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Post by rangeball on Dec 17, 2009 17:19:08 GMT -5
Found a heck of a deal on a new one of these in 25-06. I didn't know much about the caliber, but did some quick reading and like the fact that it appears to be an ideal varmint/deer round.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on the quality of this gun? TC made barrel, reinforced synthetic stock, timney adjustable trigger... What's not to like?
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Post by Rifleman on Dec 18, 2009 5:02:12 GMT -5
I never shot one but have looked at them, I like it. The 25-06 is a great round, I had one for years in a 700 bdl varmint config. glass bedded and it would shoot under 2 inches at 300 yds all day long. Recoil was mild in that rifle and it was just a really good gun. You can reload it easily and use either 270 or 30-06 brass to do so. If you do use the 270 brass you must reduce charge weight as it has a thicker web and less case capacity and pressures are higher with same amount of powder. The 25-05 is pretty flat as well and very favored among pronghorn shooters.
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Post by mountainam on Dec 18, 2009 7:38:03 GMT -5
I pulled one up on S&W's web. I don't know where they are really made. From what I can tell from the closeup the bolt handle looks as though it's some type of casting. I can see wrinkles in the bolt metal. It looks like the bolt handle may be screwed to the bolt rather than tig welded. There's more plastic than I'd like to see. The older Smiths used a Japanese Howa Action and this could be the same but difficult to tell from the picture. They have them listed at $550-$600. I hope you're getting a super deal on it. Because if you decided in a month that you didn't like it, you would have a difficult time getting $250 for one. S&W made shotguns a while back. I see them from time to time at the flea markets for $150. It could be a great gun but not that many people are interested in them. Now with S&W's handguns it's a totally different story. I think that they are counting on us to confuse the two.
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Post by rossman40 on Dec 18, 2009 9:26:35 GMT -5
S&W has been almost as bad as Winchester about licensing their name to be put on anything. The I-bolt is S&Ws design and they do make it. It is one of the reasons they bought TC, they needed rifle barrels for both the I-bolt and their AR and they were not set up to do rifle barrels. Early S&W ARs were simply S&W branded Stag ARs. Now from what I understand S&W does make their own receivers and the barrels come from TC. After the buy out of TC S&W didn't expand the I-bolt line, then came the factory recall which hurt the reputation of the I-bolt. They never did come out with a short action, you would think with S&Ws Military and Police line up a tactical model bolt action rifle would fill out the line. If they could get departments to buy the POS Sigma they could sell them anything. Now TCs Icon line has expanded and they even have the bargain (I'm sorry, entry level) model they call the Venture. The question now is, how long will the I-bolt be around?
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Post by rangeball on Dec 18, 2009 9:54:11 GMT -5
The one I'm looking at is the camo synthetic with the silver weather shield steel for $450. All the reviews I can find people say they shoot really tight and most really like the rifle.
I've never shot a TC. Do their barrels have a good rep? Rougher like the OEM savages, or smooth like an aftermarket?
How do you think this would compare to the less expensive Marlin bolt action?
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Post by rossman40 on Dec 18, 2009 11:12:38 GMT -5
The I-bolt wouldn't be a bad deal for around $450-500, if it comes with the one piece scope mount that is worth $50-70 by itself. If you want a 25-06 sporter for deer hunting. It would be probly a better rifle then other "budget oriented" rifles like the Marlin, TC Venture and even the Stevens 200 and a good addition to the stable. The only problem I have is what you are going to do later with it, your kinda limited.
Having Savages has spoiled me, I have tons of parts laying around, more and more aftermarket parts to choose from and I know them inside and out. So if I was wanting to buy a 25-06 sporter rifle cheap I would go to Walmart and order in a Stevens. Pretty much no frills but later I can install a bench quality trigger, easily change barrels (I can get factory sporter weight takeoffs for $100 and SS HBs for $200), easily change boltheads so calibers are almost endless and stocks available for every occasion.
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Post by rangeball on Dec 18, 2009 11:50:17 GMT -5
It does come with the scope mount. I would have no problems leaving the gun as is caliber wise, and the trigger is supposedly very nice, but in general I'm not a big fan of synthetic stocks. I prefer laminate, and I doubt there is an aftermarket stock for these guns though I haven't looked yet.
Good call on the stevens. I would be happy with an accutrigger drop in, if that's doable, and I know lots of stocks are out there for the savage action. Are the barrels on the stevens as accurate as the stock savages generally are?
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Post by rossman40 on Dec 18, 2009 16:53:51 GMT -5
A friend of mines brother has about a 1998 model 14 in .243 to pop coyotes with. He decided to get his son pretty much the same rifle and bought a Stevens package gun (I know he is a tightwad and doesn't know squat about Savage models and the salesman put him right on it) in .243. He invited me over to help his son zero it and break it in. After the first 20 rounds the kid had no problem shooting about 1" groups @100yds with an occasional flyer, which I think was young shooter error, using Winchester 80gr SPs. The kid even busted 5 clays at about 250yds with 6 shots. The kid had only shot a few rounds of centerfire before in his life. His uncle said it shot better then his model 14 but I do not think the uncles a shooter.
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Post by ozark on Dec 18, 2009 18:02:57 GMT -5
I can't speak for the rifle but the 25.06 is a great cartridge. I used one for several years (Ruger) and factory ammunition of the different bullet weights all shot great. I let my son have it during a time I though my hunting days were over. I got better and went to the .243 which I also love. I would be hard pressed to say the .243 or the 25-06 was the better combination varmint/deer cartridge. Both are A1.
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Post by jims on Dec 18, 2009 21:38:50 GMT -5
I cannot speak on the rifle itself but I can on the 25-06. I got mine in 1962 when it was a wildcat and not yet a factory round. For varmints thru deer it does well. Mine still shoots extremely well. It is built on a Mauser 98 platform and Douglas barrel and Timney trigger.
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Post by rangeball on Dec 22, 2009 10:05:58 GMT -5
Thanks guys  |
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Post by cfvickers on Jan 10, 2010 9:17:55 GMT -5
 You can cover this with a dime. this is from my 25-06 and it is 5 rounds in less than 3 minutes, I like the 25-06. Don't know about the Ibolt but have heard decent reviews. |
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Post by youp50 on Jan 10, 2010 20:30:15 GMT -5
From another forum. www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322493I have a Stevens. One of the mating surfaces of the recoil lugs has a rather heavy coat of some kind of yellow paint. The paint is not wearing off, leading me to believe that this is the cause horizontal stringing. A snail mail request has been sent to savage. |
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Post by booner21 on Jan 14, 2010 16:25:51 GMT -5
I believe that they had a full recall on the I bolt rifle do to a failure of the safety mechanism on all rifles between oct and december 2007. Just make sure that it wasn't manufactured between that time period. Other wise I have heard very good things.
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