help me pick a 308 win.

[CarbonMTN]

I'm having a hard time choosing, too many bolt guns to chooses. I know the caliber, 308 Win. But I cant choose the rifle. I'm looking at getting a bolt action that is all round rifle (hunting, plinking, long range). I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death in chat.

Ruger american ( go wild) - affordable, 1000 yards (with some skill), reliable, quality, limited aftermarket parts, MOA factory gun

Rem 700 ( VTR or SPS aac-sd)- a little more costly, reliable?, quality issues, *huge after market*, *Maybe* a facotry MOA gun?

I'm looking into getting a great factory gun and upgrading over time, one piece at a time. but this are the two bolts im looking at getting. no savage tikka, browning, howa, non of those just the rem and the ruger.

What would you go with and why?

 

[ShtrRdy]

May I sggest a Tikka. They have a 1 moa guarantee and usually shoot better than that.

 

[deltawiskey]

I have no experience with the Ruger American at all...

There is a lot of hate out there for the Remington 700 and its quality issues, I have had no issues with them...maybe I'm just lucky. I have purchased 3 SPS .308's in the last few years and they have all shot moa or better. That being said, I did change out the stocks and triggers. Aftermarket parts are everywhere and there are always deals to be found on rifles and parts.

Good luck with your search, let me know how it turns out!
DW

 

[rj112275]

Lots of parts for Rem 700. However, a better edition of Rem 700 is Bergara B14 in many flavors, and better quality in my opinion. I have a Ridge in 308. Great shooter out of the box.

 

[SuperSneakySniper]

^ agreed on the Bergara. Its basically like a Remington 700 that is certain to be smoother and shoot better. Uses 700 accesories, same aftermarket to tap into.

Any reason why you want to keep to either the 700 or Ruger? The Tikka really is an excellent option here. People ranging from the casual hunter to PRS proffesionals use and trust Tikkas.

If im forced to choose between the American and 700, then Id choose 700, simply because you stated that you want to upgrade it later on. Aftermarket support is more important to me than out-of-the-box accuracy if I already plan to put a new barrel on it.
You can get the 700, if its not as accurate as youd like, make a new barrel or sturdier stock your first upgrade, then so on.
There is a good chance the 700 will shoot just fine out of the box. Mine shot sub moa, but my friend's aac did not shoot very well.

 

[trob_205]

Throw Howa in there too. The 1500 is a nice action for the $$

 

[308pirate]

I'm looking into getting a great factory gun

Neither of your choices is what I consider a great rifle. Most of the choices you don't want to consider are miles better and will need a whole lot less "upgrading".

 

[patriot07]

Howa or Tikka. Everything else is a lower value proposition IMHO

 

[Messer]

I was recently deciding which way to go on a new rifle, and I went with something other than your two options.

If I was only looking at only those two, I'd go with the Rem. 700 even with some recent QC issues. The main reason is your statement about upgrading over time, the 700 has huge aftermarket support.

Good luck,
Bob S.

 

[CarbonMTN]

But I am really only going to upgrade triggers and chassis. If I was purely looking at aftermarket, I would just build a custom rem 700 from the start...

like oh idk.

Big horn arms action TL3 - $1250
Proof Research carbon barrel - $800
timney 2 stage trigger - $2xx ish
KRG bravo $4xx ish
and try to find a good gun smith $xxx - $1xxx ish... and thats $$$$$ i would rather spend on ammo and learning the fundamentals of shooting and reloading.

I am only a master of shooting my 22lr. I want to get some big boy pants on.

but i would rather for my budget just keep it simple. Sub ~$700 dollars allows for lots of ammo and a suppressor and decent glass. so what barrel would be better the Rem 700 in a VTR or thier SPS or the Ruger american?

 

[stello1001]

Why are you only looking at those two options???

 

[CarbonMTN]

Why are you only looking at those two options???

price, ruger is sub $500 and from what i hear its got a great barrel. and remington i can get a sps aac-sd for just a hair over for $600.

 

[stello1001]

Gotcha!!!

Having a Ruger American predator before and regretting to sell it, I'd go for that. There are multiple options for aftermarket chassis/stocks which are actually pretty decent. Trigger can be fine tuned to safely break clean at around 2 pounds, even less if you want to but I wouldn't. Not sure on aftermarket barrels but the original one it comes with shoots great. Good luck on your decision. By the way, here is a pic of what mine looked like.

 

[TheGerman]

da NanAna NA nAna Na.....MRAD!

