Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Cheap rifles

People spend a lot of money getting rifles that may or may not shoot as well as they would like. Often a cheap rifle will shoot just as well.

A SIL and I were at the range last Saturday with these cases in point:

1. SIL’s Ruger American 6.5CM, $325 used at a gun show. It was printing half MOA at 100 and on his last six shots he rang the steel twice each at 400, 500 and 600 yards using turrets. Granted, he put a Boyd laminate stock and Leupold VX 3i scope on it, but they don’t affect the accuracy potential of the action and barrel. He is taking this one antelope hunting later this week.

2. SIL’s Remington M700 SPS 7mm RM, a bit under $300 new at Wally World. He put a Mesa Precision stock on it and it was also shooting under half MOA. Ringing the steel at all ranges was easy. This one is going elk hunting in November.

3. My All Weather Hawkeye .280 Rem, purchased new in 2014. This was the most expensive rifle I shot all day at $700. OK, not cheap but not expensive, either. It printed a half inch at 100 before I took it out to the longer ranges. No turrets, just a Burris 3-9x with a BDC reticle. Checked the speed and group location at 100, put it in the ballistic calculator and proceeded to bang steel 400m 500 and 600. Used the 4’x8’ plywood target backing and BDC reticle to measure the drop vs the calculated value at 500 and 600. Worked great. Last three shots proved it was repeatable, banging each steel in succession. 150g ABLR @ 2899fps. This will be my primary elk rifle this year.

4. My Ruger MKII .300 WM, $375 new in 2004. Boat paddle stock, Burris 3-9x with BDC reticle. Same story as the .280 Rem when it came to banging steel. 175g Barnes LRX @ 2989fps. This will be my backup rifle for elk this year.

5. My Ruger 1989 M77 .257 Roberts, $400 new in 2004 with Leupold M8-4x scope in the rings. I had paid $100 for an identical scope a month before so I figure the rifle cost me $300. Later I put an used and upgraded Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-14x on it. The upgrades included a vertical turret and Leupold’s Varmint reticle. I shot a group at 100, checked the drop at 300, then used the turret to and ballistic calculator to get to the longer ranges. Clang, clang, clang. Tried the 5” steel at 500. Clang. Tightest100-yard group I ever shot was with this rifle, .232” center-to-center. On this day I was using 110g AB @ 2950fps. After verifying the turret settings I switched to using the Varmint reticle. Once again UI used the 4-foot high target backstops at 500 and 600 to measure drop in the reticle. Once I got it sorted out and the barrel had cooled I went back and clanged the steel at 400, 500 and 600. This rifle is going antelope hunting in Wyoming in 3 days.

It wasn’t at the range, but my Savage 11 FXP3 (blue/synthetic and Savage homely) in .243 Win cost me $295 out the door at a gun show. It was a used rifle that I bought as a donor, intending to rebarrel as a 6.5CM. Shot the donor with a random load from the Hornady manual and 95g SST. Once I got it on paper, the next three shot were touching. Oops. It is a reliable steel banger at 600 and less. It will remain a .243 Win. The scope is a Burris 3-9x with a BDC reticle.

Another Savage, a 12FV in 6.5 CM came home with me last December, $295 out the door. First trip to the range it shot holes touching at 100 with factory ammo and a Burris 3-9x BDC scope. Typical Savage – homely but a shooter.

"Stub" is a 17" barreled RU77 tang in .30-06. Paid $80 for it - cut the end-of-barrel bulge off, bedded it. Refinished water-damaged wood and metal, hung a Decelerator on it. Shoots 1.25 MOA.

Friend gave me a 725SA .244 he found out on the tundra. Refinished wood and receiver
( bedded, free-float bbl), replaced rusted barrel with a $100 700 SS takeoff in 260. Shoots MOA

At the time I did the above two, I had a gunsmithy going, so everything was "free" except as noted.

M98 customized .270 came with a remote cabin I purchased in '75, along with a whole bunch of other eqipment and two other rifles. I joke that I paid $10,500 for the rifle, but got 5 acres of land, a cabin, a boat and motor, and the rest of the stuff free..... It was about a .7 MOA shooter in .270.

