One of the most frequent e-mail questions we get is, "What brand of hunting rifle should I buy?" In an effort to help I wrote, "Recommended Centerfire Hunting Rifles," which names the specific models that I personally prefer in a number of categories. However, those recommendations are strictly my opinion.

In order to get a wider range of opinions, I asked various members of the Guns and Shooting Online staff to name up to three of their favorite BRANDS of hunting rifles and here are the results. Note that each person's list is in alphabetical order, not order of preference.

Alex Boughamer (Writer): Browning, Remington.

Dr. Jim Clary (Contributing Editor): Ruger, Savage, Weatherby.

Mary Clary (Women's Editor): Remington, Ruger, Savage

Ann Decker (Office Assistant): Weatherby.

Bob Fleck (Technical Assistant): Marlin, Savage, Weatherby.

Jim Fleck (Chief Technical Assistant): Browning, Marlin, Weatherby.

Glenn Harmaning (Writer): Marlin, Remington, Ruger.

Terry Hart (Contributing Editor): CZ, H&R, T/C.

Chuck Hawks (Managing Editor): Browning, Weatherby, Winchester.

Rocky Hays (Gunsmithing Editor): Remington, T/C, Weatherby.

Nathan Rauzon (Technical Assistant): Remington, Ruger, Savage.

Jack Seeling (Technical Assistant): Remington, Savage, Weatherby.

Carl Swanson (Writer): Browning, Marlin, Ruger.

David Tong (Writer): CZ, Remington, Ruger.

Randy Wakeman (Senior Contributing Editor): Browning, Ruger, Savage.

Jon Y. Wolfe (Contributing Editor): Kimber.

The results of this little survey of "experts" were more interesting and diverse than I expected. A total of 11 different brands were recommended. They ranged from what I would consider upscale brands (Weatherby, Kimber, Browning) to inexpensive (H&R). All are valid choices depending on budget and purpose.

Clearly, different individuals had different ideas about price and value. Yet several respondents included both a relatively expensive and a more moderately priced brand on their list (Weatherby and Marlin, for example). Evidently, what was most important to them was "value"--getting a full measure of what you pay for--not price per se. For those who are interested in such things, here are the recommendation totals:

• Remington - 7
• Ruger - 7
• Weatherby - 7
• Savage - 6
• Browning - 5
• Marlin - 4
• CZ - 2
• T/C - 2
• H&R - 1
• Kimber - 1
• Winchester - 1