Coyote Gun?? Savage Axis or Ruger American Predator?

[evangorp]

So I thought I knew which direction I wanted to go, then I went to the gun store to look at their Axis guns! While there I told the gun behind the counter what I was looking for and what I was hoping to do with it, and he looked at me dumbfounded! He was knowledgeable as he was active duty infantry, which I thanked him for, by then he confused the crap out of me.

He started showing me Remington 700, Weatherby Vanguards, higher end Savages, and Tikka T3's. Now I feel more lost than I began, does he have a valid point to spend more, or are guys just naive to think that A $350 gun can compete with their $1000+ guns? Thoughts?

[Broke_Okie_Ty]

A $350 gun can compete with their $1000+ guns? Thoughts?

Do you have the money/want to drop a grand plus on a gun? Do you feel a $1000+ rifle is worth it? For me a $1000+ yote gun is insane.

[shooterfpga]

Savage axis, th xp, weatherby vanguard s2, tikka lite, ruger american/predator are all good choices. Of those the tikka and weatherby are going to be a little more costly depending on caliber and specials etc. Personally i would either buy the ruger or th xp.

The ruger is about 350-399 new. The new ruger american predator which i jusy bought because the weatherby wasnt available has a slighter thicker barrel profile. "Power bedding" which is just a bedding block and it has a threaded muzzle and rail. So for about $650-$700 including scope and rings and maybe even a box or two of ammo depending on what caliber you get youve already got a gun ready to rock and roll and can do the yote hunting perfectly while still being competitive with others who have done similar budget builds.

If you know youre going to go above 1k for the entire life of the rifle you might as well spend more and get one of the other actions you can build on later.

[psharon97]

If it were me, I would shoulder all of them, try out the trigger if you can, see which one you like. I'm not about to start bashing another brand. I like most all guns that go boom, so I don't have much bias. There are a couple of things to consider.

The Ruger rifles require you to use their rings on all of their rifles. The rings are decent, but you won't have the ability to change the location of your scope, not like you can on an AR-15
I have no personal experience on the Tikka, so I won't comment on them, same goes with they weatherby.
The Remington 700 is an awesome platform. Arguing between the Savage vs. Remington is like arguing between Chevy vs Ford. If you plan on leaving your gun the same, ie not changing your stock, trigger, barrel, either one will serve you fine.

The biggest advantage to me that Savage has over Remington, is that Savage typically offers more variety of land handed rifles. If that weren't an issue, then either one will server you fine. Honestly, you'll be best serveed spending the most money can on the glass. Buy once cry once. Find a rifle that fits your needs.

[shooterfpga]

Ruger rings? What? My ruger american predator has no rings. It comes with a 0 moa rail but rings must be purchased.

[shooterfpga]

I think youre talking about OLD rugers. I believe my buddies ruger is like that. It has one of those fixed dovetail style receivers. The ruger american and american predator are new rifles and use a picatinny base for mounting which can be moved around like any other rifle or like an "ar15"

As for glass. I used to feel the same way. I subscribed to the mentality that whatever the cost of the rifle is the minimum but more often double what you should pay for a scope. With a company like primary arms entering the market i no longer feel that way and would buy their scopes all day long over a nightforce, swfa, leupold, etc. You couldnt pay me to run any of those if you tried.

[evangorp]

I know ultimately it comes down to me purchasing what I feel best fits my needs. I have a tendency to over research many things, this purchase being one of them. I guess I just felt as if the gentlemen made me feel "stupid" for wanting to purchase a Savage Axis. Now I don't believe those we his intentions, but that's what I picked up from his body language. I have read and seen enough to believe that the Axis' can be a very accurate budget gun if you take the time to make it so. And maybe there are a lot of others that just don't know or want to believe what the potential of them can be, not any fault of their own, they just don't know. At the end of the day, I know that I don't want to spend more than $800 total on this rifle with scope and all included, so I just need to keep that in mind and find what fits my criteria best.

[Broke_Okie_Ty]

Keep in mind the guy behind the counter is a salesman. Of course he's gonna try and talk you out of $400 and into $1000. But, it sounds like you know what you should/want to do

[evangorp]

Keep in mind the guy behind the counter is a salesman. Of course he's gonna try and talk you out of $400 and into $1000. But, it sounds like you know what you should/want to do

You are correct, I guess I was just looking for some reassurance that I wasn't flushing money down the toilet. I'm sure down the road I will want a higher $$ gun, but then again maybe not, this gun and more like it could possibly do more than I would ever want/expect! After all if you look through the Axis pictures and showed them to someone who wasn't in the know, they would probably be shocked as to how little some of those builds cost. Some look and probably shoot just as nice as many custom builds out there!!

[Broke_Okie_Ty]

That's what I like about the savages, I never feel like I have been "had" when buying one.

[Daily Buzzer]

I wouldn't buy a new Marlin any more than a new Remington (see Remlin); I've got a Savage 11 Trophy Hunter in .223 on layaway, comes with a Nikon 3-9x40 BDC scope, $469, UNDER 400 after 75 rebate. Can't beat that for value. Savages are, gun for gun and dollar for dollar, the most accurate firearms out there. Period.

[shooterfpga]

I love savage but just didnt know how good those 11 th xp were so i ended up buying a ruger american predator in 6.5 creedmoor. In a few weeks ill be dropping it in a boyds stock.