Topic: The Best Hunting Rifles of 2023 (Read 44 times)
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Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Marlin 1895 SBL, under the new ownership of Ruger, is the finest version of this rifle ever made. Quality materials and attention to detail elevate it above previous factory Marlins.
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Product Description
The 1895 SBL is the first rifle to go into production after Ruger’s acquisition of Marlin, and it’s a handsome one. The short 19-inch-barrel configuration is produced in stainless-steel with gray laminate furniture. It also includes an over-sized lever loop and XS sights ghost ring sights with an optics rail.
This lever action rifle holds 6 rounds of .45/70, and cycles reliably with little slop—due to the precise CNC machined and EDM-cut co*ponents. The action is butter-smooth, but tight. Checkering on the furniture is excellent, as is the fit.
In our 2022 gun test, we found the 1895 SBL to be accurate—even with a 6X magnification optic. Using Hornady 325-grain FTX loads, the rifle’s 5-shot groups averaged 1.66 inches, making it a realistic 200 or even 300-yard gun.
Keeping up with the wishes of many modern hunters and shooters, the muzzle is threaded—but in 11/16-24, not 5/8-24. Suppressors like the Silencerco Hybrid 46M have adapters available that will work. The threaded muzzle co*es capped with a thread protector that’s so finely machined, the seam essentially disappears when it’s tightened. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The CZ-USA 600 Alpha brings great accuracy, ingenuity, and versatility to the table—and all at a very co*petitive price.
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Product Description
The 600 series from CZ represents a clean break from their previously manufactured actions, and this more modern design is where they’re putting their chips. The 600 Alpha is the economy variation of the 600 and features a short-throw, 3-lug bolt with a round over-sized bolt handle.
The synthetic stock on the 600 Alpha has some flexibility in it but features a very co*fortable grip angle and textured soft-rubber inlays for a secure grip in wet conditions. The rifle is configured with some target rifle lines and a slightly heavy barrel but would be perfectly suitable for any hunting—aside from possibly the most extreme mountain backpack hunts. Even then, it’s not terribly heavy.
The 600 Alpha uses a detachable box magazine that has to be “rocked” into place, and the safety design is unique as well. It’s a crossbolt safety that runs vertically through the grip behind the bolt—pushing it down places the rifle in “fire” mode.
The barrel of the 600 Alpha is threaded for a suppressor or muzzle device, and in our 2022 gun test, we found it to be exceptionally accurate for a sub-$1000 rifle. Our sample was chambered in 6mm Creedmoor and our average 5-shot group was .814 inches. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Proof Tundra is top-notch when it co*es to materials, manufacturing, fit and finish, and accuracy. It was the most accurate hunting rifle of the 2022 Outdoor Life Gun test.
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Product Description
Proof’s Tundra is the barrel-maker’s own semi-custom hunting rifle designed to maximize looks and performance in almost every category. It features a carbon-fiber stock with adjustable carbon fiber cheek piece, into which a Proof carbon fiber-wrapped barrel and the Defiance two-lug bolt action are perfectly fit and bedded. Our sample came in a silver-on-black netting-style finish, but a variety of options are available.
The Tundra is a price-be-damned rifle that exhibits excellent craftsmanship and performance. The fit and attention to detail was unmatched among the co*petition in our 2022 gun test. The co*bination of the rifle’s features—from the top-loading BDL-style magazine, to the lightweight stock with an adjustable cheek-piece— has resulted in one of the best rifles for long-range hunting you can find.
The Tundra co*es with a 3-shot, ½ MOA accuracy guarantee, which it easily achieves. During our evaluation its 5-shot groups averaged .683 inches—which was only bested by the two precision co*petition rifles in the test. The Tundra has excellent balance and is light enough to not be an encumbrance on any hunt. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Christensen Arms Ridgeline Scout is a short, handy rifle that can do just about anything, whether it’s hunting hogs in the brush or sheep in the mountains.
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Product Description
An ode to the scout rifle concept pioneered by Jeff Cooper, the Christensen Arms Ridgeline Scout is a light and versatile bolt action. It features a black nitride-coated action with a two-lug bolt and skeletonized bolt handle. The carbon-fiber stock is slim with classic lines but includes a section of rail that incorporates a barricade stop at the front of the forend for attaching a bipod. Under the hood, the stock incorporates stainless steel bedding pil*ars.
The action includes a rail optics mount and over-sized magazine release and is co*patible with AICS-pattern magazines—both polymer and steel. It has a 16-inch threaded carbon-fiber barrel that co*es with a 3-prong flash suppressor but would make a perfect host for a suppressor.
The Ridgeline Scout is short, but accurate. In our 2022 gun test, it averaged .784-inch 5-shot groups—even better than the 3-shot sub-MOA guarantee. The only thing we weren’t fans of was the fit of the flat trigger shoe with the classic-style sporter grip angle— a curved trigger shoe would be a better choice with the stock’s geometry.
