what 308...help!

[Divernhunter]

^^^^^ One of the reasons I bought the Ruger American. They have the tang safety just like the older Ruger M77 which I have a number of. I really like the tang safety when hunting. It is a natural and fast movement to release it as you shoulder the rifle.

[Thanatos2203]

For range purposes, either of the two rifles you mentioned work just fine. Weight is not so much an issue on the bench, but when it comes to hunting you are going to want lightweight for hauling around.

Most people who say they want a rifle for the range....AND TO HUNT likely will never do the latter, so my recommendation would be to purchase the rifle best suited for your primary goal.

Remington 700's are ok out of the box for the money. My past Remington's have been incredibly accurate but that was their first and only quality. They rust, they are cheap, specs were off, corners were cut, they didn't extract well and they fed even worse. I've seen too many people (myself included) slamming their hand on the back of the bolt trying to chamber the next round. Even nutnfancy did it with a Christensen Arms (700 action) on one of his videos. Now add the adrenaline of hunting hogs who have a nasty tendency to charge; this is no good. My pig hunting experience has been limited to a bow, so I recommend carrying a secondary weapon.

Handle a Tikka and you will know why they are so popular as the action is truly smooth as glass. The stocks are generally cheap and the recoil lug is separate (old reports said the metal was to soft), but they are shooters. They will impress at the range and are a good weight for hunting (not the tactical flavors). As mentioned above, get a limbsaver recoil pad and they will pretty much get you going right out of the box.

My favorite choice is the Winchester, but when you are buying one, you are buying it for the CRF. Some people argue that CRF is archaic or obsolete but I strongly differ based on personal experience and what I have seen others do. Mine has zero problems feeding and throws brass three feet without even trying making it incredibly dependable. It is accurate and the Mauser safety has never ever bothered me. MOA trigger is as much trigger as I need to be accurate. This is what I want in a tactical rifle. This is what I want in a hunting rifle. This is what I want in a target rifle.

Howa has a great reputation but I have no personal experience with them. Don't spend the money on a Weatherby Vanguard (especially the range certified) when the Howa is the same thing for less. If you want a Weatherby, actually buy a Weatherby design and get the Mark V.

My personal experiences with Ruger (American) and Savage rifles have been simply whatever. I believe these rifles are over hyped due to price and internet sensationalism. I believe this to be true of the Mossberg MVP as well.

[riftol]

^^^^^ One of the reasons I bought the Ruger American. They have the tang safety just like the older Ruger M77 which I have a number of. I really like the tang safety when hunting. It is a natural and fast movement to release it as you shoulder the rifle.

I had 4 M77s.

3 had the tang safety.

The one that didn't was the stainless target model w/ laminated stock and 26" barrel.

I didn't like its 3-position safety.

[dk94044]

One comment for the Tikka T3 Lite for the range, the barrel is light, but that means for tight groupings, the best results were waiting until the barrel cools between shots ~5 min to hit the sub MOA groupings. I found with the barrel running hot the round will tend to stray more, but sick accuracy and action for the price point. I don't mind waiting, but if you plans for taking a long range class or competition, a heavy barrel (tactical) may be in order, but that would mean more to lug around if hunting.

[riftol]

Handle a Tikka and you will know why they are so popular as the action is truly smooth as glass. The stocks are generally cheap and the recoil lug is separate (old reports said the metal was to soft), but they are shooters. They will impress at the range and are a good weight for hunting (not the tactical flavors). As mentioned above, get a limbsaver recoil pad and they will pretty much get you going right out of the box.

The Tikka's smoothness and finish are indeed impressive.

One of the reasons the 308 Winchester is my favorite cartridge is that it's a short-action cartridge.

I wanted to buy a Tikka chambered for the 308 Winchester but decided not to because it has a long action.

I won't purchase a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 308 Winchester unless it has a short action.

[Cowboy T]

Ruger American: yep. $350
Savage 10-series: yep. $450 (e. g. Hog Hunter)
Winchester 70: yep. $750
Remington 700: yep. $450 (ADL)

Those are the rifles with which I have direct experience. All of them have shot well for me.

Scope: Leupold VX-1 3-9x40 or Redfield Revolution 3-9x40. Either one is $199, shipped, all day from just about anywhere. Careful shopping will get 'em at your door for $179. If you just gotta go Zeiss, I'd suggest the Conquest 3-9x40 for $345, shipped, from EuroOptics.

Why the 3-9x40 instead of the 2-7x33 and similar? 'Cause my eyes're gettin' older and the little bit of extra magnification does help sometimes. :-) I find it the best balance between exit pupil size and enough magnification to do what I need doing.

BTW, if you do go Rem 700, there's nothing wrong with an ADL. I don't find the blind magazine objectionable at all, and on Black Friday sales, they can be under $400.

Also, don't ignore the used market. I've seen some Savage 11's, with scope rings, in the low $300's. They're fine rifles, too, even without the AccuTrigger. If you see a Stevens 200, that's a Savage 10-series with all the same goodness. Same applies to a Winchester 70 "Black Shadow". You can find those in the $400's on the used market, too.

I haven't shot a Sako, Tikka, Howa (or its Weatherby Vanguard equivalent), or others, so I cannot comment on those. Only so much money in the wallet, ya know. :-) But I have yet to hear a negative report on one that's the gun's fault, so I wouldn't hesitate on one of those, either.

