Inspire me with your hunting rifle in 308 Winchester !
- Thread starter Riflechair
- Start date
Few pictures of some of my 308 rifles.
First 308 was my Fathers Sako Forester. Shot lousy and was generally horrible to shoot. Roedale in Germany fitted a Lothar Walther barrel and we started to make rifles stock because of this rifle. Now she shoots fantastic but I never really liked this Sako action although trigger is fantastic.
Next, picked up a Palma 308 Bartlein barrel in 1/13 that had gone out of fashion in FTR. Shot great from a remmy action in a carbon stock.
Then a Tikka T3 with a Lilja 3 groove 1/13 Palma barrel. Shot just as well as the Bartlein. Both shot 168gr A-Max fantastic.
Then decided to get get a Mauser. 1909 Arg Mauser with 1/12 Lothar Walter Barrel in 308 with AICS Magazine and Carbon fibre stock.... this rifle was a huge amount of work. It has taken a lot of deer.
We bought two T3X CTR 20" 308 stainless rifles. Both were absolutely equally accurate. The best factory barrels I ever shot. Both had within 4fps the same barrel speed... one was shoot one clean one etc at start the other maybe 300 rounds off the bat in one morning without cleaning... no difference.
edi
First 308 was my Fathers Sako Forester. Shot lousy and was generally horrible to shoot. Roedale in Germany fitted a Lothar Walther barrel and we started to make rifles stock because of this rifle. Now she shoots fantastic but I never really liked this Sako action although trigger is fantastic.
Next, picked up a Palma 308 Bartlein barrel in 1/13 that had gone out of fashion in FTR. Shot great from a remmy action in a carbon stock.
Then a Tikka T3 with a Lilja 3 groove 1/13 Palma barrel. Shot just as well as the Bartlein. Both shot 168gr A-Max fantastic.
Then decided to get get a Mauser. 1909 Arg Mauser with 1/12 Lothar Walter Barrel in 308 with AICS Magazine and Carbon fibre stock.... this rifle was a huge amount of work. It has taken a lot of deer.
We bought two T3X CTR 20" 308 stainless rifles. Both were absolutely equally accurate. The best factory barrels I ever shot. Both had within 4fps the same barrel speed... one was shoot one clean one etc at start the other maybe 300 rounds off the bat in one morning without cleaning... no difference.
edi
byronick87
New member
- Location
- Cowtown, AB
I’ve hunted with a tikka t3 in 308 for years. What a great round. I don’t need to elaborate.
The tikka, though extremely functional and accurate, lacked elegance. I now use a Winchester CRF Model 70 and the tikka stays in the safe most of the time. Here she is topped with a leupold 4-12
If I didn’t have a daughter, this thing would be my phone screen
The tikka, though extremely functional and accurate, lacked elegance. I now use a Winchester CRF Model 70 and the tikka stays in the safe most of the time. Here she is topped with a leupold 4-12
If I didn’t have a daughter, this thing would be my phone screen
Attachments
My hunting rig is a humble, simple and inexpensive .308 cal Howa model 1500, factory CeraKoted action in a Bell & Carlson over-moulded Stock with Multi-Cam finish. It wears a Burris 3-12x 56mm optic, factory anodized OD Green. I added AICS-compatible bottom metal with a detachable magazine for ease of loading and unloading in my truck. Pacific Tool and Gauge are the "go to" for that particular set-up, BTW.
This Howa 1500 has served me very well, taking countless Deer of both species as well as Elk, Antelope and Black Bear over the years. It has been utterly reliable and sufficiently accurate for my needs, hunting in all conditions without issue.
This Howa 1500 has served me very well, taking countless Deer of both species as well as Elk, Antelope and Black Bear over the years. It has been utterly reliable and sufficiently accurate for my needs, hunting in all conditions without issue.
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Most of the .308's I own and use are simply because a rifle that I wanted only came in .308; I've taken a bunch of critters with the cartridge because I wanted to use this gun or that gun...not because of the cartridge itself. Never had a problem with it, never failed me, just not particularly interesting.
Having said that...I have a Sig Cross .308 with which I fell in love shortly after getting it a few years ago. Terrific shooter, accurate and with a nice hunting trigger. I've taken a couple of deer with it and a bunch of coyotes, and always enjoyed using it. I find it super comfortable to shoot, but...I like doing some still-hunting during the mid-afternoon of most hunting days, and the non-traditional configuration of the Sig...which works so well from a stand...doesn't fill me with joy for carrying at the ready, so for me it's not perfect.
