Which Savage .308 Rifle to BUY?

Tjv787

Tjv787

Regular
Rating - 96.3%
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Choosing .308 due to its stopping power for Any Big game in Ontario, accuracy and availability/ cost
Is there a better caliber with those qualities?

Looking for hunting, durability and reliability qualities
Here are the options, with the most Favorited on top:

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11Scout

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/10FCPSR

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11TROPHYHUNTERXP

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/16TROPHYHUNTERXP

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/axisstainlessxp

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11HOGHUNTER
 
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My Favorite:
savage11_scout.jpg


My second Favorite

wm_7166614.jpg
 
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Hunting... Lighter weight.
Target... 100-300 yards you can use anything.
Precision long range. You will likely want a heavier gun.

I would go iron sights for a hunting gun. The scout looks pretty nice.
Long range target I would go 10fcp
 
The .308 will work adequately for any big game in Ontario. Your rifle choice to shoot .308 from is entirely up to you. Any will work OK within reason.

But you want opinions? Here's mine. It's not popular. Your two pictures show a clear preference for military / police type "tactical" rifles with large capacity magazines. But you listed hunting as your primary goal. Real hunters soon realize that hunting skills, and then shooting skills from field positions, trump repeat shot firepower from large magazines and long distance capabilities every time. The only time I ever used a high capacity magazine was when I was a 14 year old kid with a .303 battle rifle hunting deer. I din't know better then, and couldn't afford anything else either. There are far better modern approaches, and better tools for real hunters. Game animals aren't the enemy. They deserve the respect of diligent hunting effort and careful, well placed shots. Buy a hunting rifle. Not those paramilitary wannabes.
 
Longwalker said:
The .308 will work adequately for any big game in Ontario. Your rifle choice to shoot .308 from is entirely up to you. Any will work OK within reason.

But you want opinions? Here's mine. It's not popular. Your two pictures show a clear preference for military / police type "tactical" rifles with large capacity magazines. But you listed hunting as your primary goal. Real hunters soon realize that hunting skills, and then shooting skills from field positions, trump repeat shot firepower from large magazines and long distance capabilities every time. The only time I ever used a high capacity magazine was when I was a 14 year old kid with a .303 battle rifle hunting deer. I din't know better then, and couldn't afford anything else either. There are far better modern approaches, and better tools for real hunters. Game animals aren't the enemy. They deserve the respect of diligent hunting effort and careful, well placed shots. Buy a hunting rifle. Not those paramilitary wannabes.
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Very well said... I'll save my breath and just say; "I concur."
 
Would the stainless steel barrels have much less chance to corrode / surface rust ?
Is the Nikon 3-9x40 BDC Reticle scope good?
How about the Weaver Kaspa 3-9x40 scope?
 
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This one right here.

http://www.theammosource.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_22_260&products_id=4900

It is, effectively your second choice, but with the standard Savage Magazine.

Take advantage of Black Friday sale AND get a $100 USD mail in rebate.

Accurate. Light enough to take hunting. Heavy enough barrel for target shooting. Oddly quiet for a .308. No "10 round mag" to freak out the... other hunters.

Can't speak for the scope you mention, but you could put inexpensive all the way up "decent used car" priced optics and you wouldn't outclass the rifle's accuracy potential.
 
I don't see this rifle listed on the Savage site as eligible for a rebate. Do you have a pointer?

jparent said:
This one right here.

http://www.theammosource.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_22_260&products_id=4900

It is, effectively your second choice, but with the standard Savage Magazine.

Take advantage of Black Friday sale AND get a $100 USD mail in rebate.

Accurate. Light enough to take hunting. Heavy enough barrel for target shooting. Oddly quiet for a .308. No "10 round mag" to freak out the... other hunters.

Can't speak for the scope you mention, but you could put inexpensive all the way up "decent used car" priced optics and you wouldn't outclass the rifle's accuracy potential.
Click to expand...
 
Longwalker said:
The .308 will work adequately for any big game in Ontario. Your rifle choice to shoot .308 from is entirely up to you. Any will work OK within reason.