[Interstateguns]

hey guys/gals,

i have been looking around and want to get a bolt rifle in 308 and have been looking at two different companies. i will be using the rifle for plinking and range trips but i would also like to be able to use the rifle for hunting. most likely hogs and small game. i have been looking at the rem 700 and tikka light/tactical

I can get the a rem 700 sps tac for 456, reviews for this rifle seems to be good everyone seems to be happy with it and only complaints are crappy stock and trigger. the other rifle that i was looking at was rem 700 police (short action) for 799. everything i have read about this rifle seems like its a solid well built rifle and a good upgrade from the sps tac. i can also get and have been looking at the rem 700P LTR for 861. im not to sure the difference between this 700P and the other 700P, but seems like it would be a god choice.

the tikka light has been getting awesome reviews and everyone seems to love them and no complaints about them. im not sure about the price i have seen a couple different prices but it seems like its around 400-600?

i havent seen any tikka tacticals for sale but i am sure i could hunt one down and im not sure about the price but the reviews i have read compare them to the 700P.

any help would be awesome guys, im not worrying about if this is the best hunting load or to start a 308 vs xxx argument. i just want to know about pricing vs quality wise

Check out the Tikka CTR as well. 10 years worth of sales with thousands of rifles sold, I think that the Tikka offers the best bang for the buck in terms of product consistency.

[w210838]

Tikka are sweet the actions are easy re barrel of you ever have too !

[mcisniper]

Bang for your buck and probably the best out of the box accuracy; Savage. Not as smooth as an action as the 700.

[Thanatos2203]

The Tikka's smoothness and finish are indeed impressive.

One of the reasons the 308 Winchester is my favorite cartridge is that it's a short-action cartridge.

I wanted to buy a Tikka chambered for the 308 Winchester but decided not to because it has a long action.

I won't purchase a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 308 Winchester unless it has a short action.

I absolutely feel the same way. That being said, I think the smoothness of the bolt makes up for that little extra distance it has to travel for the average/casual shooter. Either way, my interest in Tikka's is as designating hunting rifles which for me means 30.06 or .270. Under those circumstances, obviously it is a non-issue.

[Calif Hunter]

I agree with many of the posters above that one rifle will lack in either comfort off the bench or in carrying while hunting. So choose based on what you really want to do - if you buy a bench gun, you will probably end up buying a different rifle to hunt with due to weight. I have a heavy-barreled Savage in .223 for bench shooting and rested varmints, and a CZ-527 American also in .223 for walking around, so there is nothing wrong with 2 rifles in the same caliber.

I have a Howa .270, a Vanguard.257 Wthby Mag, a Tikka T-3 Lite in .243 and a Tikka T-3 Lite in .300 Win Mag (which did need the Limbsaver pre-fit pad,) a Rem 700 (older one) in .300 Wthby and a couple Savages. The best accuracy came from the Tikka .243 and the Savages. They shoot well under an inch and often around a half-inch. The Tikkas are so light that I don't notice that the action is slightly longer than needed. Also - Tikkas have a great trigger right out of the box! Because of the weight, I use the Tikkas for most of my hunting.

My Remington has an after-market barrel and an HS Precision stock that was bedded.

[ar15barrels]

hey guys/gals,

i have been looking around and want to get a bolt rifle in 308 and have been looking at two different companies. i will be using the rifle for plinking and range trips but i would also like to be able to use the rifle for hunting. most likely hogs and small game. i have been looking at the rem 700 and tikka light/tactical

I can get the a rem 700 sps tac for 456, reviews for this rifle seems to be good everyone seems to be happy with it and only complaints are crappy stock and trigger. the other rifle that i was looking at was rem 700 police (short action) for 799. everything i have read about this rifle seems like its a solid well built rifle and a good upgrade from the sps tac. i can also get and have been looking at the rem 700P LTR for 861. im not to sure the difference between this 700P and the other 700P, but seems like it would be a god choice.

Of those 3 choices, the 700P is the clear winner for a range/target rifle.
It has a 26" barrel which will help with velocity (less wind drift) and recoil (rifle weighs more).
The 700P also comes with an HS precision stock with a full aluminum chassis which is a MUCH better stock than the flimsy tupperware on the SPS Tactical.
The 700LTR lacks a proper length barrel and recoils more than the 700Police due to it's lightweight barrel.

For a hunting gun, get any of the skinny/short barrelled rifles rifles from any company like Remington, Savage, Ruger, Howa, Tikka etc.
The brand on a hunting rifle matters little as you probably won't change anything on it besides putting a scope on it.

[riftol]

I agree with many of the posters above that one rifle will lack in either comfort off the bench or in carrying while hunting. So choose based on what you really want to do - if you buy a bench gun, you will probably end up buying a different rifle to hunt with due to weight. I have a heavy-barreled Savage in .223 for bench shooting and rested varmints, and a CZ-527 American also in .223 for walking around, so there is nothing wrong with 2 rifles in the same caliber.

Right.

My two bolt-action rifles chambered for the 308 Winchester will do everything I ever need a centerfire rifle to do.

My simple collection of bolt-action, centerfire rifles consists of a Ruger American for hunting and a Savage 10FP for target shooting.

I just didn't need the other bolt-action rifles I had so I sold them.

[JMP]

i just want to know about pricing vs quality wise

Tikka is better quality for the money. R700 has more potential for a precision rifle. JMO.

[Divernhunter]

^^^ Yep the 700 has the potential
1 replace stock
2 replace trigger
3 replace barrel
4 true up action
5 bed action
When you have done this it will shoot like a tikka out of the box

Basically you toss everything but the action then rework it. Also save the trigger guard/floorplate metal.