Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Budget Rifles

A budget rifle is whatever I want. I make it fit into my budget.

Interesting that guys have 15 budget rifles instead of 5 or 6 nice ones........Agree with BSA in that if I am trying to save money I'll look for something used instead of buying a cheapo plastic new rifle......

I have a lot of nice rifles, but I like rifles and like to try new things, particularly if the price is right. I bought 2 rifles today, going in the wrong direction as I really need to reduce inventory, but the prices were below fair market, so they came home with me.

One thing that I really like about the Marlin X guns is that they are easy to swap barrels on. They use small shank Savage specs, so some barrels can be screwed on and head-spaced without any work and if there is any work needed, to set the barrel back a couple 1/1000", it doesn't require much work. Most of the Marlin X guns that I have have been rebarreled with Savage or after-market Savage specs barrels.

Think of it like a budget... shovel.

Throw it in the back of the pick-up, drag it through the swamps/briers/rocks/thickets, in the rain or snow, wet and muddy for days on end.

If it'll still dig a decent sh(it)ter and not break...

Does it really need to be gold plated?

8>)




GR

I picked up a T/C Compass in 308 to use as a truck gun. The thing is so damn accurate that I pretty much stopped shooting anything else. Really, really good rifle for very little money

I picked an RAR Predator in 308 for the threaded barrel and suppressor use... damn thing shot pretty well for the crap trigger and crap stock, of course I couldn’t stop there, so a Timney trigger and Bell and Carlson (bought used), bedding job later, it shoots pretty much any 150 or 165 under an inch, some much better. But it would have been cheaper to bob and thread an existing rifle in the safe.

After considerable poking around here and there I discovered that the law in WV was changed last year to permit carrying loaded long guns in vehicles, along with, if you can believe it-crossbows, “except for hunting”(?). Any firearm may be carried for self-defense in or out of season, but unprotected critters like chucks and yotes may only be hunted in “open fields”. Some time back, a DNR officer told me the gun used for such hunting had to be cased until the “field” was reached. In light of the revised law, I need to talk to them again about that part as they recently opened up a bunch of brushy cover on my local WMA, which might lead to some varmint opportunities at longish ranges.

Clear as mud…

The key, of course, is to be sure and spend at least six month's wages or sign over one of your children to scope it.

It looks like the law was written to curb Road Hunters and Poachers.. Historically groups that IGNORE game laws anyway.

This is my "budget" rifle - got it at a pawn shop for $300, wearing a Weaver steel tube fixed 6X. When I asked the shop owner if I could see it, he said "It says Forester on the barrel - I think it's one of those English guns."

Nearly set my pants on fire reaching for my wallet. Sako Deluxe L579 in .243 Win.

Yes, but those magazine protrudes below the stock, something that I don't care for if there are other options available.

In Canada, with prices converted to USD, the cheapest new rifles are Savages for about $420. Nothing is cheap, like when most people here were younger.

If you have a gun shop with a staff or gunsmith you trust, used might be the way to go, but the question is, how much are you going to pay for a used Rem 700, Ruger 77, or even a used Handi Rifle? Up here at least, used rifle prices are off the rails. I was looking for a 22 Hornet Handi rifle and was looking through Gun Post, one of our online used firearms websites.



This Hornet is $875 CDN or about $615 USD.

Gun Post has Handis, like a 30-06 for $450 USD and a Buffalo rifle for $700 USD. Two inexpensive, used single shots. It's not like these things are rare. Considering that they sold for about $250 CDN or $175 USD new, inexpensive Axis or Ruger Americans are a bargain at $600 CDN ($420 USD) at Cabelas!

Used Rem 700s are expensive too. $700 and most are more.

Around here, if I was looking for a budget rifle, I'd buy a new Axis in 6.5CM, 30-06 or 270. All in, it would be about $475 USD.

Several years ago, when the savage axis came on the market, I purchased one in 223. Mine is a pre-accutrigger version. I had the trigger worked over by a gunsmith. It's a cheap rifle, but shoots extremely well. Killing a standing coyote out to 300 yards has not been a problem. If I were buying a "cheap " rifle today I'd get a savage axis. Ymmv.

If you like the TC compass

Watch for TC Ventures

I really like them
They are accurate and the stock is much nice IMHO

Hank

The CVA single shots/Scouts I've played with have been nice shooters for minimal $.

Over the last week I've been playing with a CVA Cascade. Very smooth action, low bolt lift, comfortable bolt handle design, GREAT trigger, nice pattern on the stock with generous free float on the barrel channel, threaded sporter contour barrel. It suffers the "budget" rifle standard of proprietary mags and cerakoted cm steel. Accurate enough to hold ~1.25" with 3 different factory loads.

After spending time with it, the CVA Cascade would be the first place I'd look for a budget bolt gun.

Budget for me would be a Howa 1500. Excellent feeding and extraction and a decent two-stage trigger (could be a little lighter). From there, it's moving up to Tikka. I've done the Savage route and while accurate, I just can't like them for some reason.

Like others have said, a CVA scout isn't a bad bottom-dollar rifle, as they generally shoot, have decent triggers, and are compact. Also, the Howa/Vanguard is a solid bolt gun option, especially the two-stage trigger model like devnull mentions. I've done a simple spring swap and had great results. No flies on a used SS Vanguard. If going above that pricing, I'd probably look for a used Tikka.

This right here. Just looked on GI and you can get one for $500. Forged action, hinged floorplate. No compromises in construction or function. A bit heavy, but not awful. Brownells has barreled actions available, often at great prices that allow you to put them in a better stock pretty cheaply.

Is it because the look of the bolt handle makes you anticipate flushing sounds when you lower it?

Replacement bolt handles are available in a multitude of styles and quite inexpensively.