Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

I'm gonna be 18 in December and figure I might as well celebrate by getting a new rifle:D. Right now all I have is a Remington 710[:'(]
I've been reading this forum a lot, so I was maybe thinking something like a Remington 700 or a Savage maybe? As far as caliber, I'm open for opinions. Right now I have a .30-06. Its good, but I want to try something a little smaller. Maybe a .243 for deer and smaller stuff like coyotes. I'm curious about the .25-06 too. I'm not really partial to any company, so tell me what ya think. Thanks.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

If you want a bolt, I'd go with the Savage .243 with the "accu-trigger". Its alot of bang for the buck!! The .243 is a great dual-purpose rifle and the Savage is well worth what you have to give.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

I use both the 243 Win and 25-06 and either one works well on deer size game . To get the best price you are going to have to shop around and compare prices . Find a dealer that will order + commission , or accept delivery for a fee and shop the net . works for me .

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Quality wise, you get more bang for the buck with a Savage, followed closely by Winchesters, For quality AND looks, I choose the Winchesters!

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

I would also suggest either the Savage or Winchester. Hard to beat either for price and reliablity.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

As much as I like the Remington 700's I don't like the 710's at all.
You are better off with the Savage or the Weatherby Vangaurd. Both can be purchase at Wal Mart or you local sportshop under 400

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Savage is probably the best "budget" rifle on the market. If you want to spend a little more and end up with a rifle that is a little better in the cosmetic department and built for abuse then look at the Ruger 77 Mk II. As far as cartridge goes, I love my 270 Win and 7mm-08 Rem, but if I were buying a deer rifle today I would look at the 260 Rem.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Have you heard enough about the savages yet... They are probably the best bang for the buck, I don't think you will here one that is recommended any more than them. Also look at the Tikka and CZ, they are great bang for the buck as well.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

I'm going to second the vote for the Ruger M77 MK II. My next purchase will be an M77 MK II in 7mm-08.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

When price is an issue (and isn't it always?) I recommend that people check out the used gun market, too. Sometimes you can find some great deals. Savages have a great reputation among their owners, but their resale value isn't high; I've seen like-new rifles, scoped, for under $250. (Unfortunately for me, they've been right-handed models, and I'm left-handed.)

I got a killer deal on a used Remington 742 carbine, including a Leupold VX-II scope, sling, and hard case--for less than the retail price of the scope and case alone.

As it gets closer to opening day the deals get scarcer, but they're out there...

You might also try www.gunbroker.com or www.auctionarms.com for online auctions. Some nice values there, too.

Good luck!

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

VAhunter if you want the 7MM-08 you had better get it soon as Ruger has dropped it from thier line .

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Some good comments here, but a "good" rifle is a very individual thing, a subjective choice. Best thing to do is go to a store or two that has a large selection of various makes. Pick a time when they're not too busy. Try out different rifles - check out the
"feel" of the gun, the balance, the safeties, etc. Put 'em to your shoulder, and see how it fits you. Pick the one that looks good to you, and feels right. Then choose an available chambering in that model.
For me, I like the Ruger 77, Winchester Featherweights, and the Remington 700 Mountain rifles. All are available in .270Win., a cartridge I would recommend for your
intended use. Of course, they're also available in .243 if you want to stick with that.
My choice, one I own, is the Rem.700 LSS Mtn. rifle in .270. I put a Leupold 2-7x scope on it. Great shooter.:D

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

A Weatherby Vanguard is also a good choice. I believe you'd really like a .25/'06. It is very vesatile, and has a lot less recoil than the .30/'06!

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Eventually, this thread will have every major rifle named on here. One will praise "their" brand, and crap on another. There may be a good reason for this, past experience, appearance, fit & feel, etc.

Rifles IMO aren't that different than vehicles. Everyone has their favorites, and the competition is junk. Fot the longest time, I debated between a Tikka T3, and a Ruger M77. I even considered Savage, Weatherby Vanguard, and Browning.

Eventually what I did was went to Russell's and played with a few different ones. I picked the Ruger, as that is what felt the best to me. If I was built a little different, that Palm swell in the Tikka's might have apealed to me, but it was sitting in the heel of MY hand rather than the palm.

The next guy though, will probably hate the way a Ruger feels to them and go with Tikka.

All the factories have been in business for quite some time, and no matter what you spend your money on, you can just about bet that you will get a good one. Again, like vehicles, there are a couple that made it out of the factory that shouldn't have.

Hope this helps.....

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

The Savage is a really good rifle for the money, but if it doesn't feel good to you move to something else.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Another good gun for the money is the Howa 1500. Its the same gun as the weatherby vanguard but a little better price. The 243 is a great choice for a varmint/deer combo gun. You should be able to find a nice rifle in 243 on the used market as well. The best piece of advice I can give you is to get the best optics you can. You can usually get some smoking good deals on Howa rifles on www.gunbroker.com

[link]http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=23048593[/link]

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Remington 700 synthetic about 400 bucks. 25-06 or 243. For me it wouldn't be the 243 if you want to use it for deer.

RE: Good Rifle w/o killing the bank
 

Don't be discouraged on the 243. It is an excellent deer caliber. Under 300 yards I would opt for a 243 every time. I have even shot deer out past 300 yards with the 243 and it has never let me down. Any good 100gr bullet is plenty of lead to take down any deer. It never ceases to amaze me that people think a 100gr .243 bullet won't kill a deer but a 100 or 115gr .257 bullet is the best deer killer. They are usually the same guys that are using a 300 RUM or 30-378 for shooting whitetails at 100 yards, overkill! I have shot deer with both the 25/06 and the .243 and couldn't tell any difference between them. Maybe the 115-120gr bullets have an edge out past 300 yards but still not enough difference for me to bother with them. Get a nice handling rifle in 243 and you have one of the best flat shooting varmint calibers and a great pronghorn/whitetail caliber. 243 ammo is also a little more available than 25/06 with a better range of factory ammo 55-100gr.