I have recently done some consolidating/condensing with my herd. Too many guns sat in the safe bored from non-use. I felt bad for them, so I set them free. As of right now I have several 223 semi-autos, a 223 ultralight bolt gun and a 257 Roberts Ruger Ultralight. I am going to get a heavy barrel 223 to cover my target needs. The Ruger 257 is my woods or stand rifle. I want to treat myself to a really nice higher end factory/semi custom rifle. I'll give you a list of criteria.

* I am not looking for a lightweight rifle. Something in the 7-7.5 bare weight would be close to ideal. I could go either side of that though.
* I want a US made rifle that is not a Ruger
* Flush magazine. No goiters.
* Not a 6.5 Creedmoor. I am well aware of their virtues, I just can't warm up to the chambering.
* Because of a bum shoulder, something milder recoiling. Think of something in the 257 Roberts-6.5 PRC range, maybe a 257 WBY.
* Probably in the $1000-$1500 price range.

Contenders at this point.

MRC X3
Nosler M-48
Christensen Arms Mesa

The Mesa in 6.5 PRC is in the lead. I have read reviews, and it is getting almost universal praise. With the factory brake, recoil is said to be minimal. I am thinking shoot off the bench with the brake and hunt with the thread protector provided POI is consistent. I like the looks and lines of the rifle. The weight is just right as well.

The MRC in 257 Roberts makes some sense as well. I already have dies, brass and bullets and have a decided soft spot for the chambering. I done kilt more deers with it than all others combined.

Anything else out there. Anyone want to talk me into or out of anything.

I want to reiterate that the almighty 6.5 Creedlord is OFF the table.

Not mine and no affiliation, but someone has a Nosler Professional model in 257 Bob in the classifieds that seems to fit what you’re looking for. Not sure if you’ve seen it or not, or are interested in a used rifle.

Interesting "reasoning" there.

Cooper? Doesn't Japan build the actions for Nosler?

He needs to stick to Huffy's and Schwinn's.

That wasn't even on my radar.

I was just poking fun about how people rationalize preferences. I'm guilty too. One of my favorite rifles is a 700 Classic in 300 Savage. It won't do anything a 308 can't, and there's no Lapua brass for it yadda yadda. Still I love it just like it is.

If I had further detailed my "reasoning" y'all would have wanted to have me committed. Is that not the essence of loonyism?

Well I'll throw some gas on the loonyism campfire. Pick up a cheap donor, barrel it in the caliber you want and have it custom stocked for you. Depending on how close the donor is to your intended and how wild you care to go on the stock, you could do that for $1500 bucks and have something that is "yours".

Definitions of "high end" and "factory" are obviously subjective. 1000-1500 is in my view not anywhere near "high end"...

There is or was a perfect rifle in the classifieds . $1275 or so? I don’t recall the exact model. I’ll go look.

This is the one I was referring to

That's a great rifle, my daughter loves her .300 Savage Classic.

What you listed are all synthetic rifles. Is that intentional? Wood can have a lot more appeal, and be quite durable too. Just food for thought.

Perhaps something with a stock like this shaped to fit you? Could be with whatever action and barrel floats your boat. Might break your price point though.

Yeah, That's why I used the word "higher." So it's not down there there in the Tikka, Savage Axis category. Not in the mid grade Winchester M70, Ruger 77, Remington 700 class. Something on the higher side of mid grade for factory rifles or as some say "semi-custom." But we both know that's a misnomer as well. If nothing else, the $1000-$1500 should have been enough to help thinking people understand what I was looking for. But there are those who always need to ring in with something other than a constructive comment right?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...257-bob-nosler-professional#Post14346549

That is a very nice rifle. The guy has good taste in granite, flooring, and appliances too. I had to do a double check to make sure it wasn't my house. His fruit basket is nicer. Here's mine.

MRC X3 I would say NO

Nosler M-48 I would say NO

Christensen Arms Mesa Maybe

I would pick a 6mm Creedmoor, Dasher, BR, Something or other

I would try to piece together parts and have Shaen build it up but that would be out of the $1500 range

I've done full blown customs a couple of times. Today I fired for the first time my most recent purchase, a CA Mesa (won't mention the caliber as I fear you might reach through my monitor and choke me...).

As set up ready to shoot it weighs a bit over 7 3/4 lb. After zeroing, the next 4 factory rounds produced a tight clover leaf shooting from a front pedestal and rear bag. Not too shabby.

Yea, consider the CA Mesa.

Thanks for the feedback and the comedy! I am liking the concept of a removable brake. My shoulder will really appreciate having it during load development on the bench. My ears will appreciate not having it afield.

How bout a 6.5x47 Lapua? Not sure if you've considered Cooper rifles, who could do one of those for you. Might be higher price range than you want. I really like the Kimber Montanas, mine is a 280AI.

Luxus

https://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/PDF/ri273partial.pdf

How about a Kimber 84M Open Country in .308 Win. The .308 Win version weighs 6lb 12oz and comes with an AG Composites carbon fiber stock, deeply fluted barrel with 5/8-24 muzzle threads and a thread protector. Any number of effective brakes are available.

https://www.kimberamerica.com/open-country-granite-2/
https://www.kimberamerica.com/open-country

Jered Joplin has very effective brakes and is a good guy to work with.

https://www.americanprecisionarms.com/products/gen-2-little-bastard-muzzle-brake

I am going to go with a company that didn't give birth to the word Roulette.