After my brother borrowed it (for 21 years) and left it in a wet basement, it would no longer shoot less than 7" groups no matter what I did to it - and I did everything! Nor could I see any pitting in the bore.

Came up with a heavy 27" "Finnish sniper barrel" from Sportsmans Guide, already parkerized, short-chambered in 30-06 for $110. . Since all my stuff was in storage at the time, I did have to pay a gunsmith to finish-chamber it. And of course I had to open the barrel channel up, which I then full length bedded. Shoots 1" groups at 300 yards if I can hold it steady enough. Weighs a tad over 11 lbs, though......

All of the above is with factory ammo. the .260 likes 140 gr. only. I can live with that.

I avoid the word cheap. It implies cheaply made. Inexpensive would be better

Ruger 77's aren't cheap rifles.

$150 243 RAR, $100 Leupold, hacksawed to 18”.

Federal Blue Box 100’s, of course.....

Most of my battery are super cheap beaters, but one stands out, a Moisin 1891 hex receiver capture, rebuilt by the Finn's into an M-38 by Sako. Paid 75 bucks for the barreled action, glued it into a beater Russian stock, built a homemade scope mount, SWFA straight 12x mil-mil. Lights out accurate at 700. If the fire ever holds an ugly gun contest..I got it nailed with this gem.
Wish I could post a photo, you men would laugh your arses off.

Cheap or INexpensive, no problem.

The "cheapest" or LEAST expensive rifle I have is one GIVEN to me by a Campfire Friend ! ! !
Can't beat FREE !! His name later.


Custom M 98, 284 Win; 21" bll. (unknown maker),.. Timney, Boyd's Hardwood stock


And it WORKS very well !
First Deer - ONE shot--- Doe - MG Doe Only 10/17




Second Deer - ONE shot - 11/17



Works VERY well ! BACK of the neck 180 yds -> Nose in dirt !> 11/17 Do I need to say One Shot ? LOL


THANKS to "Grasshopper", a former active member here who 'Lurks' occasionally,
Also I have told him--- the gun is NOT for sale BUT he can have it back anytime he wants it.

While I'm at it THNX to ANOTHER 'fire' member who VOLUNTARILY sold me 50 WW 284 Win brass for a reasonable $$.

I like FREE. We have some GREAT members here and I've made many friends - & a few not so friendly. LIFE.


Jerry

I have a Ruger American in 7mm-08 with a Leupold scope on it. It shoots MOA with most loads and has taken 5 deer so far between my son and I. I have around $550 in it for rifle and scope. I am pleased with its performance. I purchased it to be an accurate, functional rifle, and it has fit the bill for me.

Define "cheap"?

Something easily affordable for a person who earns $200 per hour would likely be far out of the reach for a person who earns $20 per hour.

I like to tinker, so buying a fully tuned rifle, like a Cooper, wouldn't interest me, as I would rather turn a sow's ear into a silk purse than to buy a silk purse in the first place. But there is always the possibility of over-spending on an inexpensive rifle when you try to squeeze a little more out of it by upgrading its components. For example, I don't care for the RAR stocks, so I've installed a few of those barreled actions in Boyds stocks. Doing so added around $200 to the $400 purchase price and raised the question in my mind whether I would have been better served by spending the $600 on a higher grade rifle to start with.

The inexpensive rifle that I like the best is the discontinued Marlin X gun because they combined the best attributes of the Savage 110 series and Remington 700 series. They had the easy to change barrels and the same barrel tenon specs as the small shank Savages and were aesthetically a close match to the Remington 700 ADLs.

A rifle that I expected not to like, but have come to like, is the Mossberg Patriot. I bought one in 2018 for a friend of my son to use on his first deer hunt. The rifle shoots close to MOA with factory ammo, has Cerakoted metal, and a well designed stock all for under $400.

The Marlin X guns worked awfully well for me. I've owned 3, all of which were excellent shooters, even with cheap factory ammo. Feeding was excellent, though extraction was just serviceable: I'd have preferred it threw the casings further. When the, "Which guns do you regret selling?" threads come around, the only one I can think of was a stainless X7L in .270 that I sold to Orion2000. It shot so well, I put a 3-9 Conquest on it, economics-be-damned.

