Thread: Best $1000 budget rifle ??

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Cant go wrong with a rem700, tonne of aftermarket support for them, one day its a mexican midget with icecream containers stapled to its chest and within a few years and a bit of money thrown at it a couple of years later it can be jennifer lawrence

Or a Kyle Jenner.

@viper check this out https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ80q6Ms3BE thats the 1st video in a full series where the guy builds a 1000 yard rifle for $500 us interesting and worth a watch if you're interested in getting into long range on a budget

Shot a Remington 783 last year then did a load development for it. It was a 243 and shot 80 grain Sierra HPBT's into sub 1/2 MOA repeatedly. Not a beautiful rifle but the guy who ended up with it has now shot over 40 deer with it, he call it the laser beam.

The tough part of the build / project will be a suitable budget scope capable of the dailing and distance work, the Deer shots shouldn't be as demanding in terms of range.

Cant really go wrong with any brand new centre fire rifle on the market today, even a rossi / savage stevens or the very cheapest would be more than accurate for a 200 yard deer in any reasonable calibre

im looking to change one of my nikon scopes soon(maybe now) 4-16x50 and 3-12x44 both have capped turrets but dial well used the 4-16 out to 1100m on my 260.
Can also get nikon m223 and m308 the same as the monach's with target turrets.

I have a Howa Ranchland Compact .243, nice rifle. Heavy but quite accurate. Best I've done is a head shot @ 250m, and heart shot @ 335m (both fallow, the 335m was a handbag almost).

More recently I got a Ruger American Ranch in 300BLK. This rifle is very light, stock feels a bit lightweight compared to the hogue on the howa. Trigger is nice (accutrigger type). I shoot both supers and subs, for subs I change my elevation dial to #6 and it's zero'd for 50m (supers are zero'd @ 120m).

Both rifles have Nikon scopes (Nikon Monarch 2-8x32 BDC on the Ruger, and a Buckmaster 3-9x40 on the 243), and both have DPT suppressors. I think the Howa has the edge on accuracy and range, but I must say the Ruger is a much lighter (~3.3kg). I also like the Ruger flush mags, having a spare mag or 2 to pop in quickly is handy.

There is a NZ distributor for Nikon scopes now, I've seen some pretty good deals on them lately. Historically I've brought offshore, but got the Monarch locally as the price was very sharp.

This is the Ruger:

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

... a couple of years later it can be jennifer lawrence

Are you trying to talk him out of It?

Originally Posted by vulcannz

I have a Howa Ranchland Compact .243, nice rifle. Heavy but quite accurate. Best I've done is a head shot @ 250m, and heart shot @ 335m (both fallow, the 335m was a handbag almost).

More recently I got a Ruger American Ranch in 300BLK. . This rifle is very light, stock feels a bit lightweight compared to the hogue on the howa. Trigger is nice (accutrigger type). I shoot both supers and subs, for subs I change my elevation dial to #6 and it's zero'd for 50m (supers are zero'd @ 120m). I bought scope for ruger 10/22 in here,

Both rifles have Nikon scopes (Nikon Monarch 2-8x32 BDC on the Ruger, and a Buckmaster 3-9x40 on the 243), and both have DPT suppressors. I think the Howa has the edge on accuracy and range, but I must say the Ruger is a much lighter (~3.3kg). I also like the Ruger flush mags, having a spare mag or 2 to pop in quickly is handy.

There is a NZ distributor for Nikon scopes now, I've seen some pretty good deals on them lately. Historically I've brought offshore, but got the Monarch locally as the price was very sharp.

This is the Ruger:

Attachment 75383

Good rifle, how much for all?

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Or a Kyle Jenner.

plastic melts and fades.
in the case of its older siblings it droops allot too

Originally Posted by harveyspecter

Good rifle, how much for all?

Rifle $899 + DPT $350 + Scope $300 = $1549 all up.

Originally Posted by viper

thanks for the feedback, options and advice guys. As I mentioned in an earlier posting I have had 2x Tikka's..............totally, utterly brilliant.
However I want to try something different.
Nobody has talked about the Winchester XPR rifles, very Tikka like with a few nice extra features.
The Mag looks like a total Tikka rip off, same barrel and trigger as latest Model 70, huge 3 lug bolt and head space via a barrel nut, aka Savage.

Rates very high on accuracy reviews, very reliable and for under $800 is a lot of gun. Nobody on here seems to shoot them so I would like to see how they go.

However last time I went to this gun shop to buy a certain rifle I came back with something totally different..............I am 90% certain but that last 10% can lead to an impulse buy.

Hiya @viper. Never owned a Tikka, probably never will, (like Toyota Corolla) but have looked long and hard at the Win XPR and rilly do like what I've seen. Think that'll be my next purchase - just pondering calibres for now. But yes, a good value, accurate piece from all accounts. Think it has more to do with the Browning AB3 than the Tikka, though. And that's no bad thing (imho).

Hey@Keneff
Yeah the Winchester XPR does look good on paper but handle one first , I found the rifle didn't shoulder well as it was to short in the stock.
The new Remington 783 felt better and is also a good shooter.

In case no-one pointed it out yet: All Howa rifles sold from 2017 onward carry a 1 MOA guarantee and lifetime warranty. That said, most factory rifles will do 1 MOA.
Haven't seen a Howa that would shoot well, yes they are heavy though. My flatmate has a Ruger American and rates it, very light in comparison, and the trigger is an adjustable one like the Savage accutrigger, which takes a little getting used to but I'm certainly not changing my Savage's accutrigger anytime soon. The 783, Savages Axis, and Ruger American all probably shoot well in reality, but they feel flimsy as anything. The big rubber Hogue stock on the Howa feels chunky, but i'm betting it'll be easier to hold when you get mud, blood, or anything else that's slippery on your rifle, whereas regular plastic is probably not so good in that regard.

What about a Bergara take-down .308? Fits in the budget as the take-down version is $999, stainless steel, picatinny rail, and factory threaded. 16" barrel, which, in a single shot, makes it very short, but plenty of potential for accuracy, and it's a Bergara, they make excellent barrels.