Help Me Find the Perfect General Purpose 308 for Me

Love the ruger scout.
Had one of the first few.
Sold it and have regretted it many times.
Especially as they have doubled in “value”

Hard to look past the savage 110 hog hunter just now imo. Pretty good value.
 
Lots of really good information here. I realize now there is a lot more guns that fit the criteria then I originally thought. I will look at all of them. Thankfully, I am not in a rush to buy one.

My responses:
  • The Sabatti rifles look nice and seem to fit what I am looking for. I did not know about this brand. I will read up on these.
  • I like the Tikka T3x Arctic, but it is so expensive. I don’t know if the nicer sights justify the price to me.
  • That is a good point about the Mossberg MVP. That finger at the bottom does look like it could be a point of failure.
  • I like the look of the Savage 110 Magpul Scout. I am a big Magpul fan.
  • I will look into the Ruger Scout rear sight removal. It did not know it was a quick detach.
  • I did not know all Tikka's were interchangeable like that. That opens up the possibility with them to make it into what I want. That does sound expensive though.
  • I will look into the XS rail for the Ruger Scout as it seems highly recommended.
  • Franchi looks really nice. I also like the camo pattern as well.

Thoughts:
Seeing these scout rifles, I may have to look into just getting a scout scope. This was not originally a consideration of mine. It seems that there are a lot of good scout rifles out there. I also can mount a conventional scope on a lot of these scout rifles too. I think I will priorities having irons on the gun already considering it seems like it will be a lot of money to have them installed afterwards. The magazine requirement will be deprioritized after reading more of the replies. At lease the requirement for it to take AICS mags.
 
Ruger Scout rear sight is one screw to remove it, the rear mounting point of the xs full length rail uses the same hole.

The tikka T3x CTR fit the bill with the exception of iron sights, till I looked at the cost of extra mags. AICS mags are cheap to buy and reliable, depending on the caliber you can get 3,5,10 or 12rd AICS mags from MDT for way less than a CTR mag. AICS mags are the way to go if you like having extra mags for your rifles.

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dhpsask said:
What I am looking for:
  • Iron sights – preferable barrel mounted so I can add a conventional scope
  • Synthetic stock – for weight reduction and so I do not care if I scuff it up
  • AICS magazines – They are cheap and come with a 10 round capacity
  • Light-ish weight
  • Barrel length of 20” or less
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10 round mags and light weight don't go hand in hand. A std BDL style floor plate will make for less weight and easier carry.

I have a similar rifle here that you spec out. Std 700 BDL in 308 with 22" bbl. in a Brown Precison stock topped with a Leupold 1.5-5 in Weaver R&B. Factory sights still in place. As described, it weighs tad over 6.5lbs. I'm considering having it shortened to 20" but would discourage going shorter as they get quite blasty, harder to shoot from the bench and do no handle as well in the field.
 
dhpsask said:
Lots of really good information here. I realize now there is a lot more guns that fit the criteria then I originally thought. I will look at all of them. Thankfully, I am not in a rush to buy one.

My responses:
  • The Sabatti rifles look nice and seem to fit what I am looking for. I did not know about this brand. I will read up on these.
  • I like the Tikka T3x Arctic, but it is so expensive. I don’t know if the nicer sights justify the price to me.
  • That is a good point about the Mossberg MVP. That finger at the bottom does look like it could be a point of failure.
  • I like the look of the Savage 110 Magpul Scout. I am a big Magpul fan.
  • I will look into the Ruger Scout rear sight removal. It did not know it was a quick detach.
  • I did not know all Tikka's were interchangeable like that. That opens up the possibility with them to make it into what I want. That does sound expensive though.
  • I will look into the XS rail for the Ruger Scout as it seems highly recommended.
  • Franchi looks really nice. I also like the camo pattern as well.

Thoughts:
Seeing these scout rifles, I may have to look into just getting a scout scope. This was not originally a consideration of mine. It seems that there are a lot of good scout rifles out there. I also can mount a conventional scope on a lot of these scout rifles too. I think I will priorities having irons on the gun already considering it seems like it will be a lot of money to have them installed afterwards. The magazine requirement will be deprioritized after reading more of the replies. At lease the requirement for it to take AICS mags.
Click to expand...

The Scout Scope concept is for a bygone era. Nowadays a LPVO with some sort of red dot accomplishes the same thing and more as any scout scope did.
 
I'm surprised nobody has suggested the Sig Cross. It meets all of your criteria except the iron sights but those could easily be added as it has a full pic rail across the top. Perfect hunting/precision rifle... and it even has a folding stock.
 
