Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: Shooter4 on September 28, 2020, 08:47:50 AM
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Preferably for elk and smaller
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Also scopes from 500 to 50 yards
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I know I want a 300 win mag
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One that give you bullet placement! 8) :chuckle: If you can't put the bullet where it needs to be, doesn't matter what you are shooting.
Good luck on your search. :tup:
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A budget would help with recommendations. There are some really sweet 5 thousand dollar win mags out there :chuckle:
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think this has been asked several hundred times here... no right answer, and with the limited input, no good recommendation....
:dunno:
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The one you can shoot accurately.
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Obviously the budget doesn’t matter or I would have stated “800”$ max
One that give you bullet placement! 8) :chuckle: If you can't put the bullet where it needs to be, doesn't matter what you are shooting.
Good luck on your search. :tup:
yeah your right the Tasco I have on my 30-06 works just fine but I’m looking to purchase something that is quality pretty obvious statement there but I asked a question answer it if you have a recommendation or don’t answer at all thanks
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I know I want a 300 win mag
Then I say get a .300 win mag. A savage w/scope package definitely doesn't break the bank and will do everything necessary and then some.
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As far as rifles go Tikka T3x, Westherby Vanguard, some people like Savage, Browning Xbolt, Christensen, or can go with one of the many customs available. I'm not a fan of factory Remingtons anymore. Fit and feel may vary from one person to another. Ideal weight in mind?
I like the Zeiss V4 line, have the 4-16×44 myself.
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Obviously the budget doesn’t matter or I would have stated “800”$ max...
Okay, how about
http://fiercearms.com/rifles/bolt-rifles/edge
https://www.gaprecision.net/custom-precision-rifles/xtreme-hunter.html
https://rbrosrifles.com/rifle-packages/lw-hunter/
Just as an example
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Obviously the budget doesn’t matter or I would have stated “800”$ max
If budget really doesn't matter I would forgo any off the shelf factory made rifles and get together with a gunsmith and have them build you something tailor made specific to exactly what you want.
I know you said out to 500 yards, which is a chip shot for a 300 Win mag and a little practice, but you didn't say if you'll be dialing for distance or using the reticle for holdover shooting. A scope recommendation, at least for me, is dependent on what and how the person will be using said scope.
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500 yards is pretty much the sweet spot for PRS rifles although they do need to go further than that. I don't shoot PRS but have been looking at what they use for input on hunting rifle options as there is a bunch of crossover.
Depending on how much weight you are willing to pack around, you might start by looking at the builders and scopes that are popular in that league. I know the most popular scopes are Vortex, Nightforce and Kahles, probably in that order. Cost is in the mid $2k and up for FFP with magnification necessary although you could save a bit here if you are sure you are going to limit your shots to 500 absolutely.
If cost isn't a concern, I wouldn't consider off the shelf rifles, no reason to limit your options to the relatively few offerings when you can pick each component to exactly match what you want.
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Lots of rifles that fit your requirements. A budget would help with suggestions. I just picked up a savage ultralite in 300 WSM and topped it with a nightforce SHV and it will shoot / kill to 500+ yards if the shooter can do their job. The budget on this set up is right about $2500. Mine was more as I also put a brake on it and nightforce rings which are both pricey.
You could achieve the same accuracy out to 500 yards with $500 dollar rifle, especially if you reload. The optics are where you should concentrate your budget if you want to shoot longer ranges in my humble opinion.
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Ill second the reccomendations to go custom if you have the funds. It was hard to commit and do it the first time but well worth it imo if its something youll keep and continue to use. My one and done custom has somehow turned into a few more than one. :chuckle: the sky is the limit going custom.
As for glass budget is the important factor. Those ziess v4 might be the best bang for the buck. I know a few people that have them and they have been great. If you shop around a used nxs can be had for 1300-1400, thats another solid option.
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You have many factory options as well. Asking for only 500 yards is something you can do with factory rifle, decent scope and factory ammo.
