Re: 308 carbine reccomendation.
I second the PST. I don't think there's a better bang for your buck out there right now. However, it's still not cheap. If you don't want to spend that much, Cabelas actually has some impressive quality for the money. I'm probably going to get a PST 6-24 for my .308 soon, but if you don't feel like you "need" an adjustable turret scope with fancy "tactical" BDC reticle, lighted reticle, etc, you can get some really nice glass from Leupold or similar makers for quite a bit less.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hlee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Either an assault weapon ban will pass or it will not. If it does in its current form then all of those high priced "investments" will be required to be registered and will no longer be able to be legally sold. So much for investments. If it does not pass then all of those high priced "investments" will be worth a fraction of what their owners paid for them. So much for investments. It's a "flipper's" market right now and that didn't work out so well for those "holding the bag" when the housing market crashed... </div></div>
I'm sure there are plenty of people buying these as financial investments, but there are also a lot of people (like me) who are buying them as security investments. If laws are passed requiring guns to be registered, I'd be willing to bet that MOST owners of assault weapons [sic] will not be registering them. I know I never would. And I'd shoot anyone who tried to force me to. Still don't want to pay inflated prices, but at some point, those prices are going to be real (as in, when the guns are no longer legally available for sale). I don't think there's much point in owning a gun like that unless you are willing to use it (in the right circumstances). Fortunately, I live in an area where I think the general population agrees with me. (28 of 29 sheriffs in my state signed a letter to the President that they will "give their lives" to defend citizen's rights to keep and bear arms. This includes arresting federal officers who try to enforce unconstitutional laws in our state. Sorry, rant over...
I too am considering a .308 bolt gun (mostly because my AR-10 is kind of heavy for mountain hunting). Hope you like yours!