR I has.

The Savage Model 10 Package deal they sell at Walmart for $387 with the Accu trigger is the best imo. The only thing I'd do is ditch the Simmons scope when you can afford a better scope. Other than that it's a great rifle and you can expect sub moa groups from it. Another option is the Marlin XL-7 or XS-7 depending on the long or short action. Those run around $300 and are also great options.

I was thinking Savage...

what about the Edge series?
And is the new feature on the Marlin XL7 series a stainless steel coating??

If you set a $500 limit, then the savage gets the nod, east coast 30-06 or 308. Anywhere else maybe 7mm mag

A used .270 in a Remington 700 or a M-70 push feed is better than a new Savage any day!

Shop the used racks and find a great gun for less.

If you want brand new, the Savage will do fine. I'd try and find a good used A-bolt or a 700. Those are the best 2 for the money in my book.

I'd skip the Edge for savage... go 111. If you shoot far, I'd opt 7mmRM, but I'm a sucker for 7s.

While I don't think the Edge rifle is a bad choice, it's certainly not anywhere near being in the same class as the model 10 and from what I've seen it's not even all that much cheaper. To me the accu trigger alone is worth the extra on the Model 10. However, there are several other benefits to them too. The Edge rifles seem to be getting decent reviews, but they seem to be more something to compete with the Remington 770, not the 700 like the Model 10 competes with.

While I won't bash the older Remington 700's because they are a heck of a rifle, if it comes down to new rifles I would not even consider a Remington unless I wanted to experience their many quality issues they seem to be having. I'd not hesitate to pick a Savage over the Remington if both were new.

That being said the older 700's were great rifles, however, I think I'd still prefer to have the Model 10.

Weatherby vanguard synthetic or Howa 1500 with the Hogue stock can both be had for $500 or less and are superior to the mossberg, Marlin, Savage and Remington. This isn't to say that some of these aren't good ro great rifles but the Howa 1500 is just better action.

I'd opt for the Howa 1500 with the Hogue stock over the vanguard with the Weatherby synthetic stock.

wouldnt buy a new remington,way more than they be worth

buy a 721,now that was quality

I bought a Marlin XL7 30.06 & put a Nikon Prostaff 3x9 for just under $500 TOTAL. Mine is all black. Best deal out there right now IMHO. It can shoot a golf ball every time at 100 yards with Remington coreloc 180's. I adjusted the trigger nice & light, just where I wanted it.

Have you shot a newer remington model 700? Or just going by what youve heard? Im looking at 4 remington model 700s sitting in my safe that were bought within the last couple years. Two sps's an xcr and a sendero. Ill guarantee they will outshoot the shooter. I always have and always will love remingtons. Ive never owned one that didnt do exactly what I expected it to.
I wanna know about the bad ones that are out there. Ill buy every one of them. If they are that bad then the owners of these guns shouldnt mind selling them for less than what they paid just to get rid of them right?
Im sorry if I sound like an @$$ I dont mean to be. But this statement to me is like the one where partitions failed because they didnt kill an elk not hit in the vitals. You are right in one respect older remingtons are great but so are the new ones. My opinion... Id never choose a savage over a remington. But I also wouldnt take 90% of the different brands of rifles over a remington either.

out to 3 or 4 hundred yards there is little to no differance between 30-06 and 7 mag..so why shoot a 7 mag..if you wanna be a long distance killer hey go to it,,,ill stick with my 30-06 thank you and ill have just as much or more meat in my freezer.

I would say a bolt action in either the 7x57 or 7-08 is the best for deer and with few exceptions most everything else.

Now that's funny!! Have you ever taken apart a Savage Model 10 and a Remington Model 700 and looked at the qaulity on the inside. Savages aren't just cheap looking on the outside, they are cheap on the inside. There is a reason they are inexpensive and their resale value sucks.

Switchback, If you'll bump that $500 max limit up a little or consider a used rifle it will open up many more options.

Yeah, no kidding. I've got four 700's. A 15+ year old ADL (.30-06) an, an even older BDL (7mm RM), as well as two newer ADL's (.243 and 7mm-08) that were each bought within the last five years. They all shoot better than I can...

So where are we at fellas?

Valid point.

Savages may be ugly looking, but, daaaaay-um are they accurate!!! I would put my Savage .308 up against any other .308 rifle using 168gr BTHP target rounds.

Remington 700 in 308 Win. would be my first choice.

