which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Hello everyone! I am looking for a new 30-06 and I have a few models banging around in my mind. However, nothing can help more than the opinions of those that have shot or knows some one who has shot any of these models. I am looking at Beretta' s tikka Bolt action, Remingtons Weathermaster Semi, and Remingtons 700 Bolt action. I want to do some out of state hunting and want to get an accurate reliable rifle. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to help!

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Enough people on this board have stated problems with the Rem semi auto jamming that I can' t recommend it. Of the bolt actions you' re interested in . Go handle them and see which one feels the best to you. If money is an issue add Savage to your list as well as Howa.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Get a bolt and handle as many as you can. I use Rem 700 BDL' s and Browning abolt and am a very satisfied customer with both. I also have a number of friends who own and love Tikka' s. One buddy who swears by a Win Mod 70 and yet another buddy who loves his Sako and so on. Point is only you can decide what is the best fit but a bolt gun will leave you with less worries and provide the best accuracy.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Thanks for the info guys. I was afraid that there would be problems with the semi. Cant go wrong with the old bolt actions. I plan on going to the gun shop to handle these to see what fits best. Im lookin to spend up to $600 on a nice hunting rifle, I could go a little more but I would like to limit myself close to that range. Also, if anyone has any other models they feel I should look into im open to them. Thanks again!

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Have you looked at any CZ' s. They make a beautiful full stock rifle in 30-06 that you can find for around 500 dollars. They are truely wonderful rifles and a pleasure to look at. The trigger is very good on them and they appear to be made very well.. Just my two cents.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Check out the Ruger M-77' s and the Tikka' s. Both are great rifles at reasonable prices.Look on www.gunsamerica.com you can' t find NIB rifles for allot less money then a local retailer.
Ruger Redhawk

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Take a look at the Savage 116 series. I shot one in 300 UM and was very impressed with the trigger, action, and accuracy. They had a bad quality reputation in the past but they shoot very nicely.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

If it is available in 30-06, my search would end with the Savage with the new accu-trigger. If not the 700 Remington would be my hands down second choice.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

Thanks for all your replies so far everyone! I really like the looks of the Rem 700 BDL but I am also interested in the Savages. Any Idea what model of savage has the Accu-trigger? Dicks sporting goods is running a sale on a savage Model 111FCXP3 30-06 for $320 with a 3-9x40mm mounted and bore-sighted scope. Is this a good package that I should look further into? Thanks again!

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

it is nice to meet you averagejoe hunter. welcome aboard !!!


it really depends of where you intend on hunting and how far your distances will be. also depends on how much you want to spend on a rifle.
i have owned the newer rem model 7400' s that turned into a 1shot rifle. out of all my guns this gun i spent more money on differant mags and diierant types of ammo from round nosed bullets to spitzers , to 130 gr. - 1560gr. rom ballistic tips to regular plain jane buulets ( was chambered in 270win )i was also told from a person on the remington hotline on the phone. that when taking offf the front forearm stock if you tighten the srew too much that your chances are good you will have to check to re-sight in your rifle again. which i have found was somewhat true. and would chance the P.O.A by as uch as 1"
the older rem 740 or is it 742. seem to have better luck with not jamming and better accuracy than the newer 7400' s. which left a bad taste in my mouth on semi auto' s in general.
i did also own a remington 700 ADL chambered in the 30-06sprg. i bought from wal-mart . shot awsome at 50 yds using iron sights and got like 2" groups with a sand bag off the front of my truck ans got 3-4" groups at 100yds. the only downfall i did find with the rem model from wal-mart was that the stock looked cheaper than ones you would buy from other stores and mom and pop stores. mine ended up being a lemon and foun that i had to send it back to remington' s N.Y. factory to have work done on the bolt and action assmebly. got it back and after mounting a variX-II 3-9X40mm on it found that after 3 shots i could extract the empty casing but could not close the bolt for the 4th round to e chambered. found out from a gunsmith that the bolt was never corractly made ( something to do with it being never aligned from the factory when being made ).
but i have heard mixed reviews now-a-says since this hapened to me with the quality of the newer remington products with the bolt locking system where you need a key to lock and unlock the bolt .
i still have not yet bought a T3 and i have heard nothing bad about it so far from the few people that have them. i hear mostly people getting under 1.5" groups out of the box.

you might also want to look at the savage guns. they are cheaper and somewhat uglier by some spects but are a awsome rifle for the money and are dang on accurate for the $$ they also have package guns which include a sling and a scope already on them for a beginner rifle. i would stay with maybe one of these guns from savage first then from there down the road if you like hutnign out of state down the road you can upgrade ot a better gun.
i would also judge a gun by if it feels like an extension of your arm. if it feels nice and you can bring to your shoulder with no problems get that one that feels right.
good luck just trying to give you some facts and from personal expereince.

i always look when buying a rifle ( lets say you spend $400.00 ) you should atleast top her off with a scope that will be as much or more than $200.00. you gun will be only as good as your scope will let it. you out a jumk scope on you get junk results.
i use a browning a-bolt medallion in 30-06sprg that gets .080" at 100yds with a variX-II 3-9X40mm
i also own a browning BAR MKII safari w/ iron sights in 30-06sprg and get 2" groups out of the box using plain jane bullets shooting from a standing position shooting.
i am a browning fan myself even though i also own a savage model 10FCM " scout " in 308win that gets 3/4" at 100yds using 165gr. sierra gameking' s. topped off with a VX-II 2-7X33mm and the savage was cheaper than the other two that are above this one.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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!

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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[:o] 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!

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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[:o].
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

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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.:D 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.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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.

RE: which 30-06? Thoughts?
 

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.