Help Choosing My First .308 Rifle

If I could get an FCNS at Dick's for $450, then that would be a definite buy.

The 11 THXP comes with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40mm, and I'm not knocking Nikon, but it's not what I'm looking for. It's an MOA scope and I'm looking for MIL/MIL, and it also has capped adjustment knobs and I'm looking for exposed adjustment knobs. I'm also looking for at least 10x capable, and I might just buy a fixed 10x SWFA SS, or that Millett TRS-1 I stated earlier.

This sounds a lot like me 4 years ago when I was trying to decide. I was given the option of the Savage FV, and VLP. I couldn't make up my mind on a Nikon Buckmaster or the TRS-1. It was when they first came out with that particular scope. At the time you could only get it in 1/8" adjustments. I found a good deal on the Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40 w/ 1/4MOA adjustments w/ extras. I went that way. At the time the FV was what I really wanted. Then they started making the VLP. I could afford it, so I went that route over the FV. Glad I did, but my cousin has had great success with the FV. I think you will be thrilled w/ any Savage you buy. By the way, the SPS varmint I was looking at, at the time could only be had with a 1:12 twist. That was the other factor for going Savage.

Sounds like you have a good plan going. Stay the course. Just remember, to upgrade a Savage you only need a few hand tools. To upgrade a Remington, you need a good gunsmith.
 
I think I'm pretty much narrowed down to a Savage in .308 with the Accutrigger, now the question is which one falls in my price range.

I think Dick's Sporting Goods quoted me at $470 for the 11F Hunter, and that was rifle only. I don't know if they're generally cheaper, or if the local shop is cheaper though.
 
I think I'm pretty much narrowed down to a Savage in .308 with the Accutrigger, now the question is which one falls in my price range.

I think Dick's Sporting Goods quoted me at $470 for the 11F Hunter, and that was rifle only. I don't know if they're generally cheaper, or if the local shop is cheaper though.

Though its nice to support local business, usually the bigger stores can offer better pricing. If you can land a Savage with the accutrigger, you'll be very happy. I have been very pleased with my rifle for 4 years now and it hasn't been pampered in any way.
 
What range are you looking to shoot? Any particular reason for picking the .308? Do you reload or plan to reload?

I'd like to have a good base to start out and upgrade to be 1000yd capable. I'm not planning on reloading, but .308 is a standard round and it is easier/cheaper than similar caliber rounds (.300WSM, .300W, .7mm-08, etc.) I can get mil-surp ball if I want to punch holes in targets for cheap, and the match grade stuff when I hunt.
 
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I'd like to have a good base to start out and upgrade to be 1000yd capable. I'm not planning on reloading, but .308 is a standard round and it is easier/cheaper than similar caliber rounds (.300WSM, .300W, .300-08, etc.) I can get mil-surp ball if I want to punch holes in targets for cheap, and the match grade stuff when I hunt.

What are you planning on hunting? There are other calibers that are readily available that have better sectional density and ballistic coefficient than .308 that you don't need to reload for (.243 and 7mm-08).

Just depends on what you're shooting at and what you intend to do with it. The higher the BC/SD, the more velocity and energy the bullets will carry and they also will buck the wind better and drop less.

Just something to think about.
 
What are you planning on hunting? There are other calibers that are readily available that have better sectional density and ballistic coefficient than .308 that you don't need to reload for (.243 and 7mm-08).

Just depends on what you're shooting at and what you intend to do with it. The higher the BC/SD, the more velocity and energy the bullets will carry and they also will buck the wind better and drop less.

Just something to think about.

I'll be hunting deer mostly. My main reasons for choosing .308 are:

-It's relatively easy to get
-I can buy mil-surp
-It's less expensive for match grade vs. other similar rounds
-It won't wear out a barrel as quickly as high velocity, similarly sized rounds
-It's a standard military round, so there's going to be a good amount of it floating around. Other calibers aren't produced in nearly as high quantities.

As great of a round as .300WSM or even .300Win is, I don't want to have to pay through the nose for ammo unless I absolutely have to.
 
I'll be hunting deer mostly. My main reasons for choosing .308 are:

-It's relatively easy to get
-I can buy mil-surp
-It's less expensive for match grade vs. other similar rounds
-It won't wear out a barrel as quickly as high velocity, similarly sized rounds
-It's a standard military round, so there's going to be a good amount of it floating around. Other calibers aren't produced in nearly as high quantities.

As great of a round as .300WSM or even .300Win is, I don't want to have to pay through the nose for ammo unless I absolutely have to.
Those are all very good reasons. Essentially why I went with it also.
 