 

[M5NSX]

A down the road choice. My Tac Ops X-ray 51-one hole groups with factory FGMM. Absolutely love it but it is expensive and the wait time is pretty long. Lot of great affordable choices. Good luck with your decision!!

 

[10ring1]

CarbonMTN. If you or anyone else is in the market for a Remington 308 Aac sd. I have one I am going to be selling as I just don't shoot it. I have the box and all paperwork as new. The only thing that is not factory is that I've installed a timney trigger that is flat out awesome. If you are interested, let me know. Looks new. 40 rounds max. If you're interested let me know

 

[308pirate]

price, ruger is sub $500 and from what i hear its got a great barrel. and remington i can get a sps aac-sd for just a hair over for $600.

And for another $150 you can get a rifle that you don't need to make excuses for: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/780796683

 

[patriot07]

But I am really only going to upgrade triggers and chassis. If I was purely looking at aftermarket, I would just build a custom rem 700 from the start...

like oh idk.

Big horn arms action TL3 - $1250
Proof Research carbon barrel - $800
timney 2 stage trigger - $2xx ish
KRG bravo $4xx ish
and try to find a good gun smith $xxx - $1xxx ish... and thats $$$$$ i would rather spend on ammo and learning the fundamentals of shooting and reloading.

I am only a master of shooting my 22lr. I want to get some big boy pants on.

but i would rather for my budget just keep it simple. Sub ~$700 dollars allows for lots of ammo and a suppressor and decent glass. so what barrel would be better the Rem 700 in a VTR or thier SPS or the Ruger american?

There are just a few options between a Ruger American Predator and your $3k custom build hypothetical.

Tikka would get my vote 8 days a week as the best value. They all shoot sub-MOA and have a factory trigger that doesn't need to be upgraded. They cycle reliably and smoothly as well. Not sure what else you could ask for from a custom gun, and at europtics prices from a week ago, they were the same price as the RAP.

 

[trob_205]

I’d honestly say it’s either Ruger American Predator or jump to the Howa 1500. American has enough support with some chassis and prefits, just not a bunch. Remington has taken a back seat to to donner actions and rifles to build up as you grow. Tikka is def number one, with Howa IMHO after them for donner/building up your old rifle actions. Get your hands on a bad Remmy and you might be building/upgrading faster than you planned.

 

[Shoots 700's]

My vote goes to the Tikka

 

[stello1001]

I think you can still manage to stay in budget with a Howa barreled action from brownells and an aftermarket stock. There are some stock options that already come with pillar bedding systems so you just drop your action in and that's it. If you did that, you'd be starting off with a much much better shooting platform. I own a Howa 1500, I've owned the Ruger American predator, and I own a Remington 700. I regret selling my Ruger because it could have served me as a compact lightweight rifle to use for hunting and carry around in my truck while at the ranch. But overall, my Howa is the best of those 3.

**edit**

This stock already comes with an aluminum bedding block which makes it drop-in ready.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...short-action-varmint-barrel-channel-synthetic

www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/receiver-parts/receivers/barreled-receivers/1500-308-win-20-fluted-heavy-barreled-action-prod94614.aspx?avs%7cManufacturer_1=howa&avs%7cSpecial-Filters_1=Salezz1zzClearance&p

 

[Idaho-5R]

Odd man here, I guess. My vote goes for a Remington 700-5R. I have the Gen 1 model, & love it!!!!!! Good Luck with your search!!!! Idaho-5R

 

[RTH1800]

Find a used 700 that has no issues. Most of them don’t have issues. That is over blown in my expirence. If you get an older one trigger will be nonissue. Just shoot it.

 

[RTH1800]

VSSF has been great model on the 6-8 I have had.

 

[kRcu]

Get a Tikka. Rem 700 QC has slipped a lot. The tikka will allow you to get started, then down the road, spin up a good barrel and throw it all in a nice chassis.

The tikka will be great out of the box without having to tinker with a bunch of stuff to get the bolt feeling smooth and the trigger breaking nice.

 

[Squat]

That Howa Barreled Action on sale and a XLR chassis have you well under what you are looking to pay

 

[GBMaryland]

I like the Sig 3000 with the McMillan stock.

If you can get one of those in good or excellent shape, you can buy replacement barrels that YOU can put on the action in minutes. Anything based on, and including, 308...

I’ve got a bunch of rifles, but that is the most useful one.

The Ruger Precision Rifle is supposed to be pretty decent too.

 

[Schralp]

I just got a Tikka tac A1 and am super impressed. Made me feel like I know how to shoot. I'm super happy with it.

 

[bfglowkey]

Of the two you are looking at I would put the edge on the Rueger .