Hunting & Fishing Would like some opinions on a hunting rifle.

[libertyman777]

Ok, so I'm looking for a walk-about, hunting, truck gun. Bolt action. I live in Alabama. We have deer, pigs, coyote, bobcat, etc. There have been 350 plus pound hogs killed on our family land. Caliber .308 (I have a tremendous amount of reloading supplies for .308 and it will work nicely on anything around here at the distances I hunt.)

I could not imaging a shot longer than 250-300 yards with most being under 150. Barrel length 20" or less. I'd like to keep the weight under 8lbs with glass. Sights are a plus. I'll have it threaded if it's not already. Glass, 2x to 6x., I prefer fixed power scopes.

I guess I'm making a good case for a scout rifle, but what has your experience been?

Now the last and most important thing, Reliability. CRF is nice. But besides FN or a rebarreled Mauser, I'm not sure who has one. I've never had a push round feed jam up so it may not be an issue.
One thing I would like an opinion on are magazines. Blind box has a lot going for it with regard to simplicity. I don't see going with a chassis or trying to get bottom metal for AICS unless it comes with it like the Ruger GSR or the Savage.

I like to buy used rifles so I can try to save a bit. My price limit is $1000 including scope, rings, a couple of spare mags (if it's mag fed).

Here's what I've found in no particular order.

Mossberg MVP Scout. Uses certain AR10 mags. The bolt situation looks a little busy to me but would like opinions.
Savage 110 Hog Hunter.
Savage 110 Scout.
Howa 1500 but it's hard to figure out their configurations.
Remington 700 SPS Tactical and ACC-SD
Remington Model 7 Threaded
Tikka (but I'm not sure if I can get the "lite" version threaded).
Ruger American Predator
Ruger GSR

So what are your thoughts.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Patton63]

Remington 700 with the 16.5” barrel. The barrel comes threaded. Swap out the trigger and it will serve your intended purposes very well.

 

[bucklowery]

Mine is the 700 tactical 20”
I like the bdl or blind so there is nothing to hang on or when pooping on truck or door
The savage is equally good

Thanks

Buck

 

[Maxduty]

Mossberg MVP Scout.
I've owned one and got rid of it. Poorest finish on any gun I've ever seen

Remington 700 SPS Tactical and ACC-SD
Own these. Heavy guns. Quality of newer (90s and up) guns is spotty at best. You may get a shooter or you may buy something that needs a new barrel to work.

Tikka
Haven't seen threaded ones in the lite version, but my 300 WM is very light. Might look at the CTR to get the options you want

Ruger American Predator
Have several of these. Good guns, threaded barrels from the factory. Haven't found one that won't shoot. I've restocked them in Magpuls and like them.

 

[BBVDD]

I have a Ruger American Predator that I replaced the stock with a Magpul American Hunter with a magazine. Adjustable trigger helps. Also a very short rifle with a factor 18” barrel.

Very happy with mine.

 

[Long Range 338]

I find CRF actions for hunting to be enchanting. Too many options out there to list but just the CRF options are

-Winchester
-FN
-Mauser
-CZ
-Ruger
-Interarms

Finding a used rifle in any of the above shouldn't be too tough. Short, light 308s with heavier bullets can kick like a mule however.

 

[Maxduty]

I do need to add, there is one thing about the Ruger that I'm not a fan of. The bolt will lift with a round in the chamber if it brushes anything. I found out the hard way on a running deer when it failed to fire. In my haste, I just racked another round in the chamber and got my shot off.

 

[theLBC]

thinking out of the box about hogs, i would also consider a lever gun for this.

Browning BLR lightwieght or take down?

 

[D2junky]

Kimber Montana offers it all and in the world of Kimber roulette the 308’s are usually stellar.

 

[Long Range 338]

Kimber Montana offers it all and in the world of Kimber roulette the 308’s are usually stellar.

Forgot about the Kimber, thats a great option. Also Montana Rifles.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

A Barrett Fieldcraft might work if you’re willing to spend more than $1,000. 18”, threaded 5/8x24, blind mag, full length bedded, stellar accuracy.

 

[HogsLife]

Rem 700 AAC SPS Tactical or Mil Spec 5R

 

[sako17]

Remington 700 with the 16.5” barrel. The barrel comes threaded. Swap out the trigger and it will serve your intended purposes very well.

You DO know that some of the M700's will fire, without touching the trigger, when you disengage the safety? Especially if someone has pullled the trigger (hard, usually) with the safety engaged. Remington got their butts sued off about that. So test it for this before buying.

 

[HogsLife]

You DO know that some of the M700's will fire, without touching the trigger, when you disengage the safety? Especially if someone has pullled the trigger (hard, usually) with the safety engaged. Remington got their butts sued off about that. So test it for this before buying.