The rifle’s handiness and accuracy make it more-than-ideal for a number of tasks ranging from a ranch rifle to an NRL hunter co*petition gun, and just about anything in-between. It would be just as at-home in a Midwest deer stand as it would be spot-and-stalk hunting black bears on the beaches of Prince William’s Sound. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Havak HIT is an incredibly innovative, versatile, and accurate precision rifle—all at a great price.
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Product Description
The Seekins Havak HIT was one of the stars of our 2022 Gun test. It was one of the most accurate rifles we shot—second only to the Accuracy International AT-X, and not by much. The Havak HIT we received in 6.5 PRC printed 5-shot groups that averaged .542 inches. It received both a Best Value and Innovation Award—a rare and well-deserved double win.
The Havak HIT action and chassis are entirely unique to Seekins Precision. The only non-proprietary co*ponent is the trigger, which is a Remington 700-pattern adjustable trigger. The aluminum chassis features easy co*b and length-of-pull adjustments, and has a folding stock, AR-style vertical grip, and co*patibility with AICS magazines. The only thing it lacks is an ARCA rail, though one can be added to the fore-end.
The switch-barrel system is a big part of the rifle’s innovation. By loosening a set screw, the barrel can be removed and replaced, and only the bolt head needs to be swapped out to shoot a different caliber. Weight can be added to the rifle for stability in co*petition, but as-is, it makes an excellent long-range varmint rifle and is chambered in light-recoiling long-range cartridges like the 6 Creed and 6 GT. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
When it co*es to coercing bears out of the brush, the Ruger Guide Gun is hard to beat. It’s short, handy, and chambered in several heavy-hitting calibers.
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Product Description
Ruger’s Guide Gun—an adaptation of their long-successful M77 action—is one of the best bear rifles out there when it co*es to dealing with them at close range. As the name suggests, the idea behind the Guide Gun is as a bear-stopping rifle in tight quarters when it really hits the fan.
The Guide Gun is a simple rifle, essentially a short-barreled M77 that’s designed to be quick, handy, and powerful. The Mauser-style controlled feed action is ultra-dependable and only gets smoother with age and use. It features a fixed (not spring-powered) ejector for reliable ejection that only gets more powerful the harder you stroke the action. The action also features a non-rotating extractor, 3-position safety, and Ruger’s proprietary integral scope bases.
The green laminate wood stock is heavy but designed to withstand the weather and heavy recoil—it features a soft rubber butt pad and optional spacers to change the length-of-pull. The action and barrel are stainless-steel, and the barrel is fitted with a sling swivel stud barrel band and express-style iron sights. The muzzle is threaded, but each caliber is threaded in pitches that aren’t co*patible with typical suppressor adapters. The rifle co*es with a removable radial muzzle brake, matching-weight thread protector, and smaller thread protector.
I’ve long used the M77 platform for bear backup rifles, and the Guide Gun is the handiest one of them yet. It’s offered in .30/06, .338 Win. Mag., .375 Ruger, and .416 Ruger—all great options. I recently killed a grizzly co*ing towards me at 15 yards with mine chambered in .338 Win. Mag. —T.F.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The bottom line when it co*es to mountain rifles is weight, and the Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon excels while bringing the performance needed to instill confidence on the mountain.
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Product Description
The Mark V Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon is an update to Weatherby’s original Backcountry series, which focuses on lightening up the famous Mark V action and producing a truly ultralight mountain rifle. For the 2.0, a couple key upgrades are the option for a carbon-fiber barrel and a re-design of the 3D-printed recoil pad (the original would hold a smashed-down shape when the rifle was rested on the recoil pad).
The Backcountry 2.0 TI Carbon features the 6-lug Mark V action, which uses 2 rows of 3 lugs for a light, but strong action tailored to Weatherby’s rebated rim cartridges. The titanium action and carbon-fiber barrel help to achieve an impressively low weight of just over 5 pounds with the 24-inch-barreled 6.5 CM we tested. The short bolt throw makes cycling the gun a pleasure, and although titanium actions tend to be sticky, it’s a worthwhile co*promise in this case.
The full carbon-fiber stock adds rigidity at a minimal weight penalty and although we feel some of the fit and finish could be improved, it has a very co*fortable grip and grip angle. Light rifles can be difficult to shoot well, and the ergonomics of this rifle helped. It shot pretty well across a variety of loads in our 2022 gun test, and the average of our best ten 5-shot groups was .824 inches. We did notice that the groups started to open up as the gun warmed up—especially on the fifth shot—but for most mountain hunting situations, it’s that first one or two that really matter. —T.F.
Read Next: Weatherby Mark V Hunter Review
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
A do-everything rimfire that co*es in a left-handed configuration.
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Product Description
The Ruger 10/22 has co*e out in more variations than the IPAs at your local brewery. This iteration is from the Custom Shop and is one of the most refined 10/22s to date.
It takes the classic 10/22 action—the 350 Chevy short block of rimfires—and tricks it out with a series of upgrades to create a high-performance, grown-up .22 LR. And in a nod to all the wrong-handed folks out there, Ruger is offering it in a lefty version as well.
The trigger on my sample is outstanding, breaking at a crisp and consistent 2 pounds 14 ounces. co*bined with the hammer-forged barrel, it delivers exc