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I need a good bolt action rifle!!

12K views 35 replies 23 participants last post by  RECON25 
#1 ·
I need a good bolt action rifle for hunting Deer/Moose/Bear in Ontario. I am going to be picking 30/06 or .308 for these duties, but the make and model is up in the air. I wanna learn how to shoot properly so some nice open sights would come in handy!! I will not settle for anything less than blued metal and a walnut stock, cause I love the looks.

I want a strong, dependable, smooth action that will be able to "drive tacks" into targets up to 300 yards away. While also being dependable for the next 50+ years as I will be handing it down to my kids. I have around $800 to spend new or used on this rifle.


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#3 ·
Well.......................might as well figure everyone is going to jump in with their favorite rifle make and claim all sorts of fantastic groupings. To me, your choice is the same as buying a car - do you want a Chevy, Ford or Dodge? All will get the job done.

As for finding a rifle today that comes with open sights, that limits the field a bit. Don't own one, but believe the CZ's come with iron sights. Most others are simply drilled/tapped for scope mounting to help keep the costs down.
 
#7 ·
I bought a CZ550 Full Stock a few years back, one of the selection criterion was having iron sights. I was less than enamoured with the factory iron sights. I was headed down the path of getting a peep for the rear sight when I decided to trade the gun. The gun was accurate and reliable but the Full Stock model didn't balance well with a scope. Another gun I own that has some pretty decent iron sights is a Sauer 202 but the price is way beyond your stated budget.

If you do go the CZ550 route stay with the 30-06, the 550 action is a long action and the 308, while a shorter case, is made to work with the long action.
 
#8 ·
Perhaps a better way to approach it is, what is available and what does it cost? With U.S. export laws being what they are, and currency fluctuations, it could narrow down your decision in a hurry.

I'd buy a cheap rifle, long before I bought a cheap scope. Just a thought.
 
#9 ·
my 2 cents

My guess is the open site criteria is really going to be the hardest thing to over come. I haven't seen decent sites on a bolt gun in ages.

You might be able to get a Rem 700 ADL w/sites.

I'd check the web pages of the various manufacturers and look at the spec's to see which ones would come with sights.

You may end up having to go w/a used gun to get sites.

Alternatively you may look at a Rem or Browning pump if you wish open sites, but it might not be as accurate as you wish. My rem pump was a solid 1 1/2 or less shooter at 100. My brother's 270 is equal to that, but both have scopes, 2x-7 Leo's.

My parting recommendation would be, mount a low power or variable 2-7 scope if field of view and quick shooting is what you need. A holo sight or an aim point is another option.

Good Luck
 
#10 ·
Savage classic, thats my vote
 
#11 ·
your best bang for the buck would be a weatherby vanguard (since you have to have walnut) and a zeiss 3x9 conquest. you could get both for between 800 to 900 bucks. i wouldn't worry about the sub moa stuff, that is more marketing hype and an excuse to charge a few hundred extra for a rifle. besides, the sub moa is only detectable from the sandbags... not many of us have them in the field. truth be told you are better off putting the extra money in a good scope. you can get a conquest for right at $400 bucks and i love 'em, very nice and one of the few that i've used that you could actually trust the click adjustments.
iron sights are another story, if you absolutely must have them you need to just go and buy the rifle of your choice and have a gunsmith order and install some high quality ones from brownells. most factory rifle sights are pretty marginal as the factories just figure that the rifle is gonna end up being scoped anyway.
 
#13 ·
My pick would be a Remington 700 CDL or Ruger M77 Hawkeye and a Leupold 6x - 42.

The best option is buy a beat up used gun and put the stuff that you really want in it. If you don't handload yet, this would be the perfect time to pick up a Lee-Loader. My reasoning for this is that you have several month before hunting season, so you can pick and choose and wait for the right deal.

I scored a perfect deal just before Christmas last year, somebody pawned a beat up but relatively rare .25-06 Rem 700 ADL Walnut/Blued. I turned it into "the best gift anyone has ever made for me"

Just a thought.
 
#14 ·
a bdl or cdl would be a dandy... i have a remington 700 that started life as a bdl and it now wears a cdl stock. beautiful rifle, 1978 date stamp on the bbl, matte finish metal and that cdl stock. someone had tried to fully bed the action and bbl channel and had no idea what they were doing, the bedding material must have been at least 1/8" thick for the entire length of the bbl channel and in the lug area.that wouldn't have been so bad but they never bothered to remove any wood before they got drunk with the epoxy. the action wouldn't even seat in the stock, couldn't even get the action screws in. i bought it at scheels in iowa city for 300 bucks. this thing still has the majority of the black finish on the bolt face, barely even shot at all. with the bbl'd action and new stock and the burris dual dovetail rings and bases i've got just about $500 in it. it shoots 150gr partitions and sst's great with 760 and ramshot hunter. one of my few legitimate "deals" that i've ever gotten. most of the time my "deals" tend to go the other way it seems. it also has the older steel sights on it (the good ones). heck this thing is factory drilled and tapped for a reciever sight.
so, you might want to go that route... 308's and '06's are everywhere and there are lots of stock options. worth considering.
 
