I had a Remington 700 30-06 and liked it. Shot well enough that I hit a coyote from 250 yards. Then I purchased a Tikka T3 30-06 last year and put a Redfield scope on it. I'll just tell you that IMHO, it shoots incredible better than my Remington did. I love the Tikka so much I sold my Remington, going to buy another Tikka T3 in a smaller caliber and use my girlfriends Tikka 30-06...lol.

Buy a 700 ADL from Academy for $379...buy a quality base and set of rings (Leupold or Burris or...) then buy a good quality scope...contact Skylar @ SWFA (he is a forum member)...tell him your intents (what you are going to hunt & where)...stick with a 243 or 270 or 308 or 30-06...ammo is plentiful and normally fairly priced.
I have hunted with a 700 BDL 30-06 with Burris base and rings and a fixed 4X scope for many many years...it has never failed me...
Good luck and have fun plus practice...

rick

Another vote for Savage here! Stay away from 308 because when the ammo panics hit thats one of the first calibers to go. 270 is pretty much always available though.

Savage...great rifle out of the box and I love the accutrigger

+1 on the winchester, but that was not the original question. That winchester to me is sweet sweet sweet sweet - best gun i ever shot.

between 700 and 111, go savage - i LOVE mine.

We would have fun at the campfire..... Fords, and Savage's all the way...


honestly, I split time equally between a savage 10 and a Remington 750.... except been cheating on them both with a Sig 716 this year...

You get what you pay for.

Savage or Tikka. Remington is not what it used to be.

I have only ever had one hunting rifle. A savage axis in .308

Never bothered to buy another gun cause this cheapo rifle shoots tight enough out to 250 and I will never take a shot on a big game animal further than that.

Ive never had a pig go more than 40 yards, even with a gut shot.

and for people telling you to stay away from 308 because of panic, well that is why you stockpile.

my .02 ...Remington

I went through this exact same dilemma. I ended up buying an FN Special Police Rifle in .308 with a Shepherd V2 Scope. Total cost; $1599 + tax. At 785 yards it is on the money shooting 168 gr HPBT match. I still might go back for the Savage.

IF IT WERE 700 WOULD SAY REM 783? PROBALLY SAVAGE MY VOTE

Normally combo = POS scope. The Savage with the Nikon is a good enough scope to get started with, way above the remington package scopes. My vote goes to Savage, but what I've read on the 783 sounds all real good. Let us know what you choose and how it shoots.

Rem 700 love em.

I just bought the Savage TH combo in 30-06. It's my first rifle.

It's a good bang for the buck, accu-trigger is nice, I like the tang safety and box magazine too. Pop off the mag, shuck one round, and you're set. The nikon is good enough for starters and the rifle fits me really well. Thats one thing, go to the store and try each one on for fit.

I am a newbie here too, great forum! Welcome.