Help w/ First Hunting Rifle

[chris514scott]

All, I would greatly appreciate some help choosing my first hunting rifle. I will start by saying that I am very proficient with rifles but most of my shooting is either with target rifles or with black powder for hunting. This rifle with be used mainly for whitetail and hopefully some elk one day.

I have decided that I want a Mauser style action and have a budget of $2500 for the rifle alone. I think I have narrowed the rifle choices down to one of the following

* CZ 550 Sonoran in 7mm (Found for $2100)
* Winchester Extreme Weather in 7mm (Found for $1100)
* Winchester Extreme Weather in 300wsm (Found for $1000)

I am a big fan of CZ pistols and the rifle seems very nice but I don't know if its a 1K nicer. I also looked at Kimbers but read that they are either great rifles or horrible rifles. There seemed to be way to many negative reviews on them and for the price I think the CZ may be a better choice. I can't seem to find much information on the CZ Sonoran but wonder if that's because their initial asking price was way to high ($3K) and that scared people off.

 

[Hairtrigger]

Don't know the distance you will be shooting
I am a fan of the 300wsm as I have a Montana rifle chambered in it
More than you need for deer but great for elk

 

[Outlaw6.0]

While I'd personally prefer the 300wsm, I really like the look of that CZ. At $1k less than retail, I'm going to have to recommend that CZ in this case. Very good looking rifle and I've always found CZ products to be of excellent quality.


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[Hairtrigger]

My experience with CZ is very limited. Everything I know about them I learned by shooting a friends varmint rifle. My main dislike being totally biased comes from the fact that on his rifle the magazine was metal and protruded below the stock. Nor good when using the hood of a new pickup as a shooting rest

I do have to admit that his rifle shot very well

 

[okie man]

im a big cz rifle fan . have 3 of them and they are incredibly accurate. have yu looked at this one? http://cz-usa.com/product/cz-ultimate-hunting-rifle-300-win-mag-110/

 

[pburton]

I would look at the Montana Rifle company X2. As far as 300wsm vs 7mm, that is a personal choice. Both will do very well for deer or elk.

 

[Guy M]

I think it's hard to beat the famous Winchester Model 70. MRC is essentially a copy of the Winchester action, with some modifications, and they too are good rifles.

The CZ is fine. I have a couple of them for varmint rifles but have found their sporter rifles a bit "clunky" - kind of heavy and not good handling. The quality is very high, they just don't feel as good in hand to me. That counts for a lot to me.

I'd recommend taking a hard look at both the CZ and the Winchester, and buying the one that feels best, that works best, for you. Either rifle will work just fine for a general purpose hunting rifle.

Re the cartridge debate... Oh my goodness - I really don't think there's that much to choose between the .300 WSM or .300 Win mag, and the various 7mm magnums. Yes, we can split hairs and say this one or that one is "better" but honestly, they'll both reach out there to longish range and take game just fine if you do your part as a hunter & marksman. I've owned 7mm Rem mags, .300 Win mags, and currently have a .300 WSM. All were very capable cartridges.

Enjoy your shopping!

Regards, Guy

 

[WildRose]

All, I would greatly appreciate some help choosing my first hunting rifle. I will start by saying that I am very proficient with rifles but most of my shooting is either with target rifles or with black powder for hunting. This rifle with be used mainly for whitetail and hopefully some elk one day.

I have decided that I want a Mauser style action and have a budget of $2500 for the rifle alone. I think I have narrowed the rifle choices down to one of the following

* CZ 550 Sonoran in 7mm (Found for $2100)
* Winchester Extreme Weather in 7mm (Found for $1100)
* Winchester Extreme Weather in 300wsm (Found for $1000)

I am a big fan of CZ pistols and the rifle seems very nice but I don't know if its a 1K nicer. I also looked at Kimbers but read that they are either great rifles or horrible rifles. There seemed to be way to many negative reviews on them and for the price I think the CZ may be a better choice. I can't seem to find much information on the CZ Sonoran but wonder if that's because their initial asking price was way to high ($3K) and that scared people off.

They CZ by far. It is just a much better package for any kind of precision shooting.

I was rather disappointed in the all weather I bought in .300wm although I did eventually get it to shoot acceptably after properly bedding it and putting a decent brake on it. The barrel I had expected to be somewhere between the weight of the classic stainless and a sendero contour and unfortunately it was even lighter than the classic stainless.

