[dbeverett]

Ms gillard, with the help of my accountant has decided to get me a rifle in exchange for all that tax they so generously take from me every week.
budget is 1000-1500 all up including scope, bipod etc.
I'm mainly interested in a .308 or a .30-06
looking at a howa 1500 in a knox axiom stock, A remington 700 or 7600, ruger gun scout etc etc.
pretty keen on the howa but just thought id get afew more opinions before i lay down my hard earned

 

[Uncle Bob]

bushmaster 308 at palmetto arms
do a search on here

 

[dbeverett]

in australia mate, police would have a **** fit if i tried to bring in a semi auto, im fairly well limited to bolt action or the 7600 in pump (not a fan of lever)

 

[Smokeyr67]

Mate, you have heaps of bolt action options in that price range, you can pick up a savage axis with 3-9 x scope for about $600. Weatherby Vanguards are a good option at about the same price + scope, rings etc. Both will outshoot most hunters, so unless your into benchrest they'd be fine.

As for the Remington pumps, the 7600P is really best suited as a scrub gun, with a red dot or maybe a 1.5-4X scope, and you'll be lucky to walk away with change from $2k.

 

[dbeverett]

the axis was my choice if tax wasnt kind to me, i went not to bad though so ive decided to spring for something abit higher quality, ive been told the vanguard and 1500 are basicly the same action, either one would be cool with me though.
safari firearms at bexley have the 10shot 7615 for $1600 and the 4shot 7600 for $1300, cheapest ive ever seen them, thats why i never considered them before.
are they really that much worse at long range than the bolt guns? i can trade a little bit of distance for speed, but not alot as it'll mainly be a hunting/wank factor gun for trying to outshoot mates distance wise.

 

[gondwana]

i think you're very wise to ask the question, although it'll probably come down to personal preference in the end and most of answers would be based on that but probably wildly different :

Depends what you think you'll be shooting most, over what range etc and whether you plan to put a lot of shots thru it.

Personal preference for me, I bought my uncle .223 Rem 700. A coupla reasons why, it was there, it was really good value and had probably less than 50 rounds put through it, came with a bag, scope and lots of rounds.

For what I want a .223 is probably covering enough bases, I have several hundred acres, not thousands of acres so a bigger gun would be fun but not really practical.

I looked at the Axiom stock and know a few locals shooters with them, personally I think they make an incredibly good looking firearm all up. I did think I might get one with the Howa gear but hadn't picked the calibre at that point. I haven't fired one but I gather they take an aweful lot of kick out of firing...I think it's a little over the top for a .223 so decided to leave it on the wishlist

I think if you're going to use a bigger calibre, look at it. If the springs and mechanism are good for 40,000 rounds, then its probably a good but. But if you only put 200 or so rounds through it, it's a bit of a waste.

I don't need a .308 but if I did truth is I'd prolly go axiom regardless...gee it looks noice hahahaha

I'm really happy with the Rem 700 .223 but it may not suit you at all, if you can trial shoot a few different set ups I think you'll find that more informative then all us arm chair experts giving you our own (biased) opinion hahha

They did have a axiom in .223 locally, but gee you shoulda seen the big heavy stainless steel barrel with it. It was not a light rifle when all was said and done. I think the remingtion I got weighs about 3 kilos from memory...research your weights, after a while, the weight will make a difference and if you end up with a gun you really love to shoot THEN you'll be definitely getting your moneys worth :::

 

[dbeverett]

apparently the axiom can take out 85% of felt recoil, hell even 14yo girls can shoot the thing in a .308.....so it shouldnt throw me around to much haha

 

[Smokeyr67]

the axis was my choice if tax wasnt kind to me, i went not to bad though so ive decided to spring for something abit higher quality, ive been told the vanguard and 1500 are basicly the same action, either one would be cool with me though.
safari firearms at bexley have the 10shot 7615 for $1600 and the 4shot 7600 for $1300, cheapest ive ever seen them, thats why i never considered them before.
are they really that much worse at long range than the bolt guns? i can trade a little bit of distance for speed, but not alot as it'll mainly be a hunting/wank factor gun for trying to outshoot mates distance wise.

If your looking for a "nicer" rifle, there would be some Tikkas in your range, you'd just have to compromise with your optics. Honestly, I can't tell you whats better, a nice rifle with an average scope, or a nice scope with an average rifle. I prefer a better scope, I figure most rifles will shoot a tighter group than I'm capable of, so I may as well see where I'm missing


Re: the 76's, for wank factor you can't beat one with a paragon stock, rails, a chinese (airsoft) tactical redddot, laser and light, but practically, they do give you a little safety margin over bolt actions when hunting pig in tight scrub, but they are far from a one gun solution.

