Advice on 308

R

radars

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I'm looking for advise/suggestions on a 308 riffle. I've hunted for a while, however have always borrowed a riffle. I've mainly used either a 30-06 or a 243, however I'm looking for a 308 for under $700. I was reading about Weatherby Vanguard 2, marlin and savage. Looking for feedback or suggestions on manufactures and models.

Also, looking for advice on a scope around/under $200.

Thanks in advance..
 
Winchester Super Shadow,Ruger Hawkeye, Tikka T-3, or TC Venture in that order for the rifle. Burris FF-II or Redfield for the scope.
 
Remington Model 700, favorite of mine. As far as a scope, I would spend a little more and go for maybe a Nikon Monarch. I have one and I absolutely love it.
 
In truth, since I see you're in PA (and I assume 90% of your hunting will be there), there really are no bad choices in a bolt action from a major manufacturer. Any rifle that will hold a 2" group @ 100 yards with factory ammo will serve you well, and there are not too bolt guns many that won't.:)

Feelin' Cheap? Pick up a Stevens gun/scope package for about $300, have the scope properly mounted, sight it in....And kill anything and everything that walks the PA woods. As a bonus, use the $400 you saved on a few cases of mil-surp ammo to practice (but not hunt) with, and become proficient with your weapon.;)

More money will buy you a slicker rifle, BUT the actual utility per extra dollar spent will be minimal at best, wasted at worst. $700 wont buy you a braggin' rights fancy rifle, but it could buy a functional classic like a Rem. M-760 (or 740), or a Savage M-99.:D

Actually, Rem. Pumps & Autos sell for a song on the used market out west. Right now I know of a 742 that has been up for sale @ $250, and has languished on the rack long enough to gather dust.
 
Well said samsmix. I have an xbolt in .308 .22 inch barrel and i love it.

The rifle shoots superb with my handloads.

Im unsure of what the price would be in America.
 
I say the Savage. Best out of box accuracy you can get, Price is there. Any rifle can be made to shoot accurate,but Savage does it right out of the box.
 
At the $700.00 price point, you've got lots of choices, especially for a sporting rifle. The ones already listed and several others. The Ruger American might be one to consider, as well as many others. Manufacturers have been looking for guys like you and me, who want a serviceable hunting rifle at a frugal price.

Look at lots of them and get the one you like best. If you're not dead-set on a new rifle, look at the used rifles in the racks. There are lots of good deals to be found there as well.
 
I say the Savage. Best out of box accuracy you can get,
Click to expand...

I see this repeated on the errornet quite often. My brother just sold his Savage because of unaccepable accuracy. At least compared to the other rifles he owns. I've owned and sold 3 because none of the four were accurate enough to earn a permanant spot in our safes.

I think a more accurate description of Savge rifles is that you rarely see one that shoots poorly. That I'd agree with. Because of the desgn precision machining of parts is less critical and it is almost impossible to make one shoot poorly. But they are no more accurate, in fact less accurate than many other rifles as long as the other brands are built right. I'll also concede that with some other brands you will at times see one that shoots poorly. But to claim the have they "best out of box accuracy", is just incorrect.
 
'm looking for advise/suggestions on a 308 rifle. I was reading about Weatherby Vanguard 2, marlin and savage. Looking for feedback or suggestions on manufactures and models.
Also, looking for advice on a scope around/under $200.
Click to expand...

Have a look at the new FN Winchester M70's, Remington M700's, and Savage's.
I have a remington 700 VSSF and a Savage BVSS both in .308. They are very accurate with handloads. With factory stuff both were shooting a 1.5"-4" groups.

I use Winchester brass, CCI benchrest primers, and nosler ballistic tips for hunting.
When shooting paper, I use Sierra Matchking HPBT 168 grain bullets, Winchester brass, Federal Large Rifle Match primers (GM210M).
With 42.5 grains of Hodgdon Varget the heavy barrel savage gets about .5" groups at 200 meters.

The Remington 700 VSSF likes 150 grain Nosler ballistic tip bullets and Varget powder.
With the bullets seated farther out (it won't fit in the magazine, only one by one) it shoots 5 shots touching each other at 100 meters.
At 350 meters I can get around 2" groups from a solid rest. (It has a fixed 6x scope).

If you want a cheap scope then consider Nikon, Weaver, Redfield, etc...
I have variable scopes on other rifles, but I keep them set on 4x or 6x power. I haven't changed them to higher power, no time for that when hunting.
To me a fixed 6x scope seems about ideal. For hunting 50 yards out to 300 yards it does well.
 
Personally I've had my eye on that new Ruger American...though far down on my list of guns right now I've definitely been thinkin about it...and when you buy Ruger you know your getting inexpensive top notch quality IMO.
 
+ 1 on the Savage especially if you get one with the Accu-trigger.

You can order whatever Savage you want from Dick's sporting goods and get a pretty good deal.

I got my Savage 10FP in .308 about 2 years ago and have shot over 3500 rounds through it since then. It shot so well out of the box that my buddies all wanted to get one too.

Two of my buddies ordered Law Enforcement Savages and got them delivered within a week. One other buddy happened to get lucky and found a Law Enforcement 0.308 model in stock with a packaged scope for under $ 650 at the local Dick's store.

All three of theirs and my Savage shot great right out of the box.
All of them are now Savage believers and recommend them to anyone who is interested in listening.
 
Tikka T3 Lite - mine is in .308 - sub moa and one of the smoothest bolts I have ever owned.

My wife's X-bolt is also in .308. She's very accurate with it. Fit and finish is superb.

I had a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter in 30-06. It was a very nice rifle. Solid and tamed the recoil well.

That said, all three shoots an inch or less at 100 yards. This seems to be the norm with new guns nowadays.
 
If you are partial to two stage triggers look at the Vanguard S2 or Howa. The trigger on my Vanguard S2 has about 1/8th inch take-up, then breaks like glass. I would avoid buying a new 700 as Remington's quality has dropped since being purchased by The Freedom Group. You may, however, want to consider a pre-Freedom Group used 700 or Model Seven. I had a 1997 700 ADL that was accurate and never failed to function.
 
I see this repeated on the errornet quite often. My brother just sold his Savage because of unaccepable accuracy. At least compared to the other rifles he owns. I've owned and sold 3 because none of the four were accurate enough to earn a permanant spot in our safes

Never heard that before. You are in a very small group there buddy. Although i do have to say Savage action screws do have a habbit of coming lose for sure. I have bought 6 now in the last 3 years and all will shoot very very well to say the least. Never seen a bad one.

Back to OP's post-As another poster said Howa-They are well worth the money also. Rem's are to iffy to take a chance on these days.
 
Savage "Weather Warrior" for about $750.00 in a whole bunch of calibers! As far as Savages not shooting well, jmr40, both the Savage rifles I own shoot beyond my skills, and my daughter is growing into that Weather Warrior, like a fancy pair of tennis shoes.... Never heard of one that didn't shoot well... sorry for you and your brother.:o
 
Decide if you might plan to "upgrade" to custom stocks, triggers, etc.

The Remington 700 and Savage 110/111 platforms have by far the largest availability of aftermarket accessories.

My nod almost always goes to Savage because of the ability to change barrels- and calibers and boltheads- without the downtime and cost of sending the rifle to a gunsmith.

Just about any production rifle these days will shoot minute of angle or less. It's what you might want to do with it after you buy it that you need to consider.
 
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