Looking to add a rifle in .308 Win. - Suggestions? Advice?

[bedbugbilly]

Like all of us with this "addiction" of reloading, I sometimes do things "backwards". I've always been interested in the .308 Winchester cartridge - probably 'cause it was born the same year I was - 1952. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. That said, I have an accumulation of .308 brass, some 311 molds so for the price of a set of dies/shell holder, I have a "good excuse" to be looking for a rifle to shoot 'em in.

I have done a little looking around but am not really familiar with what is out there as far as "factory rifles" that will work well with cast - which is all I would be feeding it. Both plain base and gas checked.

My needs are this -

I don't hunt anymore so it will strictly be a rifle to play with on paper and plinking. Mostly I shoot at 50 yards but do have places I can shoot up to about 200 yards. I like playing with milder loads, different boolit weights, etc.

My right eye is no longer good enough to shoot right handed so I shoot left handed, but since it will be a range gun, a right hand bolt would be fine and a bolt action would be preferred. I like wood stocks but see that a lot of the rifles, what I would call less expensive rifles, have plastic stocks. I'm not adverse to buying a used rifle if it is in good shape and in fact, what rifles I still own are "vintage" like myself. I'd even consider a chopped Enfield in 308. But, if I can't find a decent used rifle, then my option is to purchase a new one. I will probably end up scoping the rifle at some point. I'd like to get out of this at a price of $500 or under and it appears that there are some factory rifles out there that fall below that price.

I have looked on Bud's to see what is available just to get ideas. I see there is a Mossburg "Patriot" with a wood stock that looks pretty decent as well as some Savage rifles. It appears that Ruger's "American" bolt action in 308 is under $500 as well.

I just am not that familiar with the performance and quality of any of these rifles since my experience is with more "vintage" rifles such as older Mauser types, Winchester 94's, etc.

For those of you that have some of the newer rifles in the category I'm looking at chambered in .308, can you give me some advice as to what to look for and what to avoid as far as makes, models, etc. in rifles that will shoot cast decently? I've mentioned Mossburg, Savage and Ruger but if thee are others out there I should consider as well, please let me know.

I'm not really interested in anything semi-auto, pump or lever as I always much preferred my Mauser type bolt actions that I've owned in the past which were all in 8mm.

Thanks.

Jim

[HangFireW8]

Kimber just came out with a cheaper/heavier stocked version of their Montana, called the Hunter might be on the high end of $500... OK MSRP is $885 but you can probably get it for less than that. If you like the Mauser and old pre-64 Winchesters, you'll love Kimber's 84 action.

After a long series of "as good as" and "good once smithed" well known brand rifles, I treated myself to a Kimber 84 Montana and never looked back. When I think of what I spent on the others for restocking and smithing, versus a rifle that just worked for me out of the box, I've been kicking myself.

[country gent]

I would look for a used remington winchester savage ruger or a rebuilt sporterized mauser or springfield rifle at shows or on line. 308 is a popular cartridge and alot are out there. Watch for throat wear and muzzle wear in the barrel. look at the stock for bad spots cracks or chips. Depending on what you want a ruger 77 varmint in 308 makes a great range rifle. While not in the price range you quoted a ruger #1 in 308 would be a nice rifle. On 308 I perfer a shorter throat than most have ( My M1a was chambered with a reamer that put a 155 palma touching the rifleing from the magazine length) It just seems to shoot better for me and if nothing else leaves a little more throat wear in the barrel to start. I have a throat gage for 308 M1As and garands one would be handy to judge a used rifles throat erosion quick and easy. Look at feed rails and mag followers also if theres still blueing there it hasnt been shot alot, not unusual for center fire rifles.

[Earlwb]

I have a Remington 783 in .308 Win and it has been working fine for me. It is a low cost rifle, so it is rough around the edges, but it shoots great. You do have to watch out for some of the negative reviews. Someone stated it had a plastic bolt handle, and that is totally bogus as it is steel. So those reviews are all bogus as the author never handled or used one. So with any gun, the reviews need to be carefully evaluated, as the author may have been faking the whole thing.

Now then I also have a Spanish Mauser chambered for .308 and a Mas 1936 chambered for .308 too. They are fun to shoot as well. But nowadays they seem to be more expensive to buy. So maybe not a good way to go anymore.

