Looking for a 308 for target shooting but not sure which one to get
- Thread starter southernangel0711
- Start date
Tangentabacus
New member
I just picked up a Remington AAC-SD (20" threaded, hogue overmold, .308) with a single piece scope mount and a Zeiss 6.5-20x50 AO MC for about $1,100. There are good deals out there for a gun that has TONS of potential if you're willing to look a little. I was super lucky and got my rifle from a shop that gave me a discount for being a firefighter and also was able to find an incredible deal on a returned Zeiss.
On the note of Remingtons: The fact that there is so many aftermarket parts is a HUGE plus. You can (at very little cost) turn a $600 gun into a tack driver with a little shopping on amazon and some time at your local gun smith and still come out way below your average "precision" rifle price. There are better guns but not much comes close to how accessible high performance parts are for the R700.
All that said I do like the savages.
On the note of Remingtons: The fact that there is so many aftermarket parts is a HUGE plus. You can (at very little cost) turn a $600 gun into a tack driver with a little shopping on amazon and some time at your local gun smith and still come out way below your average "precision" rifle price. There are better guns but not much comes close to how accessible high performance parts are for the R700.
All that said I do like the savages.
USMC 77-81
New member
To say a particular rifle is the best is at least partly opinion, I will say that that my Springfeild M1A is extremely accurate, fun to shoot and has great cool appeal although you can get a great bolt action gun for a lot less money then put a good scope on and (hopefully) still be able to shoot it. When I go out walking logging roads in search of wolves I take the M1A, it will reach out there with good punch and it gives me plenty of fire power if I were to get surrounded which is happening more often around here.
Been there
New member
''You know, I hear this argument at least a couple times a year and never can understand the logic behind it... Maybe you can help me?
Why is it that Savage builds a factory rifle, that anyone can buy, that in "L/R" game competitions beats all of these custom rifles built by custom gun makers using the "holy grail" 700 action?
Lack of aftermarket custom options for the Savage may not be a bad thing. The Remington's have a lot of areas that could use improvement, hence the reason there are so many aftermarket upgrades for them. Apparently, the aftermarket companies haven't found as many things that they can improve upon with the Savage rifles.
Remington has more actions available for custom builds because they have been around longer and were practically the only available bolt action rifle "back in the day", and because they are so plentiful, they can be found pretty cheap...''
I will never understand the logic behind buying a rifle for target shooting, knowing that there are areas of improvement needed which will require time, money & gunsmithing to make them shoot accurately, which is the sole purpose of target shooting, at any level.
Unless you enjoy having to true the action, replace the extractor & trigger, bed the action & in some cases, buy a better barrel.
Southernangel , buy the Savage of your choice & start enjoying your shooting.
Why is it that Savage builds a factory rifle, that anyone can buy, that in "L/R" game competitions beats all of these custom rifles built by custom gun makers using the "holy grail" 700 action?
Lack of aftermarket custom options for the Savage may not be a bad thing. The Remington's have a lot of areas that could use improvement, hence the reason there are so many aftermarket upgrades for them. Apparently, the aftermarket companies haven't found as many things that they can improve upon with the Savage rifles.
Remington has more actions available for custom builds because they have been around longer and were practically the only available bolt action rifle "back in the day", and because they are so plentiful, they can be found pretty cheap...''
I will never understand the logic behind buying a rifle for target shooting, knowing that there are areas of improvement needed which will require time, money & gunsmithing to make them shoot accurately, which is the sole purpose of target shooting, at any level.
Unless you enjoy having to true the action, replace the extractor & trigger, bed the action & in some cases, buy a better barrel.
Southernangel , buy the Savage of your choice & start enjoying your shooting.
Last edited:
My first bolt action rifle was a Remington 700, but once I shot a Savage I went out and bought a Savage 10 FCP-K. My gunsmith told me that the only way to improve a Savage was by buying a new chassis and putting a pistol grip on it. So I did.
Having said that, I'm presently having a custom rifle built based on a Remington 700 custom action to shoot 6XC because Savage does not make one. It will cost me more than the Savage, and I hope it shoots as well.
Nope, doesn't matter.
Winchester isn't used as a DM or Sniper rifle with the U.S. Military...
Let's face it, civilian market sales follows the military...it's all a marketing "thing".
I do think that Remington has rested on their laurels for too long. While they do have some nice- and accurate- offerings, if you're paying for the rifle's ability to put bullets into the smallest group for dollars spent they wouldn't be top dog.
Their first run at a "budget" model- the 770 (aimed at the Axis, I suppose) failed miserably. Perhaps more interestingly, it's Ruger that's now exploding in this category.
Why do you think that first happened back in the 1960's when Winchester 70 action based ones were replaced with Remington 700 action versions?
Any bolt action based rifle could probably be used to meet the 7.62 NATO M24 sniper rifle accuracy specs with M118 match ammo. They had to produce no worse than about 6" test groups at 300 yards and the barrels were considered worn out when 300 yard accuracy reached about 11 inches.
Last edited:
I wasn't debating the government's choice to replace the Model 70 with the 700...and don't know the history behind it.
I'm sure there's a story there, no doubt with $$$ and politics playing the usual role
I was simply stating that I believe that the consumer market follows the military...
We all know that some of the "tacticool" crowd cares little about practicality or applicability to their application. If it's used by the SEALs, he's gotta have it.
I'm sure there's a story there, no doubt with $$$ and politics playing the usual role
I was simply stating that I believe that the consumer market follows the military...