I have a beautiful Brno Effect .308 single-shot, which I got recently from a great CGN-er who had made some heavy mods and improvements to the woodwork and cosmetics. It's a beautiful, slim, sleek, lightweight stalking rifle; it's terrifically accurate, has a wonderful trigger and also an amazing set trigger, and is a joy to carry while still-hunting. Sadly, the Brno has taken only a couple of coyotes so far. Using it is a sensual pleasure, but...the ergos of the stock, which has a lot of drop at heel and is topped with a steel buttplate, causes it to want to slip down off my shoulder, and for that reason it's not perfect.
I've had two .308 barrels for my Blaser R93's, along with a number of others in different chamberings, and I have put far more rounds through each of those barrels than all the others combined. I keep a .308 barrel on one of them at all times, and still shoot it a crapload...mostly at gongs...but I don't think I've ever actually shot a critter with a .308 Blaser with the exception of a single skunk that bumbled across my yard while I was plinking. The R93 is in most ways The Perfect Hunting Rifle to me...but that's largely because of the easy barrel swapping and the convenience of transporting it taken down. The .308 barrel is by far the most-often-shot option...but I've never selected it for hunting and don't see that changing.
My Steyr Scout .308 has been in my safe for over 20 years. It has seen a ton of action, both as a hunting rifle and also a fun plinker; I love it, plain and simple. It's probably accounted for more game than any other individual rifle I have owned. I rarely select it as my choice for the primary rifle on a serious hunt, but it is the one I grab "just in case" or as a back-up rifle, which then winds up being used on a critter. It started out with a good trigger, which I had a smith tune into a great one; the ergos are perfect for me; I enjoy shooting it so much that I have 4 different optics mounted and sighted-in using QD rings. Never found a single rifle so versatile and handy and fun; notice I didn't say "attractive". For much of the past couple decades I would likely not have chosen it as my perfect .308 hunting rifle...but it might be my Perfect All-Around Rifle.
For me, right now, the ideal .308 hunting rifle in my safe is a nice old Remington 660 that I picked up about a year ago. The light weight, nice handling and overall feel of this rifle just make me smile...largely because it is the spitting image of my first 660, bought at a Detroit gun show in the early 1970's and brought back across the border openly and with no hassle whatsoever. It's now got the same Weaver base as that old one, but this one wears a Leupold 1-4x20 scope rather than the Weaver of my original one. It needs a wood refinish, and the plastic floorplate is showing some off the typical bowing that these tend to develop over the years...just like my old one. The trigger is too nice to be as-issued; I suspect some previous owner had a smith doctor it up...just like my old one. It even wears one of those tacky aftermarket ventilated-rubber white-line recoil pads...just like my old one. The pad is so hard that it does little for recoil, which is brisk in a 660, but it extends the length of pull to make it more comfortable for my gibbon arms...just like my old one. I had that first one for many years and shot a good number of moose, bear and deer with it, and fully intend to do the same with this one. It's the ideal .308 hunter... for now...
Having said that...I have a Sig Cross .308 with which I fell in love shortly after getting it a few years ago. Terrific shooter, accurate and with a nice hunting trigger. I've taken a couple of deer with it and a bunch of coyotes, and always enjoyed using it. I find it super comfortable to shoot, but...I like doing some still-hunting during the mid-afternoon of most hunting days, and the non-traditional configuration of the Sig...which works so well from a stand...doesn't fill me with joy for carrying at the ready, so for me it's not perfect.
I have a beautiful Brno Effect .308 single-shot, which I got recently from a great CGN-er who had made some heavy mods and improvements to the woodwork and cosmetics. It's a beautiful, slim, sleek, lightweight stalking rifle; it's terrifically accurate, has a wonderful trigger and also an amazing set trigger, and is a joy to carry while still-hunting. Sadly, the Brno has taken only a couple of coyotes so far. Using it is a sensual pleasure, but...the ergos of the stock, which has a lot of drop at heel and is topped with a steel buttplate, causes it to want to slip down off my shoulder, and for that reason it's not perfect.
I've had two .308 barrels for my Blaser R93's, along with a number of others in different chamberings, and I have put far more rounds through each of those barrels than all the others combined. I keep a .308 barrel on one of them at all times, and still shoot it a crapload...mostly at gongs...but I don't think I've ever actually shot a critter with a .308 Blaser with the exception of a single skunk that bumbled across my yard while I was plinking. The R93 is in most ways The Perfect Hunting Rifle to me...but that's largely because of the easy barrel swapping and the convenience of transporting it taken down. The .308 barrel is by far the most-often-shot option...but I've never selected it for hunting and don't see that changing.
My Steyr Scout .308 has been in my safe for over 20 years. It has seen a ton of action, both as a hunting rifle and also a fun plinker; I love it, plain and simple. It's probably accounted for more game than any other individual rifle I have owned. I rarely select it as my choice for the primary rifle on a serious hunt, but it is the one I grab "just in case" or as a back-up rifle, which then winds up being used on a critter. It started out with a good trigger, which I had a smith tune into a great one; the ergos are perfect for me; I enjoy shooting it so much that I have 4 different optics mounted and sighted-in using QD rings. Never found a single rifle so versatile and handy and fun; notice I didn't say "attractive". For much of the past couple decades I would likely not have chosen it as my perfect .308 hunting rifle...but it might be my Perfect All-Around Rifle.
For me, right now, the ideal .308 hunting rifle in my safe is a nice old Remington 660 that I picked up about a year ago. The light weight, nice handling and overall feel of this rifle just make me smile...largely because it is the spitting image of my first 660, bought at a Detroit gun show in the early 1970's and brought back across the border openly and with no hassle whatsoever. It's now got the same Weaver base as that old one, but this one wears a Leupold 1-4x20 scope rather than the Weaver of my original one. It needs a wood refinish, and the plastic floorplate is showing some off the typical bowing that these tend to develop over the years...just like my old one. The trigger is too nice to be as-issued; I suspect some previous owner had a smith doctor it up...just like my old one. It even wears one of those tacky aftermarket ventilated-rubber white-line recoil pads...just like my old one. The pad is so hard that it does little for recoil, which is brisk in a 660, but it extends the length of pull to make it more comfortable for my gibbon arms...just like my old one. I had that first one for many years and shot a good number of moose, bear and deer with it, and fully intend to do the same with this one. It's the ideal .308 hunter... for now...
All very nice rifles Edi .............................. but I've still got a thing for that Mauser .Few pictures of some of my 308 rifles.
First 308 was my Fathers Sako Forester. Shot lousy and was generally horrible to shoot. Roedale in Germany fitted a Lothar Walther barrel and we started to make rifles stock because of this rifle. Now she shoots fantastic but I never really liked this Sako action although trigger is fantastic.
Next, picked up a Palma 308 Bartlein barrel in 1/13 that had gone out of fashion in FTR. Shot great from a remmy action in a carbon stock.
Then a Tikka T3 with a Lilja 3 groove 1/13 Palma barrel. Shot just as well as the Bartlein. Both shot 168gr A-Max fantastic.
Then decided to get get a Mauser. 1909 Arg Mauser with 1/12 Lothar Walter Barrel in 308 with AICS Magazine and Carbon fibre stock.... this rifle was a huge amount of work. It has taken a lot of deer.
We bought two T3X CTR 20" 308 stainless rifles. Both were absolutely equally accurate. The best factory barrels I ever shot. Both had within 4fps the same barrel speed... one was shoot one clean one etc at start the other maybe 300 rounds off the bat in one morning without cleaning... no difference.
edi
How about a good old 1964 Ishapore Arsenals No.2A (SMLE action made in Chrome-Moly steel), factory .308 (7.62x51NATO cartridge) barrel and mag but taken out of the rosewood lumber and set into a Ram-Line Tupperware stock. The scope on it now is a Falcon Menace fixed 10x with 40mm front glass and a mil-rad reticle in a 30mm tube. Scope mount is a Frankenstein Picstinny rail wedded to a dumb old 1A scope mount from the 1950s meant for 1” tubed pea-shooter scopes. It works and the rifle is zeroed to 100yds, though I can build dope out well past that.
steve-o1979
Regular
- Location
- Nova Scotia
I have the same rifle, with a leupold 3.5-10. My favourite rifle I own.
- Location
- Vancouver Island, BC
Maybe not Best overall but Best bang for the buck for someone looking for new today would be a Sauer 100 or Mauser M18 which can still somehow be had for $750.
A CZ557 range would be high on my bang-for-the-buck do all 308. Only downside is it's not stainless. As good as a tikka arctic ? No, but it's 1/3 the price.
I'd also take a hard look at the browning BLR stainless takedown in 308 if I didn't already have one in 358 win. That is my go-to rifle.
A CZ557 range would be high on my bang-for-the-buck do all 308. Only downside is it's not stainless. As good as a tikka arctic ? No, but it's 1/3 the price.
I'd also take a hard look at the browning BLR stainless takedown in 308 if I didn't already have one in 358 win. That is my go-to rifle.
byronick87
New member
- Location
- Cowtown, AB
It's just so handy and light. It has everything need and nothing you don't! And just enough flair to make your dinkle tinkle.
My thoughts anyway
