Can the .308 offer me Varmint, Tactical, medium game?

[Greywolf]

OK, before I invest in two or more bolt action rifles (.308, .223, et. al.) could the .308, loaded by hand with various bullet weights, powders, etc., serve the purpose of a long-range Tactical rifle, a long-range Varmint rifle, and a good medium game rifle?

Would it require me to have different scopes, then, to track properly with the loads for Varmint vs. Tactical vs. Game?

I always have more scopes than rifles, so that wouldn't be a problem if I had to do it that way.

However, if the .308 won't do the trick as a Varmint rifle, should I get the ever-popular and ubiquitous .223, or some other whiz-bang round?

 

[Infidel]

If you want just one rifle, then you can't do better than the .308. The cartridge can fill any and all of those roles.

What is your "tactical" role? Are you an LEO sniper? If you are Very serious about long-range "tactical" match shooting, then you probably will eventually want a heavy, long-barreled .308 or even more serious, something like the 6.5-.284. Such a rifle is a hassle to take hunting.

I don't see any difference in equipment for long-range Varmint and long-range "tactical". High-power scope, lots of practice.

For hunting, light weight is preferable and lower scope magnification is preferable, at least for me. Any scope bases that allow you to remove and replace scopes while maintaining zero will work.

One rifle, two scopes, Buy Ammo, Use Up, Repeat, until you learn whether or not you Really want specialized equipment for one or more of the activities. Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[user203]

Pretty much mimmick the above plan, with exception of tactical.

If You are doing precise work, long range, it has to be at a min. 10 pounds in weight. That I do not see You carrying all day hunting. You may use a mil-dot scope for the range estimation, and at 10x it works, 20x just cuts the measures in half. 3.6" per mil dot at 100 yards, and 36" at 1000 yards, so if you know the apporximate size of the target, You will know the distance by the mildot count.

 

[pete f]

what varmints are you planning on, prairie dogs, or coyotes. If you are shooting five times a day then a 308 for a varmint rifle is ok even thirty times a day, would not be too much, but for PD's where 500 round days are not uncommon, a 308 will leave you punch drunk or at least flinching like mad.

think your choices through, you could easily combine two of the three activities into one rifle, say a heavy varmint/ tactical rig made up of a 6.5 /284 or even a 6.5X55 or a 257 robt. or 7 mm 08, for a long time i had a 700 VLS in 7-08 that was an absolute tackdriver, and would have made a great "sniper rifle" too. that was used for long shots on woodchucks, foxes and coyotes. It was replaced by a 25-284 for awhile before I seeked comformity with the masses and had a 6.5 284 built.

If you are going to shoot PD's or something else where you are counting shots by the hundreds, think about getting a designated light varmint rifle, a 223 or a 22-250.

However if you are thinking about a Citizens response rifle, IE a SHTF rifle then a 308 with a heavy sporter barrel might work for all three if you are limiting your number of shots, not planning on carting it to the tops of the rockies, and not planning on over five hundred yard shots unless necessary.

I would prefer a 6.5X66 but a 308 could work

 

[Bigfoot]

A .308 that weighs around 7-8 lbs. with a compact 3-9 scope is pretty tough to beat for an all around game gun including medium range elk. Adding a higher magnification milldot scope and a bipod will bring the weight up. That medium thickness barrel will heat up fast in a varmint field, but for the long range shots like you said or for giving the .223 a cooling break I say choose your favorite rifles because the calibers you picked sound good to me.

Who am I kidding? All I'm doing here is patting myself on the back, I use the .223 and .308 for the same things. Although I did talk to a guy at work today that has a 7600 in 35 Whelen that he wants to trade. Elk beware.