New Rifle Opinions

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Going to Owatanna tomorrow and may just get a new deer hunting rifle. I see the Remington 700 ADL with scope is on sale. Also there is a Thompson (no scope) on sale.

Anybody have opinions which would be the better rifle to purchase. I have not bought a new gun for a long time so I'm kind of "out of the loop".

Thanks..

[swamptiger]

Check out a Tikka T3 if you get a chance.

[benhaag]

I think your right on with the 700 dont think you will find any gun smith or salesman that wont say that rifle isn't one of the all time greats

[picksbigwagon]

Take a look at Savage as well, their accutrigger is pretty amazing and their barrels are pretty accurate as well. They aren't the prettiest dog in the fight, but they get it done. What do you plan on using it for?

[lovebigbluegills]

I agree with a 700-I've got a couple of them myself. You cannot go wrong with Remington or Winchester in my opinion, and as benhaag mentioned I don't think you'll be able to find a gunsmith or salesman that would tell you otherwise.

[benhaag]

The 700 is also hands down the best action to have custom work done to and accuritize. The ADL is a very workable trigger a gunsmith can take it down to 2.5lbs with no problem

[sparkydm]

Either one are excellent. T/C has a lifetime warranty. put as many as possible to your shoulder to see which fits best.

[BoxMN]

I am not a long time rifle hunter, only about 10 years. But I have a 700 ADL in .270 and it has been flawless for me as far as operating and as accurate as my feeble eyes can be

I would recommend it. I have black synthetic, and I really like that - not worried about mud or nicks, etc. and it cleans up great. The action is easy on the hands and easy to take apart.

good luck whatever you get, good choices for sure.

[Heartman]

I bought the Marlin XL-7 bolt action rifle for $300otd at the shop in Owatonna, and think it's the real deal. Mine's a 270 Win, and I think I'm going to buy one in 243 or 308 before too long as well. Solid, excellent triggers, rugged action, and low priced. Absolutely cannot go wrong with this rifle that is considerably less than the Rem 700. And I own a couple of those too - nothing wrong with them, it;s just that this XL7 is the real deal.

[swamptiger]

I agree with Heartman about the Marlin. I bought one in a 30-06 last fall, and I think it is the best value out there right now in the $300 price range. If I was going to spend a little more, I would go with the Tikka T3 Lite.

The Marlin has a two stage trigger like the Savage, and mine is very accurate. The only thing I don't like about it is the butt pad - it's sort of a soft, sticky rubber, and it tends to stick to your clothing when you shoulder it.

[Tom7227]

Might want to go west a bit and check at Ahlman's and see what they have and what they have to say. They have an amazing number of guns for sale, first class gunsmiths in the building, and the staff is very knowledgable.

[Tyler23]

rem. model 700 cdl is what i got. never had any problems with it. love it.

[RedDB76]

Remington 700 is a great gun. Mine had a horrible trigger (which I have since had a trigger job on), but everything else is great. My Savage has been my go-to gun for nearly 20 years though - reliable, more accurate than the 2 Remingtons I shoot, and I dont worry about scratching it or beating it up.

I would go with a new Savage with Accutrigger, not a combo with a scope, and spend the extra money on a better scope. The 3-9x32 scopes they put on those Savage package guns are horrible! Not sure about the one on the Remington.

No experience with the new Marlins, but they sound like a good workhorse option too.

[NoWiser]

I would give the Tikka T3 Lite serious consideration. I have one in .270 WSM and love it. My dad went out and bought the identical gun within a month of shooting mine he was so impressed. I have not shot a ton of rifles in my day, but this is by far the most accurate I have used. The 700 is a great gun, but check out the Tikka.....you just may be impressed.

[Hitman54]

I will second the Tikka T3. I bought one for my wife in 25-06 about 4 years ago and she and I liked it so much I bought another one for my son in 7mm-08. Both are great guns, crisp trigger pull and amazingly accurate. The bolt is as smooth as butter!

[blue_healer_guy]

Smooth as butter, just like 20 years ago!

[harvey lee]

One cannot go wrong with a 700 series. I did have the trigger redone on one 700bdl. I own 5 700's and love them.

[Bandit]

Ya 700's are great, have 5 of them, bought a tikka once, did not like it at all. Check out the model 7's too, they are the perfect deer rifle I think, and a joy to carry all day!!

[swamptiger]

If you do a Google search "Remington 700 vs Tikka T3" you will find several pages of threads discussing the merits of these two rifles. It really gets down to personal preference - both are good guns, and there are also several more in pretty much the same price range. Browning A-bolt, Ruger M77, and Winchester Model 70 are good guns. Savage has earned a great reputation for accuracy, and also has models in this price range. In the lower price range, the new Marlin XL7 and XS7 and the Stevens Model 200 are hard to beat.

[SORNO]

I love Remington's but right now for out of the box accuracy you can't pass up a look at the Savage rifles. I own one of each and my Savage was much better out of the box then my remington was. Like stated before you will love the accu-trigger and now Savage makes a accu-stock to improve tighter groups.