Opinions sought on which .308 Win rifle to buy.

I'm in the market for a .308 Win for deer hunting. I like Bolt action and wood stocks, long walks on the beach-- no scratch that last part.

What do you all think about good .308s?

footfootfoot;747405 wrote:

I'm in the market for a .308 Win for deer hunting. I like Bolt action and wood stocks, long walks [strike]on the beach[/strike] in the woods -- no scratch that last part.

What do you all think about good .308s?

better?

maybe you should get this kind:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deerstalker I don't know if it comes in a size .308, is that metric?

I have a couple uncles who are into model 700 Remingtons, although I think they are 30-06 not 308. They always seem to hit. I used a model 94 Winchester 30-30 because it is what I have and around here you almost never shoot over 100 yards because of the woods, brush, and lay of the land. The deer hunting isn't really my bag anymore, but if you need to get it out of your system, I bet you have an acquaintance who would loan you a rifle to see if it is your bag and that way you can try different models without the investment.

Remington 700 is what the Marine snipers use
Savage makes a Verry Nice rifle as well
Ruger makes a nice rifle also

To save some Duckets you May want to look into a slug barrel for your New Pump shot gun ,
this should be good for 100+ yards

Are you sure you are rifle zone up there? A lot of NYS is shotgun only.

Griff;747437 wrote:

Are you sure you are rifle zone up there? A lot of NYS is shotgun only.

Think of us as being Western Vermont. We are very much rifle up here. Just about 5 miles from the border of Bear hunting zone.

zippyt;747435 wrote:

Remington 700 is what the Marine snipers use
Savage makes a Verry Nice rifle as well
Ruger makes a nice rifle also

To save some Duckets you May want to look into a slug barrel for your New Pump shot gun ,
this should be good for 100+ yards

I have been thinking about a slug barrel or using #1 buckshot. I was talking to the gunsmith the other day and he said all the deer around here are taken between 65 and 110 yards.

Got ya. Have you split firewood for any 95 year old German expat with a Mauser in the closet? tit for tat and all that.

Slug barrel range for Shure

there are some FANTASTIC slugs out now days
from Sabot Sub-caliber thinggers to Hollow point 1 oz jobbers
and some Mfg make Dedicated slug Scopes

Griff;747443 wrote:

Got ya. Have you split firewood for any 95 year old German expat with a Mauser in the closet? tit for tat and all that.

A Mauser in his closet? I thought he was just happy to see me.

I am keeping my eyes open.

zippyt;747444 wrote:

Slug barrel range for Shure

there are some FANTASTIC slugs out now days
from Sabot Sub-caliber thinggers to Hollow point 1 oz jobbers
and some Mfg make Dedicated slug Scopes

I'm gonna look into that. while I save for the .308, I like the Savage 110gcns

savage rifles are known for their out of the box accuracy, especially the models with the accutrigger. the .308 is a great round but you'll get more versatility out of a .30-06 with the option of using 220 grain bullets on heavier game. you can also used reduced recoil rounds or even 55 grain varmit rounds. the .30-06 is versatile enough to be used to hunt anything in north america. savage law enforcement rifles continually out place winchester and remington unless you go custom. that being said, i'm shooting a remington .300 wsm for bean fields and a .45-70 for the woods.

don't skip on optics. as a rule of thumb, you scope should cost more than your rifle

Thanks for the input Sarge. Now I have more things to think about. For some reason I thought there were more options in the .308 than the .30-06.

I'd get a blue one.

Cold blue steel for your cold blooded hobo killin's?

Looking at a barely used Savage 10 with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope, synthetic barrel for $400. A cantilevered rifled slug barrel is about $210.

Thinking of putting the Savage on layaway even though I don't care for the stock.

F3, consider where you will doing your primary hunting. If you are in the wide open planes of the midwest you need a good gun scope combo. If you are hunting mostly in the woods or, like me in the southern pines, I don't need a scope on a gun. There are a few places I go that I take a different gun and scope but they are few in the deep south. The other factor to consider is that you have to carry it. So avoid rifles with a bull barrel or other fancy stuff. Savage is a good manufacture, but I don't think they are great. JMHO. A used Remington 700 ADL or Sportsman should be easy to find, new they are around $450. Browning A-Bold Stalker is a very good buy, around $475. Glass is as important if not more important than the rifle. So keep that in mind as you budget this stuff out if going new, that is why a used one might be a better option. Gun shows are great places to find bargains.

Just give me a big gun that holds lots of bullets and shoots them real fast.

Unfortunately the Gun Grabbers and PETA would not allow such an approach to gathering Meat for consumption. :)

TheMercenary;749554 wrote:

Unfortunately the Gun Grabbers and PETA would not allow such an approach to gathering Meat for consumption. :)

At hunter safety class they are trying to spin that as a "sportsmanship" issue. Imagine how much quicker we could have wiped out the buffalo with automatic weapons!

;)

TheMercenary;748684 wrote:

F3, consider where you will doing your primary hunting. If you are in the wide open planes of the midwest you need a good gun scope combo. If you are hunting mostly in the woods or, like me in the southern pines, I don't need a scope on a gun. There are a few places I go that I take a different gun and scope but they are few in the deep south. The other factor to consider is that you have to carry it. So avoid rifles with a bull barrel or other fancy stuff. Savage is a good manufacture, but I don't think they are great. JMHO. A used Remington 700 ADL or Sportsman should be easy to find, new they are around $450. Browning A-Bold Stalker is a very good buy, around $475. Glass is as important if not more important than the rifle. So keep that in mind as you budget this stuff out if going new, that is why a used one might be a better option. Gun shows are great places to find bargains.

Here is a typical view of my area. The woods are fairly open mixed hardwood, mostly maple and oak. Most of the fields are either corn or alfalfa. As I mentioned most deer are taken between 60 and 110 yards. I think mainly because any "across the field or valley shots would cross houses at some point. Also there's the coyotes. A number of bowhunters have arrived at their deer after the coyotes.
Probably not an issue with rifles.

I will definitely need a scope. My eyes are getting more astigmatic.

Tomorrow is the final class in hunter safety and then the test.
I've already lined up a few places to hunt!

*envious*

Not for the shootin'. I ain't shootin' nuthin'.

But look at that scenery. Ahhhh, upstate NY is gorgeous.

yes, it is a little slice of heaven

I hate you, foot. This is what it's like around here.

That's no NEPA but it'll do. ;) I have twin bucks hanging around my house right now, little fellas, but they'll grow.

glatt;749854 wrote:

I hate you, foot. This is what it's like around here.

dude... looks like there could be some good shootin around that area.

Yeah. The problem is seems is that, as usual, a few assholes ruin it for everyone. You practically have to either own a big parcel of land or have pictures of a farmer doing something sexy to a tractor (like that?) to use as blackmail to get permission to hunt.

Lucky for me I have such a charming and winning personality.

Yea man, you need a scoped rifle. Great hunting areas.