Best hunting Rifle poll.

[BULLBLASTER]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

  well that "fact" still literally has no bearing on how accurate of a rifle it is.

The BLRman makes an extremely valid point.

I don't think he has earned "the" blrman. He's not quite to that level... no matter what he tells you. 

[jackelope]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

  well that "fact" still literally has no bearing on how accurate of a rifle it is.

The BLRman makes an extremely valid point.

I don't think he has earned "the" blrman. He's not quite to that level... no matter what he tells you. 

Wow. The thought never crossed my mind. Not once. I feel like I have dropped an enormous layer of disrespect on THE JON.
My deepest regrets.

[BULLBLASTER]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

  well that "fact" still literally has no bearing on how accurate of a rifle it is.

The BLRman makes an extremely valid point.

I don't think he has earned "the" blrman. He's not quite to that level... no matter what he tells you. 

Wow. The thought never crossed my mind. Not once. I feel like I have dropped an enormous layer of disrespect on THE JON.
My deepest regrets.

You had me scared there! 

Now back to the regularly scheduled "my gun is better debate"

[Karl Blanchard]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

The only reason I would want one is because they tend to shoot lights out. There is literally no other reason I would want one. They're even ugly. If I was looking for a $350 rifle, it would be at the top of my list. If I was sitting on a $1k rifle only budget, it's on the bottom of my list, because it is a cheap rifle with crummy fit and finish and it's ugly as H. E. double-hockey-sticks. Things like fit and finish and stylish, handsome good looks are not the things that makes stuff dead though.

  couldn't agree more.  That's the only reason I didn't vote for it.  Other reason is accessories. savage, and remington have lots of stock, and trigger options if you want to start to get semi customized.  Tikka has some good stock options but no trigger options, though they don't really need one.  I've shot a few customs on tikka actions and they are money.  My upcoming 6.5 build is going on a tikka action.   

I'll say it again.  In MY EXPERIENCE accuracy goes tikka and ruger american, then savage.  Remington's actions are so sloppy they are pretty hit or miss.  Doing load developement on buglebuster's 700 right now using 178 eld-x and it's shooting legit half minute, so you can get lucky but hasn't seemed to be the norm with straight factory remington 700's.

[Karl Blanchard]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

  well that "fact" still literally has no bearing on how accurate of a rifle it is.

The BLRman makes an extremely valid point.

I don't think he has earned "the" blrman. He's not quite to that level... no matter what he tells you. 

Wow. The thought never crossed my mind. Not once. I feel like I have dropped an enormous layer of disrespect on THE JON.
My deepest regrets.

  yeah no way I am even close the same level of *censored*ery as the jon!  There can be only one "THE"...

[BULLBLASTER]

The easiest rifle I have done development for has been my savage. Picked a list of components and started working up to pressure. Hit pressure and it's well under moa. My Remington's and winchesters have never been that easy. Never owned a tikka or a ruger American tho.

Seems like the worst part of owning a tikka is having to tell people you own a tikka.   

[jackelope]

Yep, it's really a matter of personal preference and how much you can afford. But the fact remains, out of 165 votes for the best rifle under $1000, the Ruger American got none.

The only reason I would want one is because they tend to shoot lights out. There is literally no other reason I would want one. They're even ugly. If I was looking for a $350 rifle, it would be at the top of my list. If I was sitting on a $1k rifle only budget, it's on the bottom of my list, because it is a cheap rifle with crummy fit and finish and it's ugly as H. E. double-hockey-sticks. Things like fit and finish and stylish, handsome good looks are not the things that makes stuff dead though.

  couldn't agree more.  That's the only reason I didn't vote for it.  Other reason is accessories. savage, and remington have lots of stock, and trigger options if you want to start to get semi customized.  Tikka has some good stock options but no trigger options, though they don't really need one.  I've shot a few customs on tikka actions and they are money.  My upcoming 6.5 build is going on a tikka action.   

I'll say it again.  In MY EXPERIENCE accuracy goes tikka and ruger american, then savage.  Remington's actions are so sloppy they are pretty hit or miss.  Doing load developement on buglebuster's 700 right now using 178 eld-x and it's shooting legit half minute, so you can get lucky but hasn't seemed to be the norm with straight factory remington 700's.

I have a 700 that will shoot that too, but it's a 700 Long Range and it weighs almost 12 pounds all up.  I like it a lot, but I haven't hunted with it yet(never have hunted with a 12 pound rifle) and I'm not sure if I'm going to like carrying it around. It shot factory ammo in the .7" range the first 10 rounds through it. I think they're $699?
 

[onetrack]

I just bought  a ss A7 Roughtech 300 win mag. on sale for 899.00 at sportsman's warehouse. That's the cheapest I've ever seen them. 