[VinceG]

I have a Savage American Classic LH in .308. Beautiful wood. Love it. It shoots cast very well.

[725]

Have you thought about a single shot? Several H&R's / NEF's have served me well, just not in a .308. I'd look toward an older one in the used gun market. They must be around and would fit in your price range. A righty shooting as a lefty could be advantaged by the break open action. As long as you aren't on the ramparts holding off the enemy hoards, a single shot is a very nice way to spend the afternoon. There are other single shots out there but I have no experience with them. For what it's worth, the H&R's and NEF's are some of my favorites. YMMV, of course. Best of luck.

[W.R.Buchanan]

BB; the Sky is the limit on this one. There are literally dozens of choices.

I would submit that if you get a new gun you will need to break in the barrel well with Jacketed Bullets in order to get it smooth enough to shoot cast well. I guess you could fire lap it with Cast Boolits as well.

The new Ruger American Rifles (Predator Model) in .308 are retailing at stores for @ $350.

All of the big names have inexpensive Rifles now and the one thing to consider is that they may not have the fit and finish of older style guns you've grown up with. But this is the wave of the future and it would be doubtful that you will find much of anything used that is that good for $350. Also the majority of these new guns shoot well.

Might be better to just buy a new one and then you know exactly what has happened to it from day one. For what you want to do it is pointless to spend big $ on a super-duper rifle when a inexpensive one will give you all the satisfaction you seek.

Here's a pic of the rifle I spoke of. Add a $100 scope and you are ready to go.

Randy

[Mk42gunner]

No experience with the newer generation of cheap rifles, but it is hard to go wrong with a Savage 110, for shooting. The Axis looks to be a good shooter as well.

I built my low cost .308 by rebarreling an already sporterized Mauser with a Parker-Hale take off barrel when they were going for $60 on e-bay.

Robert

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

It would be awfully interesting to pick up one of the new Mossbergs in 308 and go from there.

[Scharfschuetze]

I don't have any experience with the latest generation of 308 calibre rifles, but an older used Remington or Winchester might work well for you. I see them on the used gun racks often.

This is the only sporting 308 that I currently use: a Remington 660. It's been in the family since the mid 60s and has taken quite a few game animals and while no sniper rifle, it's great fun to shoot. It shoots both cast boolits or jacketed bullets pretty well and its carbine length makes it pretty convenient out in the field.

[KLR]

If wood is a must, I'd look for a used one in a pawn shop.

Otherwise, if you have to settle for a synthetic stock, take a look at a Howa. I recently bought a Howa Mini and was impressed at the quality compared to the Savage Axis and Ruger American. The stock is strong, the metal nice, and the action smooth. Whitaker Guns had a model 1500 in .308 for $329 last time I looked.

Another option is to buy a Marlin XS7 from CDNN for $249 (in .243 or 7-08) and then swap for the .308 barrel you want. Sell the Marlin barrel to recover some of your costs.

You could get a Savage take-off barrel for $65-$125 on the Savage forum, get a kit from Midway, or buy something like this:

http://www.gunshack.com/savage-barrels/er%20shaw?product_id=150

(http://www.gunshack.com/savage-barrels/er%20shaw?product_id=150)The Savage guys like this guy for custom barrels:
http://apachegunworks.com/index.html

Have fun.

[Frank46]

I have an older Savage 110FP in 308. Bought it some 20 years ago for about $250 and has the older savage trigger and heavy barrel. Put a bunch of lake city match through it and that was an eye opener. Really good groups. Only thing I didn't like was the crappy plastic stock it came with. Action would move in the stock,front guard screw chewed up the stock. Glass bedded the front receiver ring with accra glass gel and solved both problems at one time. Don't have any experience with the newer savage rifles but look at their wood stocked heavy barreled rifles. BVSS or something like that. Don't tell anyone but it outshoots my remington sendero which is like a varmint rifle with heavy barrel in 308 also. I've a remington 40x single shot in 308 but it's stamped 7.62 nato on the barrel. Has the laminated thumb hole stock and is all stainless steel. Now that puppy can shoot. Savage has a website where you can drool over their latest offerings. Frank

[Four Fingers of Death]

If it is to be a range rifle only, a retired Palma / Full Bore might be the go. Cheap as chips, awesome peep sights and in 308Win. I imagine that they are as unloved and unappreciated as much in the States as they are here.

