What are your not-negotiables for a rifle?

[USN]

Blue, walnut primary but do own a few stainless walnut. Only one plastic in the safe, Sig ar10 716 that I use on pigs and must say that is a delightfully fun.

 

[Badboymelvin]

On a serious hunting rifle, the safety must lock the bolt shut when on safe. That is my one non negotiable. I have a list of preferences, but am somewhat open minded on other items.

This is my only criticism of my new to me Marlin XS7 in .308. The safety doesn't lock the bolt...

Russ

 

[bakerb]

Rifles:
1. A Bolt action should be pretty. Functional and accurate too. I REALLY want a double square bridge Mauser in 404. But I’d also love a synthetic mountain rifle in some 338 too

2. A semi auto should be badass. I do like the AR platform. But would rather shoot game animals with something else. ARs are made for predators and varmints.

Shotguns: pretty. Wood. Shoots where I’m looking. I’m partial to Benelli autos. They just fit me

Side by sides are prettier than over unders. I’d love a quality SxS rifle and shotgun.

 

[62flint]

Its got to work smoothly ,action trigger etc.
MOA accuracy or better.
Not painful to shoot. recoil is one thing painful is something different. Most painful rifle I ever shot was a 30-06 of a buddy. Hard plastic butt plate. Every time it went off felt like a karate chop in the shoulder.
The stock depends on the intended purpose. I really like wood and blued steel. But I know the functionality of a synthetic stock and stainless.

 

[krish]

Flawless,reliable,maintainable, availabiltiy of compomnents. All the rest is secondary.
Krish

 

[CBH Australia]

This is my only criticism of my new to me Marlin XS7 in .308. The safety doesn't lock the bolt...

Russ

You turn them over pretty quickly, won’t be a problem for long but keep a .308 in the inventory it’s versatile and ammo is always available.

Either way you are committed to keeping a .308 for Harry now because we will remind you.

 

[mark-hunter]

Like the title says, what are your not-negotiables when purchasing a new rifle?

Each rifle will have purpose. Hunting. sport, various discipline, etc... So, non negotiables will depend on purpose. Accuracy is prime characteristic for match rifle, but reliability for hunting rifle.

General purpose hunting rifle, for my taste:

1. iron sights
2. double stack magazine, preferably 5 round capacity, flush with stock
3. Plastic to be avoided on various parts, although with modern designs this becomes very hard to find a gun without plastic parts
4. Classic stock, preferably wood
5. Good crisp trigger, but any type accepted (set triggers, single stage, double stage... maybe I prefer a single stage trigger, but it is not mandatory for me)
6. Must be vanilla caliber, for ammunition to be easily available
7. Barrel length 22-24 inch.
8. QD mounting system for scope.
9. O, yes, must be bolt action, but I will not be picky between push feed or CRF. Turn bolt system. Straight pull not for me.
10. No silencers, no muzzle break, no magna ports.
11. Fine checkering on stock
12. Pistol grip.
13. Acceptable accuracy, 1-1.5 MOA. (I dont expect and dont need match accuracy in hunting rifle)

PS: I fully understand that I am boringly conservative in choice of hunting rifle, but thats how it is! And choosing a hunting rifle, in modern tactical and tupperware frenzy time in modern gun shops, is nightmare for me.

 

[Certus]

For bolt action rifles specifically, my one and only non negotiable for anything going forward is the rifle having a 3-position safety on the bolt. I have tried most if not all of the various designs and have determined that this is the correct configuration for a safety on a bolt action rifle. You may call it personal preference but I think there are valid mechanical principles that support my opinion on this.
I otherwise prefer controlled round feed, but will not turn down a good deal on an accurate push feed M70. I simply accept the limitations of that design.
I also prefer an open trigger design, for reason of durability and reliability. I do not care for the “box” type trigger units so common these days. This is, for me, the only significant drawback to the current production Winchester M70. I had an extreme weather model with the MOA trigger, thought it was okay but didn’t fully trust it in the field, and traded it away after a few years. I think these adjustable box type triggers are a fine choice for shooting from a bench, but we’re talking about a hunting rifle.
I will say that I really like the concept of the hinged floor plate with detachable box magazine. The Browning A-Bolt had this one feature that I thought was great. Marlin borrowed the concept for their MR-7 rifle in the late 90s, and along with the M70 style trigger and safety, M700 type bolt face, conservative styling and value, it was a great design that unfortunately wasn’t kept in production.

Funnily enough I dislike the Winchester 3 position safety. I do love the M1917/P14 safety though.

 

[FlyGuy]

1. Preferably CRF.
2. Nice, close grain wood, or high quality synthetic. HS Precision etc.
3. Crisp adjustable trigger.
4. 14.25” LOP.
5. Standard cartridge
6. Standard barrel length.
7. Threaded and capped barrel.
8. Blind magazine or detachable floor plate with release outside of the trigger guard.
9. Cerakote or high quality blueing.
10. Mid-weight and accurate.

