I am from Greece. My father always repeats a Greek saying that translates to:
"CHEAP GUN, EXPENSIVE DOG".
Best factory rifle?
- Thread starter jstreater69
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"CHEAP GUN, EXPENSIVE DOG".
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
Well, at least you are honest about it and can still enjoy what you like to do. I have no problem with a guy who mods his rifle because he enjoys the process. I have done a bit of it myself. But I do it to gain accuracy and usability improvements. I never insist that you cannot achieve similar results without the customization. At one time that may have been true. But it is sure not true now. We are living in the Golden Time of rifle making.
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Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
If your father was a bird hunter, I think he put his money into the smart choice.
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
I wish I had another Tikka T3 for you to take. But I sold my Tikka and used the money to buy this rifle: Sauer 100 Classic, Factory ammo at 200 Yards.
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Clem Bronkoski
Well-Known Member
Not too shabby Jon!!!!!!
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
There are dudes on this forum who shoot groups similar to that at farther distances. But they are not using a factory stock rifle. I am.
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
I've only ever had 2 rifles that would do that; An A-Bolt M-1000 Eclipse Thumbhole in .270 WSM with nickel-cased 130gr Federal Premium ammo, and a Remington 700P 7mm Rem Mag with Remington Premier 150gr Sciroccos. Both were a bit heavy for my taste in hunting rifles.
You made a believer out of me, if not the OP. I'll be ordering my first Model 100! Been looking at them for 2 years. What scope/reticle are you using?
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
Now it wears a Bushnell Elite with Mil-Dot reticle.
what caliber is the sauer?
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
I probably shouldn't answer for the man, but I believe he said .30-06. I did answer just to sat that .30-06s have been notoriously easy to load super accurate ammo for over the years for me. Given an excetional rifle and good components, no wonder the man with lots of loading experience was able to wring a ragged hole at that distance.
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
It's a pity you can't get an excellent quality scope like those in their price range anymore. No guarantees on anything now south of $2k+. Hit or miss otherwise. You sacrifice either optical quality or mechanical quality for just about anything less. All the major makers are outsourcing to China and CONSISTENT quality is suffering. Even Zeiss and US Optics. Leupold still made here, but there are enough reports of mechanical issues to prevent assurance on one other than the Mark 5 - 8 models. Then most all the really good ones in that upper price echelon weight around 2 pounds or more, which defeat the purpose of a pack or prairie rifle that will be carried long distances. Japanese and European made scopes are still good, just super expensive and mostly heavy. You could buy an excellent quality and reliable scope for $350 and up to $1000 until a few years ago. You can still get one, but your odds of getting a dud and lower quality optics go way up. I didn't understand why guys spent $3k and $4k+ on a scope, but now after searching for one, I see why. If you have the funds, it's the safe bet. The last really good/affordable scopes that Bushnell made were the Elite 3200s, 4200s, and 6500s, which is where the wheels started coming off on quality. Nikons had excellent offerings in the old UCC Monarchs and the newer Monarch 7s, and the best was the Monarch Gold 30mm. You could get a S&B for around $1300 - $1400 on the extreme end, and ALL the Zeiss and Swarovski offerings were top quality and priced well under $2k. Some around or just under $1k. The Sightron Big Sky models in the SIII line were once plentiful and started out around $400 before going way over $1k, and becoming only available in huge and bulky models that fell in price and usability. Vortex has excellent warranties, but most of the glass is "meh". Even the highest end models have lower ratings than comparably priced scopes. Lower end Leicas, NFs, Swarovski Z3s, Zeiss V4s, and Vortex Razor LHTs are probably not as good/dependable as old Leupolds, Burris Signatures (original model, NOT new ones!), and the models I mentioned above being very good. There are examples of really good scopes for fairly reasonable prices today, and MOST of the ones made would hold up for awhile, but far more have issues today than in years past. SWFA has some good models, but plenty of them have low ratings because many duds get through QA. For a lightweight scope that I could see in low light with for under $1500, I'd have to roll the dice with a Leupold Firedot or a Zeiss Z3 or Z5 and hope it was mechanically sound and allowed me to see the crosshairs and my target in very low light. I don't think the Swarovskis have so many mechanical issues other than limited travel on some models, and good glass, but the crosshairs are pretty fine like the Leupold duplex. I won't have anything Chinese made or several low ratings on quality, customer service, or light transmission. Light weight is a must for me, and that leaves out most of the high end models. I hear March has some very good lighter weight than most scopes, but that's WAY out of my price range. Everybody sourced out to China or similar countries and cut corners on QA and parts quality. I'm sure the Chinese government has some of the best scopes in the world, but they aren't made with those exported, I'm sure. I like Trijicon, but most with decent power are too heavy. Same with Viper PST Gen II. If I'm missing something, somebody speak up. I'll probably shop estate sales and used inventory from when the Burris Signatures (original) and the Bushnell/Bausch & Lomb Elites predating the 6500s were made.
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Litehiker
Well-Known Member
SAKO gets my top vote with Browning close behind.
I don't count "boutique" gunmakers like FIERCE or GA.
I don't count "boutique" gunmakers like FIERCE or GA.
