Short Bolt Guns

[Inebriated]

I have a Savage Axis .30-06 that I got for a heck of a deal. Cut to 17", and am currently deciding on a permanent optic for the rifle so I can get it out and get some groups at 100. When I put a spare scope on it to test at 30 yards (don't have my 100 yard bench up yet), I got one hole, so that's promising I guess.

Not much of a fireball with 180 grain loads, but it's certainly loud. But the rifle, without an optic, weighs somewhere around 6 pounds. It's very quick, and very convenient to carry around.

 

[Will_Power]

I have been thinking lately that I would like to have a bolt gun that has a short (longer than NFA so 16-18 inch) barrel. I saw a lot of custom 300 blackout rifles that were what I was thinking of, but was unsure of the cartridge. From what I have read about the blackout it seems interesting because it seems to be a low recoiling round that the missus could shoot, and it seems to be very efficient in 10 inch barreled guns which would mean no excessive noise or flash from a 16 inch gun. However I am still unsure of the cartridge. The primary use for this rifle would be 1) Plinking 2) Predator hunting 3) Maybe south eastern white tail deer in close range wooded areas. For plinking I would like it to be fairly accurate out to 200-300 yards which is the furthest that I have access to to just go shoot. If it was used for deer it would be under 100. Are there other cartridges out there that I should look into that would fit the above requirements without having excessive muzzle flash/noise?

I think 300 yards might be pushing it with a Blackout unless you're fine with a lot of holdover.

That said, I've always thought a short barreled bolt action in .358 Win for hunting the thick Pacific Northwest rainforests would be fun.

 

[mac66]

How about a Ruger American bolt gun? I saw one recently in 308 where the owner had the barrel cut and threaded at 16" with a flash hider on it. Man that thing was short and light. He had a conventional scope on it but his intent was to make a poor mans scout rifle out of it.

One of my hunting rifles for the last 25 years has been a Win 70 in 308 with a 20" bbl. I've killed just about everything in North America with it but that little Ruger American has me jonesing for a new rifle.

 

[mountain_man]

The more that I read and think about it, I may just go with a cut down 308 and possibly have it threaded for a flash hider since it could be loaded to do anything I want to. Now if I could find a deal on a Ruger 77 compact in 308 that would be perfect.

 

[selector67]

The FR-8 is a great gun, compact and powerful, mine is old school, I like to leave them in there original military condition

 

[MCgunner]

I have a remington model 7 with an 18.5" barrel and walnut stock. It is light weight and shoots plenty accurate enough for 300 yards. Most groups are in the 1" range. Mine is in 7-08 caliber. They were also made in 223, 243 and 308.

Mine's a 20" bbl stainless with synthetic stock in .308 Winchester. Awesome little hunting rifle. It's topped with a Weaver 2x10x40KV and shoots 3/4 MOA with a 150 Nosler BT over W748. I'm getting about 2800 fps, not shabby from a 20" barrel. I've had it about 15 years and it's scored a half dozen hogs and a few more deer. Oh, 3 coyotes taken on deer hunts, one measured 370 yards.

I had the parent to the FR8, the original 7mm on the 93 Mauser action. It only liked 175 grain pills and didn't shoot those THAT well. It was a heavy beast, too, though it was short. I like the M7 a lot better, but heck, I only gave 60 bucks for the Spanish Mauser. I sold it years ago. I won a M700 in 25-06 in a door prize at a local gun show and traded that plus 70 bucks for the stainless M7. So, both guns cost me about the same, though I sunk 300 bucks in the scope and Millett mounts and rings for the M7.

 

[mountain_man]

The FR8 looks nice, but I want to be able to tinker with whatever I get and I don't want to mess up a piece of history.

 

[desidog]

Got a video ?

That was a still from a video from a year or two ago; a buddy wanted to know why i wasn't at his cocktail party punctually at 6 - unfortunately i cant find the video anymore.

On the rifle topic, have you thought about a Carcano Cavalry Carbine? or a Troop Special. I think that they are very underrated (and consequently underpriced). You can get two or three for the price of one FR-8, and I like mine better than my FR-8...softer shooting and more accurate. The 6.5 Carcano SP cartridge is great for deer too.

As a matter of fact, i was thinking of selling my FR-8 since i never use it anymore.

 

[hardluk1]

This will work for a 300 build if small is needed.

http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/civilianproduct/sporting-rifle-m85

 

[Panzerschwein]

Like others have said I would get a CZ527 rifle in 7.62x39mm. Same ballistics roughly as the .300 BLK but MUCH cheaper to feed. I really don't understand the appeal of the .300 BLK unless a suppressor is involved.