.308 opinions wanted

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Good choice Tim. I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice.

Now comes the hard part-Choosing optics!
My advice is buy the best that you can afford.If you ask,you will get many opinions from many people.
 
Good .308 purchases

Last year I purchased the Savage 10-FP Choate Tactical Stock with 26" heavy barrel. It is easily holding 0.5"groups of 3 at 100yards shooting off a bag with factory horady ammo. The massive stock and weight of the barrel reduce the recoil to nil. I love the accu-trigger. I still looking for my perfect application of this weapon, living in Wisconsin. Unless I get some private land with a very stable stand overlooking serious range, I am going to keep this as a range gun.

I bought an edge/axis in .308 as well- for my wife for whitetail hunting. She is upsizing from a .243 Stevens. I like the edge plateform: the safety is large and easy to use with gloves, the trigger is crisp at about 5#, the texture on the stock is great. I filled half the buttstock with bond/fiberglass for strength and weight to assist with recoil. Least expensive stainless I have seen. Bolt is so smooth.
 
I am disappointed that I missed the opportunity here....

I found myself in a similar decision making situation a couple years ago. I read every thread I could on nearly every long range shooting forum. My goal was to get a .308 that was going to be a good, inexpensive, starting platform for building a very competitive long range rifle. The local outdoor writer and I both bought brand new rifles and mounted buckmaster mil-dot's on them. His was a savage, mine was a remington sps varmint with the 26" heavy barrel. After multiple trips to the range, my rifle consistently out shot the savage with both factory and hand-loaded ammunition. After 4 or 5 trips out, he sent the savage back to the company believing something was wrong with it.

Now, we both shot both rifles. The Remington was sub-MOA with either of us behind the trigger, while the savage would not put together better than 2" groups. Savage tested the rifle from a machine rest and concluded that "2" groups at 100 yards was well within factory specifications."

Another compelling argument for the Remington 700 or Winchester Model 70 is that these two actions have been nearly exclusively used as the "sniper" platform for the uniformed services. Only in recent years have more weapons entered the field. For what you wanted to spend, you could have had the 700 and upgraded the stock and probably - I know mine is capable - put together sub 1/2" groups.

I hope you have a much different experience with your savage. Personally, I'll never buy one. It is possible that my friend just purchased a lemon, but when the factory concluded that 2" groups were well within factory tolerances, it tainted my outlook towards their product.

The tikka would have been an absolutely excellent choice as well.

I have hit man-size targets at 700+ with my 700 and I'm working up. It's an impressive platform and readily upgradeable with top-of-the-line components.
 
Percy,I'm not calling you out.But I have dealt with Savage on several occassions.If your friends rifle was a Savage Tactical/Varmint model,and shot 2" groups,Savage would have fixed or replaced the rifle.
I'm sure that Remington would also do the same thing,if it shot the same.

I own several Savage rifles,as well as several Remingtons,and Winchesters.
There are always lemons that get out the door,but most of the time the mfg's will fix the problem.
 
I have the same groups from both the Savage and the Rem 700. As you mentioned .5 but both are 20" tac barrels. Will never go for a 26" barrel in either system. They are not as accurate. Hard to say which one is better. The Rem seems to be more upgradable (more aftermarket options). The savage trigger is awesome though.
 
Get the Savage. But if your primarily shooting varmits I wouldn't be shooting .308. I'd get a .223 or .22-250.
 
Dang... Looks like I need to make some Popcorn, got a little debate going on....

I have never done any "Couch Sniping" but sounds like fun... How do you score that?

I have lost count of the long guns I own, there are far more Rems, than anything else. Why, they always worked and shot well outta the box. Most of mine are BDL's that are over 30 years old. I also own a Savage 110, it too shoots very well. I own two Win's one pre 64 in 30-06 and a newer M-70 in .308. It too shoots pretty good.

I'm very sure that Tim will be very happy with his choice.