#16 ·
Hi,
I don't know what the cost is in the U.S., so apologies if my suggestion is outside the budget. What about a Sako 75 hunter, come in wood/blued and have open sights. I have one in .270 win and it shoots great! The wood is nice too. I think the 75's are better than the new 85's and I don't think the 85 has open sights. It might be a rifle to try and find on the shelf - old stock? Just a thought:).
cheers
Brendon
 
#18 ·
Sure thing - my CZ was a 243 Winchester, the same parent case as the 308 so the discussion is exactly relevant to your question. The 550 action can/will accomodate a 30-06 cartridge length and they use the same action for the 9.3x62 which I believe is slightly larger than a 30-06 case. The bolt has the same face and length for both chamberings (30-06 and 308) and the action body is long to accomodate the loaded 30-06 cartridge length. In the magazine area CZ shortened the under carriage to the length of the magazine for a 308 size case. They shortened it from the front (away from the shooter) so you have to cycle the bolt the full length of the action to chamber a round. I believe shortening the magazine to work with the long actoin is the reason why the 243 and 308 have a detachable magazine, as opposed to the box magazine because it was easier to design/modify the action to simply make it work. Cycling the action was a little klutzy when working the long bolt throw to chamber a short cartridge and occassionaly it would not work smoothly and a round would hang up in the action.

If I had it to do all over again I would go with a longer cartridge (like the 30-06 or 270) that the action was designed for. The 550 is a nice action and the CZ is a nice gun, I would recommend them to anyone, but the devil is in the details and you should get a chambering the action was made for.
 
#20 ·
Awsome, thank you very much for the rundown, that is the information I wanted to know before I bought one!! I think my decision will be the 30-06 as I will be hunting both Deer and large Ontario Moose. Also I had no idea the .243 and .308 were a clip/magazine fed action. That alone leans me towards the 30-06 as I like box mags better!! Thanks again
 
#21 ·
30-06 is the do-all cartridge. I'm certain it has killed every single animal on this planet whether or not it was designed too.

I even read an article where the native americans living in Maine were allowed to go after whales, as it was a traditional practice. After spearing the animals several times, they finished them off with a 30-06.
 
#25 ·
If you can locate one, a clean Parker-Hale in 30-06 is what you described as the criteria.

Made in Birmigham,England, Mauser action, Douglas barrel,iron sights,beautiful walnut stock. Fit and finish is as good as it gets+ is a VERY accurate gun.

I have one in 30-06 that I have hunted with for40+ yrs and it is my favorite of all the guns that I own and some cost me a LOT more than the Parker- Hale

All the other suggestions are for great guns also I just suggest this as another option.

The guns are a little hard to find but I don't think you would be a bit dissapointed with one.


Good luck!
 
#26 · (Edited)
It has been mentioned and I know they're available up there but I think you would have a hard time going wrong with the Tikka T3.

I had never seen one until a few months ago, when it was recommended to me as a good rifle to buy my granddaughter to deer hunt with. I bought her a 243 and have liked it so much for it's actions and triggers smoothness, and oustanding accuracy, I've recently bought a second Varmint model in 22-250 to hunt coyotes. It has not disappointed me either. Both of these rifles, after some serious load developement, are shooting 1 1/2" groups @ 400yds on a bad day, 3/4" groups are normal and have posted an occasional 3/8" group @ 400yds. when conditions were perfect. I have some high dollar, custom barreled rifles that are not doing any better than that.

Kinda hard not to recommend a rifle that shoots like that.

Now, as I mentioned, I have done a lot of load developement for these rifles, so DO NOT expect one to do that with you're average factory ammo. They only guarantee MOA accuracy with high grade ammo. Everyone I've seen posting on the web about these rifles seem to be having similar results that are developing their own loads, and even those that don't reload claim some excellent results.
 
#27 ·
I need a good bolt action rifle for hunting Deer/Moose/Bear in Ontario. I am going to be picking 30/06 or .308 for these duties, but the make and model is up in the air. I wanna learn how to shoot properly so some nice open sights would come in handy!! I will not settle for anything less than blued metal and a walnut stock, cause I love the looks.

I want a strong, dependable, smooth action that will be able to "drive tacks" into targets up to 300 yards away. While also being dependable for the next 50+ years as I will be handing it down to my kids. I have around $800 to spend new or used on this rifle.


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Well a visit to Ellwood Epps is in order . They are located in Orillia and Wes would not stear you wrong .Then join a club and get some shootin' time in .
Most moose shot around here are under a 100 yds unless you get in some wide open country .I usually get a bit nerved- not when an animal is 300 yds away , as much as trying to figure out what is so close-- breathing down my neck !! LOL have a great hunt .:D
 
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