Topic: The Best Budget Hunting Rifles, Put to the Test (Read 54 times)
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Award: Most Accurate
Average Group Size: 1.720 inches
Average of Best 5 Groups: 1.122 inches
Optic Used: Leupold VX Freedom 4-12×40 CDS
The Ruger American is one of the most popular budget hunting rifles for a reason. Ruger has a reputation for producing dependable firearms, and the American is often lauded for its accuracy. The Ruger American has been in production since 2012 and shows no signs of slowing down.
Ruger’s American hunting rifle was designed to be both economical and accurate. In fact, many characteristics of the Ruger Precision Rifle were taken from the American. Aside from some platform-specific alterations, the large-diameter bolt and basic design of the receiver are identical.
Much of this budget hunting rifle’s accuracy is likely a result of what’s under the hood. Some of the external finish work is a little rough—tool marks are visible on parts of the bolt, and the external machining of the barrel has a flaw or two. However, things like that don’t affect its accuracy. The Ruger has a trigger that can be set between 3 and 5 pounds. The trigger is easily adjustable with an Allen key when the receiver is removed from the stock.
The recoil lug design is unique in that there is no recoil lug on the receiver. Instead, two V-block recoil lugs are embedded in the stock and act as bedding pil*ars. The action is secured to these lugs with two Allen screws set to between 60 and 80 foot-pounds of torque. With the action securely fastened to these blocks, the barrel is co*pletely free-floated.
Along with its accuracy, the Ruger American has good ergonomics and handling characteristics. The bolt has a 70-degree throw, and dual cocking cams to help smooth out the bolt lift. Operation isn’t butter-smooth, but it’s easy to work the bolt quickly from the shoulder. Early models of the Ruger American had a reputation for magazine and feeding issues, but the polymer double-stack magazine in mine only gave me issues with only one type of ammo—Lapua 150-grain Mega. The short and somewhat squat bullet profile would periodically hang up when trying to chamber.
The Ruger’s stock won’t win any beauty contests, but its ergonomics aren’t bad. It’s relatively slender and handles easily. It features a textured horizontal groove along the top of the fore-end that make it very co*fortable to hang onto. The fore-end is flexible, but not so flexible that the weight of the rifle on a bipod would cause the barrel to contact the stock. The grip is co*fortable and at a good angle for clean trigger breaks and easy access to the rifle’s tang safety.
This budget hunting rifle had the best accuracy of the four models tested. Although many people claim that their American is a half-inch-gun, that’s an unrealistic claim. I have no doubt that with the right handload, it may be able shoot half-inch groups occasionally with 3-shot groups, but it will not average that with 5-shot groups.
This rifle distinctly fired better 3-shot groups than 5-shot groups, and with more than 50 percent of the groups I fired, I could see the first 3 shots well enough to measure their spread separately. It printed several 3-shot groups under an inch, but none hit the half-inch mark. After the first three shots, the groups would consistently spread out.
Unrealistic expectations shouldn’t sour your thoughts on the accuracy the rifle is truly capable of—which is remarkable for the price. Averaging 1.122 inches across the best 5 groups with factory ammo is fantastic. The American printed good groups with a several types of ammo, but the single most consistent accuracy was with Federal Non-Typical Whitetail 150-grain soft points, at an average of 1.32 inches. What really should be lauded is that the rifle shoots a wide variety of ammunition well. Budget hunting rifles can be capable of good accuracy, but you’ve often got to burn through a lot of ammunition to find what it likes. There’s a lot of value in a rifle that can shoot a variety of ammo well.
Average Group Size: 1.902 inches
Average of Best 5 Groups: 1.421 inches
Optic Used: Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50
The Savage Axis was the most affordable rifle in this lineup, and I bought mine—a left-handed model—for just under $400 here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I’m not a lefty, but that’s what I could find. The Axis does a great job at representing what a budget hunting rifle should be. It’s very affordable and remarkably accurate for the price. The quality of materials and handling of the Axis are way beyond that of my old Remington 710—for not much more than I paid for the 710 over 20 years ago.
The Axis is popular, and more affordable than Savage’s flagship Model 110 series. It uses similar steel detachable magazines as some M110’s but has a tubular receiver with an ejection port. The 22-inch barrel is threaded into the receiver and held in-place with a barrel nut. Under the hood, the Axis is fitted with a simple trigger and doesn’t have a recoil lug. Instead, there is a notch on the bottom-front of the receiver that nestles onto a recoil lug tab that’s embedded into the stock.
The rifle has a jointed two-lug bolt that features forward lugs that rotate 90 degrees to lock up, and stationary lugs immediately behind them that stay in the receiver raceway. Behind that is a spring washer, followed by the rest of the bolt body.
The stock on the Axis is my least favorite of the test group, but Savage has made some improvements to their synthetic stocks in recent years. The Axis’s stock is slender with modern lines, and a co*fortable grip. It shoulders and functions well, but the fore-end is more flexible than I like. I can slide a dollar bill with some resistance between the barrel and fore-end, but the inletting is uneven—a typical trait of these stocks.
The receiver of this budget hunting rifle co*es drilled and tapped for scope bases but doesn’t include any. You’ll want to make sure to get the correct bases. Even on the short action model, simple Savage-pattern bases like the Weaver No. 46 will fit on the rifle but are too far apart for mounting scopes like the Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50 or the Leupold VX Freedom 4-12X40. I used Warne Vapor 2-piece bases.
Since I could only find a left-handed model of the Savage Axis in .308, I was somewhat limited in fully evaluating its handling and ergonomics—although I gained an appreciation for what southpaws deal with in a field of right-handed rifles.
