Wanting to purchase my first gun (Update)

I’m looking at .308s, is there a preferred brand?

Inexpensive and accurate, savage

Agree with Savage.

Been very satisfied with Tikka

If I get another one I would look pretty hard at the CVA bolt action if I was going the more affordable route. It's getting some pretty strong reviews from some gun guys I trust. Food for thought. CVA is owned by Bergara and it uses their barrels with a 3 lug action.
I purchased a new series 1 Weatherby Vanguard this winter in 7mm rem mag and after I bedded the action I am Moore than pleased with its accuracy. More of a mid ranged priced gun.

Bought this awhile back cost about a grand, has good reviews just waiting on my RT6 scope to get here so I can shoot it

Remington 700...hasn't let me down yet

First?

Was very bored yesterday and it cost me! While on the net, I discovered one I've been looking for locally but could never get my hands on. So I ordered the Tika .308 in the compact model. I have the T3x in .270 WSM and absolutely love it. BUT I refuse to pay the $60 per box when I see the .308 for less than half that price. Sooooooo......... man's gotta have ammo to go with it so I also stumbled upon my new favorite ammo the Winchester Deer Season XP for $28 per box. I ordered 10 boxes. Luckily I already have a scope waiting for it.

That is the rifle I'd choose as well unless I wanted a semiauto.

Yes, the first gun I will walk into a store a purchase.

One thing I've learned about rifles over the last 35 years guiding professionally is that you get what you pay for usually. Spend the dollars in the beginning. IMO the best factory rifle on the market today is the Sako. I've had everything else at some point and nothing comes close. As a side note I've seen more Remington's fail in the field than any other brand. Couldnt give me one.

FNAR.

Soo... I would have to agree with the Remington issue... I talked my dad into buying a new Remington Model 700 in 30-06 several years ago, and there are several issues with it! One being that it will not cycle the third or forth shell. It's basically a double barrel rifle!

I bought a savage model 110 when I was 14 years old. I have packed it everywhere, I use it every buck season, and countless predator hunts in the winter. It has never failed me, it is accurate and dependable. I honestly don't where is stands in regards to cost. But I would highly recommend a savage!

I'm not a long range guru, but I constantly kill blacktails and muleys out to 400 yards with hand loads with the old savage 110.

I find the term “Savage” inappropriate, is there another name they can go by?

I should add that I bough my savage before the accutriger was invented. And I did have a gunsmith work on the stock triger... I don't know what he did to it, but the trigger work, and hand loads, did make a huge accuracy improvement for me and my gun.

I am also on a forum focused on hunting. The Tikka T3 gets a tremendous amount of positive support on that site. Overall quality, accuracy, smoothness of action, and value are highly touted.

lol

It's actually the founder's last name.

I bought a Tikka T3X a year ago in 270. It's a decent gun, nice trigger, decent stock for the price but it's accuracy is only decent. Tried 4 different factory loads and best I could do is just a little over 1 moa. I'm sure if I keep playing I can find a better factory load or do better with hand loads but it's not what I would call an inherently really accurate rifle. But I know lots of others that have Tikkas that they claim are real accurate so I may have got the oddball.
Backfire 40 on YouTube has lots of reviews and comparisons of budget and mid price ranged rifles and does a good job comparing them and talking about what he likes and doesn't like about them.

Savage 308 axis

Well it comes down to what kind of hunting you do. For whitetails in the northeast I wanted a lever action brush gun that could perform double duty and reach out an touch somthing out past 100 yards If I had to. I ended up purchasing a Henry Long Ranger in 308 and have been extremely pleased.

I have never regretted buying a higher end gun, I have regretted almost all of the lower end stuff I've bought.

If you can only afford something inexpensive there are several good options, Savage Axis etc, if you can afford to get into a Tikka T3 I would look hard at that option.

FNAR

The Tikka T3 is a good rifle. I've had two, and still have one. Think they have the same barrels the Sakos do. The one thing I dont like about them is they have a two piece bolt and a plastic shroud and trigger guard. Lots of after market parts that will allow you to fix the plastic problem though.

Savages are good rifles too. I read somewhere that they have the strongest safest action out there ?

What is intended use / goal and is there a budget?

Most factory rifles will shoot 2 to 3 inches at 100 yards out of the box, even with modest priced scopes. You may get lucky and get one that shoots lights out, but If not, you can then modify / trick it up, to do better.......like 1 inch a 100 yards. That means some skilled labor and more investment, but doable.

If you want to do better than that, the price starts getting busy in a hurry. If you have the mans, custom jobs can be had that if you can shoot will print 5 shot groups at 100 yards that you can cover with your thumbnail.......or smaller. If your goal is to be able to plink beer cans (or smaller) at 1/4 mile, you will want one of those.

If I were to buy one off the shelf tomorrow , I’d lean towards Bergara. I also have a CZ 550 .308, and it is a tack driver. Hobbie , Larry’s Trading Post in West OC has both these brands, I’d recommend a visit to his shop and handle them. He also carries Tikka, but I’m not familiar with those.

A recommendation. A lot of rifle manufacturers are putting lightweight models on the market. For rugged mountain hunting, I see the advantage. But for deer hunting in our area I prefer a heavy rifle, long barrel heavy stock, for a solid feel and less recoil. Less recoil means you can stay on target and watch impact through the scope. Also, once you make your decision, don’t skimp on your optic! Top it with a nice scope.

Ride over to Snow Hill shoot a few of my rifles if you’d like, more than welcome.

