If there were a classic, workhorse .308 bolt-action what would it be?

[ronsatspokane]

I'm with you on this! I thinned my pack way down to only high end bolts/optics. 22lr, 223, 6br norma and 30-06. Have one slot left in safe for a 6.5!

I've thinned the herd a half a dozed times. Kicked myself in the arse for sending a couple of those down the road. Always seem to end up back where I started. But I've always enjoyed the process of getting back to the point I needed to thin.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Are you hunting past 600 yards with a factory Tikka? If not, then irrelevant! My Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor wouldn't go past 2610 fps with 140s no matter how hard I tried to make it, but my 22" .308 would make 175s run 2710. Even past 600, not much difference in performance.

I can run, the Horn 143 gr. ELD-X's over 2,700 FPS from my 24" Tikka with StaBall Powder and they Recoil,..
a LOT LESS than, a 175 grain, .308.
Nope, NO Plans to Hunt anything, but Deer, Antelope and Coyotes with, the 6.5 Creed ( 600- 700 Max range ).
I use, a .270 WSM with, 140 grain, Classic Hunter Berger's at, 3,185 FPS for, Elk / Moose ( That Bullet IS, still going over, 2,000 FPS at,.. 800 yds ). But, I Practice a LOT with, the LOWER Recoiling 6.5 on, Field Position shooting, SKIPPING over, the HARSHER Recoiling, .308 sorry but, that's just MY opinion, using my, 60+ Years of, Experience, WHY punish myself with, MORE,.. Recoil ??
When, My .270 WSM gets, "Burned Out", I'll probably go with, the Ballistically superior, 7 SAUM or 7 PRC ( Braked )
There's a reason WHY, the 6.5 Creedmoor, is so Popular,.. L R Accuracy and, LIGHT,.. RECOIL

 

[LoganDon]

Pre-'64 Win 70 Featherweight.

Ditto, Even with a number of custom rifles, I have one that I bought in the 60's, it is rough with an old 4x on it, but it will put 3 in an inch or so and everything I shoot at with it takes a dirt nap.

 

[Adam in WI]

I didn't think it was possible anymore to have an old fashioned debate on rifle rounds; but look at you guys go....




The best thing 308 ever did was get necked down to 6 & 7 millimeter

 

[joshb]

“Experience, WHY punish myself with, MORE,.. Recoil ??”
You’re absolutely correct. I have an old 22LR coming. I could learn to like squirrel!

 

[ebb]

If you want to hear crude. My truck gun is a $59Turk Mauser with a Montana rifleman barrel and a 6 power Leupold. I decide to go different than most of my bigger rifles and not go with the highest BC but go light and fast. 125 Balistic Tips and with its lower power scope, it does what I want. I mounted a new leupold Mk6 for a friend and he gave me the 6 power. I sent another Leupold back to the factory for him and put the 6 in the box to clean and purge. It pure junk but shoots well and it an 06.

 

[drop_point]

I can run, the Horn 143 gr. ELD-X's over 2,700 FPS from my 24" Tikka with StaBall Powder and they Recoil,..
a LOT LESS than, a 175 grain, .308.
Nope, NO Plans to Hunt anything, but Deer, Antelope and Coyotes with, the 6.5 Creed ( 600- 700 Max range ).
I use, a .270 WSM with, 140 grain, Classic Hunter Berger's at, 3,185 FPS for, Elk / Moose ( That Bullet IS, still going over, 2,000 FPS at,.. 800 yds ). But, I Practice a LOT with, the LOWER Recoiling 6.5 on, Field Position shooting, SKIPPING over, the HARSHER Recoiling, .308 sorry but, that's just MY opinion, using my, 60+ Years of, Experience, WHY punish myself with, MORE,.. Recoil ??
When, My .270 WSM gets, "Burned Out", I'll probably go with, the Ballistically superior, 7 SAUM or 7 PRC ( Braked )
There's a reason WHY, the 6.5 Creedmoor, is so Popular,.. L R Accuracy and, LIGHT,.. RECOIL

For me, I like the barrel life of a .308 over the 6.5 Creedmoor and the ability to go from 110 gr all the way up to 200 gr. (or even more if I don't mind slow). I like a 150 gr Partition at 2920 fps for most of my short to moderate range hunting. The recoil of a .308 doesn't bother me much. For hunting the open areas with shots that will exceed about 500 yards, I've been using a 6.5 PRC.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Agree, the .308 Win. is, a good, all around cartridge and has, lots of cheap ammo, available !
I was replacing, a .243 Win that, I gave my grandson, a couple of years ago and wanted something, a "Little More" than, a .243 for, a replacement Rifle and, had, no need to, go much Bigger as, I have, the .270 WSM.
I'm slowly recovering from, a .338 Win Mag., UN-Braked, recoil "Flinch",.. so the 6.5 suits Me,.. just, FINE !
Guessing that, the .308 vs 6.5 Creed, Debate goes ON for,.. a LONG, Time !

 

[drop_point]

Agree, the .308 Win. is, a good, all around cartridge and has, lots of cheap ammo, available !
I was replacing, a .243 Win that, I gave my grandson, a couple of years ago and wanted something, a "Little More" than, a .243 for a replacement Rifle and, had no need to, go much Bigger as, I have, the .270 WSM.
I'm slowly recovering from, a .338 Win Mag., recoil Flinch,.. so the 6.5 suits Me,.. just, FINE !