Point being, 1000-1500 IS NOT higher end by a long shot. If that is your budget, then a Model 70. Mid-grade semi-custom would be one of the MKV Weatherbys (Accumark, etc) and higher end semi custom would in the Blaser, Mausers (not 98), etc. Hell, even a Heym that goes for ten grand is not bespoke but semi custom. Maybe a little research on what price ranges/value might be in order...

If you go to an internet forum and ask 58 strangers to help you make a simple decision that only you can ultimately make, you should probably expect to get both good and bad answers. In most worlds, there is a definite difference between factory and semi-custom. Factory rolls off an assembly line amd Bass Pro peddles them by the dozens. Semi-custom has significant refinements not seen on an assembly line rifle. Examples might be a Rem 700 BDL versus a Rem 700 Custom Shop rifle. And neither of those are even close to high or higher end in the rifle world. In your price range, you might want to look at the Bergara line-up. They have several different "grades" of rifles and prices, but they all seem to be good dollar values.



Besides, you seem to already know what you want and don't want but maybe you want to drag your choice out further for an increased post count or to simply let the world know that you are planning to buy a new rifle?

That's strange, that's the same flooring and granite that I have in my kitchen. I have stainless appliances and an island in the middle of the kitchen also.

Back on topic here, I am also looking for something different in a Cooper, Nosler, Weatherby, Fierce, Christensen Arms, MRC, except in a LEFT HAND version, a lite weight rifle for deer hunting. I realize a left hand version really does cut down my caliber choices. I don't mind spending a little money if its a good rifle, I am thinking about thinning the herd and getting rid of some safe queens. Leaning towards a 6.5 PRC or maybe a 308. Almost afraid of the Weatherby calibers, seems like they would be barrel burners, however I would not be shooting the rifle mush except to check scope zero and the shots that I would fire while hunting.

If you don't want any potential "roulette", you might want to drop MRC off your list, unless you are using the action for a build by someone else. Lots of sad stories here about QC and CS. I like 'em, but they scare me just a bit.

As much as I hate to say so, I agree with that. I like my MRC - after it came back from the factory with a new magazine box - and it's incredibly accurate, but QC has been hit and miss. There's an X3 in 7x57 I've been eye-balling, and as useful as it would be I'm hesitant to pull the trigger.

PaulBarnard,have you look at used semi-custom guns?

Sounds like we are in the same boat with our interior decor and what we are doing with guns. I just culled a bunch of safe queens. I looked at Fierce and liked them, though they are a bit beyond my target budget. I assume Cooper would be too, but I am going to go take a look at them in a sec. If that used Nosler 257 Roberts was something I could lay my eyes on, I'd have a hard time turning it down. The 6.5 PRC seems to have a lot going for it. I too have the same Weatherby concern, but in reality this is not a gun I'd shoot enough to burn a barrel.

I have read some of that. I love the 3 position safety and controlled feed of the MRC. They definitely fit the bill for me, but the few stories I have read here are giving me reservations. In doing a lot of reading on the Christensen Mesa, I have found a few stories about poor accuracy and CS as well. I guess that is inescapable.

I am not averse to a used gun, but in the back of my mind is why they are being sold. How many times do we read here about a gun that an owner couldn't get to shoot being "sent down the road" for some other poor soul to have to deal with?

You could always just buy the MRC action and have a good quality custom barrel installed by a good competent barrel smith and then get it stocked. The MRC footprint fits pretty easily into anything Winchester. You could probably get it all done within your $1500 budget and still have money left over for a Big Mac and fries.

I recommend investigating the Bergara Premier Highlander. Several calibers available including the PRC, but 7-08 seems to fit the bill too.

Same could be said for a new rifle. You pay your money and take your risks.

Rebarrel a Kimber MT

For about $1600 I can have a new Krieger put on a new SS 700, add a Timney drop it in an Alaskan Ti B&C, & get to pick the caliber, twist, weight, color I want.

In the "higher end factory" line of reasoning... Find a lightly used Rem 700 KS in good condition for less than $1000. Then send it off and have it rebarreled in a chambering / twist / length / contour that suits you.

I went with your maybe.

In a Creedmoor?

What else is there?

Another vote for the CA Mesa. I have a lefty 6.5cm. Wish they would turn loose a 6.5prc in lefty.


Another to look at is the seekins havak. No experience with it, just from reading about it.

Nice! Let us know how it performs for you. I am guessing it will be good.

270

That right there was funny.

In the Caliber That Must Not Be Named


Lord Creedmoor...

I went on a similar quest. One good rifle for aardvarks to zebras. Even thought about thinning the herd down to 3 or 4. I failed. Miserably.

But I did end up with a Dakota 97 in 30-06 with iron sights and cerakote that I’ll take to Alaska some day if I sell all the rifles I bought on that quest.

Loonyism at its finest.