Query

[mark-hunter]

I understand.
So rifles made in USA is the question.

Most famous ones are already mentioned.

 

[fourfive8]

About where "USA" rifles are made or assembled or where certain parts are made is like going on the Maury Povich or Jerry Springer show and asking, "Who's your daddy?".

sooo referring mainly to bolt action rifles here...

Since the original owner and founder of Dakota passed way a few years ago, hard to say current status of Dakota month to month or year to year? IIRC, the investment group that owns/owned Remington also owns/owned Dakota. As far as I know Dakota is still viable and making quality rifles. Muddy is the water though as Remington is in another bankruptcy-- yikes not good. So Remington's future is unclear. But easy enough to contact Dakota directly in Sturgis, SD.

IIRC Weatherby Mark Vs are made in Minnesota and Vanguards are made in Japan by Howa??

Then there is the Winchester 70- with Winchester owned by same group/company as FN and currently with the various parts or assembly points- Who knows? I will say the Winchester Miroku Japan made models (not the 70) are pretty darn good! and have been since the Miroku plant started up.

Then there are Savage and Mossberg

And T/C, maybe in one of the seemingly endless varieties?

And Ruger of course. But not all Ruger bolt high powers were created equal. At one time in the 70s their flagship, the model M77, had serous chamber/barrel issues. No first hand knowledge of more recent Ruger bolts since that experience forever broke me of any potentially amorous feelings toward Ruger that I never really had anyway

A lightly used Kilimanjaro maybe?

And then there is Kimber in some form?

As well as Christiansen Arms

And Cooper

And Nosler

And idle or defunct Montana?

Right now if I were interested in a sure enough USA made (affordable) bolt hunting rifle I would look for a lightly used or NOS, late manufacture, New Haven Winchester M 70. (matter of fact the last two rifles I've bought this past year have been lightly used late New Haven M 70s and couldn't be happier with both!)

Failing that in a finished rifle.... for a USA made action, I would not hesitate to use a good donor Winchester Model 70 CRF (pre or post), high serial US Springfield 03 or any 03-A3, US Model 1917 (or Rem 30) to use as the foundation on which to build a semi-custom hunting rifle. Then find a gunsmith who likes to work on these type rifles. Then order, to your twist/contour specs, a good barrel like Krieger, Bartlein, PacNor, Lilja, etc.

my $.02 on the subject-- and worth every penny

 

[JLF]

I understand.
So rifles made in USA is the question.

Most famous ones are already mentioned.

Yes..I appreciate your help.

 

[JLF]

About where "USA" rifles are made or assembled or where certain parts are made is like going on the Maury Povich or Jerry Springer show and asking, "Who's your daddy?".

sooo referring mainly to bolt action rifles here...

Since the original owner and founder of Dakota passed way a few years ago, hard to say current status of Dakota month to month or year to year? IIRC, the investment group that owns/owned Remington also owns/owned Dakota. As far as I know Dakota is still viable and making quality rifles. Muddy is the water though as Remington is in another bankruptcy-- yikes not good. So Remington's future is unclear. But easy enough to contact Dakota directly in Sturgis, SD.

IIRC Weatherby Mark Vs are made in Minnesota and Vanguards are made in Japan by Howa??

Then there is the Winchester 70- with Winchester owned by same group/company as FN and currently with the various parts or assembly points- Who knows? I will say the Winchester Miroku Japan made models (not the 70) are pretty darn good! and have been since the Miroku plant started up.

Then there are Savage and Mossberg

And T/C, maybe in one of the seemingly endless varieties?

And Ruger of course. But not all Ruger bolt high powers were created equal. At one time in the 70s their flagship, the model M77, had serous chamber/barrel issues. No first hand knowledge of more recent Ruger bolts since that experience forever broke me of any potentially amorous feelings toward Ruger that I never really had anyway

A lightly used Kilimanjaro maybe?

And then there is Kimber in some form?

As well as Christiansen Arms

And Cooper

And Nosler

And idle or defunct Montana?