If I was to pick one brand over the other, well, I may tick somebody off here, But for my personal choice it would be the Remington, and here is why.

To some, guns are like Harley's, no two will be alike, you have to personalize to accessorize. Be it a new seat or a set of pipes..up to full blown race or street clown.

With the Remington 700, there are so many companies that make so many fine products for the 700, Choate, McMillian, Badger Ordinance, you can add detachable mags, long range mounts, adjustable stocks, so many kits a "Gee Gaws" for them that it boggles the mind... Hell I spent the better part of a year looking for a 11 to 20 degree scope mount base for a Sako, and forget long range mounts for a Ruger 77.

Just saying, with the Rem, later on you can rig it the way you want it.. Just my personal choice.

Tim I know that you will be Happy with your Savage, it is a good platform, it is plenty accurate, and many police departments SWAT teams are using them.. That in and of itself is a testament to its quality. "As Civilian SWAT snipers are PRECISION shooters, they HAVE to have pin point accuracy if they are going to "Flip the Switch", (spinal cord disconnect) where as Military Snipers are "Area Shooters" they are just trying to get a body shot, to disable or take them out of the fight." (Carlos Hathcocks words, not mine)
 
Wise words Cop Bob,
The Rem 700 has endless possibilities when it comes to accessories. Also when the Filipino Special Action Force decided for a system they gave the contract to Savage 10FP systems after testing some of the best rifles in the world. And unlike SWAT these are folks that use them in all sort of engagements.

Either TAC brand will give you great accuracy out of the box. For accessorizing will go with the Rem 700 SPS tac. But anyway you do not have to do anything to either system to get great results.
I would be more worry about good mounts, a good scope, good reloads and good gear and training than either choice of system.

Cheers,
E.
 
I have a 700 sps tactical in .308 and love it. You won't be disappointed with a 700 or the .308 round.
 
Did you decide about your rifle?
Click to expand...

Yep, back in post 49. I got a Savage 10FP-SR.

Only taken it to the range once, but so far, I am pretty pleased with it. While I do plan on replacing the stock at some point, the one on it is sufficient for now. It seems like it has much less flex than the factory one that came with my Savage .270.

Most groups I've shot with it have been under an inch at 100 - including some loads with 150g FMJs.
 
There is a lot of debate between Remmy fans and Savage fans. Both companies make really solid rifles when it comes to heavy barrelled varmint/target rifes and you will be well served with either. I have owned both brands and have never been let down by either. All of my hunting buddies shoot Remmy's and they shoot great. In recent years I've leaned towards the Savage's though. I took a chance on Savage and got a Model 12 low profile in 204 and I was amazed by the accuracy. So much that I got another exactly like it the next year. The second one shoots just as good as the first, and the best thing about this setup is that they both shoot the same load equally well. It really makes loading nice. I only need one load so I don't have to worry about mixing up ammo between the two rifles while out prairie doggin.

I then decided that I wanted a long range sniper/target rifle for punching paper. I purchased a Savage 10FP in 308 and put a Choate stock on it. The stock took a little messing around to make it fit properly, but once it was done the result was awesome. I played with a bunch of different powder/bullet combos and came up with a good load. I shoot 168 grain Hornady A-Max's over 46.0 grains of Varget. The bullet is seated .020 off the lands and it gives me consitant accuracy. It will shoot inside .5 at 100 yards. I shot 1.45" at 320 yards, and 5" at 500 yards. I think it will do better than that at 500 if I get it out on a better day though. The day I did it, it was really windy. The attached picture is a 100 yard 5 shot group.

I am really hooked on the Savage brand. Since getting my first, I have sold off my Remmy's and gone completely Savage crazy. I now own 7 of them and they all shoot well. Even though I no longer shoot Remmy's, I would never utter a negative word about them. They are great rifles.

Good luck in your choice. You really can't make a bad choice. I've found that with proper hand loading, you can make any good quality production rifle shoot well. They all have a load that works well, you just have to work to figure out what that is.
 

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