Looking for a .308

I am looking to get a .308 could anyone give some recommendation. I am looking at the ruger gunsite scout, the Remington 700 spa tactical, or the savage. Any input would help. Thanks Donnie.

 

Mainly just target shooting. Might hunt with it later.

 

I have a Remington 700 PSS in .308. It's a great rifle, I would definitely recommend. Doesn't get much better in terms of aftermarket parts as well

 

Depends on what you want to do with it. I highly suggest Rem 700, but what verison depends on what your plans are. Do you want to use it for a build? or keep it stock to shoot with? What ranges you want to go to? 500 yards or 1500 yards?

 

I am very familur with the Remington 700 and due to it's huge following it will be the to get parts for, not saying it will require them. I really don't think you can go really wrong with any Remington 700. If your looking for just a target gun I would consider a savage model 12, it will probably out shoot anything else in it's price range.

I would pass on the ruger gunsite scout due to the short barrel, it probably won't keep up with the longer barreled bolt guns.

I guess I don't know what type of range you expect, other wise I may have more of an idea.

 

I'm new to the whole shooting thing. The range that is close to me is only 100 yards but there are a few that are a couple hours away that are a mile. I just want a decent maybe 1000 yard gun under a grand.

 

if you are trying to push 1000 yards accurately, you will need to do some custom work on your gun. This is where it gets tricky, if you want to build a custom, start out with a cheap 700, such as a youth or SPS varmint (you ate just buying it for the action and barrel). From there you can upgrade stock/chassis, trigger, etc (though the new xmark trigger is not too bad on the 700, but for 1000 yards you will probably want something new). The problem here is the barrel twist on this version is 1 in 12, which is not ideal for throwing long ranges. However, this can be overcome with developing nice handloads. My current build will reach out to 1400 yards or beyond with a 1 in 12 twist with 175 SMK on top of some varget with CCI primers.

Nice thing about the tactical and varmint is that they have a very heavy barrel. This is bad for hunting, but good for long range/target shooting (barrel dissipates heat better…heat will affect your shots). The tactical is a shorter barrel though, which means less muzzle velocity. To get a 308 out to 1000 yards you need either a HOT 155 gr (scenar for example), or a pretty hot 175 grain (SMK for example). The shorter barrel will make these rounds go subsonic sooner and tumble, limiting your range.

If you want one out of the box wiht minimal changes, that may get you to 1000 yards, I suggest the AAC-SD. Ideally you would want to change the Houge stock out, but if you keep it, you will need to at least bed the action and free float the barrel, but she should reach out to 800-100 yards.

Also there is the 700P wich is basically an upgraded Varmint, same twist, barrel, etc, but a MUCH better stock (you coudl keep the original stock on and reach out pretty far)

The other choice for an out of the box 1000 yard reacher, would be the milpec 5-R…this is a 1 in 11” twist which is more ideal to 1000 yards.

My suggestion is to pick up an SPS varmint and upgrade the stock, it will end up being cheaper in the long run. (this is what I did)


All that being said, if you are new to long range shooting, I suggest you start with a .22 or other smaller caliber to get the basics down, wind doping, range finding, etc. you will burn through a LOT of match grade (exp) ammo if you start out with a 308 and try to reach out that far.

Long range precision shooting is very meticulous and is an art…takes a LOT of practice and still. Much better to get the practice on a cheap round like a 22 than a dollar a shot like a 308.
And be careful, shooting is very expensive. The gun is the cheapest part of the bunch. Ammo gest very expensive. I started reloading thinking "this will save me money" but it doesn’t, it costs the same amount, I can just shoot more..haha, if you are serious about going for 1000 yards, you will want to start reloading yourself. Equipment to reload for 1000 yards will run you over a grand. Scales, metplat trimmers, case trimmers, neck trimmers, etc. The goal is to be consistent.

Also, you are forgetting glass...this is the most important part of the equation. You can have a $5,000 custom GAP rifle, but if you throw on a $500 scope, you will not hit anything.
My rifle (not counting the chassis, etc) cost me like $500 bucks....the glass is $2500 bucks. For long range you NEED good glass, you will be looking at $1500 minimum (that’s for low end high quality glass such as Luepold MK 4). you want really good stuff, which if you are serious about long range, you will, you'll end up with USO, S&B, Vortex Razor, etc. all $2500+

Check out Snipershide.com for all the info you could ever want on precision long range shooting. There are also a lot of very good builds for sale there in the classifieds (hint hint)

 

The drop on a 308 bullet at 1000 yards is appx 38' with the Federal 168 grain BTHP match bullet. If you're planning on being accurate at 1,000 yards.....invest the money on the front end and by a Surgeon or GA Precision. However, it will be very rare that you would ever need/have the opportunity to shoot at 1,000 yards. A slight crosswind at 1,000 yards makes it even more difficult to stay on target. A .308 is not efficient for shots longer than say 600 or 700 yards.

