Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Best overall "budget" rifle

The TC Venture is an ok rifle. It is solid for sure and a bit heavy. The trigger is not very good. Now days , I would rather buy a good quality rifle for a few hundred more. I'm not sure what I would buy however. My son like his Tikka T3 light but in .270 Win. it really kicks. Get one in .243 Win in a youth model might be nice.

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Geo, President Elect

I have to agree with those who said the Howa 1500. The lower budget models shoot as well as the discontinued Alpine and the current HS Precision, as well they should since they use the same barreled actions. The hogue models are quite heavy but that isn't always a bad thing especially for those who don't like recoil.

I am a fan of their triggers too. Combine all this with the price and you have a winner. YMMV.

One major difference between those rifles (except, perhaps, some Hawkeyes, and really recent Model 70s) and the Mauser M18 is you won't have to dink with the Mauser's bedding. And the M18 trigger is far more easily adjusted.

If you guys are going to talk used rifles and go back as far as the Ruger mkII m77 era, I'd say the Stevens 200 of that time was a better "Budget" rifle. Far less money and shoots far better than ANY Ruger m77 of its time:




I can't remember, did I say it shoots better than any Ruger m77 MK II of its time?

On the presumption that "budget" means sub-$500:

Mauser M18 for all three categories if you want lighter weight and/or DBM. Best in class and if the crowd ever catches on, it will probably start climbing in price.

Howa 1500 if you want a little more weight and/or hinged floor plate.

Most guys would be perfectly happy with almost any of the current rifles in the sub-$500 class, but the rest come up short in one category or another.

The alternative is to buy used, but you'd still be hard pressed to do better than either one of those choices in a used rifle under $500.

One of the box stores near my house has a new, Weatherby Vanguard S2 in .300 Weatherby for $425. I have a gift card and some bonush points and I keep thinking I should pick it up. I just dont want to carry the heavier guns that much anymore. I like to carry my Tikka a lot better.

There's a Vanguard in a store here in town for $599 canadian, which is pretty damn good for out here. Chambered in .257 Weatherby though, not really my thing. It's been sitting there for a couple years now.

If you’re looking at used, 30-06, 7mm RM, or 243 chambering.

Each of the rifles mentioned have their pros and cons.

I’m a sucker for money raising drawings VFW and American Legion.
I won a rifle that I would never have purchased and was surprised at the value for the buck. It was a Savage Axis with a 3x9 Weaver scope.
The trigger wasn’t one of those with the extra blade - I appreciated that - and had a decent trigger pull and let-off. I have not spent much time in developing loads for it, but Remington CL factory loads are about 1 1/2 MOA.

I’m a hard core Remington fan though. I have a few. I have picked up at gun shows for around $300 - lately finding one in that price range is less common. The best deals are the ones with good scopes. I believe that each of these Remingtons are sub MOA rifles.

In my mind, it's a used M-70 pusher with a plastic stock. Gunbroker has them and you can pick one up for well under 400 total. They work and have fine accuracy... Same for a lot of Weatherby vanguards and Howa rifles.

Are those even made anymore?

I need a Howa in 25-06. I have an LA Edge stock looking for a barreled action.

I'm a huge Howa fan and usually that would be my go-to answer...but a co-worker just bought a couple new TC Compass, .223 and .270 and I must say, for the price they are very nice so far! Once I shoot them for groups I'll have a better opinion but overall I'm impressed already.

Weatherby Vangaurds are a step way ahead of all the budget rifles.

For a pure price point rifle, the Rem 783 has these features:


very fast lock time
steel magazine
Limbsaver recoil pad
Barrel is free floated
783 barrels I have bore scoped have been very, very good
Excellent extractor
Replaceable bolt head- go to a different size case head, PTG makes them

Down side is plastic trigger guard

I am seeing these used at $200-$265

I don't know what is available to a buyer in Canada, that colors anything to be said. Get advice from Steve Redgewell he knows what's possible. Maybe they have moved on from 303's up there to 308's. No point in telling you this or that if you can't get it. Down here I'd tell a guy if asked but up there it will hinge on what you can get and ammo availability. MB

Skatchewan et al,

Budget rifles are not well finished. They are basic, functional rifles. It is impossible to say how they will fit unless we are twins. Handling is another personal thing. I prefer heavier rifles, so my likes are probably different than yours.

For the Canadians and interested Americans: Here are the approximate prices are for the various rifles discussed in the thread. I would add that these are regular, not sale prices. Some might come up as sale items.

For my American friends, our dollar is worth about 30% less than yours, so to compare what we are paying to what you are paying down there, reduce these prices by 30%.

Weatherby Vanguards are $770
M18s start at $800
Zastava M70s start at $695
Ruger Americans and Predators are usually $650 to $750, but go on sale from time to time.
Howas are all over the place, depending on which model you buy, but generally, the less expensive 1500 Minis are approximately $750.
Savage Axes (?) are approximately $500.

Almost all have plastic stocks, but even before you pull the trigger, you will shoulder the rifle to check it for fit. If you must have the action, but the stock doesn't work for you, factor in a few hundred more down the road for a replacement. In one respect, this is a good thing. You can spread the cost of your rifle out over a period of time. You'll have a shootable rifle out the door, and can add bells and whistles to suit, as funds allow. Sort of like what some of us used to do with old beaters.

I would also recommend checking used rifles. Tradeex is a good place to shop as well as your LGS. www.tradeexcanada.com

Ruger Predator.

JB, does the Mauser 18 have a floated barrel? If that info was on their website, I missed it. Also is there just one action length? Thanks.

Franchi Momentum. i have one in .308. superb trigger. excellent butt pad. shoots federal non-typical 150 grain very well.

Since the subject of used rifles was brought up, I will toss two options up for consideration.

One being the J.C. Higgins Model 50 Belgian made FN Mauser. (270 or 30-06).

The other being the Ithica imported LSA Tikka 65 (long action) and LSA 55 (short action).
The LSAs were very well built rifles, and hardly anybody these days has heard of them.

For used guns, they can be found with some searching and are often found at very reasonable prices.