I shot a .35 Whelen for many years and ended up selling it during hard times and thought the .338 Win Mag would be a great replacement, but then I remember my brother-in-law asking me to zero his .338 Win T3 Lite for him. It still hurts to think about.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Yup,. in my late 20's thru, my early 40's, the .338 Win. Mag WAS the Only Rifle, on Planet Earth for, Me !
I and My gunsmith put together, a Custom Weatherby, German L-H MK-V action, 25 inch Douglas Premium Barrel that would "Clover Leaf" 3 shots, year after Year with, 210 Nosler's going, 2,970 FPS and was an, Elk killing Machine !
But,. it was, NO Fun to, Practice with !
My .270 WSM seems to, kill Elk just as, Dead and it's, a bit easier, on my Shoulder !

 

[Ray123]

I rebarreled 8 rifles to 308 Win all Remington 700s including 2 pervious 308s rebarreled 3 times each. Even a long action Rem 700 varmint special in 25-06 is now a 30" 8 twist barreled, long action 308, for those 3.2" long VLDs to feed out of the 30-06 mag, with huge gains in performance. But if I were to have only "one gun" it'd be a 308 Win., 1st choice one bolt & if a 2nd choice 308 18" AR 10 ... even over the fine 6 mm's. Not a fan of the 6.5s anymore, been there, wasted many thousands of dollars...they are "in-betweeners" and done with the 7mm as well. They will be rebarreled to 308 or 6mm calibers. Im now building a 358 Win 16" AR 10 for plinkin fun, and subs. I've tried & shoot most calibers from 17 to 50BMG ... 308 Win IMO is one ya need, ...but there are so many calibers and it's fun to play with them all, as I do...but I can get by with one accurate 308 Win rifle...even don't need the 22 LR which I hardly ever shoot these days.

 

[Ray123]

I have always wanted a laminated model 7 in 308 or 7-08.

You should get your Model 7...even if ya have to build one...life is short...I have a walmut stocked 350 Rem Mag 20" model 7. Modified it to feed 2.920" cartridges, pillar bedded it, tactical bolt knob...and added a muzzle brake. Shoots great and capable of shooting 250 gr bullets at 2625 fps , 225 Barns 2750 fps , 200gr Barns 2940 fps 280 gr Swift or 310 gr Woodleigh...from a 20" factory barrel. The model 7 is a great hunting tool, and one of my favorites.

 

[joshb]

“even don't need the 22 LR which I hardly ever shoot these days.”
I spied a nice old Winchester 69A and had to have it. Old guns draw me like a magnet.

 

[NETim]

“even don't need the 22 LR which I hardly ever shoot these days.”
I spied a nice old Winchester 69A and had to have it. Old guns draw me like a magnet.

ANY of those old Winchesters are great 22's. I happen to have the world's most expensive Model 47 presently. Bought it at a gunshow. Firing pin made a solid click. Brought it home. Would not fire. After disassembling it, I discovered the firing pin had been expertly gunsmithed so the firing pin had maybe 1/8" fall.

Try finding parts for a Model 47.

Fortunately, my Dad had some connections. He made a call to 'smith down in Missouri who happened to have the part. I replaced the trigger, firing pin spring and firing pin. $200 later, my $175 "find" was operational.

I just wanted an old single shot Winchester .22.

It does shoot pretty well even though the front sight is kinda fuzzy.

 

[David Milisock]

Because pulling that longer bolt is so much harder and slower!

Just the way my wife lives it.

 

[DLH_]

I can run, the Horn 143 gr. ELD-X's over 2,700 FPS from my 24" Tikka with StaBall Powder and they Recoil,..
a LOT LESS than, a 175 grain, .308.
Nope, NO Plans to Hunt anything, but Deer, Antelope and Coyotes with, the 6.5 Creed ( 600- 700 Max range ).
I use, a .270 WSM with, 140 grain, Classic Hunter Berger's at, 3,185 FPS for, Elk / Moose ( That Bullet IS, still going over, 2,000 FPS at,.. 800 yds ). But, I Practice a LOT with, the LOWER Recoiling 6.5 on, Field Position shooting, SKIPPING over, the HARSHER Recoiling, .308 sorry but, that's just MY opinion, using my, 60+ Years of, Experience, WHY punish myself with, MORE,.. Recoil ??
When, My .270 WSM gets, "Burned Out", I'll probably go with, the Ballistically superior, 7 SAUM or 7 PRC ( Braked )
There's a reason WHY, the 6.5 Creedmoor, is so Popular,.. L R Accuracy and, LIGHT,.. RECOIL

I would say the reason it’s popular is a combination of advertising, right place at the right time, and better chambered factory rifles (longer throats and faster twists to utilise the high BC heavy for caliber bullets.) 260 REM is very similar ballistically but 25 years older and crippled by awful factory ammo and OAL’s. Until the creedmoor, 6.5’s were nowhere near optimised in factory offerings, they required a somewhat custom set up

 

[Dave M.]

On the bolt-action side, over the years acquired a couple of .30-06s and couple of .243s. I renew my interest in centerfire rifles every few years and the apparently miraculous .308 has a growing appeal. One of my .30-06s has never had a round through it and the other only a handful. Starting to do more hunting, but with gettn’ up there it’s clear I ain’t gonna’ be going out west hunting and the .243s are fine for anything around me.

Crossing my mind to pick up a .308 bolt, not for practical reasons but just to say I finally got one and can use that cartridge (like for example if a case of .308 parachuted out of the sky - I keep hoping). So the question is, with what I've described, would there be any practical reason to own a .308, other than just to satisfy the romantic appeal? Could it do something for me what I already got can’t? And if so, would you trade one of the .30-06s or just buy outright? Never traded in anything, do you get a fair value?

Is there some classic workhorse (but not outrageously priced) .308 bolt-action that is the must-have even if just to hang on the wall and say “Ain’t it beautiful”? Personal opinions and thoughts appreciated - thanks

Remington 700 Alpha 1, SPS Stainless, or CDL models. Tons of aftermarket stuff available, accurate, dependable.
Dave