Alternately, one of the current big brand budget guns would work well. I have a Ruger American Compact in 223 and it punches way above it's weight. I am at our range as rifle captain 2-3 times a week and all of the new breed shoot well. Add a Boyd's stock if wood floats your boat and you are good to go.

Not many come with open sights though.

[Clay M]

I don't have any experience with the latest generation of 308 calibre rifles, but an older used Remington or Winchester might work well for you. I see them on the used gun racks often.

This is the only sporting 308 that I currently use: a Remington 660. It's been in the family since the mid 60s and has taken quite a few game animals and while no sniper rifle, it's great fun to shoot. It shoots both cast boolits or jacketed bullets pretty well and its carbine length makes it pretty convenient out in the field.

Very nice .I am a sucker for the Mannlicher style stocks..

As far as new guns I like my Savage 12BVSS but it wasn't exactly a cheap rifle.

I am impressed with what Savage is doing right now.
I like their Accutrigger.Though it is not a Jewell trigger, it is impressive for a factory rifle.

[KLR]

Cabela's Savage 12 FV. $420 but Savage offers a $100 rebate. Use the rebate money to buy the wood stock you like.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/SAVAGE-FV-VARMINT-RIFLE/1994604.uts

[quilbilly]

About year and a half ago I was wandering by my local Walmart gun counter and saw a hand written sign that said 20% off selected rifles. In the case was one of the cheap Rem 770's in 308 cal for $299 so I asked if it was a "selected rifle". The lady said yes making that rifle (including scope) $239. Now I have no earthly use for a 308 other target shooting but I thought the price was so cheap, I could turn it into a CB rifle just for fun. It followed me home, of course. I loaded up some 308's with Lee 160 gr RNGC and 5744 powder, took it to the range, and the very first group it shot on the paper was under one inch. The bottom line is you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a fine time with CB's. I might even replace that awful factory scope one of these days - maybe.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Find a high condition Savage 99 Featherweight with Top Safety.

[robg]

I've got a pre acutrigger 116 savage in 308 shoots lead sized .309 Lee 160 and180 gr boolits very well ,adjusted the std trigger to 3.5lbs .good rifle.

[oldcanadice]

Suggest you look at the stainless Tikka T3 in a longer barrel version. They get bad-mouthed, but their quality and finish are excellent and they are accurate out of the box -- easily under a minute if you believe the internet. Mine certainly is that good -- runs around 5/8" with match bullets. Nice single-stage trigger is adjustable. The action is full-length, so if you modify the bolt stop and use 30-06 magazines, you can load the 308 way long and still have it feed. Nobody's short action will give that flexibility. Sadly; Beretta now has exclusive USA distribution so the price is not really low anymore, but I expect the price to keep going up because of the quality. Well worth your time to look.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have a Tikka, it can't complete with my Ruger American Compact for accuracy (both 223, 1 in 8" Twist), but it is so silky smooth to operate. I will have to work on the accuracy, it throws one shot every 5 shot group. Currently getting it butt kicked by a rifle half as cheap and half the size, makes no sense.

[thegatman]

Remington 788. Real good on hogs.

[Four Fingers of Death]

The Rem 788s are an amazing rifle, punch way above their weight!

Most of the ones we saw in Australia were 222s and 22/250s. I have seen a 7/08 and 243, but never struck any others.

I have a 222 and a 22/250, very good rifles. I'd love a 308 or 30/30 for cast boolits.

[Mike in Reedley]

Just got through loading 50 Lyman 311291 with a variety of charges of Rl 7 and XMP5744 for my new Ruger Predator 308. Weather permitting, I'll have a range report tomorrow. The Leupold VX III cost as much as the rifle. Other than the Glock trigger (which I replaced with a Timney set at 2lbs) I like everything about the rifle. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

[Four Fingers of Death]

HaHa! Same as my Ruger American Compact, $AU550 for the rifle, $AU680 for a Leupold VX2 2.5-8. Can't complain, handy, neat little package and as accurate as all get out.