Alls I will add is be sure of your caliber and scope choices incase you decide you dont like it, you never get close to your money back and certain calibers and scopes can be hard to sell.
300 wm ?? Ditch the belt, go wsm.
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A few years ago I bought a used Savage 10 Scout in .308 via GunBroker from a private party. Took a deer that year. Next year a deer and a elk. Spent less than $400 in the rifle and used handloads.
The world is your oyster.
BLACK HAMMER ARMS
http://www.blackhammerarms.com
http://www.facebook.com/blackhammerarms
https://www.instagram.com/blackhammerarms
GLOCK Certified Armourer
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Obviously the budget doesn’t matter or I would have stated “800”$ max One that give you bullet placement! 8) :chuckle: If you can't put the bullet where it needs to be, doesn't matter what you are shooting.
Good luck on your search. :tup:
yeah your right the Tasco I have on my 30-06 works just fine but I’m looking to purchase something that is quality pretty obvious statement there but I asked a question answer it if you have a recommendation or don’t answer at all thanks
Well ok then!, You have a great package there, so if you want to improve on it, go find a Pre-Garica Sako Finnbear deluxe in 6.5 Swede and put on a Burris(power of your choice) made in the Philippines. Now we're talking!! But then one in 375 H&H is even better. :hello:
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I would suggest getting something with a stainless barrel or have it cerakoted so it doesn't rust. I found out that hard way, but Dana @ Black Hammer Arms is taking care of me. 8) Also Nikon scopes are an excellent value for the money and now they are cheap as chips. They have discontinued their scope line because apparently western hunting was deemed taboo at the company and they want to focus their efforts on cameras. You don't have to spend 1000 dollars to get a great scope. Save that money for the rifle.
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Just what everyone needs to do, go out and buy a cheap scope thats being discontinued. And youre right, dont have to spend 1000$ to get a great scope, more like 3000$.
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Like TIMBER FALLER, I am partial to the old SAKO Finnbears.
I have three of them and they all shoot like dreams.
If I were to only have one rifle, it would be the one I presently use, A Finnbear with factory stock rebarreled to 33 Nosler.
I'm getting 2950 FPS with a 270 grain bullet in front of 81.5 grains of RL-19, that's with a 24" barrel.
It has a Leopold V5 3.5-15 42MM scope which is pretty sweet.
It's a great rifle.
If I had a tight budget, I would look up the guy on HW that is selling that old RUGER 7mm Mag.
That looked like a steal for I think was $500 with an old Redfield 2-7 scope.
He's had it on sale for a while now and I think he's from Wenatchee.
Good Luck.
Rob.
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id stay away from nikon unless you want something that has no warrenty.
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Actually they do have a "warranty". Nothing wrong with Nikon except for their decision to no longer make riflescopes.
NIKON RIFLESCOPE LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY
Nikon’s Lifetime Limited Warranty applies to the optical system components of this Nikon Riflescope, which optical system components are warranted by Nikon to be free from defects in material and workmanship for the lifetime of the product from the date of purchase by the original consumer purchaser from a Nikon authorized dealer/reseller.
Nikon’s Seven Year Limited Warranty applies to the non-optical system components of this Nikon Riflescope, which non-optical system components are warranted by Nikon to be free from defects in material and workmanship for seven years from the date of purchase by the original consumer purchaser from a Nikon authorized dealer/reseller.
Nikon’s One Year Limited Warranty applies to the electronic components, if any, of this Nikon Riflescope, which electronic components, if any, are warranted by Nikon to be free from defects in material and workmanship for one year from the date of purchase by the original consumer purchaser from a Nikon authorized dealer/reseller.
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Have you ever had to warranty anything from them? Absolute convoluted nightmare. Ive done it twice and I've sworn off Nikon for life. Was a huge fan at one time.
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There is no best hunting rifles. Only what’s best for you, and only you can answer that. Far as scopes go it’s the same as the rifle. Only your eye can say what’s best for you.