Back to reality;

The original poster: "That has to be 30-06 and Under 500 dollars."

Oh yea; and not a Mossberg ???


TC Venture

Marlin XL7

Howa

Savave Edge

H&R / NEF

Rossi

To name a few.........................

The Marlins in the XL7 are a good deal, especially if you land a wood stocked version. We nabbed one in '06 for $380 new. Nice looking rifle that does not look cheap or feel cheap, and shoots great. Has a blind box magazine, but that isn't always a bad thing.

how about a savage? I have had a model 110 for about 15 years now. It will do anything that my other bolt actions will do. It might not have exibition grade walnut stock or fancy checkering, but I can buy a box of winchester or federal ammo and it will shoot as well..."if not better" than my Remingtons, brownings, rugers...ect. And it wont set your budget back too much.

Hey.....I hunt there with the Danielson's....say hi to Tim....he does some of my taxidermy!

oh....by the way....Savage still sucks!

savage/stevens 30-06.easy to upgrade later.

i get a kick out of people who rip on savage, marlin etc.. for the "precious" remington. IN all reality, Savage makes a good gun, so does marlin. I own both, and a remington. the remington shoots the worst out of all of them. Its not bad, and it looks pretty, but it isn't as accurate as the other two and i paid a heck of alot more for it. And since the poster was asking for under $500, you won't find a remington for that unless you really mess up and get a 710/770. You can't even find a used remy for under that. And my opinion is remington made great guns a number of years ago, but have seen some real issues with some of their more recent guns. I looked at one 2 months ago and the bolt was so hard to operate, even the dealer said something isn't right, took it off the rack and out of sight.

I take care of my rifles, but still understand they are tools for hunting. I shop for the best value i can find. And there is nothing wrong with a savage or marlin. It goes "bang" every time and has no problem taking a deer.

The 721 was a billy club. It was heavy, the stock was poorly made, the action was smooth, but the extractor clip was it's downfall.
There was no half safety to unload the gun on the original design.

There is not too much of a difference between a 1955 - model 721 and a 1962 Model 700 - except for the fact that the stocks got better, the extractor was changed to a design which is shared with the 760 Gamemaster and there is a slight difference between the bolts.
I can't remember for sure, but I think that the locking lugs were made bigger for the model 700. A couple of minutes of machine work and the new bolt will work in the older rifle.

The barrel is definitely lighter in the model 700...

Plus the 721 never came with a factory trap door of clip which would have made it easier to unload then to take the bullets out one at a time with the bolt.

Buy a good used Rifle.

A pre 1980 Remington or Winchester.

Look at the Grice Paper and see if there is any new guns in your price range that you are interested in.

http://www.gricegunshop.com/specials...r-day-2010.pdf

A friend of mine just bought a new TC Venture - in 30-06.

The gun must weigh 9 or 10 lbs.

A very nicely made firearm that isn't going to break.

TC Venture weight & other specs;

SPECIFICATIONS:
Mfg Item Num: 5565
Category: FIREARMS - RIFLES
Action :Bolt Action
Caliber :270 Winchester
Barrel Length :24"
Capacity :3 + 1
Trigger :Adjustable
Safety :Two Position
Length :43"
Weight :7 1/2 lbs
Stock :Black Composite
Finish :Black

I would by pass the Edge. To stay under $500 I would go with a Savage 110, Marlin XL7, or T/C Venture. I've never shot a Marlin, but have heard nothing but great things about them. The Savage with accu-trigger is a great gun, as is the T/C Venture. While the Savage will likely give you 1 MOA accuracy, the Venture actually guarantees it. I have an older Savage 110 with a Timney trigger, a Savage 11 with accu-trigger, and a T/C Venture and they are all great shooters. You can't go wrong with any of them.

I'd look carefully at the Savage offerings and the Marlin offerings.

Though I've never hefted either, what i've read about both in the past 2 years has me thinking they are the best bang for the buck.

If you are interested in more how they look then you'd be better off with a few others but then you'd probably get past the 500 bucks anyway.

Used is always an option. You could probably buy ALMOST anything you'd like for $500 or less if you don't mind a few cosmetic flaws from a guns experience and character building years!

Maybe a used Winchester featherweight 30/06 with a decent scope already mounted, sling, maybe a few loads ... could even be a shooter. Just be ready to accept a ding or two, a small rust smudge or two ....