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3 days ago · 4 Thompson/Center Venture II Bolt-Action Rifle – Most Durable Rifle Under $500 The all new Thompson/Center Venture II has been designed with tough environments in mind. One of the biggest selling points of this best bolt action rifle is the corrosion-resistant WeatherShield® coating, which makes it extremely easy to keep moisture and dirt free no matter the weather conditions.
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However, like the Ruger American Ranch, the Savage Axis II is another worthy addition to this list of hunting rifles under $500 that’s a good choice for lots of people (especially deer hunters) with a smaller budget. Overall Length: 42.5″. Barrel Length: 22″. Length of Pull: 13.75″.
Jun 28, 2024 · There are quality inexpensive rifles being made, but if you step up into the $500-$1,000 price range, almost every option will shoot accurately and have more consistent quality control. Overall, I think the best three rifles under $1,000 are the Tikka T3X Lite, the Bergara B-14 Ridge, and the Weatherby Vanguard.
- Why You Can Trust This Review
- Overall Best: Ruger American Gen 2
- My #2 Pick: CVA Cascade
- My #3 Pick: Mauser M18 Savanna
- Jim’s Quick Take on Every Rifle in This Test: The Summary
- Test #1: The Feeding Gauntlet
- Test #2: Trigger Quality
- Test #3: Price
- Test #4: Chambering Options
- Test #5: Weight
I spent hundreds of hours testing all 11 of these rifles hands-onI bought all of the rifles with my own money so I can give a truly unbiased opinionI shot two buckets full of ammunition to test the rifles for accuracy, feeding, and durabilityMy third grade teacher once told me I was “neat” and gave me a scratch-and-sniff stickerYears ago, the Ruger American was the uncontested winner of the sub-$700 price point. But over the years, other brands like CVA came to outmatch it. I hadn’t talked much about the Ruger American in the 2022 and 2023 year reviews because it had lagged behind. However, in 2024, Ruger showed up with a surprisingly great update to the original Ruger Am...
After hundreds of hours of testing, I can confidently say that the best rifle under $700 for hunting is the CVA Cascade. Frankly, I can’t imagine how they can produce a rifle with so many features for this price. The standout feature of the CVA Cascade is accuracy. I have tested a few CVA Cascades and found all of them to shoot reliably sub-moa. Wh...
Mauser is a German company generally considered to be a high-end rifle manufacturer from the same company as Blaser, which makes rifles costing many times more than their low-cost offering, the M18. The rifle features an action that feels smooth and feeds cartridges reliably from the magazine, but struggles to single-feed when a cartridge is just s...
CVA Cascade – A+: This rifle gets the Backfire award for the best rifle under $700. It’s accurate, has a great fit and finish, and has quality parts like a good trigger and threaded muzzle.Bergara B14 Hunter – B+: Made by the same company as the CVA, it’s an excellent gun, but doesn’t come with a threaded muzzle, which most shooters today want. It’s also a little heavier.Franchi Momentum – B: An excellent action, but my rifle hasn’t produced excellent accuracy which could be due to its chambering. Overall, looks like a good gun, but I would like to test one in a di...Howa 1500 Hogue – A-: Excellent accuracy, but the Hogue stock feels like a giant high bouncy ball. It doesn’t have a threaded muzzle, and is one of the heaviest rifles in this category.I’m surprised how many firearms reviews never even mention feeding. Feeding is the rifle’s ability to load a cartridge from the magazine to the chamber, and then to extract the brass after a shot. It’s incredibly frustrating to hunt with a rifle that doesn’t feed flawlessly. More than a few times, I’ve seen game animals lost simply because the hunt...
I was impressed by how well the triggers in these rifles performed. I expected to find more creep in the triggers and heavy trigger pulls. As much as I love the Ruger American, I have to admit that the trigger is not good. When I ran this same test 3 years ago, I considered it to be a decent trigger. By today’s standards, though, it is definitely a...
All of the rifles in this test are under $700, but some of them offer even lower prices. At the time of writing, here are the ballpark prices I’m seeing available for these rifles.
I know many shooters are tired of going to the gun store only to see racks of 6.5 Creedmoors and .308’s. Those are great cartridges, but many of the manufacturers have trimmed down their offerings so there aren’t many options. I want to make sure we’re giving credit to the few manufacturers who offer their rifles in many different cartridges. I’m d...
Most hunters prefer a lightweight rifles. For the backcountry hunter, a lightweight rifle is essential. However, there are accuracy advantages to having heavier rifles since they sit flatter on a rest, and generally have heavier contoured barrels that are resistant to heating up, and more full-featured stocks. I will note that the Weatherby Vanguar...
- My First Budget Hunting Rifle. Budget hunting rifles, affordable hunting rifles, or whatever you want to call them, have really come into their own in the past 20 years.
- Testing Budget Hunting Rifles. Despite their low price tags, I expected these rifles to be rugged, durable, dependable, and accurate. In testing these four rifles, I didn’t cut them any slack.
- Accuracy of Budget Hunting Rifles. There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding the accuracy of hunting rifles—especially budget hunting rifles.
- Stevens 334 Walnut. See It. Average Group Size: 1.233 inches. Average of Best 10 Groups: .782 inches. Stevens 334 Walnut Specs. Caliber: .308 Win. Capacity: 3+1, detachable double-stack magazine.
May 5, 2024 · 15" M-LOK MFR rail. Daniel Defense buttstock and pistol grip. Cold hammer-forged barrel. Mid-length gas system. Starting out the list is one of the editorial team’s favorite AR-15 rifles — the Daniel Defense DDM4V7. This is an extremely reliable and accurate AR-15 that is widely recommended for good reason.
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The Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic is an expensive rifle only when compared to the other rifles on this list—it’s still well within the affordable price range of $500. The Weatherby Vanguard series has around 20 variations with different calibers and features, but I went with the Synthetic because it’s a rifle that anyone can use with ease and satisfaction.
