Hey everybody, new member to the Forum. I'm here looking for recommendations and advice for a long range .308 bolt rifle. I have had a SCAR 17, but I decided I would rather have my long range rifle in a bolt action. I have my tactical set-up for close to intermediate range covered, so now I need to set up my gun for intermediate to long range. I am partial to the Remington 700 series of rifles as I have a .270 Win and 7mm Magnum (both of which I am selling to fund the .308). My application for this rifle is mostly hunting in the Rocky Mountain range and desert of Southeastern Idaho. Mainly mule deer and elk, possibly wolf and bear. I have done research on the Remington 700 SPS in .308 and have found mixed reviews on the accuracy of the rifle. I have decided to come to the pros of the long range world to help me in my decision. Thanks fellas! -Jason
- Thread starter jasonostermiller
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Everyone here is going to say do yourself a favor and don't buy a 700 and buy a 6.5 creedmor. If your only hunting, I'd just keep the rifles you have. If your talking lots of rounds down range at steel and paper, than yes a 308. I only say that because you can buy military surplus and keep the brass for reloading in the future. I'd buy a savage instead, better accuracy out of the box and value.
Thanks for the response Ian. I am wanting to sell my two other bolt rifles to consolidate the ammo I have to save up to my primary calibers. The main reason I am thinking the .308 is a good choice is because of its role in our military and the experiences I have had with my dad hunting with his Rem 700 .308. I feel like it is a great all around caliber for my hunting needs.
Get a Tikka T3x lite or CTR in 308.
Have you considered a long action 308? You could sell the 7 mag and rebarrel the 270 into a 308. Swap stocks and you'd be set. Probably a less expensive way to a more accurate rifle, provided you are tolerant of long action. To save weight, a short action is a bit less. Tikka's are smooth.
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There is nothing wrong with the tried and true .308.
Are there better short action rounds in regards to cheating the wind, etc... Yes.
There are literally dozens of different factory match loads for the .308, it has long barrel life, is easy to reload (as most short action cartridges are) and there is a plethora of different bullet weights for it.
Are there better rifles than the Model 700? Again, yes. Two in the same price range come immediately to mind, the Tikka and the Howa 1500.
But, I have four 700's and all of them shoot well and none have given me any problems.
Keep in mind the SPS is a bare bones rifle in a crappy stock.
The SPS tactical was the base rifle for MANY home builds just a few years ago and the non-threaded, 12 twist barrel had a very good reputation for accuracy, the 10 twist threaded barrel could be a bit more finicky.
The first thing to go was the stock, frequently replaced with a Bell and Carlson, but sometimes with stocks or chassis systems 3-4 times the cost of the rifle.
The next thing to go was the trigger, then folks would shoot them till they were bored with the .308 or shot the barrel out, then they would rebarrel to whatever the flavor of the month was. For a while, the various 6.5's were that flavor, then the 6mm's seemed to take over.
Make your decision based on the type of hunting you do. If open fields and long shots are the norm, look to a 24-26 inch barrel. If you are in the brush and shots typically short, look to a 20" barrel. You can reach out a significant distance with a 20" barrel and it is probably the most flexible barrel length for the .308. Handy but capable of long shots.
I like heavier barrels, so I would lean towards the SPS tactical, bell and carlson M40 stock and eventually a trigger tech or timney trigger
Are there better short action rounds in regards to cheating the wind, etc... Yes.
There are literally dozens of different factory match loads for the .308, it has long barrel life, is easy to reload (as most short action cartridges are) and there is a plethora of different bullet weights for it.
Are there better rifles than the Model 700? Again, yes. Two in the same price range come immediately to mind, the Tikka and the Howa 1500.
But, I have four 700's and all of them shoot well and none have given me any problems.
Keep in mind the SPS is a bare bones rifle in a crappy stock.
The SPS tactical was the base rifle for MANY home builds just a few years ago and the non-threaded, 12 twist barrel had a very good reputation for accuracy, the 10 twist threaded barrel could be a bit more finicky.
The first thing to go was the stock, frequently replaced with a Bell and Carlson, but sometimes with stocks or chassis systems 3-4 times the cost of the rifle.
The next thing to go was the trigger, then folks would shoot them till they were bored with the .308 or shot the barrel out, then they would rebarrel to whatever the flavor of the month was. For a while, the various 6.5's were that flavor, then the 6mm's seemed to take over.
Make your decision based on the type of hunting you do. If open fields and long shots are the norm, look to a 24-26 inch barrel. If you are in the brush and shots typically short, look to a 20" barrel. You can reach out a significant distance with a 20" barrel and it is probably the most flexible barrel length for the .308. Handy but capable of long shots.
