[BOBBYCRAWLEY]

i am looking at getting my wife a .243 to deer hunt with. right now she shoots a 20 ga. we went to walmart the other day and saw where they had a remington model 770 with a scope for $299. does anyone have any experience with these guns? i dont want to buy it and then it be a piece of crap ya know. i currently shoot a remington model 700 in the .270 and i love it. i have dropped deer with it out to 372 yards and i am very comfortable shhoting it. i guess i am kinda hoping it will be the same quality gun as the 700. thanks for the input.

 

[Garbo]

Welcome to the Forum.

Remington designed the 710 with a goal of having a low retail. I understand the 770 replaced the 710, but I am notcompletely sure that is the whole story.

I would invest a small amount more and buy the same gun in the 700ADL, for just a little more, but you will own a conciderably better rifle.

It would be my choice to buy a New England Firearms Single shot if I had to stay below $300.00. The Laminated Stocked NEF with Bull Barrel is a very nice shooting rifle, that I can find no fault in, and I have tried.

 

[Garbo]

By the way, Consider 7mm:08 before committing to the .243 cal. More energy and possibly less recoil.

 

[mpmorr]

I am not at all happy with the action on my 710, but other than that it shoots very accurately. If you are going with a .243 I would whole heartedly recommend the Savage. The accutrigger is great and that gun is a tack driver. I bought one for my daughter last year and she loves it. If I am not mistaken it was about $360.00 or so. Pass on the 770, I would not make the same mistake twice, but the Savage is great. It comes with a very nice Simmons Scope. At 100yds, I can put them on a quarter. Good luck in whatever you decide. Like I said the 710 is very accurate, but poorly made.

 

[BOBBYCRAWLEY]

thanks for all the very quick and useful replies. who in the mobile area sells the savage guns? i know walmart used to but i dont remember seeing them the other day.

thanks again

 

[ilander]

I agree that the 770 is poor quality rifle. The 700 adl is the best gun for the money out there. I have several guns I have accumalated over the years but My 35 year old 270 adl is the one I always reach for. I also agree with Garbo on the 7mm-o8 although We have killed a lot of deer a 243 My Wife shoots a 7mm-08 now and loves it. It has about the same ballistics as a 270 in a short action.

 

[jared]

I would definately go with the savage model 110. In my opinios the best rifle for the money. Dont get a cheap scope though go with a leupold 3x9

 

[Garbo]

Very good reply on this thread. One more thing you might want to think about.

Many peopletry to save money or stay on a budget in buying a rifle and understandably so, the things can be very expensive. A huge mistake is trying to save too much on optics. Don't, It is better to save money on the rifle than the scope. It is something alot of people do, but they shouldn't.

 

[Killin' Time]

2nd Garbo, 7mm-08. Check out the ballistics.

 

[AUradar]

my dad has the rifle you are talking about in the 30.06. He likes it, but he hasn't used it much since getting it. I agree its a cheap gun and while I'm looking for a 243 for myself, I won't get that model. I would consider the remmington in the better model though.

At the same time, how much is she going to use it? Is she going to shoot much? Is she going to hunt much? Grouping to kill a deer doesn't have to be near as good as grouping to brag about on the range. So will her use warrant a more expensive rifle?

If I were to upgrade I would get a better scope. a XX x XX x 50. The scope combo you are looking at is a X x X x 40 I bet. The larger the last number the more light you get in. Helps a lot at dusk with thick covering behind the deer.

 

[mpmorr]

BOBBYCRAWLEY (11/20/2007)thanks for all the very quick and useful replies. who in the mobile area sells the savage guns? i know walmart used to but i dont remember seeing them the other day.

thanks again

If you cannot find it at Wally World, you might want to check out Academy. Since the drive is not really reasonable for pcola just keep looking. As far as the optics on the one I bought go, at 100 yds the target is just as clear as my leopold, at 200 it is not quite as good. I keep my scopes on 5 power. I suppose my point is check out what is on it and get used to the gun. When you are ready upgrade to either the Nikon or Leopold as stated above. I have not had a chance to look at the pentax yet, but if their scopes are as good as thier camera's they might be an up and comer. Of course you can get really crazy with scopes, I would just keep what it has and base your decision to upgrade on the use of the gun. There is not much sense putting Zeiss on a gun when you are only shooting a 100 yds, if you are shooting 300 or so regularly then go big. Good Luck

 

[whipper snapper]

if i were looking at buying a new short action rifle i would look at the remington model 7. tried and true! my cousin-in-law just bought one last year and loves it. of course he can't hit anything anyway so it wouldn't matter if he was shooting a marlin .22 - oke just kiddin' luke!

