Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Magnumitis has been cured. Light weight 308s?!

True - not what I would call a "long range" 308, but boy was it fun to carry around and look at all day. (4x on mine though)



Doe is from last weekend - great times.

Damn. I really need to round up one of those Ti remmies. Those damn things look so perfect.

I currently have two, a Ruger and a Savage .308, both in stainless steel. Accutrigger on the Savage and an aftermarket Timney on the Ruger. Long ago I had the barrel on the Ruger shortened to 20". (My goal was to get much closer to Model 94 weight. I failed, but she is light enough.) I can recommend either, and for the past several years Ruger has short, light barrels from the factory; they didn't when I cut mine down. My Savage .308 IS more accurate but only for about 10rds or so. The next 5-10 rds...they are even. Get near 20 rds through each and the Ruger takes over. The Savage barrel fouls more for some reason that a bore scope might see. The Ruger will occasionally turn in a stunning group, but I consider it to be a 1.25-1.50" gun (5 shot groups), but it'll do it clean or dirty, hot or cold. (To be fair to it, it only has a 1.5-6x scope on it with heavy crosshairs.) But, with the scope, sling and loaded it is a couple onces over 8 pounds. I like 'em both, but I'm partial to the ease I can swap barrels on my Savages. (I turned another Savage into a .260 rem which is an honest .6-.7" gun consistently - again 5 shot groups.) It's EASY to do and gives me a lot of flexibility when I get bored. (.22-250/.243/.260/7-08/.308/.338Fed/.358) Hope I further muddied the waters for ya.

Wow! I haven't seen that one from Savage. Their 14's and 114s have turned into some good looking rifles. Too good looking maybe, because I'd break out the barrel wrench and scratch the rifle during a barrel swap. That one has a different barrel nut anyway, so my barrel nut wrench wouldn't work. Guess I better stick with the "ugly" ones.

Can anyone comment on the savage light weight hunters?

At Sportmans, I handled a Rem 700 SA with a heavy varmint barrel chambers in 308 with only a 20 inch length on it, and it came from the factory with a Hogue Rubber Stock on it...

while I am not, nor ever have been impressed with the 308 round, I sure liked that set up...

Hogue Stocks are available, but I am going to put together a similar set up together chambered in 260 or 7/08, probably to be followed by a 243, with an 18 inch barrel instead, and a Hogue Youth Stock, to be an inch shorter or so...

even tho I have 5 magnums in my gun cabinet, I don't see much need for them.... 2 are kept for sentimental reasons and will pass to my son, one is so accurate that it is against my religion to get rid of a super accurate rifle...

the other two, one's a Savage 116, is going to get a bolt fact change and be something else.. and the other is a Model 70 which is going to get a bolt borrowed from one of my other model 70s chambered into something else also...

add me to that list, but in any caliber...

the 308 I could load to be like a 30/30 or so.. which would be fine for where I hunt, and would be a joy to carry..

++++1

good alternative to the kimber montana if on a budget. You'd have no regrets there.

Them Tikkas are just kinda ugly

I took another look at the one we have locally, I happens to be in 7-08

And I was wrong, it has plenty of plastic on it, magazine, bottom "metal"

I don't like it as much as I thought i did, but it's still fairly cool.

I figured to be that light w/ a wood stock there'd have to be some plastic. Kinda discouraging.

2 Montanas for sale on the classifieds today....

Yup, same here. Actually, I have two SS Featherweights in 308, one in a fiberglass G&H stock and the other in an EDGE. I like the one in the fiberglass stock better, FWIW.

A 308 is almost boringly efficient. The 30-06, 270, various magnums, etc, accumulate and then just sit idle in the safe, while the 308's get taken on hunting trips. "Go-to" gets to go...

Nothing wrong with the 308 and yes, it is surprisingly "efficient".

Without a doubt, my fav 308 is my Remington Mountain rifle. I ditched the walnut stock and plunked it in a laminated MR takeoff, sans bedding or anything. Still has the foreend tip pressure. Shoots great and handles great, too. Second choice would be a T3 Lite....

Get a Rem 760.lol!
not too heavy and accurate. I have taken all my AZ deer with my little 760 308. Love the rifle, spits all bullets very accurately.

Kique

Thinkin something in model 7 will be the ticket, topped hopefully by a 6x loopy. But the darn things just aren't that light, despite the stub barrel.

Enrique,

You have an excellent rifle.


R

Now down to one...