‘Value’ Rifles

“Just” Entry-Level

Conventional wisdom is these value models are primarily entry-level rifles, purchased by young or casual once-a-year hunters who can’t or don’t want to spend more money than necessary. Meanwhile, the more serious or discriminating (okay, older) hunters want more costly models such as the Ruger 77/Hawkeye, Remington 700, Winchester 70, Browning X-Bolt, Kimber, Sako, Weatherby Mark V. You’ll notice I haven’t included the Tikka T3/T3X, Weatherby Vanguard or Howa rifles in either group. That’s because they have neatly positioned themselves in the middle and have done very well as a result.

Conventional wisdom may be right, in fact I hope it is. Anything that encourages new rifle shooters and hunters is to be applauded. It must not be the only factor, as there just can’t be enough young or new shooters to support all these value rifle sales. A lot of us “seasoned” shooters have to be buying them as well. Just from personal observation, I really don’t see young shooters buying value rifles. I don’t know, maybe they have more money than my generation did at the same age. The younger hunters of my acquaintance buy mainly Tikka T3 and Weatherby Vanguard rifles, sometimes Winchester 70, Sako and Kimber.

I suspect it is the seasoned shooter who is the major buyer of value rifles. We buy them as gifts to get new shooters involved, or to use as “truck guns” to keep our precious walnut/blue steel models from dust and rust. From personal experience, I believe there is another factor in value rifle sales — the many new cartridges introduced in recent years.

There was a time, believe it or not, when gun and ammunition makers not only resisted adding new cartridges, they would have happily discontinued many of those already in existence. Rifle sales were brisk in the post-war economic boom. In the early post-WWII era, only a few new cartridges appeared, and when they did they were intended to fill perceived gaps. For a decade or so after the war, manufacturers sold every gun they could make.