I like heavier barrels, so I would lean towards the SPS tactical, bell and carlson M40 stock and eventually a trigger tech or timney trigger
excellent advice from fdkay, his experiences mirror just about everybody else who get the long range shooting bug.
and stick with a 308 if nothing else then its what you used with your dad.
308 is still a great round, it didnt all of a sudden become the equivilent of a 30-30 ballistic wise.
still hits steel at 800+ yards and still puts animals down in the field.
and stick with a 308 if nothing else then its what you used with your dad.
308 is still a great round, it didnt all of a sudden become the equivilent of a 30-30 ballistic wise.
still hits steel at 800+ yards and still puts animals down in the field.
if you don't mind spending the $$ get a g.a. precision crusader 308
The .308 is great round to learn with, and a great round to hunt with. Most everything in the same price range is about the same. Scopes, rifles, stocks, triggers, exedra. You can get a Remage barrel in 308 for that .270, for about 300 bucks. It may not be long shooting long range before you want FGMM 308, instead of the short range ammo for your SCAR. The same ammo will go bang in both guns, but FGMM is expensive to plink with, and most ball ammo is not very accurate.
The Tikka is a nice looking rifle. What model of the T3x do you recommend? And does the 1MOA accuracy promise hold true?
Steyr has a great deal on their scout package: https://steyrarms.com/steyr-scout-package.html
This is great advice, the 308 is plenty capable.
These days I'd probably buy a T3X CTR though. Retail on a non stainless model is just under a grand and it would probably be worth calling Euro Optic to see if they're doing any specials on them or have any coming up.
I have been lucky with my Remington purchases, though admittedly, the last one I purchased was immediately stripped down and used as a donor action.
The only hard choice I can see nowadays is picking between the Tikka and the Howa, both of which I would pick before a remington for an out of the box rifle. I would likely buy a stock Savage before a Remington if I was going to use it as is.
A shame, really as the Remington name doesn't mean much anymore. Profits over product. Sometimes, they can't see the forest for the trees and the shoddy QC will begin costing them sales with the general public.
We, here on the hide, tend to be more discerning and recognize the problems sooner than most "occasional" shooters.
The only hard choice I can see nowadays is picking between the Tikka and the Howa, both of which I would pick before a remington for an out of the box rifle. I would likely buy a stock Savage before a Remington if I was going to use it as is.
A shame, really as the Remington name doesn't mean much anymore. Profits over product. Sometimes, they can't see the forest for the trees and the shoddy QC will begin costing them sales with the general public.
We, here on the hide, tend to be more discerning and recognize the problems sooner than most "occasional" shooters.
I like the Savage 11VT, available only from Dick's Sporting Goods. It's currently available as a package with the Bushnell 4-12x40 scope, for $449 (25% off). It uses the standard Savage Varmint Heavy 24" barrel, and .308 is one of the available chamberings. I have one in .308 and another in .223.
I replaced the package optics with a Mueller 8-32x44 Target Dot scope, Vortex rings, and an EGW 20MOA base. The stock was also replaced with a Choate Tactical. Even with the replacements, the upgraded package comes in under $1000.
I have shot the .223 in 600yd competition. I will be test shooting the .308 with 178 ELD-X handloads soon, after the newly arrived Choate stock has been mounted.
I mounted the takeoff Bushnell scope on a .30-'06 hunter, where it's better suited.
Greg
I replaced the package optics with a Mueller 8-32x44 Target Dot scope, Vortex rings, and an EGW 20MOA base. The stock was also replaced with a Choate Tactical. Even with the replacements, the upgraded package comes in under $1000.
I have shot the .223 in 600yd competition. I will be test shooting the .308 with 178 ELD-X handloads soon, after the newly arrived Choate stock has been mounted.
I mounted the takeoff Bushnell scope on a .30-'06 hunter, where it's better suited.
Greg
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PTG has barreled actions for sale, rather cheap right now. The 308 heavy barrel Howa is going for $299 right now, slap a good BC stock on it for 300-400, and all rigged up perfectly pretty cheap...
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If you are on a budget I recommend a howa 1500 lots of design features that make it better than a Remington 700 like a flat bottom receiver and m16 extractor. They are also very well built from the factory. I have three now. You can get all sorts of aftermarket stocks and bottom metals and scope rails. Not as much aftermarket as a Rem 700 but still a lot and you get a better rifle without having to true the action etc.
Thanks for the replies. I'm selling my two other rifles today, and trying to decide between the Howa and the Tikka. I'll let you guys know what the decision is.
Barrett MRAD
Tikkas are very nice. One of the smoothest factory actions I've messed with and are quite accurate out of the box. I just recently got rid of my Tikka 308, but am seriously considering building my next rifle on either a Howa 1500 or Savage action. Bergara could be another option...?
I am running a GAP Gladius .308 and really like it. If you ever want to give it a try, I am in Eastern Idaho and would be happy to let you get behind it. PM if interested.
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