 

[darcey]

The weatherby vanguard and Howa 1500 are the same thing, howa make them for weatherby (as well as the old CMC mountaineer, S&W 1500 plus another I can’t think of)

Tikka are excellent firearms, I have a stainless varmint in .223 and it’s a great gun. Action is butter smooth and very accurate even with old Winchester white box ammo… cost a lot more than the Howa’s but are a top bit of kit

 

[Uncle Bob]

There was a pump action AK47 out a couple years ago.

 

[thenagantghost]

I personally would recommend a good ol fashioned tried and true sniper version mosin nagant 91/30. Then you can buy about a thousand rounds and still have money left over to play with. :thumb:

 

[Nightwind]

HOWA 1500
26in heavy barrel in .308w
plus Harris bipod and a scope to suit your intended target!

Synthetic stock, give the axiom a miss unless you are more into show than go!

or

A savage sniper setup with choate stock in .308W

 

[dbeverett]

The only thing bothering me about the howa's is I keep hearing conflicting reviews about them, some say .5 MOA others say 2MOA that's a big difference!
None of the Remington 700's In my price range seem like anything better than the basic sps's either, not saying there a bad rifle just would like to buy something that little bit nicer while I can afford it

 

[backwoodsbullets]

If i had 1500 bucks. Id go out and buy a AR 10 dpms. 24In bbl then throw a good millet or nikon on it. Still have a few hundred bucks left for mags and ammo. For 1000 bucks either the 700 rem or the savage bbl either run around same price and still have money left to mount a good scope. Cal is up to you the 30-06 is a bit larger then 308 but 308 is a bit more accurate. But if its a paper gun the 308 if its the 30-06. Ammo is easier to find (here in missouri) for the 30-06 and its cheaper. Even at walmarts its about 2+$ a box cheaper. :thumb:

 

[Tenfeathers]

Springfield M1A 308

 

[darcey]

The only thing bothering me about the howa's is I keep hearing conflicting reviews about them, some say .5 MOA others say 2MOA that's a big difference!
None of the Remington 700's In my price range seem like anything better than the basic sps's either, not saying there a bad rifle just would like to buy something that little bit nicer while I can afford it

what are you using the rifle for? Benchresting or hunting? Are you after a .5MOA rifle?

With a trigger tweak and bedding in a decent stock (Bell and Carlson, Manners...etc) they will shoot .5MOA with good quailty ammo, a competent shooter and some good optics. I have yet to see a Howa that wouldn’t after these basic tweaks…

If you want a .5MOA rifle then grab a barreled action ($599 for a blued Heavy barrel from cleaver), a Bell and Carlson Medalist stock ($300) and a $50 bedding job…done for $950

Here is a good thread on Howa actions from Snipers Hide…a lot of info on these forums about them so it would be worth a look. Look for posts by Pete Lincoln, he is a European gunsmith who works a lot with Howa’s

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=70198&Number=862457#Post862457

If i had 1500 bucks. Id go out and buy a AR 10 dpms. 24In bbl then throw a good millet or nikon on it. Still have a few hundred bucks left for mags and ammo. For 1000 bucks either the 700 rem or the savage bbl either run around same price and still have money left to mount a good scope. Cal is up to you the 30-06 is a bit larger then 308 but 308 is a bit more accurate. But if its a paper gun the 308 if its the 30-06. Ammo is easier to find (here in missouri) for the 30-06 and its cheaper. Even at walmarts its about 2+$ a box cheaper. :thumb:

Springfield M1A 308

We're in Australia fellas...can't get anything like that without alot of hassle and cost

 

[Nightwind]

dbeverett
My howa slightly modified got me a bronze in the Aus shooting games several years ago!

Nutting wrong with howa's!!!

 

[dbeverett]

where's a good place to get the b+c stocks for that price? ever heard anything good or bad about the boyd stocks?

 

[paramilusmc]

Rem 700. Do a search on Gunbroker and look around. You can also search calibers.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.aspx

 

[darcey]

where's a good place to get the b+c stocks for that price? ever heard anything good or bad about the boyd stocks?

This is the cheapest place i found, have ordered three from them...Price has gone up sightly to $318.45 for a B&C Medalist delivered to Aus

http://www.rifle-accuracy.com/

Boyds are good stocks but can require some work to fit...last time i looked they were only about $100 cheaper then a B&C Medalist and didn't come with a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad like the B&C

Rem 700. Do a search on Gunbroker and look around. You can also search calibers.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.aspx

Isn't this a US site?