That’s why he said to swap out the trigger. Also, many of those issues came from people adjusting their factory triggers too light and then not running them through drop test etc to make sure they were safe to operate.

 

[45.308]

I want something with open sights and 16.5" barrel and can QD mount a MRO / 1-4x for a tote and truck gun. I don't like scout scopes.

Mossberg MVP. Feels cheap and they are but are good shooters. Sold dozens with good customer feedback. Best open sights of the bunch. Most customers prefer the AR style mags, cheap, everywhere and 5 - 100 rounds. . Full rifle package well within your price range. I might add sling sticks. No real QC issues.

Savage Scout. Better feel especially the action but was a hard sell. Don't know why but the Mossberg sold better. Guessing, AR mags. Average QC but did have some odd ones.

Ruger Scout, at first sold well. Had some QA issues so sales slumped as the others came out and the price.

Tikkas have always been a strong seller. In 11 years selling them never had a single QC issue.

Ruger Americans sold well. Average QC. Good bang for the price.

Remington 700s have always been the top seller. Yep they get the junk QC but selling in the business for 17 years, they have no more QC % than the other big guys. Are they what they once were, nope but I have guns from several manufacture from the 60s and nothing today has that same quality feel. I tuned a 700 trigger or two, I am not a trigger guru just tried to use some common safety sense.

Howas are a hard sell but good to go. Above average QC

Winchesters cant give them away. They really lost credibility. Average QC but on the low side of average.

Sold FNs for a few years, didn't sell. Don't remember QC.

Push Vs CRF is over blown. Had a quite a few discussions at the shop. Some were very passionate around the CRF but their reasonings were head scratching.

good luck

 

[brianf]

For off the shelf no tinkering
Sako 85

 

[Patton63]

You DO know that some of the M700's will fire, without touching the trigger, when you disengage the safety? Especially if someone has pullled the trigger (hard, usually) with the safety engaged. Remington got their butts sued off about that. So test it for this before buying.

Yes, I “DO” know that. As you will notice, I recommended swapping out the trigger as a way of dealing with this possibility.

 

[45.308]

I cant count the numbers of 700s I sold and not once did any customer come back saying it fired without pulling the trigger / release the safety. But I did hear from those who had a friends cousin, aunt, brother in law SEAL (always used as the proof) who did all the time.

Not auguring or saying it didn't happen, just not from my experience. Do I 100% believe Remington, no but I think there is more to this than the average guy knows. And I tuned a few. The X Mark I replaced real quick, don't like them. Have no experience on what 700s have now.

 

[libertyman777]

Gentlemen,
Thanks so much for the input, I'm really glad I put this up for discussion.

I've bounced back and forth between the scout type rifles to some relatively light precision rifles like a Steyr SSG 69 or the M40 or M40a1'ish.

So in exploring the scout platform, I started looking seriously at the Steyr. Pricey and there is some question concerning thread pitch. I think some of the early threaded models had 1/2x20 threads but now I think they may be 5/8x24 (I have sent Steyr a question, should have a response), but if you happen to know, please chime ine.

Anyway, while looking at the Steyr Scout, I came across the Steyr THB. Really interesting rifle. I'll never shoot the barrel out so rebarrel is not a worry. That 16" barrel model would be perfect for a can.

So, I think I've got it narrowed down to two Steyrs. We'll see what happens. I have to sleep on it and obsess for a while, lol.

 

[DangerRanger]

You can thread a tikka 1/2x28 and bigger if you’ll cut it shorter

 

[Dougie308]

How about an AR10? Plenty of them reasonably priced that would be accurate enough at the ranges mentioned.

Ok, so I'm looking for a walk-about, hunting, truck gun. Bolt action. I live in Alabama. We have deer, pigs, coyote, bobcat, etc. There have been 350 plus pound hogs killed on our family land. Caliber .308 (I have a tremendous amount of reloading supplies for .308 and it will work nicely on anything around here at the distances I hunt.)

I could not imaging a shot longer than 250-300 yards with most being under 150. Barrel length 20" or less. I'd like to keep the weight under 8lbs with glass. Sights are a plus. I'll have it threaded if it's not already. Glass, 2x to 6x., I prefer fixed power scopes.

I guess I'm making a good case for a scout rifle, but what has your experience been?

Now the last and most important thing, Reliability. CRF is nice. But besides FN or a rebarreled Mauser, I'm not sure who has one. I've never had a push round feed jam up so it may not be an issue.
One thing I would like an opinion on are magazines. Blind box has a lot going for it with regard to simplicity. I don't see going with a chassis or trying to get bottom metal for AICS unless it comes with it like the Ruger GSR or the Savage.

I like to buy used rifles so I can try to save a bit. My price limit is $1000 including scope, rings, a couple of spare mags (if it's mag fed).

Here's what I've found in no particular order.