[crabcreekhunter]

Im partial to the 700s first off, but that is my choice.  Picked up a .270 adl on sale with a rebate right about 240 bucks, timney trigger, laminate stock for 150 bucks, and a vx2 cds 3-9 new for 280, so all said and done right around $800-825 bucks, no trouble ringing steel at 700-800.  Can do the same thing with a ruger predator 6.5 creedmor no doubt, but just doesnt feel like a real rifle same as factory tikkas.  Just my opinion.  I like all the real good answers!

[Karl Blanchard]

Im partial to the 700s first off, but that is my choice.  Picked up a .270 adl on sale with a rebate right about 240 bucks, timney trigger, laminate stock for 150 bucks, and a vx2 cds 3-9 new for 280, so all said and done right around $800-825 bucks, no trouble ringing steel at 700-800.  Can do the same thing with a ruger predator 6.5 creedmor no doubt, but just doesnt feel like a real rifle same as factory tikkas.  Just my opinion.  I like all the real good answers!

  I hear you on the cheapy feel of a lot of the new rifles.  I talked a lot of trash about tikka for that reason until I shot a few.  As much as I hold my nose, they freaking shoot!  My soon to be 6.5-06ai in an adjustable mcmillan game scout and 26" spiral fluted benchmark will NOT feel cheap

[jbauch357]

The Tikka is going to have better fit/finish, will be lighter, the bolt is going to be smoother, magazines easier to change, won't require custom scope bases (but do require Tikka specific rings) and the trigger is going to be better. The only drawback for the Tikka is that their synthetic stocks are extremely sensitive to variations in action bolt torque.

The Savage is arguably going to be more accurate in the long run and the accustock chassis is aesthetically ugly but engineering wise a thing of beauty. Really the Savage is just a bit less refined than the Tikka, but still a very good rifle.

first thing I do is toss the tikka rings and go to something better, which is basically anything.  Egw base and some egw, warne, etc. will do the trick.

I went with Warne rings designed for the Tikka, no base and no extra failure points - it was only 2" off bullseye when I went to sight it in and (unless I play with the action bolt torque) stays dead on target.

[jbauch357]

Accuracy wise right out of the box I would put the Ruger American up against almost all the rifles on that list

Almost all? I sure wouldn't. Steyr, Tikka, Savage Long Range, Browning A bolt and X bolt, and the Sako A7 would almost surely be accurate out of the box, much more likely than a Ruger American with the flimsy plastic stock. Again, you get what you pay for and there's a reason the Ruger American is one of the cheapest bolt action centerfire rifles made.

Have ya seen the stocks on the tikka and savage? They're also plastic and not great for stiffness. I don't have experience with the others

The aluminum block chassis runs almost the entire length of the accustock for savage rifles, that thing is built like a tank.  I do have to agree the stock on the Tikka is a bit flimsy, as long as you keep the action bolt torque consistent you won't have any issues though.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Go rem 700,killed more animals then all them other rifles put together.

If that's the criteria, better go with a Winchester model 94 30-30, or any model 94.

[crabcreekhunter]

Im partial to the 700s first off, but that is my choice.  Picked up a .270 adl on sale with a rebate right about 240 bucks, timney trigger, laminate stock for 150 bucks, and a vx2 cds 3-9 new for 280, so all said and done right around $800-825 bucks, no trouble ringing steel at 700-800.  Can do the same thing with a ruger predator 6.5 creedmor no doubt, but just doesnt feel like a real rifle same as factory tikkas.  Just my opinion.  I like all the real good answers!

  I hear you on the cheapy feel of a lot of the new rifles.  I talked a lot of trash about tikka for that reason until I shot a few.  As much as I hold my nose, they freaking shoot!  My soon to be 6.5-06ai in an adjustable mcmillan game scout and 26" spiral fluted benchmark will NOT feel cheap

Haha tikkas definitely shoot, awesome factory trigger and quality barrels.  Someone i know just ran about 150 rounds of 22-250 through one in about half an hour, quite fun as well.  A light weight rail, aluminum and titanium rings with a vx6 would be awesome sitting on top of that 6.5-06ai.  Excited to get the .280ai and 6.5-06ai on the packs this fall to do some damage.

[Griiz]

I have a tikka t3 stainless in 270wsm. I've been impressed with the rifle. It is light and has a good feel. Not the prettiest rifle but it sure shoots great. It shoots dime size, all bullets touching groups at 100yds and when I do my job it shoots 2 1/4" groups at 420yds. It has a Nikon monarch 4-16 scope. I hope to upgrade to a Leopold vx6 someday for the field of view and better scope. The Nikon ballistaplex is nice though. That is the furthest I can shoot at my spot. It is my go to rifle because of its weight, balance, and accuracy. I think any of the rifles listed can be great as long as the feel comfortable and balanced in your hands and you can find a load that gun likes.