One of the ways I have some familiarity with what works and what doesn't regarding trustworthy rifles is my experience working with the Forest Service and being around the variety of .375s they issue to field crews for bear protection.
These rifles are outside constantly from about May through October, regardless of the weather since they're work rifles. They're often carried by people who aren't exactly cleaning enthusiasts so it's possible to get a couple years worth of wear inflicted on a gun in a few months. Because they're work rifles, they're not babied. They get carried through some fairly nasty conditions, to the point that some folks have been known to tie surveyor flagging through the upper sling swivel so the rifle can be quickly located when its set down. Here's a brief rundown.
Remington XCR: Sucky. The most eagerly rusting stainless rifle ever apparently. Box trigger turns into a lair for little rust monsters who eagerly seize it up. Extraction and ejection get iffy over time as well. This rifle actually has a sensible, lightweight barrel profile for a gun to be carried alot. Light barrel is not helpful however. More weight is needed for when rifle becomes a mere club.
Winchester Pre-64 and Post-64 Classic: Excellent. The gun of choice for many. Best overall reliability and easy to fix when something does go wrong. The two problem areas are mag box springs and bolt stop springs, both of which are easily repaired. Barrel profile on the Classics is not appreciated. Seems Winchester didn't want to wear out their barrel profiling machine.
Winchester Post-64 push feed: Mixed. Generally okay. Trigger design is very helpful. Extraction never seemed to be an issue but like the Remington, ejection issues develop over time, to the point that cases aren't thrown clear but rather just dribble out of the action. Replacement plungers and springs help. Same occasional issues with mag springs and bolt stop springs as the other Winchesters. Barrel alone weighs 12 pounds.
Browning A Bolt: Not trustworthy. Trigger issues. Most people attempted to keep away from it.
Mark X Mauser: Good generally, but without maintenance the triggers will seize up. Somehow less prone to this than the Remingtons however.
There are more Winchesters than anything else in inventory it seems. No Rugers due to ammo compatability issues.
Great post pabucktail. Thanks for sharing...
