Wanting Budget rifle info - Savage, Ruger, Howa?

[Goose#24]

Gday all!
I'm after a new rifle and looking at the budget rifles as it wont be used much, so I'm after some guidance on if I'd be wasting my money or if they really are good bang for your buck!
Local gunshop has been trying to steer me in the direction of the savage range like the axis II, trophy hunter 111 xp.
Ruger's and the howa range.
What are peoples experiences with these firearms?

Cheers guys appreciate the help!

P.s. yes I am from tassie and my second head has been removed with a scar on my neck to flaunt!

[SCJ429]

Keep saving and get yourself a secondhand Tikka Varmint in 223. Best budget rifle bar none, I have not seen a dud. Mine will shoot under an inch at 300.

Then go and shoot it as much as you can, why would you not shoot it much? Experience is everything in this game.

[bigfellascott]

What's it's intended purpose and what cal etc etc?

[pomemax]

Hi Goose#24
Most of the brands you mentioned are ok For the $$ you will spend do not forget you will need a scope More $$ so factor that in to you budget.
Plus the cost of ammo .22 or .223 and bigger calibers a lot of difference and you experience will come into play too.
I have 2 Ruger,s 2 Howa,s and 2 Savages all shoot better than i do go with what you like the look of and the feel of the rifle do you like timber do you like the polymer stock

[JimTom]

What caliber are you looking at mate?

[Goose#24]

Keep saving and get yourself a secondhand Tikka Varmint in 223. Best budget rifle bar none, I have not seen a dud. Mine will shoot under an inch at 300.

Then go and shoot it as much as you can, why would you not shoot it much? Experience is everything in this game.

Sorry mate I should have mentioned I'm getting it in a .30 cal for some deer shooting. I already have a couple of half decent guns and was just purely after a deer rifle to be used a handful of times which was why I was going down the budget road.
Cheers mate

[Goose#24]

Sorry all!
I should have mentioned that I'm looking for one in .30cal for some deer shooting, which is why it will only be used a handful of times a year.
Cheers

[bigfellascott]

In that case look for something lite - any of the brands you mentioned will be good rifles so just go and handle a few and see what feels right for you.

Good luck and let us know what you ended up with.

[Diamond Jim]

I'm a CZ fan - I just like them. I bought a CZ 527 Varmint in .223 and my brother spent 1/3 the cost on a Howa Varmint in .223. It or he outshoots me consistently. That said, the trigger on the Howa is pretty rough but he's learned to live with it. As an accurate rifle it would be hard to beat the Howa for value in my limited experience.

[Goose#24]

In that case look for something lite - any of the brands you mentioned will be good rifles so just go and handle a few and see what feels right for you.

Good luck and let us know what you ended up with.

Yeah I handled a couple out the shop the other day the savage and ruger seem to look and feel a lot better than the howa, but I can grow on that if the howa's are a lot better shooters? Seems to be quite a bit of mixed opinions on the savage some good some bad, which makes it hard haha.
Cheers

[Harrynsw]

I had a howa mini action in 223 a couple of years back looked ok, shot ok, felt ok. The only reason I sold it was I had the magazine drop out on me a couple of times during a hunting trip because of where the release was located.
Currently I know floor plate models are being sold around the place so you won't have that problem.

[bigrich]

Keep saving and get yourself a secondhand Tikka Varmint in 223. Best budget rifle bar none, I have not seen a dud. Mine will shoot under an inch at 300.

