Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles If you can only have one bolt action rifle...

Guys, I currently don't own any bolt action rifle. And I have been thinking of getting one in the future. I can only afford one, a good one I assume. So what should I get?

I am not in the hunting game or long range shooting at the moment. But for the future, I might want a rifle that is able to do some of those activities.

I gathered some info online, people praised Winchester 70 pre 64, Remington 700 police or 5R, Steyr...
But I believe some of you have a lot more experience and would be able to point a direction for me.

Thanks!

Howa

The “hunting game” encompasses a pretty large arena. What game and what areas of the country did you have in mind?

This

The only animal I would kill is the coyote but I will keep deer in mind just in case I need meat.

Yup.....I picked up one of these in .308 Win chambering for $275.....add some shipping and FFL fees (it was used)....it hit about $325.....It's one helluva shooter and is good for anything that walks north America and most of Africa.....Normally, I'm a model 70 fan.....and still am....but this Howa is something to take notice of.....I recommend them highly.

But if you could only have one bolt action rifle, will you still choose howa?

There are some great choices in the bolt action rifle market that would meet this criteria but for a reasonsbly priced no fuss rifle I would suggest a Tikka T3x stainless/synthetic chambered in .243 Win......Good luck....Hb

No. I personally would not. I would choose a Winchester classic stainless model 70 in 30/06.
But my needs are different and fortunately I’m not limited one.

In your shoes, I’d be mighty tempted to just call Melvin ... or go the simple route with a Tikka t3x in 6.5 creed or a Barrett Fieldcraft in 6 or 6.5 creed.

Posted while I was pecking... also a good option!

Someone also suggested Steyr Scout and Kimber classic or Mountain Ascent . What about those?

One bolt rifle for coyotes, targets, and maybe a deer someday...I’d probably wait and grab a Tikka CTR .223 when they appear.

For coyotes and deer it would be chambered in .223 with an 8 or 9" twist. The twist requirement would somewhat limit your choices. I'd probably go Tikka T3X myself.

My preference out of the lot would be a Kimber.

Yes, have shot the Steyr Scout a lot, son has one I reload for in 308.

OP still hasn’t said where he plans to do this possible hunting.

British Army surplus Boyse anti-tank rifle. Bang, flop. Or, bang, boom.

Wincherster Model 70 Featherweight in .308.

I just did a quick count and 11 of my rifles are Rugers of which eight are bolt actions. The good old Ruger (blued/walnut of course ) is a strong, solid, all metal, reliable hunting rifle. For what you are looking at hunting, a .243 would be suitable if using factory ammo, but if you hand load I'd look round for one of the .257 Roberts that they did a few years ago. The 85gn Ballistic Tip would be good for small game and a 100-115gn Ballistic Tip would do for the occasional deer. Or just load the 100gn Ballistic Tip for everything.

If you wanted a bit higher spec rifle the Mauser M12 would be a candidate but I'm not sure how popular they are in the States. Mine is very accurate right out of the box with a crisp trigger and floated barrel. Just clean off the packing oils and shoot it. Rugers often need the triggers worked a bit and just about every single one of mine shot better when floated and bedded.

I am going to assume that you exclude rimfires and small game here, and are looking for a medium to large game rifle. I would look out for a Husqvarna were I a careful man with money, a Brno model 21 if I cared about style and pride of ownership, a Brno ZG47 were I to want something I could have serious work done to in the future for use as a large game rifle.


And if Jorge says anything about Weatherby you can take it with a grain of salt as he just couldn't bring himself to go the whole hog and get a 270.

My Dentist had one locally, and used it for beating up on car wrecks. I just couldn't work myself up to liking it.

The .55 Boyes is a spare spartan tool...and tool it is.