 

do not attempt 1000 yards with 168 gr....run either hot 155 gr (palma style) or 175 SMK......DitryDawg is right, drop is VERY large on a 308....this is one of the reasons good glass is needed, you need a LOT of adjustment to make it out that far.

I am dialing in almost 10 mil at 1,000 yards (with 175 gr), so you need to make sure your glass has the range.

However, saying a 308 is not efficient beyond 700 yards is incorrect. I regularly maintain 8" groups at 1000 and have reached out to 1500 before. I know others that hit a mile with their 308....a 168 gr is NOT efficient past 600 yards though.

 

thanks everyone for the info.. after doing a little more research i think i have decided on the Remington 700 sps tactical but in a .223 and not a .308 because of the cost of the ammunition. will i regret going for the .223 over the .308??

 

If you ever want to hunt with it your answer is yes

 

Remington 700 vbs has the triangle barrel. I have one in digital camo and out of tbe box can't be beat. Guy bought it off of bought it for shooting 1000 yrds. Just never got to shit it but i have and i love it. I bought all tbe calibers the made in tbat version.

 

If you are still thinking of trying for 1000 yards it is a big push for a .223....it is possible with 75 or 77 gr bullets behind a VERY hot load >max load so you will burn through brass quickly) with a longer barrel to get the velocity. The problem is the tactical is a short barrel, so basically, you wont be effectively reaching 1000 yards with a 223 out of a tactical.

as i mentioned before, shooting is a very pricy sport, if you are just getting into it, I suggest you build yourself a bench rest 22 (assuming you are not hunting)...then you can start diving into reloading and playing with bigger calibers. I still LOVE taking my 22s out, i can shoot ALL day driving tacks putting round after round through a single hole at 100 yards for the price of one 20 rd box of larger caliber stuff.

If you are looking for 500 yards or so, a 223 in a tactical will be fine (can probably push out to 600-800 with good match grade ammo, which will cost a bit). I would actually suggest getting it chambered in 5.56, this will allow you to use bulk mil surplus ammo or match grade .223 (you can shoot 5.56 out of .223 chamber, but the other way around is not suggested).

The nice thing about a 308 is that it is actually a very common round as well. If you are chambered in .308, you can shoot 7.62 (again allows you to shoot bulk mil surplus for short range plinking) then you can shoot good match grade 308 for long range stuff

 

I like all the recomendations! Shooting is indeed an expensive hobby... I just thought of one more good piece of advise. Firearms are one of the few things in the world that don't lose value a whole lot. Therefore, I would go with one of the .22 caliber catriges. As long as you buy a gun that wont drop its value you can get your feet wet and sell it down the road if you decide you want something different.

Since your starting out I would go with one of the factory tack drivers. If you want a detachable magazine CZ makes a few that are pretty nice and will resale for good money.

Do you want to stay with a millitary caliber?

 

I have a 700 PSS and IMO it is too heavy for stand hunting (I've tried) but is a real tack driver for bench and proned shooting. Like the above posts it's an amazing gun though. I am currently building an M24 in .308 and having a barrel custom made to mil spec.

 

wow lots of big green lovers here. If anything at least look at some of the savages they have the out of the box accuracy thats pretty hard to beat right now and a price you cant argue with. If anything take a look. I looked at rugers, rems and savage last year when I was shopping for my 300 win mag. I went with the savage and couldnt be happier with the function and accuracy of the gun plus if you get an accu-trigger you wont regret it.

 

Agree, I'd take my chances with a Savage or Tikka/Sako before Remington.

 

I went with savage but I am limited a little being a lefty so alot of brands where out. I looked a Tikka/Sako just enough to find out the dont make a lefty bolt gun.

 

I do not own either the Remington or the Ruger, but I was shopping for a short .308 bolt action not long ago and looked real hard at the Ruger. I saw a lot of vids and read a lot of reviews where the bolt could bind up while closing. It is not a critical fault, but I have handled a number of bolt actions that were smooth as butter and cheap as dirt. Did not see why I would settle on that little piece of tacticool.

I think there may be some legality problems with using the .223 for deer hunting (depends on where you are). There are definitely some ethical problems. The .223 would be hard pressed to make consistent one shot kills.

 

Definitly the case that most states require .243 caliber and up to hunt deer. The .223 does a great job with varmits (coyotes are one of the more fun things to hunt in my opinion). If it is okay to use .22 caliber in your state to hunt deer you really need to make sure your using the right bullet like the nosler partition for instance. The other thing i the smaller the caliber is the better shot you have to be to make a human kill.

I don't think think you'll regret the purchase, buy a scope that would span the gap in the two calibers. Shoot it bone stock and see what you think. If you decide you want something different go that route.

Welcome to the shooting/hunting sport. Have a blast, pun intended.