John

in a 308 I like the Ruger SFAR for a semi auto and the Mossberg Patriot predator for a bolt gun , the stock is a little cheap but it hits the points I liked and seems to work well.

the mossberh patriot predator has
picatiny rail for optics mount
threaded muzzle
over sized bolt knob
decent weight 8 pounds 2 ounces ready to hunt without ammo.
5 round magazines that are readily available
I use a Midway AR stoner muzzle brake , almost no recoil with that brake watch the target hit through the scope
I put a Hornady cheek riser bag on it


there are a lot of good bolt action rifles , just need to ask what is your goal , is weight something , is rounds , is bolt , pic rail , threaded muzzle.

these were things on my list.

I have a Savage 110 "Tactical" .308, basically a bull barrel. I bought it in 1996 and haven't looked back. I load a 125 grain round (used to be Sierra but now its Nosler) behind some IMR 3031. Moves out supposedly around 2900 fps and plenty of power for anything in my state outside of elk and lion in the Black Hills. I've bought a number of boxes of W&W "plain white" 147 grain FMJ and was pleasantly surprised that what I had sighted in at 100 yards with the 125s works as well with the 147 FMJ. My rifles are pretty "utilitarian", not overly pampered in any way...

negative on the .308, get 6.5 creedmore....

Henry long ranger you can get it in both 308 or 6.5 creedmore.

Are you even allowed to own guns in Maryland? You're awfully close to DC!!.
I bought a 110 in 1980. Still works fine. I did have to learn how to adjust the firing pin in the bolt.

I have a Mod 7 in 308. Stainless 20 inch barrel. Good little whitetail rifle. Don’t care for the tactical stuff.

Yes, Arthur Savage. He is also credited with inventing the radial tire.


Somebody recommended Sako. Sako and Tikka are made by the same company and have a lot in common. Tikka is the economy version of the Sako. I would like to have a Sako but already have more rifles than I can justify. If they would chamber it in the 7mm PRC I might buy one anyway. BTW it is made in a .308.

.308 is a good choice if you are just going to hunt deer. I have one in a Ruger M77 and my favorite is my Winchester model 100. A lot of good brands out there. Buy what you can afford.

All guns these days have good barrels. Good actions and adjustable triggers makes a difference. throw in an adjustable stock SAVAGE

Can some of you elaborate on the “just deer hunting”, is that about all the .308 is good for?

I’m looking to do a little more than just deer hunt with it.

308 will do anything you want...
Unless you go plum crazy...lol

Excellent, no chance of me going plum crazy.

Any evidence to back up that claim?

Here in Mn. Where my family hunts deer you are not going to shoot long distances. Many members in my family shoot .308's. In my opinion they are good caliber in the woods. I have taken more deer with this caliber than any others. I have also taken a few bear with no issues. Would I take it elk hunting? Maybe if I new for a fact my shots were not excessive yardage shots.

All this advise without any idea what it will be used for. Truck gun- Tikka, Hunting rifle nice enough tobe passed down-Rem 700 bdl, Really nice custom with barrel switch capabilities, Mack Bros.

You might say I’m looking for a “lob” gun. The more I read, the more it looks like the 7mmM is a better starting point. I’m not sure that’s in the budget though.

Yep. I've gone thru the quantity game and have since switched to quality.

308 is good enough for most things but personally I'm a fan of a 30-06 for a one gun do all. Wide variety of ammo choices and lots of ponies under the hood for almost anything and everything you'll find in North America. Lots of good deals on used quality guns some with quality optics.

7mm? Why is that? What is a "lob" gun? Would be a decent sniper rifle, flat shooting.

A 308 loaded with a Barnes tsx/ ttsx will take anything in Noth America. Not familiar with a " lob gun "?

Same here but I'm guessing it has something to with trajectory...as in Red Ryder BB gun.

Yep about 150gr

I think he wants to "lob" one out there.

Remington 700
Savage
Thompson Center
Or build one

If you mean long range when you say lob, I'd look at the prc calibers. Just choose how much punch you want. If your staying inside 400-500 yds 270 / 7mm rem mag.

by LOB you mean lob them out there a ways

how far you looking to shoot 3,4,500

if your going for distance the biggest issue is determining range

starting at 300 yards you have to start figuring in elevation correction basically no matter what you use
is it 6 inches or 8 makes only a little difference either puts you where you don't want to be

so a good range finder and a bunch of rounds down range figuring out your data that is where the real cost it more than just a good rifle

Still waiting on that first gun purchase.

I spent the money on something else.

how far are you looking to shoot

money has a way of doing that.

Mine are called Sauvauge'

I shot some .308s and I like that caliber. My problem is, that isn’t the only shopping I was doing. The debate came down to “how often am I gonna use it”?

And the winner was….

Is your playing that bad, that you can kill one with that?

Considering the state you live in I would be reluctant to buy an over the counter firearm. Is there any online local forums or sites that have used guns for sale. We have 2 here in Alaska. I would look for a face to face sale for a used gun.

I can slay an entire audience with 3 chords and the truth. lol

If you are looking to lob get a 6.5.

Yeah I said it.

Maybe at a target for the creedmoor. Not a long range hunting caliber by my standards. 6.5 prc for long range hunting on medium game is a good starting point.

That's not a Gibson SG is it?

Ruger American or Ruger American Predator. Both shoot great and topped with nice scopes they hit where you aim. No kick to speak of either.

It is.

You shooters probably won’t get it but this is like tac driving @ 400yds for a musician. lol