Bolt or Semi 308

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DES0LAT0R

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So I'm looking into possibly getting a 308, but I've ran into the classic question, bolt or semi. It's basically between two rifles at this point, but I really can't make up my mind. It's between the Savage model 10 TR or the Norinco M305 Shorty. I'm a college student, so funds are limited. Both rifles are about the same cost. It's not a matter of which one will I be getting, but which one I'll be getting first.

I know the M305 will never be as accurate and that they require a lot of mods and upgrades to become really nice shooters, but I can take it to the range right out of the box and have some fun and upgrade it over time. Whereas the Savage I'd need a scope, which would mean I would be forced to slap on a cheap one and upgrade it later when I have some more money.

So, thoughts?
 
I've got an M305, and many bolt .308's. I only use the bolts theses days so I would go bolt but I'm an old guy and shoot slow. No comparison as to accuracy IMHO.
 
It really depends on what you will be using the rifle for . If it is just going to be a fun range and occasional hunting rifle , get the Norc . If it is going to be a hunting , or long range target rifle , get the Savage . A semi is fun , but ammo costs add up quickly .
 
I would think of a second hand browning BAR in 308 , fun and accurate to begin with . Or with your choices I would go with the savage bolt lots of fun in accuracy and a lot cheaper than a semi (per hit )
 
FNAR. It's a heavy barreled version of the browning bar. The keltec rfb looks good too. Maybe a bit heavy if you wanted to hunt. But the oal of the rifle is nice and compact for the weight.

That said, for me it's hard to give up the extra 1/2 inch or so of accuracy that comes with a bolt gun.
 
The fnar is the only nonrestricted 308 semi with acceptable accuracy. Go for the bolt rifle, or that.
With an xcr-m, rfb, m305 or the like, you might as well just buy an Sks...
 
All over the place comments. Well I have both and really what is it your looking at douing with it? What do you want to get out of it? The 10tr you can possibly get .5 to 1 moa out of it and the m305 1.5 to 2.5 moa. To me I shoot my norc way more cause of this simple fact, I shoot 3$ a round Hornady superformance out the 10tr and $.50 a round norc ammo out the m14.

Weight wise it's pretty much the same between the 10tr and norc.

A stock norc with the cleaning kit is about 9.5 lb but one can built them with scope for a decent weight
 
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The RFB is not heavy at all, maybe on paper but in practice it's feels lighter to point and the short OAL makes it incredibly easy to carry through the rough stuff. I run a set of Troy BUIS on mine these days, I forgot how nice it felt before the scope. Accuracy has been great with my handloads, consistently hitting a 12" square plate at 600yds is acceptable in my book and I've yet to have a jam of any kind. Most people mess around with the gas valve and screw it all up then blame the gun. Mark it where keltec put it when you bought it and leave it alone. It's not like we can run supressors anyways. Just my 2 cents YMMV
 
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I don't think a college student is willing to drop 2K on a rfb or 4K on a apc. The savage and Norc are about the same price, I would go with the savage and learn how to properly shoot. Pick up a sks if you want spray rounds down range really fast.
 
Here are my 2, a shorty m305 and a socom 18.

First of my m305
-usgi refinish stock
-cleaning kit remove
-march op rod spring guide
-m14.ca casm gen 2 aluminium mount
-Burris zee ring
-Burris full feild e1 2x7

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I could get it down to 9.5 lb if I would remouve the front site blade ,rear striper clip guide and replace the stock rear metal flap with a rubber one.

Socom 18
-norc socom18
-blackfeather rs chassie
-m14.ca op rod spring guide
-magpul prs
-m14.ca casm gen 2 aluminum scope mount
-Burris zee rings
-Burris full feild E1 3-9x40
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A group with Remington accutip
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Depends really. If you want out of the box good rifle get the savage. Especially if it's your first gun get a bolt, you will have more fun per round because if you are not into tinkering the M305 can be frustrating to make it accurate. If all you want is blasting stuff on the range, why not a SKS? If you are really set on a M305 however make sure the place you buy it from checks the headspace to make sure you don't have one with a chamber too large. The m305 has very soft recoil for a 308.
 
