Rifle advice

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Rifle advice

Post by S O K A R » 10 May 2022, 4:36 am

So recently I submitted a PTA but due to the lovely appearance laws it didn't get approved, so I have decided to go the more traditional route.
Been tossing up between the following three, anyone have any experiences with the below rifles good or bad?

1) Browning X-bolt

2) Weatherby Vanguard

3) Ruger American

Leaning towards the X-bolt, but not 100% sold
S O K A R
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by womble » 10 May 2022, 9:22 am

Ask LRD which one they think looks best.
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by bladeracer » 10 May 2022, 7:56 pm

S O K A R wrote:So recently I submitted a PTA but due to the lovely appearance laws it didn't get approved, so I have decided to go the more traditional route.
Been tossing up between the following three, anyone have any experiences with the below rifles good or bad?

1) Browning X-bolt

2) Weatherby Vanguard

3) Ruger American

Leaning towards the X-bolt, but not 100% sold


I can only comment on one of those, the Ruger American. I have four in .204, .223, .243 and 7mm-08. Plus two Ruger American Rimfires, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire. I like Ruger. The Predator is better unless you are needing the lightest possible rifle for stalking, but I would go Ruger American Ranch Rifle for that with the 16" barrels. The Predator is the same as the Standard rifle but with a little heavier barrel, threaded muzzle and a factory-mounted scope rail. I specifically wanted all my hunting rifles to be the same platform, and the Ruger American was the only rifle I found that offered .204 and 7mm-08 in the same rifle at the time. All of mine are now in MDT LSS chassis as I prefer a pistol grip rifle, and they use the 10rd AICS mags.

You probably need to find somebody that owns or has used all three rifles for long enough to form an opinion. A lot of your own opinion will come down to how you like the look and feel of them, so try to at least handle them if possible. Maybe go to the local range and see what people are shooting and ask their opinions on their rifles, and their scope choices.
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by S O K A R » 13 May 2022, 2:52 am

bladeracer wrote:
S O K A R wrote:So recently I submitted a PTA but due to the lovely appearance laws it didn't get approved, so I have decided to go the more traditional route.
Been tossing up between the following three, anyone have any experiences with the below rifles good or bad?

1) Browning X-bolt

2) Weatherby Vanguard

3) Ruger American

Leaning towards the X-bolt, but not 100% sold


I can only comment on one of those, the Ruger American. I have four in .204, .223, .243 and 7mm-08. Plus two Ruger American Rimfires, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire. I like Ruger. The Predator is better unless you are needing the lightest possible rifle for stalking, but I would go Ruger American Ranch Rifle for that with the 16" barrels. The Predator is the same as the Standard rifle but with a little heavier barrel, threaded muzzle and a factory-mounted scope rail. I specifically wanted all my hunting rifles to be the same platform, and the Ruger American was the only rifle I found that offered .204 and 7mm-08 in the same rifle at the time. All of mine are now in MDT LSS chassis as I prefer a pistol grip rifle, and they use the 10rd AICS mags.

You probably need to find somebody that owns or has used all three rifles for long enough to form an opinion. A lot of your own opinion will come down to how you like the look and feel of them, so try to at least handle them if possible. Maybe go to the local range and see what people are shooting and ask their opinions on their rifles, and their scope choices.


Thanks for the reply, I ended up going with the ruger american compact in .243
Its just going to be a scrub gun, so didn't need anything fancy
Any recommendations on scopes for them?
S O K A R
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by Shootermick » 13 May 2022, 7:32 am

S O K A R wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
S O K A R wrote:So recently I submitted a PTA but due to the lovely appearance laws it didn't get approved, so I have decided to go the more traditional route.
Been tossing up between the following three, anyone have any experiences with the below rifles good or bad?

