Most accurate stock bolt action rifle?

[WWGunslinger]

What would be the most accurate (out of the box) bolt action rifle and caliber?

Lately I've been wanting to get a centerfire bolt action rifle that is really accurate, under $1000.

I'd probably mostly be punching paper with it, but the ability to hunt (deer, groundhogs) would be good also. The chances of using it for hunting are pretty low though.

I've been kind of intrigued by the .308 but not set on it.

If I can use already on hand ammo, that would make it nice too, instead of having to buy more. I already have 30.06 for my Garand and 1903 Springfield, but it's military surplus.

I also have .223 for my AR-15, but I don't know if .223 would be good enough for deer.

I've heard that Tikka T3s and Remington 700 are pretty good. I'm more of handgun guy and when I look at rifles, I tend to prefer mil-surp so I don't really know much about modern bolt rifles.

What do you guys recommend?

[dk99358]

Tikka T3 or Savage 10/110

223 will work for deer (use premium bullets like Barnes or Nosler Partitions) but it's not ideal.

Dale

[Roland45]

Hard to beat savage for the money, and accuracy out of the box.
You dont state what kind of accuracy you looking for though.
Benchrest? (one hole groups) Hunting ( with in an inch or 2) or millitary
( man size target at 600 yard).
I own the savage model 12FV in 243 winchester, it will hold 5 shots in about a half inch @ 100 yards when I do my part, but they dont offer it in that caliber any longer, so for around $1000 you might want to look at the model 12 BVSS, msrp, $981.

Just my Humble opinion.
Roland

[WWGunslinger]

Bench rest, 1 hole groups.

Mostly be 100 yard range unless I find another range to go to that has longer ranges.

[Karl/PA]

Schmidt-Rubin K31.

[Roland45]

Sir, bench rest guns that shoot 1 hole groups usually run from any where from 15 to 40 pounds. be kinda hard to drap up a tree stand, or around a feild stalking ground hogs. My model 12 FV with a syn stock weighs in at around 12 pounds with scope, and its not bad walking with for the first 100 or even 200 yards, but I need a rest before going any further, lol.

[WWGunslinger]

Sir, bench rest guns that shoot 1 hole groups usually run from any where from 15 to 40 pounds. be kinda hard to drap up a tree stand, or around a feild stalking ground hogs. My model 12 FV with a syn stock weighs in at around 12 pounds with scope, and its not bad walking with for the first 100 or even 200 yards, but I need a rest before going any further, lol.

well, i'm not sure what i want then. I know I want an accurate bolt action, but other than that, not sure.

like i said, chances of using it for hunting are going to be extremely low. I keep thinking I'd like to go out and hunt but i never end up doing it. Hell, i haven't even made it to a place to buy a license in a few years.

[animalmother85]

I doubt you will find anything that will your criteria that will out shoot a Remington 700 with 5R barrel. I also recommend the one with the 24" barrel. You can get a 20" with a threaded barrel, but you need at least 22" for a more complete powder burn in a 308. You can always have the barrel threaded later and/or cut down to 22" if you want.

If you plan on putting work into the rifle down the road, I recommend an FN PBR/TSR/SPR platform. The control fed actions are the bee's knees. I like them more then the Remington 700 derivatives out there.

Best bet would be to build one, but that puts you way over your budget.

Also, don't cheese out on glass. Not only it isn't a good idea, it will make you look silly.

[Tomcat088]

I'm going to agree with most of the others here on what they're telling you. I doubt that you want a bench rifle, and honestly, probably can't squeeze all the accuracy out of it anyway. It's just not something that most people have the ability to do, or have the desire to spend that much time doing. Everybody talks online about "1 hole" rifles, and everybody's definition of "1 hole" rifles vary. Lots of people think if it's 1 ragged hole that's 3/4" wide, then it's a "1 hole rifle". There's plenty of others of us here that actually shoot precision rifles that don't consider that a "1 hole" rifle at all. For most of us here if the rifle shoots much over .20-25" center to center groups, then it's probably not a "1 hole rifle". Ideally the 1 hole rifle shoots something like .1" groups or the occasional "0" when the planets align. This kind of thing doesn't really happen often, it's when everything falls into place, ON TOP of very hard work reloading. You won't have a rifle that shoots less than .2" groups consistently unless you're working very hard on your reloads. You probably won't have a rifle that shoots less than .15" groups fairly consistently unless you have are sorting brass & bullets, deburring flash holes, precision seater dies, neck trimming & turning, neck tension,trickling loads to .1 grains or less accuracy, very tight tolerances on run out, etc. It can easily take 2 hours to load 20 of those rounds, not to mention the cost of all the equipment to do it right. If you aren't interested in doing all of those things, you're probably not going to have a "1 hole" benchrest accurate rifle. You dang sure aren't going to do it with even expensive match grade ammunition, and it'll never have a chance of happening with conventional or milsurp ammunition. This is a photo of the kind of groups that "1 hole rifles" shoot, 5 round groups from 100 yards.



Since you talk about using other ammunition you have on hand, etc, it makes me think your expectations and needs are for a bit less than benchrest accuracy. That's something else that was a bit unclear to myself, and probably some others. Did you mean $1,000 for just the rifle, and some other amount for the scope? Or did you mean $1,000 total for the entire setup? There's a BIG difference in those two.

Most people generally just want a rifle that shoots somewhere close to .5-.75" 5 shot groups, consistently at 100 yards. You also have to remember that you aren't going to be doing this consistently with milsurp or even "standard" factory ammunition. If you want to do this consistently, it'll be handloads or match grade ammunition. People that say their rifle consistently shoot .5" groups at 100 yards with some cheap ammunition, are usually exaggerating. Either they haven't measured their groups with a caliper, they're only counting 3 shots and throwing out "fliers", or their definition of "consistently" is different from most other people's. A consistent .5" 5 shot rifle isn't exactly easy to come by, and usually costs a fair bit of money (~$1,000-1,200, using good ammunition, and some quality glass that is NOT part of that $1,000 for the rifle).

If you're going to spend around $1,000-1,200 on the rifle, I agree that the Remington 700 5R would be hard to beat. They only come in stainless though, so if you're not a fan of stainless, then you'd have to spend more money to have it duracoated. I also agree that the FN TSR rifles are fine rifles as well. You also can't go wrong with a Savage 10. Something like a Savage 10 FCP would work also. I would stay away from the McMillan version unless you plan on spending some more money. Honestly, it needs to have some pillars installed, and then have the action skim bedded. It's just how the rifle should be done, not just thrown in there. For more consistency, you really need any of the mentioned rifles properly skim bedded as well, although they're still going to do alright.

Most of those rifles should satisfy your needs, and will definitely outshoot most shooters. Just remember you're not going to get consistent accuracy that's .5 MOA or so unless you're using quality ammunition or handloading, which is also an expensive endeavor. If you want more accuracy, it'll cost you a LOT more, and you're only going to shave .25-.35" off. My tactical rifle has the ability to put 5 rounds in less than .200" consistently, but it has thousands of dollars just in PARTS, that does NOT include gunsmithing. Then the problem is that even when the rifle is able to mechanically shoot that accurately, sometimes the conditions don't cooperate to allow that kind of accuracy, and lots of times the "nut behind the bolt" (me), isn't capable of it that particular day. I'm just trying to tell you how it is, so you have a realistic expectation of what you're getting for the money.

[dregan]

Wise words from TX, just don't let um think they have better BBQ there....