If you just want a 24-26” 308, then anything you’ve mentioned would be fine. But remember that 100 yards is very close range for the 308 cartridge and any differences in your groups will have more to do with your load and technique than with the rifle that launches the bullets.
Lots of companies make great 308 rifles, but spending $1,000 for the right thing now can save you $2,000 in fixes and upgrades to the wrong thing over the next few years. For instance, I bought a relatively cheap rifle from one of the manufacturers you listed for $600 a few years pre-COVID. Upgrading to a Bell & Carlson stock, glass bedding, shortening the barrel to 22”, and tuning the trigger cost more than the original purchase price. I was willing to pay that because it became exactly the rifle that I wanted.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that at least one of the scope mount holes had been drilled crooked at the factory, and I burned up dozens of hours on the range trying to pinpoint the issue. I could have spent that time on marksmanship, but I lost it diagnosing the problem and I’ll never get it back. I also burned up several hundred rounds of handloads and factory ammo plus another couple of hundred bucks at the gunsmith to fix the problem.
That $600 rifle turned out to not be very cheap after all.
You also need to be ultra clear about how you plan to use the rifle before you buy. What type of competition are you considering? There are big differences between rifles for specific disciplines like PRS, Palma, and F-Class. The best way to get into any of them is to attend a match, see what people are shooting, and ask them about their choices. Most of them will talk your ear off, and a lot of them will offer to let you shoot one of their rifles and will offer to sell you rifles they’re not using any more.
Okie John
Lots of companies make great 308 rifles, but spending $1,000 for the right thing now can save you $2,000 in fixes and upgrades to the wrong thing over the next few years. For instance, I bought a relatively cheap rifle from one of the manufacturers you listed for $600 a few years pre-COVID. Upgrading to a Bell & Carlson stock, glass bedding, shortening the barrel to 22”, and tuning the trigger cost more than the original purchase price. I was willing to pay that because it became exactly the rifle that I wanted.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that at least one of the scope mount holes had been drilled crooked at the factory, and I burned up dozens of hours on the range trying to pinpoint the issue. I could have spent that time on marksmanship, but I lost it diagnosing the problem and I’ll never get it back. I also burned up several hundred rounds of handloads and factory ammo plus another couple of hundred bucks at the gunsmith to fix the problem.
That $600 rifle turned out to not be very cheap after all.
You also need to be ultra clear about how you plan to use the rifle before you buy. What type of competition are you considering? There are big differences between rifles for specific disciplines like PRS, Palma, and F-Class. The best way to get into any of them is to attend a match, see what people are shooting, and ask them about their choices. Most of them will talk your ear off, and a lot of them will offer to let you shoot one of their rifles and will offer to sell you rifles they’re not using any more.
Okie John
