Rugged .308 Rifle (Bolt-Action, Iron Sights)

[tikka-guy]

Has anyone seen a Tikka Battue in person? It'd fit the bill, but i have no idea what you'd have to do to find one. Ordering site unseen can be scary.

I think I would love one, but I'd really like to be able to look at it first.

Something to think about anyway.

 

[dmckean44]

Yes, the Battue Lite looks great. I've never seen one here in the US though. I don't like the 3 round magazine but it looks like theres an optional 5 round?

 

[dmckean44]

Another option for .308 with iron sites.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Default.aspx?item=27738&mfg=Mossberg&mdlno=MVP+Patrol

 

[izhevsk]

Speaking to lever action, a Winchester model 88 in .308 could be had for under $1000, I would think.

 

[FSJeeper]

If I were a right handed shooter, my scout rifle would be a swede small ring mauser in 6.5 x55 or a 1909 argentine rebarreled to .308. I have owned many Mausers over the years and admire them greatly. I would not trust any small ring pre-98 mauser in .308.

Since I shoot left handed, my options boil down to sporting rifles with the Win. mod. 70 being my favorite. To have my idea of a scout rifle built on a Mod. 70 action would have cost much more than buying the Ruger Gunsite.

I bought mine at a gunshow in Houston last Spring for $700 before the ban scare. They sold out except for the one left handed rifle they had left that would not move and I was able to talk them down on the price.

I am taking the rail off and replacing the flash suppressor with a threaded barrel cap from Brownells as they are useless to me. The Scout scope concept has merits, but for my use I do not need to go that direction. The iron sights work well and that is all this rifle is going to have for sights. The rifle is well balanced. I did not like the original aftermarket steeel magazine but the new Ruger polymer mags are the cats meow and you can top them off in the rifle and load them with strippers with the mag not in the rifle. The 5 rounders almost fit flush and make carrying a lot more comfortable. The trigger surprised me. Very smooth and good enough not to require work on it or replacing it with an aftermarket trigger. The bolt was not smooth at first which was a big disappointment but after hundreds of rounds of working the action it is starting to smooth out. Another thing I wish was that the firing pin mechanism would be able to be comletely dissembled like a Mauser. They should have designed this rifle to take stripper clips and M14 Mags so I would only have to stock one mag.

While not a Mauser, this Ruger is high quality and functions flawlessly. And it is left handed which is what sealed the deal for me.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Now that's a great application for a gunsight rifle. You got what you needed, cheaper than anything else out there you could have built, and in a brand new package. I like it.

I agree about the Magazines and stripper clips. If they had designed this to use magazines from an M14, FAL, G3, or even some variant of the AR10, I would see this as a much better platform. Then again, they wouldn't make nearly as much money as they do selling proprietary magazines. Unfortunately, adding a stripper clip guide would have required reworking the receiver design, which would have cost big money and been passed down to the consumer through purchase price. I agree, having a stripper clip boss would be really nice on a rifle like this.

 

[majortoo]

Rugged Rifles

First, it is fascinating to see the varied recommendations, which demonstrate some expert knowledge and skills. Personally, I think that the 1916 Spanish Mauser in .308 is an excellent buy at $169.95 from Sarco. I would feel quite comfortable using this as a deer rifle with commercial ammunition. However, for only a little more money there are some really superb choices available in new rifles. Ruger, Savage, CZ and others all make outstanding weapons with accuracy, precision and reliability factors that are far better than is typically found with old, surplus military pieces. Go to a few gun shows and see which ones fit!

 

[Rick R]

I've got one of the Federal Ordinance Mausers in .308 and a Ruger Gunsite Rifle. The Federal Ordinance is a Frankenrifle built like an issue M98 but still quite use-able. In one range session I was giving a friend with a red dot equiped Springfield Scout a run for the money on steel until I ran out of stripper clipped ammo.

The GSR is now my favorite rifle. It's short and light and handy, I normally use five round magazines, either steel or poly. My natural carry position is thumb over the action, fingers in front of the magazine. I get 3/4" groups at 100 yds with the Leupold Scout scope and good ammo off the bench. My chrony tells me that the GSR's 16" barrel gives up about 100 fps to my 22" barreled M70 Winchester. The flash suppressor doesn't cause excess blast and accepts the M16 style Cap Plug muzzle covers. My rifle has fired @ 500 rounds with no problems.

If you bother to do a bit of research, Ruger tried to adapt the rifle to M14 magazines and ran into problems with different brand mags not functioning correctly. Apparently they got one prototype rifle to work with M14 mags and no one liked the balance or amount of bolt drag caused by that big magazine. ( When was the last time you saw a gunsmith offering bolt gun to M14 mag conversions?)

The GSR uses the same AICS magazine as some military bolt actioned sniper rifles. There are several manufacturers for these. The trigger guard / mag well on the GSR is made of material similar to that used for Glock frames. Not too fragile for you I hope?

I love my Mausers, the Ruger is simply a modern copy with modern steels and manufacturing processes.

