Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which budget rifle is King?

Howa is just a Vanguard Wby at halve the price

The lowest retail price that I've seen for the Vanguards is $500 at a Cabela's sale a couple of times each year, with their regular price being around $550.

I'm not seeing Howa 1500s price much lower, none in the $250 to $275 range.

Yeah, they both went up in price not too long ago....

By solid you mean the bolt handle doesn't fall off?

Shod

The best NIB budget rifle is, IMHO, the Ruger American. When they were available I would have awarded that title to the Stevens 200 and Marlin X-whatever rifles.

Saw a Remington M700 ADL with a crappy scope on it at Wal-Mart for $377 a couple weeks ago, your choice of chambering. The finish was the same as is on my 870, which is to say it was dull black.


Often the best budget rifle is a gently used rifle or a closeout sale. For example, last year ago I purchased a used Ruger stainless/laminate .223 at Cabelas or $476. Dec 31 of 2013 I bought a NIB walnut/blue Ruger Hawkeye in .300WM at Dicks for $404 and tax.

It is a better candidate than it is a rifle...

I be lovin' me some stainless steel/synthetic rifles...but the current crop of "bic" rifles aint amongst them...

This is what you missed by staying home yesterday...


[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-...=PEp8Yiex2xU&feature=player_embedded[/video]

The Savage 110/11 series have always been good budget rifles. I've had 8 or 10 of them over the past 35 years and all have shot well. The only one I have currently is a .223 Stevens 200 I bought new for 259.00 4 years ago. It functioned perfectly and shot everything I ran through it, both handloads and factory under 1" at 100 yards out of the box. Pretty tough to ask for more for the price. The 200 is discontinued now but the last I knew Wal-Mart still sold synthetic stocked Savages with accu-trigger for around 350.00. My brother bought one in .243 about a year ago and it shoots just as good as my Stevens. I've seen nothing from any of the newer budget rifles that would lead me to believe they're better or likely to outperform the Savages. Certainly none are as time tested/ well proven.The only Ruger American I've seen in action was certainly less than impressive as the magazine kept falling out and the stock was as flimsy as a soda straw.

Spend a few extra bucks and get Tikka T-3 or Ruger 77

It seems to me that to keep the price of a budget rifle the same as a budget rifle was 20 years ago you'd have to comprimize quality.

The dollar doesn't go anywhere close to where it used to.

As sportsman it appears that a number of folks are not accepting the lack of quality.

Those folks are buying rifles from manufacturers that are still building budget rifles but have been unwilling to compromise the quality and materials and therefore choose to continue using appropriate materials and meet the rising cost.

This forces the cost of the rifle to go up. Therefore these rifles are no longer considered budget.

These rifles that cost $150 dollars more I think are far more widely used by the budget minded sportsman and seem to weather the span of time.

Cheap budget rifles seem to come and go. It appears the rifle manufacturers have deemed to see just how much lack of quality will the general public accept.

Remington and Ruger seem to have taken the lead in this endevour.

Shod

Just WOW.

I guess one action length, the lack of a recoil lug, a plastic bolt shroud, a plastic magazine, tupperware stock, and enclosed receiver, all at a higher cost doesn't qualify. Yes sir, the Tikka is VERY uncompromising

You are one HIGHLY entertaining SOB some times

Sunday morning is always good for entertainment.

Have a great Superbowl Sunday 2muchgun.

Shod

Damn! Looks like fun! And I was home nursing the flu when I could have been doing that!

You have fun as well.

I am busy being snowed in. Already ran the snowblower once and you can't even tell. Lots more on the way. Looks like I may just stay home today.......

2mg: it's 72 here, and sunny. (Feel free to laugh at me in August)

2muchgun, the plastic and the Tupperware are all common to budget rifles.

If'n you are privy to Steel that is used for building actions barrels and said gun parts then you understand that Steel does have various grades resulting in anywhere from cheap to very expensive.

Tupperware and plastic are no different. If'n one is going to build a budget rifle for instance would you prefer to have plastic parts or the much more expensive polymer.

Is there even a difference?

Plastic polymer has a tensil strength of about 40 lbs where as some polymer has a tensil strength of around 2000 lbs exceeding the cheaper steel.

There is a reason why some stock forearms wobble around like a limp dik and some stand erect, hard, and ready for the task at hand.

You sir are quite clearing trying to expound on that which you are clearly clueless.

When it comes to the science of said materials you'd fair far better to sit your chunt on the couch......enjoy your super bowl Sunday......and get up occasionally to lick the window and dream of all the wares you've never been.

Shod

Texas is definitely too hot this northern boy. I'd want no part of summer.

But I could do 70° and sunny right now

The synthetic used in the Tikka magazine/trigger guard/floor plate is incredibly tough stuff. I witnessed a fully loaded Tikka magazine slide off the roof of a pickup and go cartwheeling down the pavement at 55 mph last season. Other than a bit of road rash there was no damage and the magazine is still fully functional. I have serious doubts that a sheet steel or "plastic" magazine would fare as well.

The

Please, just stop. Why do you continue to insist on proving what a fool you are?

Plastics are polymers dumba$$. They use the term polymer to trick imbeciles into thinking they are buying something "better" than just plastic. Kind of like Delrin knife scales. Bet you love those as well.

And here we were making so much progress on you not sticking your foot in your mouth or making outlandish claims you can't prove or know nothing about.

So what part of the Tikka has a tensile strength of 2000 lbs? Please do tell.

And so you know, tensile strength of plastic is determined by pulling on it, or stretching it. How tough it is has nothing to do with tensile strength, but how much energy it will absorb before it breaks. Which pretty much shows all who can read here who is truly trying to expound upon that which they are clueless.

So Tikkas are more expensive due to the polymers being more expensive than steel. Okay, I get it now.

Do me a favor, send me your Tikka bolt shroud. I'll hit it with a hammer. Then hit my 700 shroud. If mine breaks first, I'll buy you a whole new Tikka. If yours breaks first, I get a new 700.

Even your last "insult line" is plagiarized. I would tell you to come up with something original on your own, but it would be very hard to top the entertainment you already so shamelessly, albeit in intentionally, provide us with. And let's face it, you probably aren't quite up to the task.

Did I say you were entertaining?

Have fun at the Asha Kiran Super Bowl party......