What bolt action rifle do you regret buying

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Bloody hell mate. Hell will freeze over before I take advice from anyone who touts the 35 Whelen.

@R eight.
There's a couple of good smiths around.
Rob is one.
Anthony George in the territory another.
Allan Swan in Brisbane.
All do high quality work and that ain't just my opinion.
Just ask @Badboymelvin and @K95, ken.
Nothing wrong with the Whelen. It's a bit like me.
Unloved, under appreciated but gets the job done without fuss or fanfare.
Bob

 

[oscar1975]

Well, in the end I put it up for sale, but I don't think many people will be interested.

 

[Sideshow]

@Sideshow
Caution thread derail
View attachment 715486
Sorry couldn't resist a reminder of home for you incase you have forgotten.
Bob

lol fair suck of the saff old mucker. AD = accidental discharge.

 

[Sideshow]

No one regrets buying a 7mm Backcountry yet? Looks like ammo is already out of stock.

Are there any dies to reload that stuff? Can you even reload it?

 

[FlyGuy]

Not one in this list, but I'm starting to regret my last purchase. I bought a Steel Action rifle few weeks ago and the rifle itself is great.
A very strong straight pull action, an excellent trigger and a great handling and balance as well. But the barrel sucks !
Mine is in .338 Winchester magnum and has a 56 cm barrel ( 22 inches) and a standart profil (17 mm) and one argument sellers use a lot is : barrels come from Lothar-Walter.
I dont think mine is a compliment for the brand ! I'm an avid reloader and it's impossible to have a sub Moa group so far. And I also noticed a terrible point of impact shifting regarding bullet weights and powder used. I'm going to buy a factory box of ammunition next days to confirm it, but I lost my faith with this rifle.
Being a Blaser man for 20 years now, I have never seen such results. I will call the gunsmith and let's see what we decide ! I can try to trade mine against one with a semi-weight and longer barrel, or the easiest way of doing is to get another Blaser R8 with a semi-weight barrel in the same caliber.

Every barrel maker can have a lemon or two.
Personally, I've only had outstanding barrels from Lothar-Walter.

Is the dog in your avatar a Hanover Hound?

 

[mritter]

I hate to say it, and I’m honestly not being a fan or anything….
I have rifles from several of the manufacturers listed. Of those, I have two Christensen Ridgelines in 6.5 CM. Both shoot factory Hornady Precision Hunter 143 ELD-X at sub 1/2 MOA and function well. Good enough that I don’t bother reloading for them.
Not an endorsement of or in defense of Christensen, just an observation and my experience.

 

[Kevin375]

Every barrel maker can have a lemon or two.
Personally, I've only had outstanding barrels from Lothar-Walter.

Is the dog in your avatar a Hanover Hound?

I agree with you.
I meant my barrel is definitely not representative of what we can expect from Lothar-Walter. But I heard in the past, it also happened to Blaser.
From time to time, there is unfortunately a black sheep in all productions and this time, I have found one myself.

Bavarian mountains hound

 

[Bandera]

Being left handed, most all of the right handed rifles I bought.
Exception being bench guns and varmint guns. Very easy to single load a right handed action.

 

[leslie hetrick]

a mauser m-96 straight pull in 300 win mag, i can not get it to feed two shells in a row from the magizine. its for sale cheap if your dumb enough to buy it.

 

[Muskox]

I don't actually know why I thought anyone would read the question fully.

1. Current production, this year 2025.

2. Available currently, meaning today in 2025. In your country.

3. Production rifle, not custom. Not your SMLE, that was built in 1939.

Jeeze Louise!

 

[Hififile324]

Browning T Bolt - Terrible trigger. Kept them a couple of years with rumor someone was going to release an after market trigger that never happened.

I had a 22LR and 17HMR intended to be prairie dog guns and such a HEAVY trigger was terrible for that application.

JARD makes an excellent aftermarket trigger. I have T-Bolt in .22mag, and the factory trigger is awful. Put in a JARD trigger, and it has become a sweet shooter!

 

[jruby]

Unless custom there is not . a current production bolt action rifle i would buy today.

 

[Bonk]

@Bonk
Until you see the bolt handle break off 2 new ruger American rifles which I have seen personally at the range just chambering factory rounds. Both broke just feed the round from the chamber
A NEW ruger No1 RSI in 7x57 with a bent barrel from the factory.
Makes me wonder about Ruger's quality control.
Bob

That’s where we can agree. I’m not a fan of Ruger American rifles at all. They’re barely adequate entry level rifles IMO. If all you do is hunt deer once a year they’ll get the job done. Anything more than that and I doubt they’ll hold up. OTOH, I’m a fan of Ruger M77/Hawkeye rifles. I’ve had a bunch and still own more than a couple.

Sorry to hear about the #1. Typically they’re excellent rifles but just like any mass produced item a bad one gets built every now and then.

 

[Doug3006]

I don't actually know why I thought anyone would read the question fully.

1. Current production, this year 2025.

2. Available currently, meaning today in 2025. In your country.

3. Production rifle, not custom. Not your SMLE, that was built in 1939.

Jeeze Louise!

Your question was precise and well worded. You’ve done all you could. Now the thread belongs to the community and if we want to chase squirrels…..

 

[NDWoods]

JARD makes an excellent aftermarket trigger. I have T-Bolt in .22mag, and the factory trigger is awful. Put in a JARD trigger, and it has become a sweet shooter!

Until you wrote JARD I could not remember who I waited for so long. It was in fact JARD.

Glad to know they finally did it! It is NEEDED.

 

[375Fox]

I don't actually know why I thought anyone would read the question fully.

1. Current production, this year 2025.

2. Available currently, meaning today in 2025. In your country.

3. Production rifle, not custom. Not your SMLE, that was built in 1939.

Jeeze Louise!

You asked a dumb question based on a half ass YouTube video. What kind of responses did you really expect? There are more than a few good answers though. Not sure why you are complaining?

 

[mark-hunter]

I wish they would make a 90, laminated grey, inox, irons. Maybe with a wider butt blade.

The problem with Sako 90 from an African perspective is that they do not produce it in DG calibers except in 375 H&H.
My Sako 85 works perfectly, in 30-06. I cannot say for a bigger family of calibers.

 

[Odinsraven]

Unless custom there is not . a current production bolt action rifle i would buy today.

Yes indeed most of my rifles were born before me and I am certainly vintage....

 

[Badboymelvin]

Not on the list but I picked up a sporterized Japanese Ariska in 257 Roberts.

And while I love the cartridge and caliber this rifle isn't even good for a boat anchor.

JimP,

I'm hearing you mate...
I had a Japanese Arisaka in .303/25 and it was without a doubt the biggest piece of garbage I ever bought - or laid my eyes on for that matter...
Just thinking of it hurts my soul...

Russ

 

[Badboymelvin]

@R eight.
There's a couple of good smiths around.
Rob is one.
Anthony George in the territory another.
Allan Swan in Brisbane.
All do high quality work and that ain't just my opinion.
Just ask @Badboymelvin and @K95, ken.
Nothing wrong with the Whelen. It's a bit like me.
Unloved, under appreciated but gets the job done without fuss or fanfare.
Bob

I can second Anthony George... phenomenal gunsmith