What is the best entry level rifle?

[sir smackabuck]

Weatherby.......every time

[daddus1]

I do have a Weatherby Vanguard in 7mm 08 and out of the box it is a one holer. For a lot of you that is no big deal, but for me it was my first one in a long time. See, a blind squirrel does find an acorn once in a while!
Really I"m sure that the 270 which is pretty accurate caliber anyways will do a good with the Weatherby

[Karl.Luhr]

I personally don't consider the Vanguard an entry level rifle to be compared to the others listed. To be fair I think that the Marlin xl7 should be compared to the Stephens 200, Remington 770, and the Mossberg bolt. These are rifles that sell at the price point of around 290-310. The Vanguard is another 100 dollars, and that brings in against the Remington 700 sps along with others in that 400-500 range. Would I rather own the Vanguard over the entry level ones? YES. Is it fair to compare it to the entry level rifles not really. If for example Marlin put another 100 into each xl7 it would be a nicer rifle but would miss it's price point of around 300.

Karl