You haven’t given us enough information to give you any kind of educated options.
I’ll repeat what the rest have said. Choose a gunsmith and talk with them about what options you require.
If all you really need is a rifle that will do the job at 500 and under in 300wm. Grab just about any rifle off the shelf in 300 and any scope in your preferred price range and brand and get to shooting. Your skills will most likely be the limiting factor not what rifle or scope
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There is no best hunting rifles. Only what’s best for you, and only you can answer that. Far as scopes go it’s the same as the rifle. Only your eye can say what’s best for you.
You haven’t given us enough information to give you any kind of educated options.
I’ll repeat what the rest have said. Choose a gunsmith and talk with them about what options you require.
If all you really need is a rifle that will do the job at 500 and under in 300wm. Grab just about any rifle off the shelf in 300 and any scope in your preferred price range and brand and get to shooting. Your skills will most likely be the limiting factor not what rifle or scope
Virtually any quality "rifle off the shelf" with a GOOD scope and quality factory ammo is capable of 1' - 1 1/4" 100-yard groups. What more do you need ? If there are special requirements like an ultra-light, or something along those lines, then having one custom made might be necessary. As far as caliber, I would stick to .30-'06, or .300 Win mag.
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Have you ever had to warranty anything from them? Absolute convoluted nightmare. Ive done it twice and I've sworn off Nikon for life. Was a huge fan at one time.
Thankfully not, but I find doing a warranty or RMA of any kind with a large company to be a complete pain. It's like doing an insurance claim with all the hoops you must jump through.
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Have you ever had to warranty anything from them? Absolute convoluted nightmare. Ive done it twice and I've sworn off Nikon for life. Was a huge fan at one time.
Thankfully not, but I find doing a warranty or RMA of any kind with a large company to be a complete pain. It's like doing an insurance claim with all the hoops you must jump through.
Sig Sauer and Vortex have next day mailed me expensive optics without me even returning the original.
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I just had a vortex scope go round trip in about 9 days. I printed off the form from the website and sent it in. I never talked with a person or had to submit anything other than a simple form with my address and what was wrong with it.
I've sent that scope in once, my binos twice and a range finder once (most were for cleaning and checks, one was a rangefinder failure), all were 7-10 day turnarounds with no problems and I got back a repaired, cleaned or new product.
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I'll be the contrarian.
There is no hunting situation in Washington that requires a 2k custom rifle or 3k scope. It doesn't exist.
Because of improved manufacturing technologies the rifles off the shelf are more accurate than custom rifles from 10 years ago. There are hunting magazine articles online that talk about this.
I would save your money and get some good binoculars.
I also wouldn't get a 300 WSM even if you think they are cool. Most people that own one have no chance in hell of shooting it freehand.
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How is a 300 wsm different than shooting any other chambering offhand?
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My thought is most guys never practice off hand and hope like hell they never have to while hunting. "Improvised" is the most common hunting shot position as in over a branch, stump, blow down, rock, hump, anything but off hand.
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How is a 300 wsm different than shooting any other chambering offhand?
Well compared to a 7mm-08 or 6.5 creedmoor there is a noticeable difference in recoil.
There is always some guy at my range holding on tight to a braked 300 WSM and still gets pushed around. No way that guy can shoot freehand to even 50 yards.
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Shooting is offhand.
Writing is freehand.
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Shooting is offhand.
Writing is freehand.
Had no idea there was an official shooter's dictionary.
Maybe you could source it.
Or stop wasting time with pedantry.
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I dont know, offhand shots at game tend to be sudden fast action encounters where recoil is the farthest thing from a guys mind. Sitting on the bench you know its coming. In a sudden exciting hunting situation that would cause a guy to shoot offhand, i dont think recoil / flinching comes into play very much.