1) Browning X-bolt

2) Weatherby Vanguard

3) Ruger American

Leaning towards the X-bolt, but not 100% sold


I can only comment on one of those, the Ruger American. I have four in .204, .223, .243 and 7mm-08. Plus two Ruger American Rimfires, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire. I like Ruger. The Predator is better unless you are needing the lightest possible rifle for stalking, but I would go Ruger American Ranch Rifle for that with the 16" barrels. The Predator is the same as the Standard rifle but with a little heavier barrel, threaded muzzle and a factory-mounted scope rail. I specifically wanted all my hunting rifles to be the same platform, and the Ruger American was the only rifle I found that offered .204 and 7mm-08 in the same rifle at the time. All of mine are now in MDT LSS chassis as I prefer a pistol grip rifle, and they use the 10rd AICS mags.

You probably need to find somebody that owns or has used all three rifles for long enough to form an opinion. A lot of your own opinion will come down to how you like the look and feel of them, so try to at least handle them if possible. Maybe go to the local range and see what people are shooting and ask their opinions on their rifles, and their scope choices.


Thanks for the reply, I ended up going with the ruger american compact in .243
Its just going to be a scrub gun, so didn't need anything fancy
Any recommendations on scopes for them?


I’ve got that rifle, you’ll love it. I’ve got a Leupold 4-12x40 on mine, I think it suits the rifle well.
.22, .22wmr, 223, 243, 303, 20ga, 12ga
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by bladeracer » 13 May 2022, 10:04 am

S O K A R wrote:Thanks for the reply, I ended up going with the ruger american compact in .243
Its just going to be a scrub gun, so didn't need anything fancy
Any recommendations on scopes for them?


I use the Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40 on all of mine, including the .22's.
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by bigrich » 14 May 2022, 11:25 am

S O K A R wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
S O K A R wrote:So recently I submitted a PTA but due to the lovely appearance laws it didn't get approved, so I have decided to go the more traditional route.
Been tossing up between the following three, anyone have any experiences with the below rifles good or bad?

1) Browning X-bolt

2) Weatherby Vanguard

3) Ruger American

Leaning towards the X-bolt, but not 100% sold


I can only comment on one of those, the Ruger American. I have four in .204, .223, .243 and 7mm-08. Plus two Ruger American Rimfires, and the Ruger Precision Rimfire. I like Ruger. The Predator is better unless you are needing the lightest possible rifle for stalking, but I would go Ruger American Ranch Rifle for that with the 16" barrels. The Predator is the same as the Standard rifle but with a little heavier barrel, threaded muzzle and a factory-mounted scope rail. I specifically wanted all my hunting rifles to be the same platform, and the Ruger American was the only rifle I found that offered .204 and 7mm-08 in the same rifle at the time. All of mine are now in MDT LSS chassis as I prefer a pistol grip rifle, and they use the 10rd AICS mags.

You probably need to find somebody that owns or has used all three rifles for long enough to form an opinion. A lot of your own opinion will come down to how you like the look and feel of them, so try to at least handle them if possible. Maybe go to the local range and see what people are shooting and ask their opinions on their rifles, and their scope choices.


Thanks for the reply, I ended up going with the ruger american compact in .243
Its just going to be a scrub gun, so didn't need anything fancy
Any recommendations on scopes for them?


as a scrub gun/general purpose rifle for my uses i favour the 7-08 for all round use . 150 accubonds pigs/reds or 150 BT's for general use when game may be lighter at times. 130 speers for light work are rediculously accurate . i feel 243 is a bit light at times , and have moved 243's on out of my safe . 243 needs a reasonable barrel length to get the best out of it . at least 22" barrel . but hey , horses for coarses . depends what your hunting and where i guess .

as for the rifle brands i've owned vangaurds . well made and reliable . but heavy . my favorite rifle is a T3 7-08 in a B&C stock . extremely accurate and reliable with a POI that never changes , rain , hail or shine . with reasonable recoil and more than enough knockdown for anything i come across . i've heard good things about the ruger american rifles from people i know . a fella i knew had a 243 xbolt with outstanding out of the box accuracy. real target rifle sh!t with 2208 and 87vmax . i think out of your listed choices you can't really go wrong . cheers :thumbsup:
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Re: Rifle advice

Post by SCJ429 » 06 Jun 2022, 7:18 pm

A Browning Xbolt that shoots well? That is a rare beast. My gunsmith refuses to work on them.
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