Get what you pay for????

[Doodle30]

Hey All

My Dad had hunted for basically his whole life but in the last few years he has gotton away from it. (In Nova Scotia)

Now that I started hunting here in Alberta we have discussed the idea of Father/Son hunts and Dad's desire to hunt has returned. Got his NS whitetail tag for this year.

Any way into my question. In all those years my Dad used a borrowed gun so I was thinking of buying him a gun for Xmas. Problem is I can't really afford the $1000 it would take to get him the higher quality guns.

I see a Savage Arms at WS Sports for $399. Does this price indicate a low-end weapon? To me it would seem that while some gun makers are obviously better than others all would make a capable product.

Any suggestions for good value without creeping up the price scale to far.

Not trying to cheap-out on a gun for my Dad I am trying to get the best gun I can for the limited amount of cash that I have.

Look forward to the responses.

[Jason Balesdent]

Poke around some of the forums about the Stevens and Savage guns here. Folks are getting accuracy WAY beyond what the price would indicate. Just one suggestion, if it comes with a scope, drop a couple hundred more, buy a good one and chuck out what came with the rifle. But otherwise it seems you get a lot more than what you pay for with those rifles

[Alberta Bigbore]

Stevens 200 are proven shooters.

[John Spartan]

Stevens are a good rifle. Savage, Tikka also make good rifles as well. The other thing to consider is checking out the Buy and Sell section on this forum as well as going to the Equipment Exchange on Canadian GunNutz. Don't skimp on the optics.

[NoKlu]

My Stevens .243 shoots .46" groups but they do need a little work. The stocks flex and they need to be stiffened and bedded. There is all kinds of info on how to do this on the net. I got lucky and found a new wood stock for $45.at the Calgary gun show. I would not hesitate to buy another Stevens as it is the best shooter in my safe.

[Doodle30]

Thanks Guys

Would you guys expect every Steven's 243 to require some type of upgrade Noklu decribes or would you consider that a rare circumstance.

Prefer not to give a gift that requires work before it is in good working form?

[LacLaBicheNS]

Where in NS are you guys from? I'm from antigonish

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by Doodle30

Thanks Guys

Would you guys expect every Steven's 243 to require some type of upgrade Noklu decribes or would you consider that a rare circumstance.

Prefer not to give a gift that requires work before it is in good working form?

My son is 9 yrs old and shoots sub MOA with an "out of the box" Stevens 200 in .243..............

I doubt you can go wrong with a Stevens. You should be able to put together a Stevens 200 with rings and bases and a new Leupold 3x9 for close to $600 bucks. Your dad would be well served with a rifle like that.