A couple of decent .308s -- any others?

[Shmackey]

I'm looking to get a decent, accurate target .308 -- either by getting a fairly inexpensive one and putting on a new stock, or by just getting one. Either way, I'm trying to keep the costs down. It's easy to get a nice one with plenty of $$$ but it's become interesting to try to find one on a budget.

Ideally, the stock would have an adjustable cheekpiece and more of a target grip than a hunting grip. Far as I can tell, I'm looking at at least $800 for a Tikka Sporter if I insist on those features. If I'm wrong, please let me know!

The following two kind of interest me; they don't have real target stocks per se, but they're nice enough that I wouldn't toss the stock right away like I would for a barebones Savage, for instance.

CZ Laminated Varmint

Remington Laminated 700

What else would you say is comparable to these?

Here's that Tikka, which I know some people consider ugly, but I love that kind of thing. I like Anschutz rifles and that whole look and feel.

Thanks!

 

[cratz2]

As a side note, my local dealer hasn't had very good experience with the VLS stocks being properly floated. If you aren't comfortable doing such things yourself, you'll have to factor in having the stock floated and the trigger adjusted as the CZ and Tikka will both have very decent triggers out of the box and the Remington probably will not.

And I believe that the Howa Varminter (not their 'Varmint') has the same Boyd stock as the CZ and may be had for a bit less cash. I've handled both but have shot neither. I really like that stock but the Tikka is very nice as well - you'll probably be very happy with either one.

 

[Shmackey]

Interesting. The Howa M1500 Supreme comes in a few configurations, including varminter and thumbhole varminter. I'll have to look into these. Wonder if my local guys can order them; I don't see anywhere online that sells them.

 

[gk1]

Remington used to sell barrelled actions; if they haven't stopped doing that, you might be able to order one in and mate it to the stock of your choice without having to pay for the extra parts in the first place. I don't know if the other manufacturers do the same, but it might be worth checking into.

George

 

[dakotasin]

i just ordered a vls in 308; i think this is the best route to go. if the factories offered a 7-08, that would certainly be the best, but they don't.

i doubt that cratz is wrong about the stocks. i don't think remington floats their stocks. i prefer that they don't, i like to do my own tweaking work. as far as the trigger, the rem trigger can be adjusted by you down to 2.5 lbs or so, safely. you can also float your own stock...

i decided on the remington for a couple of reasons. as my financing grows this rifle will become more and more customized. if you've ever looked at a benchrester's catalog, you'll note that if you aren't shooting a custom action, you need to shoot a 700 in order to have fast and easy parts availability.

another issue for me was lock-time. of the factory rifle makers, i believe that remington has the fastest lock time; while lock-time may not be a big deal to some, it is to me.

i went the vls route because these stocks, whether floated or not, are very stiff. i think if the action is floated then bedded and the barrel is floated, the rifle may be capable of some amazing groups.

i have several other remingtons in my cabinet (all sporter weight) and they are quality tools, regardless of what i hear on the net about remington's quality. i am very happy w/ their function and accuracy.

i do a lot of prairie dog shooting, and i have hits out to 600 yards (lasered). i am trying to accomplish 2 things w/ this rifle. first, i want to improve my hit-to-miss ratio beyond 550 yards or so, and second, i am trying to make 1000+ yards...i felt the vls was the best route to take to do this. if there is one thing i don't like about the vls, it is that it comes w/ a 1-in-12 twist. this 12 twist should still stabilize 168's and 175's, i would rather have a 10 twist so that 180's and 190's could be shot (though in a 308, that is asking a lot to send a 180-190 bullet out to 1000 yards).

anyway, i just got this rifle ordered, and expect to have it in the next week or two. i plan to fully wring the gun out before i put aftermarket stuff into it. if you'd like to wait awhile, i can give you full report on it...

 

[Shmackey]

dakotasin,

Yes, please do let me know how it goes!

 

[cratz2]

There's a couple guys online at gunbroker.com that sell Howa rifles. And all my local dealers have said that they can order items from Legacy Sports.

Good luck... be sure to let us know how it goes esp if you get the Howa.

 

[TechBrute]

Remington's a good start...

I've always liked the Remington 700 for a starting point on a rifle. There are more aftermarket accessories, stocks, upgrades, triggers, baseplates, etc for these guns than pretty much any other rifle on the market. They are affordable to start, and the sky's the limit on customizing.

 

[jim]

yes the remingtons are nice accessory wise. hell i own 1 myself
but the cz and tikka will smoke them out of box.
the cz comes stock with a set trigger. clean lines, a great mfg of firearms.
same with tikka. very nice and extremely smooth as silk actions. i am not that much of a bolt action fanatic. bit after the last 2 cz's
i am looking at maybe 1 more then it's the tikka synthetic in .223
then .308
just for grins.

 

[Kahr carrier]

I like the CZ varminter they have one with a Kevlar stock or the Laminated stock.The single stage set triggers are nice.