Dake21 said:
Depends really. If you want out of the box good rifle get the savage. Especially if it's your first gun get a bolt, you will have more fun per round because if you are not into tinkering the M305 can be frustrating to make it accurate. If all you want is blasting stuff on the range, why not a SKS? If you are really set on a M305 however make sure the place you buy it from checks the headspace to make sure you don't have one with a chamber too large. The m305 has very soft recoil for a 308.
Click to expand...

Funny I find my 11.3 pound m1 kick like a mule compare to my rfb :p
 
My 2 cents? I own both types; a Ruger M77 heavy barrel that was my "go to" hunting rifle for many years and a recently acquired Winchester Mod.100. I'll do some patting myself on the back here, but I normally only need one shot on my game. That said, I wait until I have a clean shot and settle down before I squeeze the trigger. IMHO, the bolt gun is the best for accuracy (ie: my Ruger can print 5/8" 100 yd. groups with my handloads), and I'm still working up loads for my Winchester to see what will perform best. The bolt guns are more forgiving on what kinds of ammo they'll digest and they're easier to clean and maintain, but if you have multiple targets or blow your first shot, it's rare that you get a second chance. The semis that I've shot are more particular about what you feed them, they're more mechanically complex so there's more things that can go wrong with them, and it's important to clean the carbon build up in the gas system, so they're more labour intensive in the cleaning but you have that quick second shot capability if you need it. Weigh all the factors, see what feels best for you, and make your decision accordingly.
 
K, so this wont be my first gun, ive got a ruger 10/22 and a norinco 870 clone already.

As ive said, im a college student, so i dont have a lot of money to blow, hence the $700 guns i put as choices. The other guns people have suggested are nice, but i dont have $2500 to throw at them.

I do have a reloading kit (but havent used it yet) so that is a winner for the bolt. As for the sks, i have considered it, but im not a huge fan.
 
I'd go with the bolt gun, you'll probably shoot more ammo with the semi and thus it will cost you more. Also the work you have to do to the Norinco sound a bit tedious.
 
Owning both precision bolt guns and a tweaked Norc M14 (that reliably does 1.5 moa), I'd say examine heavily what you want to get out of this rifle.

You'd probably have to stretch your budget to $1000 to get the Savage set up with a reliable, repeatable optic. If you're ultimately looking for something to use as more of a precision rig, that would be my suggestion. Shop the EE for a good deal on a used Savage and find something along the lines of a fixed 10x magnification Bushnell scope. That combo, along with learning to reload, would get you a rather capable, budget, precision rifle that you could always modify/improve as time goes by and budget allows. If saving cash is critical, consider the Savage in .223 instead of .308 as it's much cheaper to feed, be it factory rounds or reloads.

If you're looking to work on your general marksmanship skills, a slightly tuned Norc M14s/m305 off the EE would do you well. I'd say buy a new one but only if you have the abilities/tools/wherewithal to tinker with one or know someone who has the aforementioned skills/abilities. They can be quite a crapshoot, hence going for one on the EE from a reputable seller who has done some of the tweaks and made sure everything is functioning correctly and has checked the headspace, barrel indexing, the sights, etc. There are a ton of super informative stickies in the Main Battle Rifle forum as well as a few guys with some really in depth knowledge who are happy to help (Hungry/Tactical Teacher, 45acpking(M14doc), M14medic/notsorichguy. As long as you get one in good functioning order, you can begin to practice your marksmanship right away and learn to reload for it as well. You can also modify/upgrade things down the line if you like, add a scope mount and scope, etc, just bare in mind that trying to turn an M14 pattern rifle into a precision rig is a very expensive rabbit hole to go down and getting it below 1.5 moa is certainly not a given.

Hope that helps.
 
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