I'll be hunting deer mostly. My main reasons for choosing .308 are:

-It's relatively easy to get
-I can buy mil-surp
-It's less expensive for match grade vs. other similar rounds
-It won't wear out a barrel as quickly as high velocity, similarly sized rounds
-It's a standard military round, so there's going to be a good amount of it floating around. Other calibers aren't produced in nearly as high quantities.

As great of a round as .300WSM or even .300Win is, I don't want to have to pay through the nose for ammo unless I absolutely have to.

Here's what I'm seeing, and it sounds like me less than 3 months ago. I wanted a rifle to hunt with, that be effective on deer-sized game out to 500 yards or so. I had every intention of reloading (I wasn't at the time, everything is now set up except for the dies, which will be in on Wednesday).

If you're getting a hunting rifle, for the most part, expect hunting rifle accuracy. Match ammo will be better than mass production, but it still won't be specific to your rifle, it will just have tighter tolerances than lead tipped hunting rounds. And the match ammo most likely won't be the ammo best suited for hunting to provide you the expansion you need to destroy tissue/bone/organs.

If you can pinch pennies for a while, you really should consider reloading, even if you're going to go with the .308. You can reload ammo customized to your rifle and produce much better results at a fraction of the cost.

I bought a Remington Model Seven, 20" stainless, in .260 Remington. I wanted a flat shooting gun and felt no need to get anything bigger for the range and terrain I hunt in. .260 is a very popular round for 1,000 yard shooting as it holds more velocity and energy and drops and drifts less than .308 at 1,000 yards. It also has less recoil. .260 factory ammo (and rifle) choices are limited, but that doesn't mean you couldn't do something in .243 or 7mm-08.

The price you pay for match ammo will be fairly steep and may only give you marginal accuracy/consistency gains in your factory rifle.

I just got back from the range with my little Model Seven and found a load that put 3 rounds into .244" at 100, pushing a 129 gr Hornady SST (not a match bullet) at 2897 fps. Gun is stock other than some bedding work on the stock and gunsmith worked the trigger.

I'm not really trying to dissuade you from the .308 selection. If you're not going to reload and tailor ammunition to what your rifle likes, regardless of caliber, you might be better served to spend more money on a rifle that's going to shoot better than basic deer rifle. A .308 is going to have a lot more factory ammunition makes and bullet make/weights to choose from to see what works best, but you will likely not find ammo that will be as accurate as handloads.
 
Here's what I'm seeing, and it sounds like me less than 3 months ago. I wanted a rifle to hunt with, that be effective on deer-sized game out to 500 yards or so. I had every intention of reloading (I wasn't at the time, everything is now set up except for the dies, which will be in on Wednesday).

If you're getting a hunting rifle, for the most part, expect hunting rifle accuracy. Match ammo will be better than mass production, but it still won't be specific to your rifle, it will just have tighter tolerances than lead tipped hunting rounds. And the match ammo most likely won't be the ammo best suited for hunting to provide you the expansion you need to destroy tissue/bone/organs.

If you can pinch pennies for a while, you really should consider reloading, even if you're going to go with the .308. You can reload ammo customized to your rifle and produce much better results at a fraction of the cost.

I bought a Remington Model Seven, 20" stainless, in .260 Remington. I wanted a flat shooting gun and felt no need to get anything bigger for the range and terrain I hunt in. .260 is a very popular round for 1,000 yard shooting as it holds more velocity and energy and drops and drifts less than .308 at 1,000 yards. It also has less recoil. .260 factory ammo (and rifle) choices are limited, but that doesn't mean you couldn't do something in .243 or 7mm-08.

The price you pay for match ammo will be fairly steep and may only give you marginal accuracy/consistency gains in your factory rifle.

I just got back from the range with my little Model Seven and found a load that put 3 rounds into .244" at 100, pushing a 129 gr Hornady SST (not a match bullet) at 2897 fps. Gun is stock other than some bedding work on the stock and gunsmith worked the trigger.

I'm not really trying to dissuade you from the .308 selection. If you're not going to reload and tailor ammunition to what your rifle likes, regardless of caliber, you might be better served to spend more money on a rifle that's going to shoot better than basic deer rifle. A .308 is going to have a lot more factory ammunition makes and bullet make/weights to choose from to see what works best, but you will likely not find ammo that will be as accurate as handloads.


The problem with non-standard rounds is I fear that if production slows for ammunition, those rounds will be scarce and high in price. That leaves me with a rifle chambered in something too expensive to shoot, or too hard to find. High velocity rounds such as the 7mm-08, .300WSM, and even .300Win tear a barrel up pretty quickly.

If I had a larger budget (when I'm not in college), then I would certainly consider a .300WSM as my main choice, or even .338 Lap. Mag. if I could swing it. However, right now I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck, and some of those rounds are much more expensive than .308.
 