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I dont know, offhand shots at game tend to be sudden fast action encounters where recoil is the farthest thing from a guys mind. Sitting on the bench you know its coming. In a sudden exciting hunting situation that would cause a guy to shoot offhand, i dont think recoil / flinching comes into play very much.
Why would someone that struggles with the recoil from a bench be able to shoot freehand in a fast encounter?
For many that is the first time they would be shooting it while standing.
That is wishful thinking.
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Offhand
http://www.mssblog.com/2016/12/08/skills-approach-offhand-shooting-like-a-pro/
Freehand
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/freehand
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I dont know, offhand shots at game tend to be sudden fast action encounters where recoil is the farthest thing from a guys mind. Sitting on the bench you know its coming. In a sudden exciting hunting situation that would cause a guy to shoot offhand, i dont think recoil / flinching comes into play very much.
Why would someone that struggles with the recoil from a bench be able to shoot freehand in a fast encounter?
For many that is the first time they would be shooting it while standing.
That is wishful thinking.
I know for myself that i never notice recoil at all in a hunting situation. If somebody struggles on the bench theyre going to suck period, offhand or not. I dont think theyd suck worse offhand based off recoil. If a gun is too much gun for a guy it will be too much gun for him regardless, but i would think it would be more pronounced on the bench when hes anticipating the recoil.
That being said, if a guy is overgunned and struggling on the bench, he wont be able to get his gun zeroed very well. But lets take a hypothetical situation:
Flinchy mcsissy has a 338 ultraslammermagnum. Hes a flinchy wuss. Death grip on the bench, scared of his gun, cant get it zeroed. So his friend helps him out and gets his zero dialed, gun is shooting 1/2 moa, we know its zeroed properly, life is good.
Flinchy still sucks on the bench. Hes shooting 3" groups. We know its user error due to flinching.
I bet hed be much less imcompetent off hand than on the bench. His adrenaline is going, the critter is close, he has 2 seconds to react. Hes not anticipating the recoil. Its the farthest thing from his mind. That removes the major factor in his crappy shooting.
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Offhand
http://www.mssblog.com/2016/12/08/skills-approach-offhand-shooting-like-a-pro/
Freehand
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/freehand
So you sourced a blog post and a dictionary that says nothing about guns. Ok then.
It's a general adverb that can be applied to many activities.
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300 WSM recoil without a break isn’t bad at all. My 300 Win Mag was much worse imo.
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Offhand
http://www.mssblog.com/2016/12/08/skills-approach-offhand-shooting-like-a-pro/
Freehand
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/freehand
So you sourced a blog post and a dictionary that says nothing about guns. Ok then.
Yep....the blog post is about shooting offhand.
The dictionary definition of freehand says nothing about shooting, because shooters don't use the term freehand. It's a style of writing.
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Good and great...free or offhand....done. We don't need to derail the topic over something so minor. Let it go.
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Yep....the blog post is about shooting offhand.
Yep.... the thread is about the best hunting rifle
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I know for myself that i never notice recoil at all in a hunting situation. If somebody struggles on the bench theyre going to suck period, offhand or not. I dont think theyd suck worse offhand based off recoil. If a gun is too much gun for a guy it will be too much gun for him regardless, but i would think it would be more pronounced on the bench when hes anticipating the recoil.
I'm gonna disagree because most people shoot better on a bench. I don't see a hunting situation improving accuracy when these guys have never shot while standing.
A lot of these 300 WSM rifles are heavy while a 708/6.5 on average is a lot lighter. So it's not just recoil.
I'm not trying to insult 300 WSM owners. This is just what I see at the range and I don't recommend them for that reason.
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What you see at the range is guys anticipating the recoil of each shot, not guys pumped on adrenaline. But whatever.
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Good and great...free or offhand....done. We don't need to derail the topic over something so minor. Let it go.
This
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Seriously, it's done. Let it go or debate it via pm. One post removed.
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What you see at the range is guys anticipating the recoil of each shot, not guys pumped on adrenaline. But whatever.
