Buying first bolt action rifle, help needed please

[MikeD7]

I am in the market for a bolt action rifle to take on my first deer hunting trip to PA. I have made up my mind on the gun, I just need some input on caliber. I am going to buy a savage trophy hunter xp, but I am between 308 and 30-06. I am leaning towards 308 because I am in the middle of an AR10 build and it will be one less caliber to load. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mike

[Love Life]

308 is fine. Shoot the animal in the right spot and it will die.

30-06 has more stank behind it which is more useful for the heavier bullets.

If you are shooting cast then it is a moot point as your velicities will probably very similar between the two calibers with your cast bullet of choice.

I'd opt for the 308.

[dragon813gt]

Both are overkill for hunting the woods of PA. You will be lucky if you get a shot over 50 yards. That being said, both are fine. If you don't want to worry about loading two different rounds then go w/ 308. The 30/06 is a little more versatile. Pick whichever you one you want.

[1Shirt]

Go with a Savage, and flip a coin for ctg!
1Shirt!

[orangezuk]

Both have the ability to take any big game in North America.
-30.06, can throw some heavier loads +1
-.308, The aspect that you have/in the works the AR10(depends where your at in regards to "how many cals")+1
Personally, the short action of the .308 is nice too +1

[markshere2]

+1 on 308

It's WAY more than any whitetail in PA will require.

[Love Life]

Plus, with the Savage you can swap barrels and calibers without the need of a Gunsmith.

[MikeD7]

Cool! Thanks guys! 308 it is! I will post pics this evening

[300savage]

good call, it kills em good, short action ,super accurate, low recoil, a man could live with one 308 all his days and be happy happy happy..

[clownbear69]

I guess I was too late but I would've picked .30-06. While the .308 is a great round it was one of the first rifle rounds next to 223/556 to be sold out where as the .30-06 took awhile to be sold out. Plus if you plan to hunt out west its a great round to go with

[300savage]

you have a great point as well. however at least for what i do with a rifle i will shoot ten critters with a 308 for every one with an 06.
less powder, less fuss, just as dead.

but i do love my 06's they just get left at home a lot and my short action rifles get the fun.

[TCLouis]

308

Nuff Said

[2wheelDuke]

Starting completely from scratch, I went with the .30-06 because it had a bit more versatility being able to throw slightly heavier projectiles. You just can't beat a .30-06.

However, .308 does the same things just as well for the most part, besides the extreme end with the heaviest bullets. Most factory .30-06 on the shelf has the same bullet as the .308 sitting next to it, and may not give any extra velocity.

Your existing .308 build seems to favor .308 for your purposes. Or start with a .308 and get a .30-06 later on and really have the best of both worlds.

[country gent]

As was said above the savage makes a pretty good swap barrel rifle with the barrel locking nut. With the 308 action length22-250, 308, 243, 7-08, 338 federal all can be doable with the approptiate barrel. Very versatale rifle and also very user friendly. Any short action cartridge with a 473 case head is doable. For awhile ( not sure on if they still do it) Savage used the same action for everything. So even 06 length cartridges would be doable.

[Blammer]

get the 308, a freind of mine got a Savage hunter in 308, the package deal, gun with scope mounted.

It is a good accurate gun.

Solid 2" groups at 200yds with factory ammo.

[AlaskanGuy]

308, 308, 308, ,308, 308..........

[725]

.308 is all I took to Africa and they all (plains game) dropped dead with one shot. From Kudu to warthog and a bunch in between.

[GabbyM]

Unless you are poor short of money to the point you can't afford a McDonalds Big Mack.
Get a New FN Winchester M-70 Sporter in 30-06 then place a Burris 2x7 scope on it.
Not trying to be to specific but. If you shoot J bullets try to find some Sierra 180 grain Pro Hunter bullets. But far preferred around here would be a cast bullet of 200 to 220 grain weight.

If you do get a 308 you want one with a 1:12" twist rate barrel which the Savage is not. Any of the 308 Win caliber FN Win guns are 1:12" twist. IMHO I'm not a big Savage fan.

[GabbyM]

.308 is all I took to Africa and they all (plains game) dropped dead with one shot. From Kudu to warthog and a bunch in between.

While I'm jealous of the fun you had. Simple fact is there is nothing a 308 Win will do a 30-06 won't do a leap better. Modern 308 Win store bought ammo is loaded to about the same velocity with 168 grain bullets as old low pressure 30-06 ammo. May not look like much on paper but a 200 grain bullet going faster than a 168 is a big deal in the real world. FYI I can shoot fifty rounds of full power 30-06 ammo from in my M70 without bruising my shoulder. Thanks to the Past Decelerator recoil pad and straight line stock. You can save about fifty dollars with a Savage under a FN Winchester M-70. You get about five hundred dollars less gun. I've only been a machinist for about 35 years so I really don't know diddle about costing out a job.

[williamwaco]

308. You will save a LOT of trouble keeping up with dies and brass.

[jmort]

I picked .308 for .30 caliber rifles/casting/reloading. Made sense to me after weighing all options.

[GabbyM]

308. You will save a LOT of trouble keeping up with dies and brass.

I got into 30-06 two years ago. Bought 750 one time fired cases for less than $100. All Remington's. Then my son in law gave me 160 cases since he traded into a 7mm mag rifle. There is some nice never fired Mil pull down 7.62mm brass out there. which is a good sale point for a 308 Win. But fact is a 30-06 is a better hunting rifle. I own a 270 Win for shooting 150 grain bullets. Thus when I step up to 30 caliber I want at least a 30-06 with 180 grain and above bullets. There are people who look at books then say the difference between 308 and 30-06 isn't that great. They are book reading dumb asses.

[Hickory]

I've taken 1/2 dozen deer in PA with a flint lock,
a 308 would be more than enough for the job.

[CastingFool]

Cool! Thanks guys! 308 it is! I will post pics this evening

Good choice. I reload for both cartridges. the .308 doesn't give up much to the 30-06, and I love the short throw of the .308.

[yoter]

Take a look at the Savage 11 Hog Hunter in .308. A lot of rifle for the money.

[tygar]

I am in the market for a bolt action rifle to take on my first deer hunting trip to PA. I have made up my mind on the gun, I just need some input on caliber. I am going to buy a savage trophy hunter xp, but I am between 308 and 30-06. I am leaning towards 308 because I am in the middle of an AR10 build and it will be one less caliber to load. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mike

I like about any 30 cal but I think the .308 is about the most perfect all around cal for hunting anything in the US in the medium size.

It "is" the easiest to load accurately & can be loaded to match accuracy with a variety of wts.

As you said you doing an AR10 & you can probably find a loading that will work great in both.

I actually use the same basic load in my Fclass/tactical Rem700 & AR10 & one of my M1As. One top of that I can use the same load with the 168 & 175s with comparable accuracy. I do use the 175s for 600-1000 because of better BC.

The Savage guns, out of the box, are the best, most accurate rifle of any made today. You can't go wrong with one of the top end models. In fact lots of guys are competing in Fclass & bench rest with good effect.

Good shooting.
Tom