 

[RedTag]

Funnily enough I dislike the Winchester 3 position safety. I do love the M1917/P14 safety though.

I have three primary reasons why the 3-position safety on the bolt shroud is my one non negotiable on a bolt action rifle: (1) locks the bolt closed when on safe, (2) controls the firing pin independently of the trigger/sear, (3) allows easy disassembly of the bolt in the field without special tricks or tools.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi.

Like the title says, what are your not-negotiables when purchasing a new rifle?
Now this is obviously going to be a very personal thing and we are all going to have very different ideas on this.
My perfect rifle may be your worst nightmare!
But it's still interesting to hear other people's opinions a- and you never know, my mind might be changed.

Here a are a few of my not-negotiables...

1. NO detachable magazines. I won't buy a rifle with a detachable magazine. I especially don't trust budget rifles with plastic magazines that can wear, get lost or are unreliable.
Floorplates - or better yet, blind magazines for me.
I'll tell you a story... l hunted with a mate who had a Mossberg .308 with 10 shot magazine and we had to walk a fair way to get to our spot. Once we got there my mate somehow realised that he had somehow released his magazine on the walk and now he had a very awkward to load single-shot.
As a side note on the walk back he somehow found it again (!!!) but he never used that rifle hunting again.

2. NO wooden stocks. Once again a very personal choice and l have to add that l love the look of a nice wooden stock as much as the next person, but l absolutely hate scratching stocks, so fancy wood stocks are a no for me these days...
And unlike most people l actually don't mind the looks of a synthetic stock. I think practical has a certain beauty to it.
Having said that l believe that shotguns and quality air rifles SHOULD have a wood stock.
A nice shotgun with a synthetic stock just doesn't look right to me... so what l should've said is all my centrefire hunting rifles have synthetic stocks.

3. NO muzzle brakes. l have owned several big-bore rifles and l have personally never felt the need for a muzzle brake.
YMMV.
Sure, shooting a .458 off the bench is hard work but take your time, fold up a towel and put it between your shoulder and the rifle and hang on!
Once sighted in the hard work is done and l've never felt recoil in the field - even when l've been kissed by the scope.
Not judging other people for using a muzzle brake, they may have an injury etc... but personally for me, l don't want/need one.

4. Heavy rifles. Just sold my last heavy rifle and won't buy another. My hunting style consists of walking, and walking, and walking... yep, light rifles for me.

5. Classic styling. I prefer my rifles to have plain classic lines.

6. NO attachments. Personally - and for the type of hunting l do, l don't need flashlights, bipods or anything like that on my rifle. It just adds weight and l simply would never use them for my style of hunting.

So that's my personal not negotiables for when l buy a rifle.
l'm sure other people's are different and that's totally fine by me.

So what are your personal not-negotiable's when buying a new rifle?

Russ

@Badboymelvin
Russ
My non negotiables are
Must be accurate
Must be adequate for the game I hunt
Must be in a calibre I like eg 22 Hornet or 222 REM,25, 35,7mm( non magnum).
Big calibres are nice but don't really have a use for them.
NO 243 WILL EVER GRACE MY GUN Room OR HUNTING, I WOULD RATHER SHOOT MYSELF THAN OWN ONE.
I don't mind detachable mags or synthetic sticks but really love nice wood and blues steel or bead blasted stainless.
No high class rifles like Rigby because even tho I like them will never afford one.

Definitely NO BARBIE RIFLES. My GI Joe ex- militarys wouldn't play nicely with them. The would probably get but stoked to the mag well or scope
Bob

 

[Badboymelvin]

You turn them over pretty quickly, won’t be a problem for long but keep a .308 in the inventory it’s versatile and ammo is always available.

Either way you are committed to keeping a .308 for Harry now because we will remind you.

You're right mate, in the past l have... but l'm sick of buying and selling guns l just want to use the ones l've got.
l reckon this .308 will be a keeper though... it's light, handy and looks good to my eye - and the .308 is perfect for the deer hunting l do.
And like you said it'll be prefect for Harry
Even worked out a load for him, the 125gn Sierra ProHunter in front of a min charge of 2206H for around 2700fps. Nice little low-recoiling deer load.

Between the 425 Express, the .243 and the .308 l reckon l'm covered mate.

Russ

 

[Certus]

You're right mate, in the past l have... but l'm sick of buying and selling guns l just want to use the ones l've got.
l reckon this .308 will be a keeper though... it's light, handy and looks good to my eye - and the .308 is perfect for the deer hunting l do.
And like you said it'll be prefect for Harry
Even worked out a load for him, the 125gn Sierra ProHunter in front of a min charge of 2206H for around 2700fps. Nice little low-recoiling deer load.