Rankuwa said:
Went down the rabbit hole looking for a CZ Ranger a year or two ago but it seems they're all in private hands now!
Click to expand...
Look for the next best alternative, a short action CZ 557 Lux. Buy a 10-round mag for it and as a bonus, you get a nice Turkish walnut stock. They are around if you search hard enough. I dropped mine into an OEM "Night sky" synthetic stock.

Another option is a Ruger M77 Gunsigjht Scout or a conventional M77 Compact with irons.
 
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True Shadows said:
I'm surprised nobody has suggested the Sig Cross. It meets all of your criteria except the iron sights but those could easily be added as it has a full pic rail across the top. Perfect hunting/precision rifle... and it even has a folding stock.
Click to expand...
The Sig Cross with a primary optic and backup folding irons actually seems like a really cool idea I had not thought of before. I would need to save up for that one though
 
Gatehouse said:
The Scout Scope concept is for a bygone era. Nowadays a LPVO with some sort of red dot accomplishes the same thing and more as any scout scope did.
Click to expand...
True.

One advantage of the scout over a conventionally mounted LPVO is that it allows you to have an aperture or ghost ring sight on the rear of the receiver which an LPVO may or may not allow depending on the dimensions of the occular and the eye relief. Put the IER scope in low, QD rings.

Plus fixed power IER scopes are smaller, lighter weight and mount very low compared to most LPVOs.
 
You might want to consider blind magazines or floor plates and scrap the detachable magazine requirement.

There's no real advantage to a detachable mag.

A sight convenience at best.
 
dhpsask said:
  • That is a good point about the Mossberg MVP. That finger at the bottom does look like it could be a point of failure.
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That “finger” is on the 5.56 model only, the 308 has solid lugs like any other bolt. Very smooth action too, at least the one I own is slick as butter.

The mvp scout has a full lenght rail, pretty good aperture sight, 16” threaded barrel, oversized bolt handle, and takes both m14 and ar10 pattern mags, as mentioned the Ruger uses aics. I have a low powered scout scope in mine, but have no trouble printing 2-2.5” moa groups with cheap factory hunting ammo, and I’m sure it could do better with more magnification. It’s a pushfeed bolt (like a rem700), as opposed to the crf action of the ruger. It’s also half the price of the ruger, a real sleeper worth a second look.

It’s a touch heavier (6lb13oz) than the comparable ruger model (6829, 16” synthetic stock) at 6.2 pounds, as I mentioned the ruger has controlled round feed and a 3 position safety, and a little nicer finish. The ruger however won’t mount a conventional scope outa the box with the rail beginning and the front ring of the receiver vs the mvp’s full lenght rail. The mossberg also has picatinny rails up front at 3 and 9 o’clock for mounting a light or other accessories.

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Close up of the lugs on the 308 bolt , no finger in the 308 version.

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Pretty good book by a credible guy, comparing the commercial scout rifles available if you want to read up more.
 
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geologist said:
True.

One advantage of the scout over a conventionally mounted LPVO is that it allows you to have an aperture or ghost ring sight on the rear of the receiver which an LPVO may or may not allow depending on the dimensions of the occular and the eye relief. Put the IER scope in low, QD rings.

Plus fixed power IER scopes are smaller, lighter weight and mount very low compared to most LPVOs.
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Just quoting this, because geologist nailed down optics pretty well to the point, so it’s worth repeating. Low, quick detach rings win the day with scout rifles. Hilux makes a pretty clean 2-7 power 308 bdc reticle scout scope, Wolverine supplies is a dealer iirc.
 
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OP, I think you're on the right track with the Tikka 3X but have you considered the Arctic model, which has everything you need including some factory mounted iron sights, the best I've ever come across for all round use? It's been posted here that those sights alone more than justify the extra cost.
 
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geologist said:
True.

One advantage of the scout over a conventionally mounted LPVO is that it allows you to have an aperture or ghost ring sight on the rear of the receiver which an LPVO may or may not allow depending on the dimensions of the occular and the eye relief. Put the IER scope in low, QD rings.

Plus fixed power IER scopes are smaller, lighter weight and mount very low compared to most LPVOs.
Click to expand...

XS rail on Ruger Scout rifle gives aperture sight at rear plus LPVO. You could probably hang some sort of offset flashlight off the front of the rail for added tacticool. :)

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The Tikka T3X Arctic is bombproof, has great irons, 10-round mags, but heavy. The CTR is almost as bombproof, has 10-round mags, no irons, and also heavy. The Battue is significantlty lighter, has very good irons (although I do prefer the Arctic irons), and if you swapped out your stock bottom metal with an AICS bottom from Atlasworxs, Mountian Tactical, or similar, you'd have your 10-round mags. Lots of other good rifles mentioned too, but I'm a Tikka fan, which would be my first choice.
 
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