The gun part is pretty easy. Ruger American is hard to beat bang for buck. It’s stupid precise for its price point. My Ruger American Predator shoots 99% as well as my $7,000 precision rig.
The optic is the tough part. There’s a sweet spot for glass that’s way better than the cheapo stuff, but does 90% of the pricey stuff. Look at product lines, not necessarily brands. Vortex, for instance, has 4 main product lines (Crossfire, Diamondback, Viper, and Razor), with the lowest-end being absolute dogs hit in any kind of low-light situation, and the top end being stupidly expensive for the limited benefit over the mid-tier stuff. In that brand, I’d recommend a Diamondback for a budget gun, though something like a Leupold VX-2 or 3 may get you better glass.
But my goto secret scope is to try and find a used Cabela’s Instinct riflescope. Lots of people look at store-branded stuff as garbage, but Cabelas (prior to the Bass Pro buyout) had some higher-end stuff. The Instinct Scopes were actually rebranded Meopta scopes, and you can sometimes find them online or at a flea market bin for under a hundred bucks, while the glass is the same Schott crystal you’ll find in $2000 scopes.
Another Cabela’s gem is the Intrepid. It’s a rebranded Vortex Viper comparable to about a $1200 scope you can sometimes find pretty cheap.
I’ve also really liked Combloc scopes since they tend to be really cheap compared to Western counterparts while having good optics. Like, I love the POSP optic on my rifle since it has a built-in optical rangefinder.
I have been looking for a bolt action rifle. Don’t want to spend a lot on it though.
The gun part is pretty easy. Ruger American is hard to beat bang for buck. It’s stupid precise for its price point. My Ruger American Predator shoots 99% as well as my $7,000 precision rig.
The optic is the tough part. There’s a sweet spot for glass that’s way better than the cheapo stuff, but does 90% of the pricey stuff. Look at product lines, not necessarily brands. Vortex, for instance, has 4 main product lines (Crossfire, Diamondback, Viper, and Razor), with the lowest-end being absolute dogs hit in any kind of low-light situation, and the top end being stupidly expensive for the limited benefit over the mid-tier stuff. In that brand, I’d recommend a Diamondback for a budget gun, though something like a Leupold VX-2 or 3 may get you better glass.
But my goto secret scope is to try and find a used Cabela’s Instinct riflescope. Lots of people look at store-branded stuff as garbage, but Cabelas (prior to the Bass Pro buyout) had some higher-end stuff. The Instinct Scopes were actually rebranded Meopta scopes, and you can sometimes find them online or at a flea market bin for under a hundred bucks, while the glass is the same Schott crystal you’ll find in $2000 scopes.
Another Cabela’s gem is the Intrepid. It’s a rebranded Vortex Viper comparable to about a $1200 scope you can sometimes find pretty cheap.
I’ve also really liked Combloc scopes since they tend to be really cheap compared to Western counterparts while having good optics. Like, I love the POSP optic on my rifle since it has a built-in optical rangefinder.