Between the 425 Express, the .243 and the .308 l reckon l'm covered mate.

Russ

Never let anyone make you doubt the .243.
100gr for deer, 55’s for exploding varmints. Good 3 choices.

 

[Brandon.Gleason]

I've different requirements for different hunts, and therefor different rifles. I tend to lean towards synthetic stocks and some variety of ceramic coating or stainless for ease of maintenance in the field. However, I've a few walnut and blued rifles for their aesthetics. I'm just choosier where I use those.

For dangerous game, CRF and a 3-position, Win 70 style safety are requirements, for familiarity's sake. For most other big game hunting, an accurate rifle with a good scope is really my only requirement.

 

[thriller]

It must fit…. Everything else is negotiable

 

[Papa72]

This is my only criticism of my new to me Marlin XS7 in .308. The safety doesn't lock the bolt...

Russ

Well, now got me thinking…again. My Mark X .416 doesn’t either. I installed a PTG 3 pos on my M98 .458WM so guess the CC gonna breathe again.

 

[62flint]

@Badboymelvin
Russ
My non negotiables are
Must be accurate
Must be adequate for the game I hunt
Must be in a calibre I like eg 22 Hornet or 222 REM,25, 35,7mm( non magnum).
Big calibres are nice but don't really have a use for them.
NO 243 WILL EVER GRACE MY GUN Room OR HUNTING, I WOULD RATHER SHOOT MYSELF THAN OWN ONE.
I don't mind detachable mags or synthetic sticks but really love nice wood and blues steel or bead blasted stainless.
No high class rifles like Rigby because even tho I like them will never afford one.

Definitely NO BARBIE RIFLES. My GI Joe ex- militarys wouldn't play nicely with them. The would probably get but stoked to the mag well or scope
Bob

Barbie rifle?
And why the hate on a 243? Its a fine flat shooting round I hear.

 

[WI-2021]

Many things depend on the intended use for the rifle. Universally, It has to work smoothly and flawlessly. It needs to be more than accurate enough for the intended purpose. Injection molded plastic stocks are no bueno, but fiberglass and carbon fiber are fine, and often preferred. It needs to fit reasonably well, and it needs to be left-handed or ambidextrous.

For the most part, I want the muzzle threaded for a suppressor. I could see a suppressor being in the way in certain circumstances such as DG, but so far for hunting in the US, I haven't run into a situation where I felt the need to remove mine. That said, I have run into the situation where I felt the need to buy a lighter suppressor and rifle. I strongly prefer them in hunting situations in which I have found myself and have built my rifles based on this. Like everything, they're a compromise. I do wonder if those who don't generally like them only have experience with heavier designs. My Sandman S and mount add nearly 1.5 lbs to the muzzle. It's bombproof, but it's fairly loud and instantly turns almost any rifle into a muzzle-heavy pig. This can on a Ruger Scout is the combo that finally got me to build my first rifle. The 16.5" Defiance that I had built to replace it balances very well with a titanium suppressor.

So far, for a hunting rifle I haven't felt the need to stray from a hinged floorplate. I can see uses for detachable magazines, but many of them are noisy and it's another thing to lose. A reliable, quiet, secure detachable magazine that's two position feed so it can be topped off in the rifle might be the best answer. The Browning A-Bolt had this design and I liked it on the one I had. That said, the magazine generally stayed in the rifle and got loaded from the top. I can't stand blind magazines or fixed floorplates. Every once in a while I've managed to bind rounds up in a magazine. Opening the floorplate is the easy fix. I also generally unload by opening the floorplate and dropping the rounds into my hand.

The weight needs to be right, but what this means varies based on chambering and use. Fully equipped weight is also much more important than the weight of the bare rifle. For my .308, I targeted 8 lbs including scope, suppressor, and sling. On the .300 WM, I went for 9 lbs. I'm targeting 10 lbs for the .375 build I'm working on. These are all intended to be hunting rifles; for a target gun, more weight is an obvious advantage.

Most of my rifles are push feed Remclones which works for me, but I'm not a DG hunter. I do generally believe that anything .40 caliber and up should be CRF, but I don't have anything bigger than. 375's for now. All the Remclones do have upgraded extractors which partially addresses this concern.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Barbie rifle?
And why the hate on a 243? Its a fine flat shooting round I hear.

Oh no! Bob, you better check your supply of blood pressure meds.

 

[roklok]

Well, now got me thinking…again. My Mark X .416 doesn’t either. I installed a PTG 3 pos on my M98 .458WM so guess the CC gonna breathe again.

The older Mark X does lock the bolt on safe, I believe to accomplish this in yours you would just have to swap in an older safety with the bolt locking extension. That is if your receiver is slotted for this extension. I believe it would be. My newer Zastava action was not slotted so I cut the slot to use the older safety.