Handling the rifle right-handed, I found the rifle to be nimble and point well. I like the angle of the grip and how it allows my finger to rest on the trigger. The grip is also long enough that when rested atop the tang, my thumb isn’t crowding the bolt—something that results in a jammed thumb when I’m not careful.
The action of the Savage Axis is a bit sticky. The bolt moves back and forth smoothly when pulled straight, but the last few degrees of bolt lift give a significant bit of resistance—even when the bolt doesn’t need re-cocking. It’s very noticeable to a right-handed shooter trying to operate the bolt and is enough to make the rifle clumsy to operate in that manner. If you’re putting any torque on the handle, the bolt feels sticky when you pull it back.
Throughout shooting, I noticed that the rifle periodically failed to eject. It extracted the spent cases from the chamber reliably, but they sometimes wouldn’t eject. It seemed that when hitting the rearward limit of bolt travel, the cases would slip the extractor and the ejector would simply spring them forward—keeping them inside the receiver. I tried working the bolt slow and fast and saw the same results. Perhaps, a true lefty wouldn’t encounter the issue, but no matter how I pulled the bolt handle, it seemed to happen.
The Savage Axis shot very well—second only to the Ruger American in accuracy. The trigger on the Axis is a limiting factor for the rifle’s accuracy—especially for novice shooters. It’s narrow with rough edges, and—at nearly 6 pounds—very heavy. The trigger’s geometry and creep make it feel heavier on the finger than it measures. If the rifle had an adjustable trigger like Savage’s Accutrigger, I think results may be slightly better.
An interesting note about the Axis’s accuracy is that it didn’t seem to favor any particular ammunition. It did print some good groups with most loads and was relatively consistent. Despite what some might tell you about their Axis being a sub-minute or even half-minute rifle, it’s probably not. I recorded only one sub-inch group, but the Axis had the most consistent accuracy overall. It’s overall average group size and average of the top-five groups only differed by .481 inches.
Average Group Size: 2.234 inches
Average of Best 5 Groups: 1.483 inches
Optic Used: Vortex Diamondback 3.5-10×50
Of all the budget hunting rifles, the Winchester XPR is one that I’ve had the most experience with. I shot my first whitetail with an XPR chambered in .300 WSM, and I’ve got one in 6.5 CM that has killed 7 Dall rams and north of a dozen caribou. In fact, the farthest shot I’ve made on a Dall ram was with that rifle at 465 yards. I can say with confidence that the XPR is one of the highest quality budget hunting rifles that I’ve used.
The XPR is built around a 3-lug bolt that is very similar in appearance to the Ruger American’s bolt—but the bolt body is longer and larger in diameter. The 3-lug bolt allows for a short 60-degree throw that’s quick and crisp. The bolt is nicely finished with an absence of tool marks that you’ll see on some other budget hunting rifles. The rear of the bolt is covered with a polymer shroud that jiggles around even when the bolt is in battery, but functionally, it makes no difference. Around the bolt is a thick-walled tubular steel receiver.
The XPR is fed by a single-stack polymer magazine that protrudes slightly from the stock when fully seated. If there’s a downside to the XPR, it’s ammunition capacity. The .308 model only holds three rounds in the magazine while other models hold four or five. The magazines are easy to load and function very well—I can’t recall ever having a stoppage with the XPR.
The barrel and receiver of the XPR have a matte black finish, but it’s a weather-resistant coating rather than a traditional blued finish. The butt of the synthetic stock can be loud when scraping against brush, but overall, the stock is very durable with a rigid fore-end, good grip texturing, and a nice recoil pad.
The safety on the XPR sits along the starboard side of the bolt’s rear shroud. The safety is a little gritty and loud, but a nice feature of the XPR is a small button forward of the safety that allows the shooter to open the bolt while the safety is engaged. The Winchester XPR is the only rifle in this set that has a bolt-locking safety—and that can be very handy when carrying the rifle in your pack or any time the bolt might be inadvertently opened. It’s also nice to have the option of overriding it when necessary.
The XPR isn’t an exceptionally light budget hunting rifle, but its rigid stock aids with crisp handling, and the rifle is well-balanced. The trigger of the XPR has virtually no travel—or overtravel after the break. The relatively wide and rounded surface of the trigger allow for great finger contact and a smooth pull. It’s the cleanest-breaking trigger in this test group.
A good characteristic of the XPR is that the balance, short bolt throw, and smooth operation make it great for quick follow-up shots. The XPR is stunted a bit by its lower magazine capacity, but it’s the only rifle in this test that you can freely drop cartridges into the receiver and chamber them smoothly.
The single-stack magazine’s follower acts as a Bob Sled, aligning the cartridge with the bore. Other rifles in this test group aren’t as friendly for single loading. They require you to snap the round into place from the top or manually feed the bullet tip into the chamber before closing the bolt.
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I didn’t experience any functional hiccups while shooting the XPR, and it was a strong performer in field position and handling drills. In the group, it’s the fastest-cycling rifle and ejects cases with authority. Bolt operation isn’t as smooth as the Mossberg, but the shorter throw gives it an edge in speed.
Over the years, I’ve found the XPR’s to be generally accurate and dependable in inclement weather and sub-zero conditions. The XPR I tested in .308 shot Norma’s 168-grain Golden Target BTHP load the best, averaging 1.326 inches, and its overall average was certainly hurt by a couple loads that it really didn’t like. With the best 5 groups averaging under minute-and-a-half, it’s safe to say that this is a perfectly capable budget hunting rifle.
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