I have a Savage 116 in 30-06. It is a fantastic rifle. Savage produces great out of the box accuracy rifles.

My dad has a Rem 700 in 30-06 and also a fantastic firearm.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Brett B:
I shot a friends Ruger American in .308 the other weekend and boy that thing was rough. It had the clunkiest action I have ever experienced. The bolt handle would get stuck about 95% of the way up, you had to hammer it to get it the rest of the way up before the bolt could be opened. It also grouped horribly at 50 yards. I handed it back to my friend and suggested that he not spend any more time and money on it. I'm sure they are not all like that but I can't fathom how this one even made it out the door.

My 15 year old bought one and had a completely opposite experience... was bullet holes touchin' bullet holes at 100 yards right out of the box once he got it sighted in. I'll give ya the bolt is a little sloppy but accuracy was spot on and the trigger is really nice for an out of the box gun. The only real issue he has is that since its really light the recoil is pretty stout...

The reviews I've read/watched on the Ruger Americans, and the personal experiences of buddies who bought them, all mirror Tompow's experience rather than Brett B's friend's experience.

Accurate. Good factory trigger. Slightly rough and sloppy action that slicks up with use and/or some minor polishing. Somewhat chintzy stock. Cheap but functional magazine. Great value for the money.

And many of those issues can be solved relatively easily.

Seems like Ruger's addressing the issue with the flimsy magazine by releasing new models that use other Ruger magazines, like the 7.62x39 Ruger American that uses Mini-30 mags. I anticipate that .300/.223/etc. models will soon be released that use Mini-14 mags.

And Magpul will soon be releasing a replacement stock that accepts AICS magazines.

There are various manufacturers that offer other replacement stocks, like Boyds.

The only issue is whether you want to drop $200-$300 on a new stock for a $350 rifle.

The Winchester XPR's have a $100 rebate until 9/30.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/...summer-rebates1.html

Ruger M77 Internatinal



Ruger gets a real Mauser type claw extractor.



The ONLY downside is you have to use Ruger rings.

Marzy for the win. I want one of those in .243 in the worst way.

Fellow KY hunter here. Where I hunt is both wooded and open field dependent upon which stand I pick. Most are under 150 but a couple of the field stands stretch it out to 250. My deer last year I took at 100 yards and the year before that was 225.
I have a Sig SHR 970 in .270 with a Nikon 4-12 Scope. I am very happy with both. .270 is an excellent flat shooting load with plenty of power for any deer you will come across here.
Being that the Sig SHR 970s are few and far between anymore if I were to purchase today I would likely go with a Tikka T3 paired to a Nikon scope. Great action and accuracy and I am very happy with Nikon glass even in the lower Prostaff models.

I picked up a Ruger American in 22-250 a while back that will easily put 5 shots in an inch at 100 yards if I do my part. Stock is cheap, bolt is a little rough and I despise the magazine, but that gun is a real shooter.
I wouldn't pass up one in .308 or even 7mm-08 if you found a good deal on it.
That 7mm-08 is an amazing little round. My wife has a Browning A Bolt Micro chambered in it and it's a hell of a good little whitetail gun.

The Tikka T3 is a great value and sometimes overlooked. Great accuracy and reliability. As for caliber, any .270, .308, .30-06 will be fine for Kentucky whitetail. I'm a fan of the .260 Remington for accuracy, power and low recoil.

quote:

Originally by posted Marsy:
The ONLY downside is you have to use Ruger rings.

More like "one benefit is that you GET to use Ruger rings." IMO its a great design and the rings are solid as a rock.

My stock answer for anyone looking for a hunting rifle that has the best price/performance is the Tikka.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Fellow KY hunter here. Where I hunt is both wooded and open field dependent upon which stand I pick. Most are under 150 but a couple of the field stands stretch it out to 250. My deer last year I took at 100 yards and the year before that was 225.
I have a Sig SHR 970 in .270 with a Nikon 4-12 Scope. I am very happy with both. .270 is an excellent flat shooting load with plenty of power for any deer you will come across here.
Being that the Sig SHR 970s are few and far between anymore if I were to purchase today I would likely go with a Tikka T3 paired to a Nikon scope. Great action and accuracy and I am very happy with Nikon glass even in the lower Prostaff models.

This is what I did.
The Sauer 101 is out of my budget, SHR970 not exactly plentiful.
Bought a Tikka T3x Lite Stainless in .270 & put a Nikon Monarch on it.

I've got a Winchester 30-06 that has always performed exactly as I would like.


That being said, there's nothing wrong with a 308 either.

If I were buying a new deer rifle today and didn't have a bunch of 30 caliber components on hand, I would buy a 6.5 Grendel upper for my AR-15.

Check out the weatherby vanguard rifles. IVe never seen one that wasnt extremely accurate out of the box and they come in any caliber you could ever need for deer hunting. Ive seen them go for under 500 dollars at sportsmans warehouse.

Right now my deer rifle is a Kimber Montana in 308 with a leupold vx3i 2.5-8x36 and it comes in right at 6lbs. Weight is important for me because the deer live in steep STEEP areas here.

I think you made a fine choice, among many good options.

Good luck with the hunt.

Which T3 variation did you end up with??

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Which T3 variation did you end up with??

T3 Lite, blue steel, black stock. Made in 2014, new old stock at Cabelas.

Good choice going with the Tikka

Great choice in Rifle and Caliber.

Excellent choice on rifle and optic.