Help Me Pick One of These Four Rifles
 

I'm looking to buy my first hunting rifle. At first I had decided on what I considered to be the Lexus of rifles, a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe. But then I kept on reading and decided that a Toyota would be just as good as a Lexus (and beside, as so many others have said, the deer won't know the difference). So, instead of a $1,800+ rifle I decided to go cheaper but still get quality. I've already decided on some of the features I want the riffle to have…

1) Bolt Action
2) .270 Win. caliber
3) Synthetic Stock
4) Stainless Barrel


These are the four rifles I'm trying to decide on:

1) Weatherby Vanguard 2 ~$625
2) Remington 700 SPS ~$660
3) Winchester 70 Ultimate Shadow SS ~$770
4) Remington 700 Mountain SS ~$885
(* All prices are taken from CheaperThanDirt.com so they would also include a fee for FFL transfer and shipping.)

Thanks,
John

They are all nice rifles. Go to gun store and hold each one and take the one that feels the best to you. I have shot all of these rifle, not in 270, and like them all.

I don't know the specifics of each of the rifle models that you listed, but all of the basic models are good, and would work well for a beginning or experienced hunter. The .270 Win is a fine deer cartridge, and would also work well for any animal in the lower 48 that you might want to hunt.

The specific rifle that you choose will have to be your choice, the one that feels and fits you best. You didn't give a lot of specifics about you and the hunting you plan on doing. A younger man can pack a heavier rifle around the hills much easier than us geezers, but you will feel more recoil in a lighter rifle than a heavier one. If all of your hunting will be limited to sitting in a stand, weight is not an issue.

I currently have two Rem 700 stainless rifles and a Weatherby Vanguard. I've used each of these rifles on at least one African hunt, two of them on multiple Montana elk hunts, and I used another Rem 700 on a Canadian arctic hunt. I am 100% satisfied each of these rifles. I have Leupold scopes on most of my rifles, and Nikon or Weaver on the others. Although I have a straight 4x Weaver on my .270 Win, a 3-9x variable would be a good versatile scope on a .270 Win, especially if it is your only hunting rifle.

My suggestion would be to go to a gun store and get the feel of each of the rifles that you are thinking about.

Very good advice.I would never buy a rifle w/out holdin it first.That,s the great thing about havin shops.They can and will take care of you.

I would look at the Weatherby moa first. Too bad you decided against the mark 5. I love them. As said go to a large outlet and check them all out. Don't forget the Ruger as well.

If I had to pick one that is the lightest and has the best quality stock it would be the 700 Mountain. The Model 70 probably has the best trigger. If I was building a target rifle I would start with the 700 SPS. All are very good quality. I don't think you could go wrong with any rifle from your list.

+1

I love the 270...have 1 in a Remington 700 BDL and it is one of my favorite rifles....but it's an older BDL. I also like the Weatherby Vanguard, my daughter and niece both shoot/hunt with Vanguards in 243....very accurate out of the box and a very quality gun (it's a Howa 1500....hard to beat for the money).

Thanks for the responses so far!

I will take the advice and go to my local store and see if I can hold them and see how they fit/feel.

the rifles you chose are all good picks. if it was my choice I would stick with the remingtons. all my rifles are remingtons just because of the quality. im not a fan of weatherby rifles. for the money they want for one you could get a couple guns just as good if not better. 270 is as good a caliber as any if that is your preference. keep in mind as what you are going to be hunting with it. good luck.

I don't know that I'd feel badly picking any one of those rifles over another. It's my opinion that the Vanguard is one of the most underrated rifles on the market, particularly given its price. As others have posted here, it probably boils down to what feels best to you. Although I lean Remington, a word of caution regarding the SPS. The action is all 700, but the stock ... Well, you may want to include a replacement in your budget.

Probably the best advice you'll get. Each rifle has its own goods and bads and the only way to see which one is best for you is to handle them. By the way, you left out the Savage, Ruger and the Tikka. If it was me I'd look at those too.

As others have noted, the .270 is a great deer round but it is not a great elk/moose round. If you want one rifle to hunt North America with and you think you'll hunt elk/moose etc... I'd suggest the 30-06 over the .270. With a 150 gr bullet it will be nearly as fast as the .270 and you can get bullets up to 220 grs and a heavier bullet works better on the bigger game.

Weatherby 2 is a okay rifle with a terrible trigger, look at a Howa 1500 instead of the Vanguard 2. Basically the same action but with a better trigger and I think the action itself is much smoother.

700 SPS is a great rifle, take that plastic stock off and pick up a BC, HS, McMillan or Manners and you'll be set for a life time, also will need a trigger tune too.

Model 70's are also fine guns, take a look at the Extreme Weather, a bit more money but won't need any upgrades out of the box.

700 Mountain, basically an SPS with a better stock. After a trigger job they are hard to beat.

You should take a long look at a Browning A-Bolt/X-bolt too... :poke:

If you want to tinker or improve the rifle, the Remmy's have more available aftermarket parts and almost any decent Smith knows his way around one. If this is the case, the SPS is your best choice.
I'm thinking that the 700 mountain S/S would require the least monkeying with to be a happy making choice for the longest time, with the Model 70 a close second.

IIRC the Weatherby is built on a Howa action, though this info may be outdated by now.

I have the vanguard and the Howa 1500 same rifle he trigger. the vanguard has a little better stock. have 2 vanguard a howa and a s&w 1500. same gun interchangeable parts. nice rifles lookin for a vanguard.

I'd personally pick the Mountain rifle out of the 4. Not motivated to get the Vanguard for any reason, nor the SPS. The Winchester, well, I guess I've just lost faith in Winchester 70's after everything that happened in 2006. Asked this question 10yrs ago, I'd probably recommend the Winchester over the 700 for a hunter, 700 over 70 for a target shooter.

My "this should have been on your list" 2cents would be a Savage model. I'm honestly favoring the Savages over the low end 700's these days.

I just got a Vanguard 2 in and it definitely doesn't have the same trigger as my Howa. It's almost like a two stage, where my Howa is just a nice crisp trigger. The action itself isn't as smooth either.

both of mine are the original vanguard and the Howard before the 3way safety same triggers in them.

"Match Quality Two-Stage Trigger is "creep free" for consistent let-off. Each trigger is hand-honed, factory-tuned and inspected for a clean, crisp break, improving shooter accuracy. Fully adjustable down to 2.5 lbs. Trigger housing is constructed of lightweight alloy"

I guess the new Series 2 is a 2-Stage...

Yes the originals are the same as a Howa, which is a fantastic rifle for the price.

Tikka?

Browning?


Honestly I think you'd have to just go check'em out in person, see what looks/feels good to you, let the gun pick you...

Each will probably out shoot the shooter, after a basic "tune-up".


Put your money into your optics !!!

Papaholmz,

If you think a Lexus is the best car then anything we say about guns won't matter.

I was in a similar dilemma last fall when looking around. A gunsmith friend of mine told me to look at Tikka & Weatherby Vanguard 2 also. I have 2 Win. Mod 70s & love both of them but wanted something different. The Rem. 700s I held felt cheap, not like my 10 y.o. 700 BDL. The Vanguard 2 felt surprisingly good for a ~$600 (if I remember correctly) rifle. I had heard their quality control went downhill but I haven't shot a new one, so can't comment on that, but can tell you the bolt didn't fell as good as the one I've got.

I like the vanguard looking for one in 240 wby to go with my 300 why. the mark 5 issue nice the best factory accurate rifle I own in 257 wby. hard to beat the rem 700 look at the ruger 77 also.

This paragraph about sum it up, with the first sentence being the most important.

The 4 rifles you listed are all good guns. It's what you like best.

Touché.

I don't think it's the best car, I think it's a nice luxury car, which is what I think of a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe, a nice luxurious gun.

In either case, I'm now considering the Model 70 and a Howa 1500 based on all the feedback. Thanks all!

If you do go the M70 route I would definitely make sure that it is one of the newest production models - not the one made in Conn. I have a newer one and like it very much other than a slightly rough barrel. The ones made before they closed the old plant were not made as well (I have one of those as well).

Odd that you eliminated the M700, but to each his own. Good luck.

PapaHolmz:

check out the rifles @ www.gunsinternational.com www.gunbroker.com www.gunsamerica.com www.gunbroker.com I would go with a Winchester Model 70 Ultimate Shadow in a .270 WSM. I purchased a Model 70 Featherweight Deluxe in .270 WSM, and it is really nice. The .270 WSM gives me a little more power than the .270 Win., and that comes in handy. Good Luck.

I wouldn't consider ANY of the cheap Rems! :s6: MUCH better guns in sub $500 price ranges available by Ruger & Savage than Rem. Now the mid & upper line Rems ARE a little better guns! Sadly the Wins are about as hit/miss as the Rems. I'd recommend the Browning Stainless Stalker over ANY of the sub-$1k Rems & Wins!

That being said, of the guns you listed I'd take the Vanguard EVERYDAY & twice on Sunday! :rock:

Yes. Don't go cheap! You will regret.
700 BDL stainless 270win

And that's what I finally ended up going with. It's shipping to my local FFL dealer this coming week; can't wait to get it!

Now it's time to start looking for a scope.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned scopes so far! All the choices you listed are good. Even cheaper choices would be good, just DO NOT SKIMP on the SCOPE! It is just as, and even more important than the gun itself! I used to think, "glass is glass," but that IS NOT TRUE! A quality scope is just as important, if not more important than the rifle or the caliber!

my uncle said the same thing. buy the best scope you can afford then with what is lever buy the rifle. he had a $300 Leupold on a $60 marlin auto 22.

Jagman,

Who is "no one" ?!?!

My post - page two...................

Each will probably out shoot the shooter, after a basic "tune-up".


Put your money into your optics !!!

:lolabove:
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