Right now if I were interested in a sure enough USA made (affordable) bolt hunting rifle I would look for a lightly used or NOS, late manufacture, New Haven Winchester M 70. (matter of fact the last two rifles I've bought this past year have been lightly used late New Haven M 70s and couldn't be happier with both!)

Failing that in a finished rifle.... for a USA made action, I would not hesitate to use a good donor Winchester Model 70 CRF (pre or post), high serial US Springfield 03 or any 03-A3, US Model 1917 (or Rem 30) to use as the foundation on which to build a semi-custom hunting rifle. Then find a gunsmith who likes to work on these type rifles. Then order, to your twist/contour specs, a good barrel like Krieger, Bartlein, PacNor, Lilja, etc.

my $.02 on the subject-- and worth every penny

Thank you very much.

 

[JLF]

Does Remington make good guns?

 

[fourfive8]

Does Remington make good guns?

Yes and maybe. Sounds confusing but my opinion only. I have had several Remingotn 700s. They all shot very well. They can be the basis for a very accurate semi-custom rifle. Most gunsmiths like to work on them because their action is a cylinder and is easy to true-up and easy to "chuck up" on a lathe. However, for dangerous game, many grade them as questionable because of the somewhat under engineered extractor. That extractor is known to fail to extract fired cases that have been over pressured or are "sticky" for whatever reason. Also for a period of time there (haven't heard of it lately) the bolt handle could pop off the bolt were it was sweated on. I never had it happen to any I owned but it did on rare occasions to others and seemed to happen to guns subjected to extremely cold temperatures... as in -50 F type temps! So bottom line- a regular Remington M700 from several years ago seemed to do fairly well with the exception of the under sized extractor.

Additionally, the box trigger on the Rem 700 was easily adjustable but almost too easily adjustable (or mess with) so that was an issue. Also the box trigger was known to accumulated oily varnish and debris after extended periods of no maintenance and obviously that could cause problems.

Bottom line- IMO- I think they are good for certain tasks like targets and non-dangerous game but one has to take into account the potential weaknesses and the maintenance requirements. But not to be downplayed or forgotten is the fact that a version of the 700 made a name for the snipers who very successfully used them in combat- not a bad endorsement!

 

[Professor Mawla]

@JLF
I personally find the real beauty of American sporting arms craftsmanship to lie with the dozens of small scale custom American rifle makers who are scattered all across the country . Excellent quality for reasonable prices . My own .458 Winchester Magnum was built in Millvale , Pennsylvania by Flaig’s . It is built on a Winchester Enfield 1917 action with a 25 inch Douglas Premium barrel and a contoured French walnut stock .

44 years of service and still going strong .

 

[WebleyGreene455]

I think a great deal of American-based gun manufacturing is for actions only, so people can build/have built custom rifles to their own specs and interests whether it's for target shooting or hunting or competition or what-have-you.

For example, Defiance Tactical's Remington 700-based actions seem to be quite popular; they're available from the manufacturer only as an action but there are multiple gunmakers who use them as the basis for their firearms.

American Rifle Company's Mausingfield action, a hybrid of the Mauser 98 and Springfield M1903 with some modern improvements, is another popular one, and one of the few CRF ones I'm aware of.

 

[Firebird]

Weatherby plant in Wyoming is a good place to take a tour -(after Covid ends I suppose.). There are many gun stores in the USA, some small local owned and others large such as cabelas/bass pro (I suggest the one in Las Vegas) or Sportsman’s warehouse or my favorite Scheels. Even local Walmart carries an affordable variety of guns. Almost every state has local and large corp gun stores. I think Old Remington Rifles are wonderful, the newer ones are built cheaper and seem to lack quality control. Still a good everyday entry level hunters rifle in my opinion

 

[Graham Hunter]

The Dakota Model 76 comes to mind .
The Winchester Model 70 used to be manufactured in New Haven . However , ( unless I am very mistaken ) Fabrique Nationale makes them now in Portugal .

Browning are made in Miroku Japan. The Winchesters are made in
Portugal.