But you want opinions? Here's mine. It's not popular. Your two pictures show a clear preference for military / police type "tactical" rifles with large capacity magazines. But you listed hunting as your primary goal. Real hunters soon realize that hunting skills, and then shooting skills from field positions, trump repeat shot firepower from large magazines and long distance capabilities every time. The only time I ever used a high capacity magazine was when I was a 14 year old kid with a .303 battle rifle hunting deer. I din't know better then, and couldn't afford anything else either. There are far better modern approaches, and better tools for real hunters. Game animals aren't the enemy. They deserve the respect of diligent hunting effort and careful, well placed shots. Buy a hunting rifle. Not those paramilitary wannabes.
Click to expand...

I'll offer my counter opinion then... Buy the rifle that is and looks like what you want. It's your money, don't let someone tell you your prefered style of rifle "looks" like wrong and makes you a wannabe... I happen to have a preference for shorter barrels and synthetic or laminate stocks with detachable mags. So of the ones you listed the Scout would be my choice, followed by the Hog Hunter if you want a flush stock for slinging and don't mind losing the detachable mag. Both rifles also happen to have iron sights which is a preference of mine.

You are 100% correct about placing a shot well, and not relying on volume of fire... but having the ability to load 10 rounds doesn't mean you have to shoot them. Unless you lack the self discipline to not shoot them, in which case maybe firearms aren't for you... ;)
 
Thanks
I'm gonna go with what I like
I get a discount on these products, so why not get the best one right ?

Do stainless steel barrels rust less ? What's their benefits?

What about the the Nikon 3-9x40 BDC Reticle scope and the Weaver Kaspa 3-9x40 scope? Which ones better ?
 
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The benefit of a stainless barrel is less tendency to rust if you are out in bad weather for days at a time. I still wipe mine down with an oily rag periodically, they are not completely rust " proof", just tougher and more forgiving in case you aren't able to take care of it. My truck guns and backpacking rifles are stainless. If you like the looks of stainless you won't be sorry. Enjoy your new rifle!
 
Having ten shots available certainly does not require that you shoot them all. It does, however, require that you carry around the weight of a half-box of ammo on your rifle all the time. Even if you only load 3 or 4 in to the 10-round mag, you still have to carry the gun with an awkward extension jutting down exactly where you will soon be wishing you could wrap your hand around the action.

I enjoy the look of black rifles, and enjoy using them as target guns and plinkers. Back when Canada more closely resembled a free country, I used AR's extensively for groundhog hunting. More recently, I have used similarly-styled guns for coyotes. They're cool toys...but for me they are ridiculously awkward and uncomfortable hunting guns. Of the rifles you listed, my choice would be the Scout, simply because I have a lot of experience with scout rifles and find them versatile and effective. Many folks disagree with that assessment, so to each his own. But if you get the Scout, I would suggest the first thing you want to do is find a flush-mounted, lower-capacity mag for hunting.

Be aware also that the Savage Scout, unlike some others, forces you to use a scout-type scope if you want to retain the rear aperture sight. You need to remove that sight if you decide to use a conventional scope on that gun. For me, one of the advantages of scout type rifles is the ability to have a couple of scopes all set up in QD rings, allowing you to switch back and forth as desired. I wouldn't want to mess around with, or permanently lose, the rear sight if I thought that I might want a conventional scope at some point.
 
Thanks
Isn't a center fire rifle magazine limit 5 in Canada ?
Are there scopes that could be mounted but would still
Allow me to use the iron sights ?
 
No mag limit on bolt actions...semi-auto only.

Any scout scope will let you keep your rear sight. Any conventional scope won't, because you need to remove the rear sight to install the rear scope mount on that gun.
 
I just retired two of my rifles within the last year or so. One was built in 1956 and the other in 1957. They were hunted in all kinds of weather conditions. Spent a week in the field year after year and I will admit that I was maybe a little less than diligent about keeping them cleaned and wiped down.

Neither showed any sign of rust when they were relegated to the "keep for sentimental reasons" gun safe. So while stainless barrels may look "cool" to some, they really only solved a problem that the average hunter never experienced - even with "minimal care" a blued barrel will likely outlive you, so unless you plan on out and out abusing your rifle there is no "need" to get a stainless barrel - get one if you like the looks (and they do look sharp on a black stock), but don't pay the premium if your only concern is longevity.

The Weaver Kaspa is what comes on Savage (international) rifles that come scoped from factory. If you buy a scoped Savage in the US it's dressed with a Nikon scope - some weird export restriction doesn't let them export their rifles with a Japanese companies scopes (????).