We all know that some of the "tacticool" crowd cares little about practicality or applicability to their application. If it's used by the SEALs, he's gotta have it.
as far as aftermarket goes, the 700 does have along list, but those can get pricy very quickly.
the savages do have a number of modifications as well, aside from the savage axis and ruger american, not have much in the way of aftermarket yet for those...
the mossberg rifle have some good items for their lines, but are limited and accuracy dependability seems to fluctuate from time to time
the weatherby vanguard/howa m1500 guns(rifle rebranded) are accurate and have numerious parts, similiar to the 700
really its all about what your purpose for the rifle will be, and what the overal goal and function it is to perform
when i started rebuilding my mosin , i had a plan in mind, for it to be a stationary target rifle for ranges 300+, while being in a comfortable enviroment, meaning a gun range or a private ranch to shoot "targets" not animals or any defence purpose. so its heavy and very stable and accurate, but downside it is not very mobile due to it increased size and parts i have on it. i can carry it but its heavy and the case , barely fits my cars, so its difficult to transport
now my howa im getting is specified for accuracy as well, but im going to design it to be mobile and easy to transport, and used for fast action purposes , thus 308, which is my preferred round
so you've got to make a list of specified results, that the rifle must accomplish, if it cant do that off the back, you must then factor in what parts you can replace or tweak that can accomplish that. if the result is still no , look at another rifle and repeat those steps till you can accomplish your goal within your budget range.
my mosin cost i belive 400 total with all the mods, my howa is 600 without, so youve got to factor in rifle base price with that of those parts your getting. also must leave time to practice and adjust to these modifications
the savages do have a number of modifications as well, aside from the savage axis and ruger american, not have much in the way of aftermarket yet for those...
the mossberg rifle have some good items for their lines, but are limited and accuracy dependability seems to fluctuate from time to time
the weatherby vanguard/howa m1500 guns(rifle rebranded) are accurate and have numerious parts, similiar to the 700
really its all about what your purpose for the rifle will be, and what the overal goal and function it is to perform
when i started rebuilding my mosin , i had a plan in mind, for it to be a stationary target rifle for ranges 300+, while being in a comfortable enviroment, meaning a gun range or a private ranch to shoot "targets" not animals or any defence purpose. so its heavy and very stable and accurate, but downside it is not very mobile due to it increased size and parts i have on it. i can carry it but its heavy and the case , barely fits my cars, so its difficult to transport
now my howa im getting is specified for accuracy as well, but im going to design it to be mobile and easy to transport, and used for fast action purposes , thus 308, which is my preferred round
so you've got to make a list of specified results, that the rifle must accomplish, if it cant do that off the back, you must then factor in what parts you can replace or tweak that can accomplish that. if the result is still no , look at another rifle and repeat those steps till you can accomplish your goal within your budget range.
my mosin cost i belive 400 total with all the mods, my howa is 600 without, so youve got to factor in rifle base price with that of those parts your getting. also must leave time to practice and adjust to these modifications
Regarding the aftermarket thing, you're not nearly as likely to need it with a Savage that has the Accu-Trigger.
I agree with the poster that suggested a heavy barrelled Savage if your interest is mainly target shooting. At $775 suggested retail and a good deal less from your dealer, the model 10 FP-SR seems like what you may be looking for:http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/finder/
I agree with the poster that suggested a heavy barrelled Savage if your interest is mainly target shooting. At $775 suggested retail and a good deal less from your dealer, the model 10 FP-SR seems like what you may be looking for:http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/finder/
tobpnr:
Most of the USMC and US Army snipers were also high power competitors. They all knew the merits of Winchester actions' reliability, ease of field maintenance as well as operation in rapid fire superiority over Remingtons. None of them I've talked with liked Remington actions based on their observed shortcommings of them. GySgt Carlos Hathcock told me at an Interservice Rifle Match in Quantico, VA, he thought the Winchester actions with a Remington barrel put in them as that would be the best combination of commercial parts for both accuracy and reliability. Both ground-pounding services gave up on Remington actions for magnums used in long range matches, too, except for those few that had flat bottom/side sleeves epoxied on them.
But Winchester was in financial straits back then. And the flag officers concerned with the dollar bills and political issues did not want any company about ready to go bankrupt to be their choice. So Remington got the contract to supply actions and one or two custom shops supplied the barrels.
If one sees what the accuracy specs for sniper rifles were back then, they'd probably figure out that most any action and barrel could shoot that well. Then the history of each is also interesting; Remington 7XX rifles are decended from the M1917 Enfield, Winchester 70 rifles decended from the M1903 Springfield that used several Mauser 98 features which royalties were paid for to use them.
Here's the story including $$$ and politics......
Most of the USMC and US Army snipers were also high power competitors. They all knew the merits of Winchester actions' reliability, ease of field maintenance as well as operation in rapid fire superiority over Remingtons. None of them I've talked with liked Remington actions based on their observed shortcommings of them. GySgt Carlos Hathcock told me at an Interservice Rifle Match in Quantico, VA, he thought the Winchester actions with a Remington barrel put in them as that would be the best combination of commercial parts for both accuracy and reliability. Both ground-pounding services gave up on Remington actions for magnums used in long range matches, too, except for those few that had flat bottom/side sleeves epoxied on them.
But Winchester was in financial straits back then. And the flag officers concerned with the dollar bills and political issues did not want any company about ready to go bankrupt to be their choice. So Remington got the contract to supply actions and one or two custom shops supplied the barrels.
If one sees what the accuracy specs for sniper rifles were back then, they'd probably figure out that most any action and barrel could shoot that well. Then the history of each is also interesting; Remington 7XX rifles are decended from the M1917 Enfield, Winchester 70 rifles decended from the M1903 Springfield that used several Mauser 98 features which royalties were paid for to use them.
Last edited: