averagejoehunter

Thanks for the welcome and very informative post Quilly! It really makes me look at the 700 a little differently now. Im going to go and see how the savages feel along with the tikka. So far out of the 2 rifles, the tikka seems to be very promising, all though I have seen very few complaints about the savages. I am going to take a good look and see how both rifles feel. Im not concerned if a scope comes with the gun, chances are the scope will be junk anyways. I want to get a nice reliable rifle and put the best glass on it that I can afford. I was thinking the tikka with maybe a Simmons White tail expedition scope. I am just unsure which model tikka I should shoot for and if the Simmons is going to be the best for my dollar. I have a bit of research ahead of me. I plan on hunting in maine and possibly out west for various mid-large game. I thank you all for your thoughts its really downsizing my list!

ir655

Hey there Average Joe, I have a Rem 742 Semi .30-06 and I have to tell you that semi' s aren' t that bad at all. Sure they jam sometimes, but semi' s need a lot of cleaning and if you take care of them they will operate properly. Another advantage of a semi is that you get quick follow-ups and I was lucky enough to shot a 8-point buck last year and the doe " froze up" so I got to shoot the doe too.

Now if you are looking for bolt actions, go out there and look at several different brands and see how they feel.

Good luck buddy!

Arman M.G.

skeeter 7MM

If you have a budget of 700 for the gun and 200 for the scope your much better going with the cheaper rifle and the better scope (this is just an example). The tikka' s have been getting great reviews and hard to think you could go wrong with this gun, unless you buy it and put a poor quality scope on it to fit into your budget...catch my drift. In the end it is your money and desicion just some food for thought!

I looked on the cabela' s website as I am not familar with Simmons pricing the expedetion you mentioned sells for 180, for 20 bucks more you can get a Bushnell 3200 Elite and I think you' ll find as many positive reviews about this offering as you will about Tikka rifles.

Again just some food for thought!

Good Luck

averagejoehunter

IR655- Thank you for your thoughts. You raise a good point, take care of your gun and it will take care of you. I am partial to Auto-loaders as one of my favorite guns was my Remington 1187 12 gauge. Im not sure how the 1187 treated everyone else but I NEVER had problems with it. I have never owned a 30-06 so im not sure how the 30-06 semi would compare to the 1187, but if they are close I would probably get one. I geuss the real test is getting one in my hands and feeling it out. There is really only one rifle that I do not dare touch the rem 710, everyone ranks on them on here and to be honest when I saw one at walmart it looked like my air ruffle was made better[] but anyways I now will be checking out the 742 as well, thanks for the input!

Skeeter- Thank you for bringing that to my attention. As soon as I am through with this post I am going to look into that scope as well. Seeing that is close to the end of this season I can buy a good quality rifle and have a good amount of time to scrape up enough loot for a good piece of glass! Thanks for the input!

diyj98

You stated " accurate and reliable" so I' d skip the 7400' s and 742' s. Stick with a nice bolt. Of the choices you listed, the Tikka would be my first choice.

tabby

I don' t know a lot about these gun models, but I would get something in stainless steel.

Quilly

average joe hunter.

i have to be brief. as the time i am heading out to a 3hr. drive to hunt in maine this morning[].
but i would opt and say go with a luepold VX-II 2-7X33mm or the VX-II 3-9X40mm.
the 2-7X33mm will be abit more $$ due to the more popular 3-9X40mm. just about under $300.00 i have a older variX-II 3-9X40mm that is great and no problems at all. the VX-II even though a smaller OBJ lens it is more brighter than the VARIX-II 3-9X40mm but it is great for me.

you might want to look into the browning line of guns aswell. the medallion is a fine gun with rosewood caps and a nice laminate stock. they have cheaper ones like the hunter series which is the same as the medallion but not the luster and scrolling done.
they are light and quick to bring up. i use like i posted before 165gr. in my medallion in 30-06sprg and the kick is fine.

you also might want to look into a remington rem 7600 in a matte finish with wood or synthtic. the synthetic stock i kind rough on the cheek IMHO.
but you get atleast 1.5 - 2" at 100yds with my old rem 7600 in 308win and i would get about 1.5" groups with my 280rem 7600.
fine gun and i consider a " workhorse " gun ! even though i found the pump forearm a bit too far out for me. i would have to hold near the mag for a steady shot.
the lead tipped bullets would deform in the 7600 due to the action closing. but nothing i would see cause any porblems.
the brwoning stainless model in the composite stock is a fine gun aswell. never owned one but several on this site have one in 270win and love it. i like the palm swell myself on the stock grip.
let us know how you make out..

P.S. check your e-mail

skeeter 7MM

Quilly, the difference between your Vari XII and VXII is the coating which creates light transmission enhancments from the previous version. The new VXII in a 40 will gather more light than the 33(albeit it marginal in the 1.5% range) and thus will be brighter under low light conditions. I know mole out of ant hills, but just so he doesn' t expect brighter scopes with smaller objective in the compare scope models...it don' t work that way. The loopy is a solid choice for scope and should leave you extremely happy(I have always been happy with my Vari x III' s). The bushnell elite of which I own 3 currently have also been great and are very clear, IMHO best bang for your buck right now.

I mentioned I had an abolt which I have really liked it is chambered in a 270win and is a SS Stalker, great rifle that shoots very nicely. I very good option to look at, if you want to add more food for thought. If I was buying from scratch I would buy SS and Synthetic stocks, they are so much less to care for and you don' t have to worry about bush scares. Don' t get me wrong here I love the look of nice wood stock and the scrolling but the dings come with hunting and it really isn' t as practical in the real hunting world. Top it off with a nice matte scope and it looks purdy too!

Good Luck in your choices and lets us know how you make out.

James B

If I was getting a gun to hang over the fireplace I would look at some nice wood stocks. If the rifle is going to leave my house it will have a synthetic stock. I have bought a few guns in recent years with nice wood stocks. I took them off and put them in the box that the new synthetic stocks came in and left them there. I had a Remington 30-06 auto for 20 years. It never jammed once. It would however shoot only factory loads.

gogiggen

i had the same question and i went with savage. I got the 111 FCXP3 and i love it. it is a good gun for a budget hunter and comes with a scope for about $400. It is the best gun i own and is light weight, about 6-7 lbs. It comes with all you need and is in-expensive. Also look at the other guns savage offers.