The Kaspa isn't on packaged rifles because it's a "great scope", it's there because they buy them at a super volume discount and for the guy who hunts deer with his buddies for one week of the year, where beer drinking takes precedence over sitting a watch. If that's your style of hunting, then the Kaspa is "enough" scope.

Nikon makes a decent hunting scope if you are looking in the 200-300 dollar range stuff (and as of now, Nikon has adopted a "no fault" warranty - even if you run it over with your vehicle they will fix/replace it. I considered one but when I compared it side by side with a variety of models it lost out to a Burris.

If you are keeping your shots to 300 yards or less you have no need of one of the BDC reticles. Some don't like them because you get a "cluttered" view and there are countless designs (hash marks, circles, cascading dots that also cover windage etc) - again, that is personal choice. I would say that many of us (myself included) that have BDC reticles "don't" actually need them - but I think they look cool :)

You need to get into a place like Cabela's or a decently stocked local gun store where YOU can look through as many scopes that fall into your price range as possible. You may not like the reticle on one that 99 guys out of 100 say is the best scope on the market at that price. You can't shoot what someone else likes if you hate it no matter how good the reviews.
 
Galamb.

Stainless does have its place. I too like blued barrels, but my backpack hunt rifle is stainless for good reason. Multi-day hunts in the mountains or in other harsh conditions often result in rust for blued guns. Happened to me a few times and happened to my sheep hunting partner this year. Even with a rub down with an oily patch. It just seems to happen when the rifle is exposed to the elements 24 hours a day over several days. Granted this light surface rust can usually be scrubbed off very easy. Still nice to have stainless and not have to worry about anything until you get home. I do agree that in most hunting situations it doesn't matter.
 
Of the two rifles, I prefer the M-11 Scout. I'd swap out the Accu-trigger for a decent adjustable aftermarket trigger from someone like Timney, or Rifle Basix. Hopefully the rifle comes with a thread protector so you can throw the muzzle brake in a drawer. If you,'re healthy enough to hunt big game while on foot, you can probably handle the recoil of a .308, but not necessarily the blast from a braked rifle.

I'm not completely opposed to magazines that extend below the rifle, and you might even find that the rifle balances nicely with your middle finger on the forward edge of the magazine where it meets the stock, although your thumb may have to be placed along the top edge of the forend to maintain the balance. Get in the habit of working the bolt as hard and as fast as you can immediately after each shot, without lowering the rifle from your shoulder. A good hunter intends to take his game with a single shot, but its better to be ready with a follow up you don't need, rather than need it, and miss the opportunity because you're not ready. Reaching the bolt handle will be easier with a rifle that fits you, that is the rifle has the correct length of pull for your size, dressed as you would be while hunting. Not only will you be able to reach the bolt handle easily, but the rifle will handle better, and recoil will feel less severe, if the LOP is correct. Err on the length being a bit too short rather than a bit too long. It appears that the Scout's LOP might be adjustable by means of a spacer system, but the web page detailing the rifle specs doesn't support that.

IMHO, if you need the adjustable cheek piece saddle, you've chosen the wrong scope for big game hunting, and you'll probably find that the saddle introduces a windage error. I thought the adjustable cheek piece was a curious component to have on a scout rifle, considering how the rifle was intended to be outfitted and used. Perhaps it should be in the drawer with the muzzle brake. You might find that a 3-9X has a bit too much low end magnification, and too small a field of view for some of the thick bush you find in some Ontario locals, but it is a popular choice. Keep in mind that the advantage the scope has over irons is not it's magnification, the scope's primary advantage is that the target and aiming point are in simultaneous focus. If you choose detachable scope rings so you can swap easily between the optic and the irons. Take the insert out of the aperture sight, and benefit from the advantages of a ghost ring and post.

The swivel stud mounted back near the magazine-well will allow you to use a Ching Sling, or one of the copies. Once you get on to shooting from slung-up, supported field positions, your chances of a first round hit improve tremendously. Enjoy your new rifle.
 
Tjv787 said:
Hunting / target, but mostly hunting
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Wrong answer.

A hunting rifle should be shot frequently throughout the year so the hunter understands how to hold under a wide variety of conditions and circumstances. That means you shoot at paper targets far more frequently than you shoot live targets, even though the purpose of the rifle is to shoot game. Ideally the target shooting would be conducted in country similar to the country you'll hunt in, but given your location that might not be a realistic expectation. Still, if once in a while you could get out into your hunting country off season to practice what you've learned on the range, that would be helpful.
 
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