The problem with non-standard rounds is I fear that if production slows for ammunition, those rounds will be scarce and high in price. That leaves me with a rifle chambered in something too expensive to shoot, or too hard to find. High velocity rounds such as the 7mm-08, .300WSM, and even .300Win tear a barrel up pretty quickly.

If I had a larger budget (when I'm not in college), then I would certainly consider a .300WSM as my main choice, or even .338 Lap. Mag. if I could swing it. However, right now I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck, and some of those rounds are much more expensive than .308.

But you can load your rounds to whatever velocity you want. I have loads for my .260 that shoot at 2500 fps and I found one today that gave me the tightest group so far and it was at 2897 fps.

Even if barrel life is only 3,000 rounds, paying for premium hunting/match ammo, you're more than likely looking at prices of at least $1-$1.50/round, probably closer to the $1.50-$2.00 mark if your into match ammo. 3,000 rounds is a minimum of $3,000 and up to $6,000 before you shoot out a barrel. How many rounds do you shoot a month/year? Getting a match grade barrel properly put on an action is going to cost you far less than the ammo you will spend to shoot out said barrel.

Again, I'm really not trying to dissuade you from the .308, just your though process of getting a rifle for hunting and long range at your price range. A rifle for long range hunting is not going to be the same rifle that's best suited for carrying around the woods.

What's the terrain like where you hunt? Do you drive, sit in a tree stand, still hunt, spot and stalk, sit somewhere and glass and take long range shots?

If you're mostly stationary and not hauling a rifle around all day, you can probably get away with a rifle built for long range (at least 9-13 lbs, and then put a bipod, scope, sling on it).

I wanted a rifle to do it all and for the style of hunting I do (still hunting, not sitting in a stand or stationary waiting for deer to walk up to me), I wanted something lightweight and got my rifle scoped under 8 lbs with a 20" barrel. The 20" tube just won't give me the 3,000 fps or so with with 140 grain bullets for long range shooting as the 140s give me the best SD/BC to buck the wind, carry the velocity and energy, and penetrate deep into the vitals.

I decided to get a hunting rifle suited for my hunting needs and down the road, I'd build that custom gun that gets into the prices measured with several 4 digit numbers and is suited for match grade accuracy over long range shooting.

If hunting is your primary gig right now, get a hunting rifle and find what shoots best for it. Your point about ammo shortages - even a better reason to get into reloading as soon as you can. .308 brass (.243, .260 Rem, 7mm-08, .338 Federal all use .308 brass as a parent case) should last several loadings. 100 pieces of brass reloaded several times each will put a lot of meat in the freezer.
 
Thanks for all the help and advice, it definitely has me thinking about things and how I could go about finding the right rifle in the right caliber for what I'd like to do with it.

Someone also mentioned something about the Stevens 200. It is a fairly inexpensive rifle, and for $86 the Rifle Basix triggers are pretty nice. That would be a fairly accurate setup if I were to use the Stevens, RB Sav-1 trigger, and glass bed the stock. That would also be much less expensive than purchasing an accutrigger model Savage like the 11F Hunter or something along those lines.

Steven's 200 in .308 - $320-340 w/tax
Rifle Basix Sav-1 trigger - $86
JB Weld, Kiwi Wax, Play-Doh - ~$25
Millett TRS-1 4-16X50mm + DNZ Savage 30mm - $356

Total - $807

I'm going to have to stop in at Dick's Sporting Goods this weekend, and maybe Bass Pro too. However, so far that's the most economical/best bang for your buck package I can come up with.
 
Steven's 200 in .308 - $320-340 w/tax
Rifle Basix Sav-1 trigger - $86
JB Weld, Kiwi Wax, Play-Doh - ~$25
Millett TRS-1 4-16X50mm + DNZ Savage 30mm - $356

Total - $807

Not a bad starting point at all. Check your local shops too. They may have some better deals or used rifles. Just out of curiosity, have you checked the classifieds here? Another good spot would be the classifieds on accurateshooter.com. You may be able to purchase a complete rifle with better components. A little more research, but maybe worth the time.
 
I know it's been a while, but I finally picked up a rifle this Thursday night at Bass Pro.

I ended up purchasing a Weatherby Vanguard in .308 with the 22" sporter barrel and black synthetic stock. It was $456 after taxes which isn't a bad price at all.

Now I'm looking at a scope/mount combo. Right now the mounting solutions are between:

DNZ Game Reaper 1 piece mount - $63.99
Talley 2 Piece mount - $50.99

My scope selection is between:

Weaver Grand Slam Tactical 3-10x40mm -$299 (on sale)
Millett TRS-1 4-16x50mm - $319

The Millett is $20 more but I can use my $30 off $300 coupon at Midway for that and the rings. The Weaver is on sale at Midway, so I can't use my coupon, but it is supposedly a very nice scope for the money.
 
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