Mossberg MVP Scout. Uses certain AR10 mags. The bolt situation looks a little busy to me but would like opinions.
Savage 110 Hog Hunter.
Savage 110 Scout.
Howa 1500 but it's hard to figure out their configurations.
Remington 700 SPS Tactical and ACC-SD
Remington Model 7 Threaded
Tikka (but I'm not sure if I can get the "lite" version threaded).
Ruger American Predator
Ruger GSR

So what are your thoughts.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[TheBigCountry]

How about the oddball lever-gun in 30-30 or even 45-70? If pigs that large as you say, a 400+ grain load should put them down quick (and I know you specified bolt gun in 308; if that’s the case track down a M70 or Montana 1999?)

 

[libertyman777]

How about an AR10? Plenty of them reasonably priced that would be accurate enough at the ranges mentioned.

I thought about that but I understand that there are issues with .308 semiautomatics and suppression. I don’t think I mentioned that but I need to run a can too.

 

[libertyman777]

How about the oddball lever-gun in 30-30 or even 45-70? If pigs that large as you say, a 400+ grain load should put them down quick (and I know you specified bolt gun in 308; if that’s the case track down a M70 or Montana 1999?)

A 30/30 would do it I’m sure. And I thought about that threaded lever gun, tactical looking thing. But I couldn’t pull the trigger on it.

 

[gopherslayer]

Depending on what you want to spend you could get by cheaply with a Howa/Vanguard. They are better than a Savage Hog Hunter. I have both and prefer the Howa. The Howa is a ranchland compact. It has the “lightweight” action and barrel at 20” the hogue stock is ugly but works well. I also have a Ruger Hawkeye SS that I like to carry in the field and truck for coyotes. I have a 2-7 Nikon Monarch on it and it balances nice.

 

[BBVDD]

I thought about that but I understand that there are issues with .308 semiautomatics and suppression. I don’t think I mentioned that but I need to run a can too.

What issues are you referring to? Over gassed? That’s easy to fix with an adjustable gas block.

I have an AR-10 in 6.5 cm (was a .308 prior to new barrel). Had adjustable gas block and have never had any issues with running a can once it was adjusted properly.

 

[ChrisAU]

Hard to beat a Savage for a truck gun. Who cares if it gets beat up? It's already ugly ha.

 

[blacklab1]

I found a Remington 700 SPS-TB for a great price on sale so I bought it on a whim. For the price point I'm rather impressed how it shoots and how it feels. I did swap out the trigger just because I didn't like the factory one and with a Burris MTAC 4.5x14 ( also on sale) it's a little over the 8lbs mark. But for a truck gun it's perfect, just add can and go.

 

[jwood1284]

RAP .308 w/ AI style mags
https://www.ruger.com/products/americanRiflePredator/specSheets/26974.html

Badger alloy 30mm rings 306-16 (.823 high)

SWFA 6x42 mil-quad.

Should be right under or at 8lbs, and right at your budget.

Go forth and kill stuff.

 

[553SBR]

Ok, so I'm looking for a walk-about, hunting, truck gun. Bolt action. I live in Alabama. We have deer, pigs, coyote, bobcat, etc. There have been 350 plus pound hogs killed on our family land. Caliber .308 (I have a tremendous amount of reloading supplies for .308 and it will work nicely on anything around here at the distances I hunt.)

I could not imaging a shot longer than 250-300 yards with most being under 150. Barrel length 20" or less. I'd like to keep the weight under 8lbs with glass. Sights are a plus. I'll have it threaded if it's not already. Glass, 2x to 6x., I prefer fixed power scopes.

I guess I'm making a good case for a scout rifle, but what has your experience been?

Now the last and most important thing, Reliability. CRF is nice. But besides FN or a rebarreled Mauser, I'm not sure who has one. I've never had a push round feed jam up so it may not be an issue.
One thing I would like an opinion on are magazines. Blind box has a lot going for it with regard to simplicity. I don't see going with a chassis or trying to get bottom metal for AICS unless it comes with it like the Ruger GSR or the Savage.

I like to buy used rifles so I can try to save a bit. My price limit is $1000 including scope, rings, a couple of spare mags (if it's mag fed).

Here's what I've found in no particular order.

Mossberg MVP Scout. Uses certain AR10 mags. The bolt situation looks a little busy to me but would like opinions.
Savage 110 Hog Hunter.
Savage 110 Scout.
Howa 1500 but it's hard to figure out their configurations.
Remington 700 SPS Tactical and ACC-SD
Remington Model 7 Threaded
Tikka (but I'm not sure if I can get the "lite" version threaded).
Ruger American Predator
Ruger GSR

So what are your thoughts.

Thanks,

Paul

Tikka CTR, in .308. My favorite hunting rifle. May be over your weight limit but has everything you're after, shoots fantastic right out of the box with a great trigger.