#10MinuteTalk - 2023 Budget Rifle Roundup – Sub $700 Rifles You Can Bank On

Gotta love these concise lil ten minute talks. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Pretty happy with the Howa 1500 .308win (Hogue Stock) I purchased this season. paid about $600.

A year ago, I did a bit of research into my first rifle and my budget was about $700. Total I wanted to spend with a scope setup was under 1K. For the features, price point, reviews and availability, I chose the CVA Cascade chambered in 6.5 CM ( I was also looking at the .308 but it was not available locally at the time). I got it on sale for $550 at Sportmans Warehouse and ended up putting a Diamondback Tactical 6x on it. After many months of range time and just having returned from a deer hunting trip with it, I can say that I am thoroughly happy with my choice. I don't think you can beat it for the price and I would recommend this rifle to anyone looking for a "budget" rifle.

Vortex nation is the most criminally underrated 2A podcast. These guys are great!

Best part about this program is every other sentence isn’t about “my last deployment”.

Budget rifle shoot out . Sounds like a great time. Please do an episode of that !

CVA cascade has a great trigger and barrel smooth action. Very accurate. Ruger American just shots, so does the Savage.

I had bought my son an Axis .243 and later the Axis II in .308. He had stopped using the .243 and I decided to deer hunt with it one year. It's the youth model and I've been using it since. It's extremely light and very accurate and handles great. I was always confident in Savage after I had gotten a great deal on a model 110A in 30 06 which to this day is still the most accurate rifle I've ever shot or owned. The 110A was my first bolt action rifle. I've now moved on to AR variants for hunting.

I don’t usually have a whole lot to say, but in this case I wanted to point out a few things. Not being critical of you guys, I think you do a great job and it’s tough when you have all that in front of you to cover, easy to miss little things. Here goes… First, RIP Marlin X7 (XS7 and XL7) rifles. Worst thing Remington did to Marlin when they bought them out, so as to not compete with their own Remington branded budget rifle, which was worse. Maybe under Ruger’s leadership we could see a resurrection of the X7 rifles. I think there’s room…slot it in right in between the American and Hawkeye price points…so make it slightly nicer/more expensive than an American but less expensive than a Hawkeye. Second, a Remington 783 does exist. New owner Rem Arms has started making 783’s again, both full-size and compact. So if you’re a fan you can once again own a 783. On the Franchi I think you guys nailed it. The only things I would add are that it is a European rifle so length of pull is quite long at around 14” with no way to change it. The bolt gets more smooth once you clean the factory preservation oil or whatever off of it. The sling attachment points are kind of annoying. I had a Momentum Elite and the only sling I could get to attach and work correctly was a Limbsaver, which was ok, but is not my preferred style of sling. Also, the Elite has a detachable magazine but retains the hinge floorplate release, which is a little awkward. My magazine would not seat properly in mine if you were gentle with it, so a firm tap to insert was necessary. A little polishing around the edges by Franchi could take a really good rifle and make it hard to beat. As far as the CVA Cascade, the only things you missed were that it comes with dual front sling studs…love that or hate it, as well as it has a very well done length of pull spacer. It’s an inch, so not as adjustable as the newer Savage 110’s, but it does adjust. They also have a slightly heavier barreled model now called the XT, which is fluted and comes with a brake. One notable thing from CVA…they’re supporting Illinois hunters and the silly single shot restriction that state places on hunters by offering a factory available single shot magazine for the 350 Legend and 450 Bushmaster Cascades. The Mossberg Patriot and Savage Axis seem to not follow convention, I think because both of them existed before the trend really started with the 3-lug bolts. Mossberg didn’t change that much from the 4x4/ATR to make the Patriot. One thing to note on the Axis is, Savage is still making the Axis with the old style stock, in tandem with the new, better feeling and more ergonomic stock. Also, a regular Axis does not have an Accutrigger, you have to get the Axis II for it to have the Accutrigger. So be careful and do you homework if you’re thinking of buying a Savage Axis. The Winchester XPR and Browning AB3 share a good bit, but there are some big differences. The AB3 trigger is basically a small, removable, plastic trigger. It’s hard to describe but look it up. The XPR uses a much more conventional trigger. My biggest takeaway from most of these budget rifles is weight. They’re all kind of heavy. My father has a Browning AB3 and I’ve owned literally every other one on the table, as well as the Weatherby and Howa’s that were mentioned…and they’re all sort of heavy. Maybe not the Ruger American Compact, but that huge bolt makes it feel kind of off balance in hand. These “beefy” bolts could really be improved. I think of a Browning XBolt and it’s 3-lug bolt, which isn’t a fat bolt and it’s a much better and more refined design. I realize they’re not $700, but why can’t they reduce the material/size of these bolt bodies? I also think of Tikka and even though theirs is a 2-lug bolt, it has a 70° lift and is very trim. I realize Tikka is just over the $700 cutoff but I think you end up with a lot more for your money if you just spend a little more. Now if you’re shopping Savage Axis (most basic, non-Accutrigger model) versus Tikka T3x, there’s a larger divide in cost. But if you’re at about the $700 mark for a rifle, throw $50 more at it and get the Tikka.

I own a ruger American go wild wth bronze cerakote in 7mm08 . $567 when i purchased it. It is a tac driver and the action is smooth. I bought it instead of the brown8 g x bolt in bronze cerakote for $1300 at the time. Glad i did.

The Howa and the vanguards are the cream of the crop.

I recently got a stainless CVA Scout single shot in 45-70. It's light, well balanced, and the trigger is top notch. No take up, no creep, no overtravel. Breaks like glass a little over 4lb. As good as a hunting triggers ever needs to be.

I personally have a Mossberg Patriot bought it for $300 back in 2019 and put a $400 vortex diamondback tactical 4x16x44 ffp moa

The Bergara B14 Hunter is another great option at the top end of this category.

I have a Browning AB3 in 7mm-08 with a Vortex Iron Peak 4-12×44. I'm getting 1/4 " groups at 100 yrds with my reloads. Shoots as good as my X Bolt in 6.8 Western.

I had a TC venture .270 my dad got for $330 with 5R rifling, that thing was a tack driver with any ammo.

I’ve been hearing good things around my gun club from the owners about new Remingtons quality, both the 870s and the 700s. Hopefully Remington comes back full force, there a lot of American history in that company

That CVA is a great buy as is the Vanguard for that price range! You might be able to get a T3X base model for close to that. Those 3 are great guns I have owned many of each being a 60+ year collector!

Still love my pre Remlin Marlin XS7's even put laminate wood stocks on them, very under rated guns in my opinion and I believe they were $350 back in the day!

Spend $50 more and get a tikka. You won’t be disappointed.