 

[JLF]

@JLF
I personally find the real beauty of American sporting arms craftsmanship to lie with the dozens of small scale custom American rifle makers who are scattered all across the country . Excellent quality for reasonable prices . My own .458 Winchester Magnum was built in Millvale , Pennsylvania by Flaig’s . It is built on a Winchester Enfield 1917 action with a 25 inch Douglas Premium barrel and a contoured French walnut stock .
View attachment 365665View attachment 365664
44 years of service and still going strong .

A beautiful rifle, I congratulate you.
Is the Winchester Enfield action the same as the Lee Enfield rifle action?

 

[JLF]

Weatherby plant in Wyoming is a good place to take a tour -(after Covid ends I suppose.). There are many gun stores in the USA, some small local owned and others large such as cabelas/bass pro (I suggest the one in Las Vegas) or Sportsman’s warehouse or my favorite Scheels. Even local Walmart carries an affordable variety of guns. Almost every state has local and large corp gun stores. I think Old Remington Rifles are wonderful, the newer ones are built cheaper and seem to lack quality control. Still a good everyday entry level hunters rifle in my opinion

The Weatherby Mark V is an excellent rifle.
With regard to the Remington rifles, I consider that their quality fell a lot.

 

[Professor Mawla]

A beautiful rifle, I congratulate you.
Is the Winchester Enfield action the same as the Lee Enfield rifle action?

@JLF
Thank you . The action is an Enfield 1917 action . A wholly different design from the Lee Enfield action . There are three Enfield rifles which were adapted as service rifles by either the British military or American Expeditionary Forces :

* Lee Enfield - Calibre is .303 British and it uses a detachable ten round magazine . It was used by commonwealth forces .
* Pattern 14 Enfield - Calibre is also .303 British but it uses a five round integral magazine and a military release floor plate . It was used by commonwealth forces .
* Enfield 1917 - Calibre is .30-06 Springfield and it uses a six round integral magazine and a military release floor plate . It was used by the American expeditionary forces .

Manufacture of the Pattern 14 Enfield and Enfield 1917 ceased after the end of the first world war . However , Remington later kept manufacturing the Model 30 Express sporting rifle until 1940 , which was built on newly manufactured Enfield 1917 actions . However , these featured a cock-on-opening bolt , as opposed to the original Enfield 1917 actions ( which feature a cock-on-closing bolt ) . Since my .458 Winchester Magnum’s Enfield 1917 action was built by Winchester prior to 1919 , it uses the original cock-on-closing bolt . And I much prefer it that way .

Many hunters chose to have the floor plates of their Enfield 1917 action rifles hinged by a gunsmith , for sporting purposes . But I willingly retained the original military floor plate release in the .458 Winchester Magnum . It completely negates the possibility of the floor plate popping open due to recoil .

 

[JLF]

@Professor Mawla Very grateful for your reply

 

[colorado]

Speaking of Dakota, now that Remington is going bankrupt what happens to Dakota?

 

[fourfive8]

Good question about Dakota. Seems every USA gunmaker has been in flux the last several years. I guess if that division is making money for the owners it will continue, if not?...

I knew that Weatherby was moving HQ to Sheridan- good move! Both Montana and Wyoming have been very gun friendly so little wonder. The manufacturing facilities/equipment move was supposed to be complete by late 2019 but never heard if in fact that was accomplished in entirety. The covidcluster has most every business lurching around hoping for stability and trying to stay afloat.

 

[Certus]

And what’s this about MRC!? I NEED a PH action for a project

 

[JLF]

Speaking of Dakota, now that Remington is going bankrupt what happens to Dakota?

What does Dakota have to do with Remington?

 

[K E Johnson]

Remington owns Dakota. I had my Dakota based rifle nitrite coated and the nitrite company lost the firing pin. The gunsmith told Dakota that he could see that they had adopted Remington’s customer service after getting the run around on a replacement.

 

[AES]

What does Dakota have to do with Remington?

They are the buyer after which you don’t want a Dakota lol