Budget rifle suggestions.

[Kyguy]

I'd tinker with that Model 7 first.... They come from the factory with the stock set for tip pressure. Torque the action screws to 35 inch lbs and see how it shoots. Free floating isn't always the best answer for extreme accuracy..... free floating is usually the best answer for consistency. If you want to float the barrel and see how it responds, get a plastic clip from a bag of bread and put it under the action at the front screw and torque it down and shoot it.

I have a new production 700 in .223. It immediately went into a B&C stock with a floated barrel. It shot ok but not impressively, regardless of what I tried. I was going to sell it, so I put it back in the factory plastic stock that has tip pressure, torqued it to 35-inch lbs and took it out to shoot so that I could be honest about it. The first two groups with two different factory loads were just over 1/2" 5 shot groups. So now it sits in the factory stock and it's not for sale.

 

[braydencase7]

I've had good luck with weatherby vangaurds, I haven't had one that didn't shoot well. Weatherby uses howas barreled actions, you can order just a barreled action on brownells and get the stock of your choice.

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

 

[CascadeHunter180]

Welp I didn’t give up on the model 7 and it finally payed off. Me and my dad have been doing a bunch of hand load testing and almost nothing has been worked at all, 4” groups with pretty much everything. Until we tried 41.0 grains of Varget powder with a 139 grain SST, and now it’s printing groups. Just shot a .75” group at 200 yards with it last night. Thank you all for the input on rifles but I’ll be sticking with the ol’ Remington!

 

[Pilsner]

My .02 - tikka makes a great rifle I had a stainless CTR and a TAC A1. I still have a t1x in .17 hmr. Do your research - if anything ever goes wrong with a Tikka Beretta's CS is a nightmare more commonly than not.

I would definitely check the Seekins out - I love the ph2 I handled in a store and their reputation for support is stellar.

Another factory rifle worth exploring is the new Browning Xbolt 2. The all purpose model looks really good. I handled an xbolt 2 at a local Academy and it feels fantastic. Everything about it is head and shoulders above anything else on the rack.

There is also the Springfield Waypoint 2020 and Weatherby 307 to add in the mix. I have fondled both of those and like them both.

On another website Tikka used to get recommend 99% of the time b/c you get a great action and trigger, predictable accuracy, and good quality. The barrels have a reputation for being slow but accurate.

However, that just isn't the case anymore where they are the "no-brainer". If a person's safe has multiple rifles with a 700 footprint it just makes sense to stick to that. There are so many good actions out now it really is the better route to go with a custom. You have the 307 on the lower end at little over $600, Mackbros at $775, Aero Solus, Origin, Mackbros element, Kauger Arms, etc.

Add in a triggertech or timney and it's money. In the end, get what you like b/c we are all different.

I've owned both a Browning X-bolt Gen 2 suppressor ready version and Springfield 2020 Waypoint Carbon. The X-bolt in 7 PRC and the Waypoint in 300 PRC. The X-bolt got sold.

 

[rookie7]

I've owned both a Browning X-bolt Gen 2 suppressor ready version and Springfield 2020 Waypoint Carbon. The X-bolt in 7 PRC and the Waypoint in 300 PRC. The X-bolt got sold.

Was it the cartridge or the rifle you preferred more? I have handled Waypoints. They were nice.

 

[Pilsner]

Was it the cartridge or the rifle you preferred more? I have handled Waypoints. They were nice.

Rifle. I used on in 6.5 Creed a few years back during a long-range class and was very impressed with it but didn't need yet another 6.5 at that time. Once I saw that they came out in long action chamberings I had to snag one. Mine is an actual tack driver even in 300 PRC which can be a handful in a rifle this light. I'm talking about repeatable 3 shot groups in the 0.3" and 10 shot aggregated (2x 5 round groups due to the 5-round magazine) groups in the high 0.7" to low 0.9"s off of the bench.
I used my 300 PRC version for a LR class that I helped teach because it is what I had set up, zero'd, and had enough ammo built for it and it made hitting the target at just shy of a mile look easy. (24"x24" target at 1550 yards - so ~1.5 MOA target). This level of performance is very good considering that I am at best a semi-gifted but very enthusiastic amateur with a rifle.
The Browning was a nice rifle and if I ran across one in something like a 6 creed or 6 ARC for the right price, I might hurt myself reaching for my wallet to buy it. But in anything PRC... not so much. Something to do with the stock just didn't work for me and I couldn't spot my impacts as well as I would like to or lead the bipod. Bearing in mind that I am comparing rifles one-to-one when in reality one is nearly 2x the price of the other so maybe the Browning is better than I am giving it credit for in this comparison.

-Doc