The best "deal" was getting a RAR in .308 for $250, factory new, shipped to my FFL. I added a VX1 2-7 purchased here, and put it in Weaver steel rings. For $400 + change, I had a complete package that was way sub-MOA with Federal Blue Box 150's. 'MERICA!

FC

The absolute best deal, the wife won a RAR ,270 Win about 7 years ago now. The bad part, the oldest son claimed it, but it still resides in my gun safe. I've had two Marlin X rifles as mentioned above and they shot great. I sold the XL7S .270 to a friend for his son. I think the son pawned it in no time, so no telling where it is now. I still have the XS7 .308 and it's a shooter. With scope, scope mounts/rings, and sling, I have under $400 in it. I have a Mauser I bought from my buddy for the action for $50, he threw in a Finnish made Mosin Nagant for free. Both of them have pitted barrels I found out form him shooting surplus ammo in them. I knew the Mauser had a bad barrel, but didn't know the Mosin's was pitted. None of my rifles are overly expensive, but most are "cheap" either.

I've got two Stevens 200 that I bought NIB on a close out deal at Academy Sports for $180 each. One in .270 and one in 7mm-08. Each has a Nitrex TR1 3-9X40 scope that I got on closeout from Natchez Shooters that cost about $85 each after the mail in rebate. $15 Weaver bases and rings from Walmart and I had two "loaner/truck/ATV" rifles. Those two rifles eventually have become my most hunted rifles. I have loaned them out to a large number of clients, family members, guest hunters and have used them myself. Those two rifles have accounted for an extremely large number of various animals over the years. Many more than most rifles costing 2 or 3 times or more. They are ugly but they have proven to be extremely durable and useful tools.

The thing about cheap rifles like these Stevens is they are just tools. I take more pride in my old Savage 99F or my Model 700 BDL with beautiful wood but I'm sure a whole lot more careful with those rifles as I don't want to scratch them up. Those Stevens rifles have spent their whole lives either under / behind the seat of my truck or in a gun boot on an ATV. I try to care for them but I don't worry about them getting dinged up. These are the perfect loaners for the Brother-in-law that can break an anvil and will.

If it does what you want, who cares what it cost?
Admire pretty rifles, but am a user not collector, and would be happy if everything was stainless and synth.

Most of my rifles are cheap.
700 BDL 243 240 dollars new.
700 classic 35 Whelen 320 new
300 Wby vanguard 300 new
30-06 Vanguard II 360 used
30-06 Vanguard Deluxe 383 new.
The first 3 I have had a while and shoot sub moa. The 06s shoot MOA but I havent worked up a specific load for them yet.
Bought the 2 06s in the last 3 years. The deluxe was a Wal Mart close out.
All of them are good rifles that were economical at the time and all of them will do what they should. No issues with any of them.

Exactly

The only "cheap" or "inexpensive" rifles I've found that I truly enjoy hunting with are my Marlin X-rifles.

One of my favorite rifles is a 22-250. It started life as a 7mm-08, but a Campfire member was nice enough to re-chamber and install a Stevens 1-9 twist 223 barrel I bought off Ebay. Only 2 bullets I've tried in it are the 65gr SGK, 1/2 MOA at 3493fps, and the 75gr ELD-M, 1/2 MOA at 3236.

My stainless 7mm-08 will put 3 rounds of my handloads into a hole about the size of a single .308 bullet hole. I bought the rifle new on closeout and put Talley rings and a used Nikon Monarch UCC 3-9x40 on it. It weighs 7.5lbs and I've got less than $500 in the whole setup.

I've got my 243 shooting 3/4 MOA with 85gr TSX at just over 3k. I think I need to play with it and see if I can get some more speed. It seems like Barnes tend to shoot most accurately at top end velocities.

That depends on the definition of "cheap" you are using. One, and the one I was using. refers to something being priced less than it is worth.

Over half of my Ruger rifles came to me used but in great shape, each for far less than the cost of new. They shoot just as well as those I've purchased new. They were cheap for what I got.

Yes C H

"One, and the one I was using. refers to something being priced less than it is worth."

That's my application as well. A FREE Custom 98, well.......

Jerry

I am mad at myself for not scooping up those Stevens on Academy closeout.