Need help choosing .308 bolt gun

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45Badger

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Getting the urge for a tactical/sniper/sitting in a big tree stand with a heavy/accurate gun kind of rifle.

Willing to spend some money on right rings, bases, optics. Really at a loss on the gun itself.

Winchester and Remington are nice, I guess. I've never been a Savage fan, but really have no facts to base that on.

The price on the new Savage guns with accu-trigger seems an incedible value. Is there something wrong with Savages? Something a couple hundred $$ more incredibly right with others?

If the Savage shoots MOA or better, and has great trigger, I'd rather put the savings in optics, bases, stock, etc.

Also, seems barrel lengths vary from 20-26". What's better? Why?

Need some opinions! Thanks!
 
remington 700 vls in 308, stick a leupold in some warne rings and bolt that onto a ken farrel, badger, or nightforce 20 moa base.

don't get me started on what's wrong w/ savage...

the vls stock is a very stable, heavy stock. you'll not need to replace it unless you just want to.

forgot to add... i really prefer long barrels to get more velocity (and yes, even in a 308 you'll get more velocity from a 26" barrel). however, since it is only a 308, barrel length really isn't that big of a deal. get what feels good to you.
 
A bunch of shooters on Sniper's Hide Homepage have had awesome results out of Savage rifles - and there is a lot of expertise involving other rifles as well. World class gunsmiths and manufacturers lurk around and are willing to answer questions as well. Check them out ...
 
If you get a Remington, plan on replacing the trigger mechanism. They still have problems with the gun firing when moving the safety from "safe" to "fire".

If you're willing to spend the money, why not move up a step and look at the Sako TRG-22 or the Sauer SSG3000? Both will shoot rings around Remington, Winchester & Ruger.
 
I recently got a Savage with the accu-trigger.

If my gun is representative of other Savages, there is no reason not to get one. The trigger is exceptional, the finish is great and all the parts look well-machined and well-fit.

Keeping in mind that I'm not much of a long-range rifleman, I was _easily_ shooting 1.44" groups (center to center ... 1.74" for edge to edge) at 150 yards with commercial ammunition.
 
If you get a Remington, plan on replacing the trigger mechanism. They still have problems with the gun firing when moving the safety from "safe" to "fire".
Click to expand...

Yeah, right, there are only about seven million happy Remington owners who have failed to notice that little flaw.
 
I love my Savage FP-10 24" heavy barrel.

The only thing wrong with the savage is the stock. Kinda flimsy. I got the choate sniper stock, and LOVE it!!

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and this was only 50 yards, but I'm quite sure I can do sub MOA with it (nothing else done to it except the stock):
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I'm very happy with my 308 Remmy LTR.
Hopefully the pic will show.
I'm still working on loads, this was my first batch of handloads meant for 500 yards. The two close to each other are .796" apart with a called flier. Shot off a sand bags with a 6x Springfield Armory scope.
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.308 bolt rifle...

Depends. You can't really go wrong with Remington, Winchester, or Savage.

The latest heavy barrel Savages with the Accu-triggers are incredible values on really, really good shooting rifles. The Savage stocks are kinda flimsy, but you can buy them now with McMillian or Choate stocks for about what a heavy barrel varmint Remington or Winchester would cost. I might buy a 110FP with the Accu-Trigger further on down the road just so I can have one to screw around with.

I've never had any safety problems with my 700VS...never broke an extractor, bolt handle's never fell off, whatever.

In regards to Sako or Sauer "shooting circles around Winchester or Remington..." I've seen some fine shooting Winchester 70s and Remington 700s. Unless you're a benchrester or something, I fail to see how you're gonna notice the extra accuracy (or not) of a Sako or Sauer. To me, buying a Sako or Sauer is buying a rifle that doesn't have as nearly as strong customer service or aftermarket that Big Green, Savage or USRAC does stateside.
 
If you're willing to spend the money, why not move up a step and look at the Sako TRG-22 or the Sauer SSG3000? Both will shoot rings around Remington, Winchester & Ruger.
Click to expand...

Technically, if the Sako and the Sauer shoot rings around Winchesters, Remingtons, Rugers, etc., then they would be less accurate ;) .

(You don't have to tell me that I'm a smartass, I already know

:neener: )
 
"Yeah, right, there are only about seven million happy Remington owners who have failed to notice that little flaw."
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Actually, if you've been keeping up, you know that Remington has settled quite a few claims for millions of dollars (one claim alone was for $17 million IIRC) because of "that little flaw". Our SWAT team used Remingtons for years, but never engaged the safety because we knew it was a possibility. When administrators decreed we would use the safeties, one of our rifles exhibited "that little flaw" (fortunately, during training with the rifle pointed down-range). On further testing, we found that 3 of our 6 rifles would fire that way. This isn't anecdotal- I was there.

We now use TRG-22's.
 
I have never had a problem with my Remington safeties going haywire. Could it be that the triggers were improperly adjusted? I do know you can only take them down so far until the mentioned problem will occur. If you want an 8 oz trigger, you will have to buy an aftermarket trigger. If you want around 3 lbs, I haven't experienced a problem. If you bang the rifle around after getting it adjusted, you will know if you have gone too light on the adjustment or not. I suspect that might have been the problem with the police department example that Crusier mentioned. You didn't need new rifles, you just needed new triggers to go as light as you were wanting to go. Oh well, the tax payers in your area got a good deal. :rolleyes:

I really like my Remington 700 VS. I bought a HS Precision PRT-25 stock for mine and sold the old stock on eBay. I bought IOR 20 MOA base and 30mm rings. On top is a Leupold 6.5-20x50mm Long Range Target Scope. It is a pretty nice shooter if you ask me.

700prtc4.jpg
 
quote:

"Could it be that the triggers were improperly adjusted?... I suspect that might have been the problem with the police department example that Crusier mentioned."
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That's what Remington says about all the malfunctions- either the trigger had been adjusted or was so filthy it couldn't operate properly.

The fact is, the TPD rifles had just come back from Remington after having the trigger mechanisms re-spec'ed. Three were replaced and were brand new, and three were set back to factory specs. All six were made in 1989/90, so they are post '82 models. We sent the rifles to Remington in August, 2001 & the incident occured in November, 2001.

The inventor of the trigger mechanism, Mr. Walker, made Remington aware of this possibility shortly after they adopted it in the 1940's. It's been brought to their attention a number of times (usually via a claim for damages or a lawsuit), but it's cheaper for Remington to pay out than to change (and recall) millions of rifles. That's straight from their internal memos obtained in one of the lawsuits.
 
Saw Mike Walker at the Supershoot - I think he was shooting a custom action...

don't get me started on what's wrong w/ savage...
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd go with Savage first, Remington second, and a custom action third. Anything else is something weird. You don't want weird. You want something that can be fixed when it breaks; you want something that can be upgraded when you desire.

Savages can be EASILY rebarreled. And many accuracy gunsmiths work on Remington 700s. There are excellent triggers available for both.

I'd get a Savage 12BVSS (laminate stock 26" stainless fluted barrel) in .308, and spend the $$ saved vs. the Remington on a better scope.
 
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