Then go and shoot it as much as you can, why would you not shoot it much? Experience is everything in this game.

i agree with this, for the money, you won't find a better more accurate rifle with a very good trigger . tikka t3 out of the box is a better rifle than the others you list IMHO , i've had a ruger scout , which the build of it was OK, but a tikka is better . maybe look around second hand for a tikka ? out of what you listed, i would take the howa

[Goose#24]

I do like tikka! But for that I'd be looking at about 1200 for the gun plus having to buy the scope to sit on top, so really I'd be looking at about $1500. which isnt really all that bad! But because I'll only be using it a handful of times a year and it's probably going to be knocked about a bit, I was simply trying to cut corners in buying one that will probably only outlay 1k in total.
Cheers

[bigfellascott]

I had a howa mini action in 223 a couple of years back looked ok, shot ok, felt ok. The only reason I sold it was I had the magazine drop out on me a couple of times during a hunting trip because of where the release was located.
Currently I know floor plate models are being sold around the place so you won't have that problem.

Mate all you needed to do to fix the mag release issue is trim it right down or put a heavier spring in, no need to sell em

I love my Howa's - they just seem to shoot and have always been reliable firearms, got one that's a good 30yrs old and it's a sweet little rifle.

[Chappo]

[/quote]
I do like tikka! But for that I'd be looking at about 1200 for the gun plus having to buy the scope to sit on top, so really I'd be looking at about $1500. which isnt really all that bad! But because I'll only be using it a handful of times a year and it's probably going to be knocked about a bit, I was simply trying to cut corners in buying one that will probably only outlay 1k in total.
Cheers[/quote]

Then buy secondhand.
Something with a Few scratches on it that shouldn’t bother you if it’s gunna get knocked around anyway.
Something with a polymer stock and already scoped.

I saw a polymer la102 308 for sale somewhere recently with a decent scope for $1200

[bigfellascott]

Keep saving and get yourself a secondhand Tikka Varmint in 223. Best budget rifle bar none, I have not seen a dud. Mine will shoot under an inch at 300.

Then go and shoot it as much as you can, why would you not shoot it much? Experience is everything in this game.

i agree with this, for the money, you won't find a better more accurate rifle with a very good trigger . tikka t3 out of the box is a better rifle than the others you list IMHO , i've had a ruger scout , which the build of it was OK, but a tikka is better . maybe look around second hand for a tikka ? out of what you listed, i would take the howa

I wish I could say that about my Tikka, sadly it's not the case with this particular one but I'm sure with some handloads it will shoot fine, I do like the trigger but it too needed to be tuned a bit more for my needs (I like them reasonably light) and even on it's lightest setting I couldn't get it to where I wanted it so a little honing of the grub screw and a diff spring soon had it around where I like em.

What I do like about my particular Tikka (T3x Hunter fluted) is how lite it is, which is the reason I bought it in the first place as all my other rifles are heavy and not particularly suited to my needs (walkabout outfit) as I get older.

[Goose#24]

I do like tikka! But for that I'd be looking at about 1200 for the gun plus having to buy the scope to sit on top, so really I'd be looking at about $1500. which isnt really all that bad! But because I'll only be using it a handful of times a year and it's probably going to be knocked about a bit, I was simply trying to cut corners in buying one that will probably only outlay 1k in total.
Cheers[/quote]

Then buy secondhand.
Something with a Few scratches on it that shouldn’t bother you if it’s gunna get knocked around anyway.
Something with a polymer stock and already scoped.

I saw a polymer la102 308 for sale somewhere recently with a decent scope for $1200[/quote]

[Goose#24]

I do like tikka! But for that I'd be looking at about 1200 for the gun plus having to buy the scope to sit on top, so really I'd be looking at about $1500. which isnt really all that bad! But because I'll only be using it a handful of times a year and it's probably going to be knocked about a bit, I was simply trying to cut corners in buying one that will probably only outlay 1k in total.
Cheers[/quote]

Then buy secondhand.
Something with a Few scratches on it that shouldn’t bother you if it’s gunna get knocked around anyway.
Something with a polymer stock and already scoped.

I saw a polymer la102 308 for sale somewhere recently with a decent scope for $1200[/quote]

The problem is there needs to be one second hand to buy one second hand, I do check for them but I cant seem to find any that's in my area or in any shops only new? But I can understand what your saying and I totally agree!

