Suggestions for a .308 Win Bolt Action Rifle

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have an Encore in 308W which is pretty neat, breaks down small. You are already into T/Cs, this would be a natural extension of that. Mike Belm does a conversion using 444 brass necked down which will also fire 308W.

If you want a bolt, the Howas are one of the most popular rifles here in Australia, for good reason. The Weatherby whatever it is, is the same rifle, they are even cheaper lately. 308 length action and all, nice stocks standard, camo and fancy modernistic stocks also available on the Howa.

[o6Patient]

WHooe, there are so many choices now, mostly all very good ones.
Depends on budget and the way it feels in your hands.

[swamp]

My favorite is my Rem 600. Very handy and it seems to hit what I point it at.
swamp

[Mark85304]

I've posted to the thread that I purchased a Savage M11 THX in .308 Win. The reason I was so interested in a rifle chambered in .308 Win is it is becoming harder and more expensive to find .300 Savage brass or loaded ammunition for my Rem 760 pump in .300 Savage. I am not disappointed in my choice of the Savage M11 THX, it is a fine rifle.

While doing some research on load development I ran across this tidbit of information that floored me:

"The .300 Savage distinguished itself further by serving as the parent to the .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO) cartridge, a round that was developed for the U.S. armed forces in the 1950s and which is still in use today."

Imagine that. Sure enough, the cartridge dimensions are so close it should be easy to form .300 Savage cartridges from .308 Winchester cartridges. I am going to experiment with this a bit. I think it will be as simple as running the .308 Win through the .300 Savage full length sizing die and trimming to the proper length.

.300 Savage

The original intent of its designers was to offer a cartridge that could approach the ballistics of the .30-06 Springfield, while at the same time using a smaller case that could be cycled through a short-action lever rifle. Although it fell somewhat short of its ballistic goals (by about 150 ft/s), its performance outclassed other contemporary .30 caliber lever-action cartridges including the .30-30 Winchester and .30 Remington. It soon became a popular deer and medium-sized game cartridge among North American hunters, and by mid-century nearly every major US firearms maker offered a .300 Savage chambering in at least one of its rifle models.

.308 Winchester

The .308 Winchester has slightly more drop at long range than the .30-06 Springfield, owing to its slightly lower (100 ft/s) muzzle velocity with most bullet weights. Cartridges with significantly higher muzzle velocities, such as the .300 Winchester Magnum can have significantly less drop at long range.

I love doing research. No telling what one will find.

[Jack Stanley]

It's a good call for a rifle , in the recent past I've bought two Savage bolt rifles . Both are accurate but , both needed bedding work done to them to make them right . I would rather have paid Savage a little more rather than fix it but that's the way it goes . Not to beat up on Savage alone , the last Remington 700 I bought had to have some marine-tex stuck into the bedding too .

I'm sure once you get running with it you will be real happy with it .

Jack

[HiVelocity]

You can't go wrong with the Savage, good rifle. Now, to find a scope! Lol! Tons of loading information on line and specially, on this forum. Just figure out what you're going to hunt and within what distance. The rest is simply assembling and testing for accuracy.

Unless you've got some sentimental attachment to your 7600, I bet a collector would snap it up in a second if you were to offer it for sale. In any case, enjoy your new rifle.

HV in SC

[Mark85304]

Oh yeah, I have a sentimental attachment to my 760. It was my Grandfather's. He taught me to hunt and took me on many hunting and fishing trips. I ended up with most of his guns after he passed away.

[starmac]

Marks my go to rifle has always been the 300 savage. Sportsmans here generally has brass, and ammo too. For loaded ammo the 308 is usually quite a bit cheaper though.

I have an old M110 left hand bolt savage that is SMOOTH too though.

[GabbyM]

Those Savage M11 are nice rugged rifles. I’d paint over the black stock with desert tan or cammo. Like desert tan with speckles.


Pick just one rifle??

I recently purchases a FN-Win M70 in 30-06. Weighs 7 ¼ lbs with 24“ barrel. So that’s my preference. I far prefer a 30-06 to the 308. For it’s neck length and it’s ability to easily shoot 200 grain boolits at relatively low chamber pressures.

In a 308 I’d get a M70 Featherweight. You get a 22 inch 1:12” twist barrel at 6lbs 12 oz.

Another one I like is the Savage Lightweight Hunter. At under six pounds I’d think it would have stout recoil in a 308 though. Depends if you plan to carry it more than shoot it.

Downside of the savage in 308 is there 1:10 twist barrel. My opinion is the 1:12 is better as it allows a 180 grain boolit to run faster. Although the recoil of a 180 to 200 grain boolit at 1,950 fps from a 1:10" barrel is about enough.

On the economy side. Marlin X7 in 308 has a 1:12 twist barrel as the Remington’s do.

On my M70 I used aluminum bases and rings by Weaver. Toped with a Burris 2 x 7X. Weight staid pretty light and the rifle is easy to handle. PACHMAYR® DECELERATOR® RECOIL PAD is great. Even with 180gr J bullets recoil is not harsh.

[rmatchell]

I like my CZ 550 Varmint. It's a bit heavy but at 300 yards its flawless.