Looking for some opinions...

[chris3097]

I'm going to be buying a stainless hunting rifle in .300 win mag in the near future, and I'm trying to keep it between $500-$700. I've narrowed it down to these four:

Ruger Hawkeye- $648
Thompson Center Venture- $472
Weatherby Vanguard S2- $597
Savage 116FHSS- $675
(I used Buds Gun Shop website as my price guide)

As far as personal experience:
Ruger Hawkeye- I shot a friends in .300 win mag, not SS but blued with a wood stock. It was very accurate. I was impressed.
Thompson Center- Never shot one. I handled one in .308. Seemed like a solid gun. Another plus here is their warranty.
Weatherby Vanguard- Again never shot this one, but handled the exact rifle at a gun show and it seems like a very nice, solid rifle. Probably the nicest feeling one out of the group in my very limited experience.
Savage- I know a few people that have them in different calibers, and they are popular. Never heard a bad thing about it.

I've been reading up all the different reviews online. They all get solid reviews. They all have adjustable triggers. I'm just looking for personal experience and opinions from people who know more about the finer details that might help sway my decision. Thanks in advance.

[Yoder]

I don't have any of these exact rifles. I have a Savage 111 in .270 that was a combo with a super cheap simmons scope. It shoots 3/4 in groups at 100 yrds with Federal blue box 130 gr PSP's. My other Savage is a .17hmr and it's also super accurate. For the price you can't beat that brand. I bought a Weatherby Mark V Sporter about a month ago in .300 Win mag. It's not stainless but it is awesome. The bolt is the smoothest I've ever shot. Great trigger. I got 1 in groups at 100 yrds with Federal blue box 180 gr PSP's. I'm expecting reloads to almost be in the same hole. The Mark V is a little more than what you want to spend. The Vanguard series 2 are guaranteed sub moa groups at 100 yrds. I wish I would have seen that before I bought my Mark V. I never shot a ruger or a TC.

[dk99358]

About 4 years ago, I was in your shoes. I don't like the safety on the Ruger so that was out. The TC wasn't available so I was looking at the Howa (same as the Weatherby) and the Savage. Ended up buying a Tikka T3 Lite SS/syn.

Shoots great, trigger is great right out of the box and is adjustable, and it had the smoothest sliding bolt.

Be sure you're familiar with the controls (safety, detachable mag vs floorplate etc) and decided from there. You really can't go wrong with any of your choices.

Dale

[dkf]

I would suggest going to shop and getting your hands on each. Back when I bought my 700 I looked at several others before deciding on the 700. I just liked the feel and fit of the 700 best.