Hunting Rifle Advice

I picked up a T3 Stainless Superlite in .308 from Sportsman's Warehouse in May. I topped it with a Nikon Prostaff 5 scope they also had on sale at the time. I have put about 60-70 rounds through it and absolutely love it. Shoots sub-MOA (factory guarantee). Recoil is fairly mild compared to a 30.06, but regardless of what caliber you choose, you may want to put an aftermarket recoil pad on it. The light weight of the rifle accentuates the recoil.

 

Do you know what the recoil difference is between a .308 and a 30-06? I can't imagine it's a substantial difference considering I would use the same bullet weight (150 gr, copper solid) and the FPS are practically identical on the federal ammo.

 

What scope rings are you using? I believe it comes from factory with a weaver style rail, correct?

 

I couldn't tell you exactly, but have a look at the table in this link.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

 

I bought some warne rings for mounting.

 

Yea, I've looked at that table before. I think it proves my point, below are the numbers specified, I think using ammo with the same FPS, the recoil energy on the .308 would only be about .5 ft/lbs lighter.

Cartridge (Wb@MV) Rifle Weight Recoil energy Recoil velocity
.308 Win. (150 at 2800) 7.5 15.8 11.7
.30-06 Spfd. (150 at 2910) 8.0 17.6 11.9

 

http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

This article goes way in-depth in comparing different calibers and their ideal uses. I think table 6 is a great tool to use. I used this article and many others when I decided on the .308 instead of the 30-06.

 

The numbers don't always tell the whole story. Perceived or felt recoil is different than the actual numbers. Stock fit and design goes into it, but also shooting position, technique, barrel length, etc. With the same barrel length, the 308 will have less muzzle blast and concussion that the shooter would feel, making the perceived recoil less. In other words, a more pleasant gun to shoot, even at almost identical recoil. Usually that's not much of an issue, but if you know you have a flinching problem, it is one to be aware of.

 

The t3x seems to take care of the complaints that the t3 generated, mainly a recoil pad that needed upgrading and filling the synthetic stock with foam eliminating noisyness, interesting.....

 

And got rid of the plastic bolt shroud. Most people I know who own one replaced that right off the bat.

 

Awesome article! This solidified a lot of theories for me. Thanks again!

 

No worries! Thought I'd help since I've been through this myself.

 

Mine came with the optilock rings, but I ordered some Talley's off of opticsplanet or Amazon and they've been solid.

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/26...ley-_-265484&gclid=CKHpwJ7eps4CFdgQgQodB0kOgw

 

Here's what they look like on the rifle.

 

That's a nice looking rifle. What's the caliber?

 

I know a handful of guys with T3's using the factory rings with no issues at all. Smallest caliber of that was a 30-06.

Im going to use the factory rings with my VX3 and see how it goes.

No sense spending more money unless I have to.

 

.270 win

 

A good set of rings cost less than the amount of ammo you'll shoot trying to figure out what's wrong with your rifle if things go wrong. Lot's of people use factory and have no problem with them. Many have had problem's though. If it was mine I would use a good set of rings I trust and not have to wonder if/when my rings might cause me troubles.

 

I'll try them first. I've owned Sako rifles with factory rings and they were totally fine. In fact better than most as they are notched for those dovetail receivers, which was really nice for my .338 mag

 

There is a huge difference in Sako rings and Tikka rings. Not saying that makes the Tikkas bad, but there is a noticeable difference in quality.