I own a large number of Model 70's and the all weather model was the most difficult of all to get to shoot acceptably.

My CZ's on the other hand have been among the best shooting rifles out of the box that I've ever owned.

I know the CEO personally and they are absolutely great people to do business with and put out a fantastic product consistently and their high end package rifles will outshoot a lot of much more expensive customs.

 

[WildRose]

I think it's hard to beat the famous Winchester Model 70. MRC is essentially a copy of the Winchester action, with some modifications, and they too are good rifles.

The CZ is fine. I have a couple of them for varmint rifles but have found their sporter rifles a bit "clunky" - kind of heavy and not good handling. The quality is very high, they just don't feel as good in hand to me. That counts for a lot to me.

I'd recommend taking a hard look at both the CZ and the Winchester, and buying the one that feels best, that works best, for you. Either rifle will work just fine for a general purpose hunting rifle.

Re the cartridge debate... Oh my goodness - I really don't think there's that much to choose between the .300 WSM or .300 Win mag, and the various 7mm magnums. Yes, we can split hairs and say this one or that one is "better" but honestly, they'll both reach out there to longish range and take game just fine if you do your part as a hunter & marksman. I've owned 7mm Rem mags, .300 Win mags, and currently have a .300 WSM. All were very capable cartridges.

Enjoy your shopping!

Regards, Guy

Slight correction. The MRC M1999 is a much beefed up and improved Model 70 and one of the better actions on the market today.

 

[aspenbugle]

Just a thought, but I think you may have ignored a better path. If you are open to spending $2500, you are real near the price of getting a custom rifle, with custom action, match grade barrel, better stock, better trigger etc. by far than any of the guns you list.

If you look at most custom builder websites they'll have some $5,000+ guns, but if you price the barrels, stocks, actions and gunsmith charges for putting it together, $2500 gets you really close.

You can easily beat the $2500 price tag if you get a remington action trued and put a match-grade barrel, McMillan stock, and good trigger on it (basically full-custom, minus the action). Many 1000 yd benchrest rifles are built on trued Remington actions. This set-up will likely give you group sizes 1/2 the size or better than the three guns you list. Look up 1000yd benchrest results and you'll see plenty of remington/custom actions with Kriegers, Bartliens etc. like you could purchase for that price -- you won't see any factory rifles there. If you want long-range accuracy, no factory barrel is going to get you close to the $300-$400 match grade ones.

 

[BHC]

We'll said aspenbugle. I hunt with exactly what you are talking about. I bought the gun here in LRH classifieds. Shilen barrel, B&C stock, Jewell trigger and a Rem action. $1300. Took to gunsmith for blueprinting $350. $950 Sightron scope. Shoots 3 shots at 100yds that I can cover with a dime. Pretty close to your $2500 budget and that's for a ready to roll rig, scope and everything. Search the classifieds and see what you come up with, just make sure the caliber starts with a number 3 !

 

[Elkhunter007]

Winchester Extreme Weather in 300wsm

 

[middleofnowhere]

Save a few more dollars and get a Christensen Mesa in 300 Win Mag. It comes with a carbon fiber stock, has a Trigger Tech trigger and a muzzle break.

 

[chris514scott]

Just a thought, but I think you may have ignored a better path. If you are open to spending $2500, you are real near the price of getting a custom rifle, with custom action, match grade barrel, better stock, better trigger etc. by far than any of the guns you list.

If you look at most custom builder websites they'll have some $5,000+ guns, but if you price the barrels, stocks, actions and gunsmith charges for putting it together, $2500 gets you really close.

You can easily beat the $2500 price tag if you get a remington action trued and put a match-grade barrel, McMillan stock, and good trigger on it (basically full-custom, minus the action). Many 1000 yd benchrest rifles are built on trued Remington actions. This set-up will likely give you group sizes 1/2 the size or better than the three guns you list. Look up 1000yd benchrest results and you'll see plenty of remington/custom actions with Kriegers, Bartliens etc. like you could purchase for that price -- you won't see any factory rifles there. If you want long-range accuracy, no factory barrel is going to get you close to the $300-$400 match grade ones.

I have thought about going this route but I want a Mauser style action. Good Mauser style actions are $1200 themselves