[Chappo]

https://www.ozgunsales.com/listing/6386 ... scope.html


That’s not bad and under budget.

[straightshooter]

Although I have never owned a Howa I do like the the design in it being a blend of Sako and Remington attributes and the fit and finish is quite good particulary for the price.
Just recently a friend sent his 5 or 6 year old varmint model for rebarreling. Removing the factory barrel exposed a crack in the receiver extending from the first scope mounting hole to the forward edge of the receiver for the full thickness of the threads. Unfortunately I never bothered to take a picture.
The sad part is that the importer disowned the problem completely.
To my way of thinking if it happened to one then many others may be similarly affected.

[JimTom]

Have a look at CZ 557. I have one in .308, very accurate and around $900 new. Can get a decent scope and come in under $1500.

[bigrich]

I don’t know how large the deer in tassie are, but a good second hand Swede 6.5 Mauser isn’t expensive ,can be very accurate and will do the job

[Chappo]

Sporterised enfield 303?
There’s a few nice ones out there that have had lots of time and money spent on them.

[bigfellascott]

I don’t know how large the deer in tassie are, but a good second hand Swede 6.5 Mauser isn’t expensive ,can be very accurate and will do the job

Their fallow so easy to tip over.

[Hangfire]

Ruger American Predator or Howa 1500 in 308.

I like the Ruger but the Howa shoot very well and have alot of after market accessories.

[bigrich]

I don’t know how large the deer in tassie are, but a good second hand Swede 6.5 Mauser isn’t expensive ,can be very accurate and will do the job

Their fallow so easy to tip over.

maybe for the poster a second hand swede 6.5 would be good, or a second hand 243 of some description . either way with a decent scope both could be had for under a grand . not trying to be a smart @ss to the OP, but .30 seems a bit heavy for deer that size . JMHO

[bigfellascott]

I don’t know how large the deer in tassie are, but a good second hand Swede 6.5 Mauser isn’t expensive ,can be very accurate and will do the job

Their fallow so easy to tip over.

maybe for the poster a second hand swede 6.5 would be good, or a second hand 243 of some description . either way with a decent scope both could be had for under a grand . not trying to be a smart @ss to the OP, but .30 seems a bit heavy for deer that size . JMHO

There are plenty of cheap options out there, as for cal yeah I think a 243 would suit nicely.

Or he could try some of the 110gn offerings out there to suit the 308, that might be a more versatile offering in the end (do they have projectile weight requirements in tas for Deer?)

[bigfellascott]

One of the reasons I like the 30 cal, check out the range of projectiles/designs/weights etc - fantastic!

http://www.theopenrange.com.au/projecti ... er=367&p=1

[bigfellascott]

Although I have never owned a Howa I do like the the design in it being a blend of Sako and Remington attributes and the fit and finish is quite good particulary for the price.
Just recently a friend sent his 5 or 6 year old varmint model for rebarreling. Removing the factory barrel exposed a crack in the receiver extending from the first scope mounting hole to the forward edge of the receiver for the full thickness of the threads. Unfortunately I never bothered to take a picture.
The sad part is that the importer disowned the problem completely.
To my way of thinking if it happened to one then many others may be similarly affected.

Was it evident before the barrel was removed or after it? Those barrels are put on super tight apparently.

[bigrich]

Although I have never owned a Howa I do like the the design in it being a blend of Sako and Remington attributes and the fit and finish is quite good particulary for the price.
Just recently a friend sent his 5 or 6 year old varmint model for rebarreling. Removing the factory barrel exposed a crack in the receiver extending from the first scope mounting hole to the forward edge of the receiver for the full thickness of the threads. Unfortunately I never bothered to take a picture.
The sad part is that the importer disowned the problem completely.
To my way of thinking if it happened to one then many others may be similarly affected.

unfortunately, a lot of guns are built to a budget not qaulity these days . ya get what ya pay for. pretty rude of the importer not backing what he's selling but