 

[txgunsuscg]

Then again, they wouldn't make nearly as much money as they do selling proprietary magazines.

As mentioned by Rick R, the Gunsite uses AICS magazines made by Accurate Mag, at least that is what mine is stamped. You can buy them at Brownells for about $65-70. The proprietary mag is the polymer one, and it is half the price of the Accurate Mag and about the same as an M14 mag new, so technically, their proprietary mag saves you money over the non-proprietary one...

 

[cal30_sniper]

Thanks for the clarification on the magazine type. I looked all over Ruger's site and didn't see any mention of AICS magazine compatibility. I guess they don't want to turn you off of buying their polymer mags. Should have guessed by the mag release though.

+1 point for the Ruger designers. I'd still rather have a 50 cent stripper clip than a $30+ magazine though.

I've had the same problem with magazines in my M1A. The mags with a square shaped catch on the back work perfectly. Any of the mags that have rounded corners on the catch so they look more like an oval don't work well at all. They pop out when firing, preventing the rifle from stripping the next round out of the magazine. The solution is just not to buy cheap magazines. No argument on the friction of them. Seems like more a function of parkerized magazines than the design itself though.

 

[AK103K]

For a reasonably priced rifle (and even for what they go for now), you cant beat the FR8's. Accurate, reliable, good sights, stripper fed, and you usually dont need to do anything to them, other than maybe clean up the stock.

Personally, I like the straight bolt handle, but I know a lot of people cant stand them straight. Once you see the light with them straight, youll understand, and wish all your iron sighted bolts were.

Ive had a couple of them since the mid 90's, and they are great rifles. We were gretting them for about $110-140 back then, these days, i think $400 is more likely.

If you look at the SMLE's, Id make sure you shoot it first. I had a couple in .308, and they were trouble. Headspace issues, mag issues, extraction and ejection issues, and a lot of fiddling with no real results. They did shoot OK though. If I were to do that again, Id get them in .303.

 

[B!ngo]

If it were me, I'd go for the Gunsight Scout in a flash. I have been impressed by every review, commentary, holding/handling in at my LGS, etc. No, I have not shot any of the items discussed in this thread so in that regard, I am insufficiently informed.
But the GS seems to cover more bases, and do so efficiently and elegantly, than most others. I strongly considered buying one before choosing a Tikka Sporter (my options are limited because I'm left-handed) but in doing so, gave up on some of the more practical handling aspects of the GS. Given the choice between a larger mag or a smaller one, I'll take the larger; a shorter and easier to handle barrel length, simple and proven design (like all others in this thread); a manufacturer with a good reputation and available to provide support and service, and so on.
Since I just purchased a long-gun in .308, I could not justify buying the GS right now. But if they offered the same design in .223/5.56 (a left-handed model) I'd line up to purchase it.
B

 

[txgunsuscg]

For a reasonably priced rifle (and even for what they go for now), you cant beat the FR8's. Accurate, reliable, good sights, stripper fed, and you usually dont need to do anything to them, other than maybe clean up the stock.

I will second the FR8, although I am still trying to figure out how to get the sights zeroed correctly. I keep getting close, but not quite there. The front sight really messes with me. In addition to the ruggedness of the gun, it makes a great conversation starter on the range while people stand there and stare trying to figure out what it is...

 

[AK103K]

I took one of the cheap Chinese flat bladed screw drivers, and filed it down to use as a sight tool for mine.

The threads on the front sight are very fine, and the post is not centered on the base, so you use it for both the initial elevation zero, as well as windage. One of mine is pretty much centered for zero, the other, just off enough you can notice it if you look at it hard enough. Lucky for me, as I cant stand them when they are offset to one side or the other.

I zeroed mine using the notch at 100 yards and was pretty close later on at 200 yards using the 200M peep. I was using Santa Barbara 7.62x51 for both.

That notch on both the FR8's/CETME's, and the HK's seems to be misunderstood by a lot of people. Its your CQB sight, using the big notch and the top of the front sight globe/shroud as the "sight". At the same time, with the same cheek weld, a slight roll of the eye downward, and you will notice it brings the "post" into near perfect alignment in the small "V" notch in the base of the big notch, for shots out to 100 yards or so.

If its any help, these are the different settings for the rear sight.....

 

[FSJeeper]

I did my research before buying the gunsite and know the story about trying to make the gunsite run with M14 mags 1st but do to variances among the brands decided to go with the other mag for reliability.

Why didn't they make their own propreitary M14 magazine to use in the gunsite and sitpulate to only use that mag which would also function in an M14?People have converted the M77 Ruger to M14 before with excellent results. Google it.

And come on, how hard would it have been to put a stripper clip guide in? That would have been a large selling point.

The Gunsite Scout is an excellent companion for the M14's when you need something light for carrying around all day but have the same sight picture that you are used to with the M14.

 

[aka108]

I made a cheap durable 308 by using the action from a rotted out 1909 Argentine Mauser and a surplus Israeli stepped barrel chambered in 308. Never bent the bolt handle. Just left it straight. Well under 100 bucks invested.