So you are saying the adrenaline is going to let them get a shot while standing? Half these guys can barely hold their guns when getting them out of the bag.
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Seriously, it's done. Let it go or debate it via pm. One post removed.
Might as well just delete all of pages 3 and 4 :chuckle:
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Maybe! :chuckle: This thread is way to open of a topic to not take various courses but that one is not one to go down.
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What you see at the range is guys anticipating the recoil of each shot, not guys pumped on adrenaline. But whatever.
So you are saying the adrenaline is going to let them get a shot while standing? Half these guys can barely hold their guns when getting them out of the bag.
You and i have different ideas. Ive said my peace.
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I think the recoil discussion a good one in the topic of best rifle. I couldn't shoot my 7mm rem mag offhand anywhere near the ability to do so with my 6.5 creed....so best rifle based on ability to shoot off the bench, field conditions, offhand etc can easily play into what's "best".
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I think the recoil discussion a good one in the topic of best rifle. I couldn't shoot my 7mm rem mag offhand anywhere near the ability to do so with my 6.5 creed....so best rifle based on ability to shoot off the bench, field conditions, offhand etc can easily play into what's "best".
It also depends on where you hunt.
I don't think there is a do-all rifle for our state.
Some people don't have to walk that far so they don't see the big deal in a couple added pounds of a larger rifle. Or they are in an area where long shots with a stick are the norm.
In some of the really thick west side areas a compact gun with fast sights is the way to go.
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As others have pointed out, there is no perfect rifle for Washington. Too many variables. A brush gun? A wheat field gun? Are you hiking long distances into remote areas/into the mountains where weight is an issue? Sitting in a stand? Shooting distances? Weather? Wood or composite stock?
You might be ok with two guns to cover most situations, but just one is asking a lot.
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I would say a good bolt action rifle in any cartridge between 270 and 30 caliber, topped with a 3-9 power scope and total weight around 8 to 9 pounds would do well in the vast majority of situations. It would not be the perfect rifle for every situation but no "all around" rifle will be.
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300 wsm in x-bolt, vanguard, tikka, or other lighter weight rifle with optional brake and you are good for any WA game to 600-700 yards with proper bullets and optics.
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If money is no object and 0-500 is the goal then I'd do this in a 300 win mag (OP's caliber)
Lone peak razor ti action
Benchmark Ibex stock or manners eh1
Triggertech diamond trigger
HCA carbon barrel cut to 22"
Light weight suppressor (im not versed on can's)
Top it with a quality scope in an appropriate range (I am digging 4-16's right now)
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I already own the "Best" so you'll have to settle for something else. But mine is a 300WM my brother built for me.
Carl
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Your all wrong!
The best rifle for hunting dear or Elk in Washington, is the one you brung, :hello:
I have many hunting rifles, the best one is the one I currently love to carry. The rest sit in the safe.
:chuckle:
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really theres no such thing as the best. You get the best, then think of how another could be the best in a different scenario, so you get that. Wash, rinse repeat. Somehow youll soon have 2 safes full of guns that are all "the best."
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If money is no object and 0-500 is the goal then I'd do this in a 300 win mag (OP's caliber)
Lone peak razor ti action
Benchmark Ibex stock or manners eh1
Triggertech diamond trigger
HCA carbon barrel cut to 22"
Light weight suppressor (im not versed on can's)
Top it with a quality scope in an appropriate range (I am digging 4-16's right now)
:yeah:
With minor exception of digging 4-16 3-15x & 3-18x right now..
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I would say a good bolt action rifle in any cartridge between 270 and 30 caliber, topped with a 3-9 power scope and total weight around 8 to 9 pounds would do well in the vast majority of situations. It would not be the perfect rifle for every situation but no "all around" rifle will be.
Exceptional answer.
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Remington 700
2005 or older
One of the best rifles at affordable price
Drop in trigger and you got yourself a winner winner chickin dinner.
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It’s like ford Chevy dodge
What you like and can afford and shoot well