Which commercial bolt action sporter would make the best war rifle?

The way things are going--it might have to be pressed into service.

I'm thinking a stainless Ruger in .308.

I'd go with something that sees some sort of military (or at least professional) use. That for me would be something like a Rem 700 of some sorts.

the new Winchester Model 70...seeing as how alot of it is made in the same facility where FN makes our fun guns for the military...and the action has a pedigree traced from the Mauser 98...why bother with anything else?

Considering the ease of rebarreling and headspacing, I'll vote for the Savage family.

I'd go with something that sees some sort of military (or at least professional) use.Good thinking.

The Mauser Gew. 98 was proven in two world wars, the Boer War, and various minor conflicts too numerous to mention); so you really can't go wrong with any sporter built on a genuine 98 action.

All of the above comments also apply to the Lee-Enfield, which would be an even better choice. Rugged, good accurate, very fast action, ten-round magazine: the sporterized No. 4 has it all!

I'll second that, get yourself a nice lee-enfield or 98k or 1903 springfield.

Winchester model 70
CZ 550
Or ruger m77


Mauser style claw extractor, much superior to the extractor of the remington 700.

There is a reason that dangerous game rifles have claw extractors. A battle rifle should be at least as reliable.

AR-10. Hey, you never said it had to be a manually operated bolt.

Darn near anything with iron sights, still. That would almost completely negate most of the 700 series. Some M70s still have 'em, but more rugers seem to; that being said, I wouldn't want an investment-cast mechanism to be my "go-to" rifle, IMO. And I have no idea if ANY savages come with Irons.

If it came with a 1913 rail to put a quick(er) sight acquisition method on there, that could be handy, but those Irons are going to be, IMO, irreplaceable.

parker-hale m85 & m86. they were both available commercially & the m85 was used in the falkland islands, they are also mauser based

700 bdl in 308 of course

Fastest of the bolt gun battle rifles was the British Lee Enfield .303 No 4 Mk1, 1.5, 2. Far superior to the German Mauser. For today's version, I would go with the .308 version of the Lee Enfield. When properly "regulated" they were the most accurate until the modern advent of the very stiff single shot receivers. Of course today they are hard to come by. And if you say modern commercially available, there none except rebuilds of the mausers. The Winchester Model 70 and Remington Model 700 have been modified for target and sniper use - hardly a battle rifle or warrifle.

Rem. 600 Mohawk in .308 w/ bull barrel if you can find one
Rem. 700 S.P.S. or B.D.L. in .308,with the right glass, all of the above have been reliable for ME in the past . I know im going to catch crap for this ,but IT WORKS FOR ME

The Winchester Model 70 and Remington Model 700 have been modified for target and sniper use - hardly a battle rifle or war rifle.Correct.

For today's version, I would go with the .308 version of the Lee Enfield. When properly "regulated" they were the most accurate until the modern advent of the very stiff single shot receivers. Of course today they are hard to come by. And if you say modern commercially available, there none except rebuilds of the mausers.Might be of interest: AIA M10-No.4 (http://www.marstar.ca/gf-AIA/M10-N4.shtm).

Ruger 77MkII in whatever chambering suits you - 308 is fine.

I'd think iron sights and common ammo would be high on the list.

Remington 700 varmit heavy barrel in .308 with a good Leupold scope on top.

Remington Seven, .243 Win, iron sights. Deadly.

Stay away from the bull barrels (too bulky/heavy for anything but firing from a static position) and scope sights (too fragile).

The way things are going--it might have to be pressed into service.Care to elaborate? The Red Dawn scenario seems increasingly unlikely.:scrutiny:

Any bolty w/ iron sights... I'd personally take a M70.

On second thought, I'd go with a Win 70 or CZ 550 in .243 win, for the controlled feed. Fiberglass stock.

The SMLE would be the answer, but for the question which specifically eliminates military-designed rifles, by implication. The question is: Which "commercial" bolt action sporter? Now if Navy Arms is still making a commercial version of the No. 4, then it fits the parameters of the question, and I change my answer to that - are they?

Push-feed is an unacceptable feature in a battle rifle. Remington's no-lock safety makes the 700 an even worse choice.

Winchester or CZ are fine rifles.

However I think I'd vote for the Ruger 77, which is cheap and rugged, more important than refinement in a military application. Ruger's gray stainless finish could work extremely well, also.

Since the OP specified "commercial rifles" I'll nominate Fionn MacCumhaill, my Winchester Model 70 made in 1939. It has a clip slot, and a peep sight snuggled under the rear scope base. All it needs is military style handguards and a bayonet lug.

a BSA Lee Speed.

"Push-feed is an unacceptable feature in a battle rifle. Remington's no-lock safety makes the 700 an even worse choice."

The AR15 is a push feed...

As to "no scopes"...every other gun I see from the war now has a scope on it.

I'd say a GAP 700 sporter with detachable magazine would be my choice...GAP being a commercial entity.

Second choice would be a styer scout rifle

Really I like the idea of the enfield in .308 best.

Guess my original thinking was a plain commercial hunting rifle that would stand up to hard use and little maintenence if pressed into service for a conflict.


Wouldn't your basic Leupold or Burris scope stand up?? Since most hunting rifles don't even offer iron sights anymore.

Ruger - coupled with an M14 magazine

someone did the mod here on the forum...

My very limited experience with scoped rifles indicated to me that I could acquire target and get off shots quicker and more accurately than with iron sights. As noted above, most special forces troops have scopes on their rifles (at least in the pictures I saw) and a good many other of our soldiers did also. I'd recommend scoping at least one of your rifles. A scoped deer rifle is a dangerous long range weapon that doesn't have that evil black rifle look.

enfield, 10 round mag. remmy with the aftermarket 10 round mag. 10 rounds will be considered your hi cap battle rifle.