Followup:
With the info from you guys, I went forth with the girlfriend intending to spend a day searching.
Didn't get past the first place I checked. Adventure Sports in Edmonds - North of Seattle - is a small place well stocked with guns, scopes, and reloading gear. The staff is helpful and polite. I walked in and asked what they had from Tikka or Sako in .308. They produced two rifles.
The one I didn't get is very nice - a Finnbear with laminated stock and a Swarovski 3x9. I was tempted but it was out of my price range - with a case and 9.5% sales tax (no income tax in WA) it would have been over $2k.
So I got the other one. An older wood stocked model (the shop called it an AII, but based on my research it's an AIII made back in 1979) with an aftermarket muzzle brake. They also have a good range of scopes, and I picked up a Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44. They boresighted the scope for free and rushed a taller set of rings when the first set was too low and they didn't have the taller ones in stock.
He likes it. Thanks again, guys. Onto the search for a guide...