 

[Garbo]

The "Model 7" is a good gun. It will also fit a woman or Teen better than a model 700.

A much like gun to compare the "Model 7" to is a Winchester Model 70, which also is a great gun. Also look at the Ruger Compact which is available in .243, 7mm:08, and .308, and is a very good gun.

 

[REELGOOD]

I think the main problem with the packaged guns is they go light on the scope and as someone said, the action is not very smooth. I just bought a 700 SPS in 7-08 andreally like it. I have the .243 in the ADL and like it as well, but the 08 gives you more punch with almost no more kick. I think Remingtom replaced the ADL with the SPS if I'm not mistaken...only difference appears to be in the stock.

REELGOOD

 

[lobsterman]

Here it is in a nut shell. You get what you pay for. Go cheap and you get exactly that. Go more expensive and you have something that will last a lifetime and only increase in resale value should you decide to sell it and upgrade again. I have a leupold 3.5 X 10 X 50 and it is incredible in low light situations which alot of your better shots will be in. I had a cheap scope on 2 of my rifles and paid everytime I went to the woods. I had a muy grande in the cross hairs at about 60 yards one morning just after daylight and I couldn't see the deer at all due to the sun off to my right just coming up and put a huge orange glow in the entire scope, needless to say the deer walked away unscathed. Proud as a peacock. I will never own a cheap scope again on anything. You usually can find that scope on sale around christmas time at Scotts in Jay. I personally see nothing wrong with .243 and my son and I and my nephew all shot .243 and haven't lost any deer. Just shoot him or her in the shoulder pad and break it down. Then it is boom boom out goes the lights.

 

[welldoya]

I agree with the posts that recommend the 7mm/08. Great caliber. And it pairs up well with a Model 7.

I started my son off in a 7mm/08 in a Model 7 youth.

He killed his first buck at 165 yards with it.

But, I have also heard that the Savage is a very good rifle for the money.

 

[off route II]

definitely 7mm.08 and jmo i would stay away from wal-mart gun dept. just like many things wal-mart sells they want the brand name but not the price that goes with it so they go to suppliers and talk them into building an inferior quality product ie; the 770 so they can have a remington on the shelf at a cheap price. thatshow the weatherby vanguard came to be. i believe the old saying "you get what you pay for".

 

[Garbo]

off route II (11/20/2007)definitely 7mm.08 and jmo i would stay away from wal-mart gun dept. just like many things wal-mart sells they want the brand name but not the price that goes with it so they go to suppliers and talk them into building an inferior quality product ie; the 770 so they can have a remington on the shelf at a cheap price. thatshow the weatherby vanguard came to be. i believe the old saying "you get what you pay for".

Driscoll is very right.

 

[ilander]

Ya'll are correct on the model 7. It is a nice little rifle and a good fit for a women or a kid but they are a little more exspensive if I remember correctly. The 700 in a short action however is also a small, light rifle which also fits women and children. The 700 is the same action as remington's top of the line rifles and is advertised as the worlds most accurate "out of the box" rifle which I agree with althought that's just My opinion. I own the Sako's and weatherbee's and the remington's shoot just as good. The Savage rifles look good but I don't own one so I can't say. Our local gunsmith, who i respect dosn't like to zero them because He claims they kick more than most.

On another note when looking at scopes You need to remember that this is for a women so the big scopes will make for a heavey, unbalanced gun. I recommend that You stick with a 40mm scope as it will fit the gun better. zeiss, swarovski, nikon and leupold are all good. If they are not in Your price range, bushnell is agood scope for the money in My opinion

 

[off route II]

another excellent scope at a very good price is a SWIFT.