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Originally Posted by RemModel8
I picked up a Marlin 336 a year ago in 30/30, built in 1979, that shoots cloverleafs at 75 yards with Winchester 150gr Power Max bonded bullets.

$199 out the door at the Pawn shop for a walnut/blue piece of work. It will cover just about 100% of the deer hunting I do locally.
They will serve an Eastern woods hunter well for a lifetime. I bought mine back in the early 90's and I've killed more deer with it than any other rifle I own. No plastic or pot metal junk on them. Just solid blued steel and walnut.

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I have a pile of "pride of ownership" rifles, the list including both pre- and later CRF Model 70s (one an O'Connor Commemorative with spectacular wood), two custom rifles based on JC Higgins 50s, one a walnut-stocked 6.5x55 and the other a not-cheap synthetic-stocked .338 Winchester Magnum, a Merkel single-shot break-action (also with spectacular wood), and other custom walnut-stocked CRF rifles from .243 Winchester to .375 H&H. Oh, and three very nice Sauer drillings. (I also have a bunch "modern custom" rifles with synthetic stocks many of the latest bells and whistles, all costing several times as much the "cheap" rifles.)

But one thing I have appreciated about the cheap synthetic-stocked rifles that have appeared in the past decade or so is that most tend to shoot very well right out of the box, and the triggers can also be easily adjusted . This has not been my experience with many more expensive factory bolt-action rifles, including classics like the pre-'64 Model 70, or most Remington 700s--or even JC Higgins 50s, which can have kinda weird riggers.

This is because the cheap rifles were designed AFTER rifle companies knew a lot more about what makes rifles shoot well, especially stock bedding. In fact, I have grown a little weary with spending both my time and, sometimes, extra money getting pride-of-ownership rifles to shoot as well as OTB "cheap" rifles, especially the Mauser M18. For around $400 I know the M18s will shoot great, and if the factory trigger pull doesn't please me it only takes a couple minutes to fix it, unlike many pre-'64 M70 triggers that will not adjust to less than 4-1/2 pounds, so require taking apart and rebuilding to get the same sort of pull.

All of which is partly why I answered the OP's question with my experience with various cheap rifles, instead of the common Campfire suggestions of buying anything else.


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Originally Posted by Mule Deer
especially the Mauser M18. For around $400 I know the M18s will shoot great, and if the factory trigger pull doesn't please me it only takes a couple minutes to fix it, unlike many pre-'64 M70 triggers that will not adjust to less than 4-1/2 pounds, so require taking apart and rebuilding to get the same sort of pull.
.


Are all the M18s built on long actions? I was reading a description of a M18 in .243 Win and it said “compatible with all Rem 700 long action bases”? I didn’t know if that was just an editing mistake, or if there are no true “short action” M18s?

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As I recall, they all are built on long actions, with different magazines for the .243 and .308 Winchester.


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I bought a T/C Compass last year with a Vortex scope on it. 6.5 Creedmoor that shoots MOA. $350. I'd deer hunt anywhere with it.

Ron


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The Mauser is certainly intriguing, but I haven't seen them in stock locally yet.

Thanks all for your input. I haven't found the next shamanic deer rifle, but I'm always looking.


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Upstream somebody mentions it............."not attached" to it.
That's the prob w cheap and or not pretty rifles.

They just have no soul.

There's nothing wrong with inexpensive tools that do the job well.
But they stay as tools and nothing more.





Last edited by hookeye; 06/23/20.
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The sad fact is these cheap new budget guns will usually shoot circles around the “standard” more expensive gun. But they aren’t heirlooms. Everybody agrees, the only thing good about them is how well the ugly bastards shoot.

I’ve owned 8 Ruger Americans. I never had a problem getting 1/2 MOA out of any one of them.

Todd

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Bought a Zastava .308 off gunbroker. Basically it's a cheap large ring mauser,I paid about $475 all included. It needs to be bedded and re-finished. It's a work in progress,but it's a great value for the money.

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I have two Savage Stevens 200 rifles I purchased a number of years ago on a close out deal for $189 each. I originally bought them for loaner/truck/ATV rifles and that is what they have been used for mostly. They have become what I hunt with the most as they are a good reliable tool that I don't worry about getting scratched up, rained on or loaned to someone in camp that needs a rifle. Ugly as heck but very accurate and have been dependable. It is crazy when I think how many animals have been taken by me and a number of other people with those rifles. They just plain work. One stays in my truck at all times and the other lives in a gun boot on an ATV at the ranch. They are definitely not heirlooms just plain cheap tools that get the job done. If they were to get stolen I wouldn't be happy but allot less upset than if one of my "heirloom" rifles did. My dad has one also and he calls it his Tupperware rifle due to the stock.

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One of my heirlooms was a pretty cheap rifle. My Dad bought me a Remington 788 .243 when I was 14 for getting good grades. I think he paid $109 for it new. He put a Weaver K4 on it. I killed a bunch of groundhogs with it, but never a deer. I'd also deer hunt with it any day. I'm 60 now.

Ron


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Most of my junk is synth stock, for durability.
Have a couple walnut rigs that were used, dinged up.......purchased because they still look good but am not afraid to hunt them.
Just purchased a nicer stocked rifle of some collector status.
So nice as to be almost unusable for hunting.

Screwed myself.

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I'd rather have a used SS 700 ADL or SS Howa/Vanguard than most of the current budget rifles. They aren't bad expensive to start, don't take a ton of tinkering to get to shoot okay, and can be restocked later if you want to have something with a little more "pride of ownership".

With that being said, it is likely that some of the newer designs will outshoot the 700 or Vanguard, if that's all that matters. Me, I'd rather have a MOA rifle I really like than a half MOA rifle I can't warm up to.


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Back when I was looking for cheap deer rifles for my kids, I was purchasing used Savage Model 340s or their Stevens equivalent in .30-30. At the time they were in the $200 range and usually included a lesser brand scope. I'm not sure you could sell one for that money today, but they were excellent deer rifles and the .30-30 cartridge is surprisingly accurate out of those rifles. I haven't looked at a factory new rifle in at least 25 years, maybe more like 35, so I can't opine as to what's a good quality inexpensive deer rifle today, but I'm pretty sure no one is looking for the older Savages anymore, except guys on a nostalgia kick.

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