Deer/Target rifle?

Savage gets my vote. Get a model 10 or 12 with a heavy barrel of that is what you want. Can't beat them.

I also have a Ruger American in 308. The shorter barrel that is threaded. I have yet to use it hunting but I like how it's light for offhand use and short for ground blind use. I like the trigger it has also.


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Uncle Duke said:

... The Savage Model 12FV from Cabelas is available in .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester. I think there's a fifth chambering. Might be .243 Winchester as well, but I can't recall.

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Also interested in this model. Have you seen the 12FV sold as a barreled action? Is there another Savage model with the same heavy barrel sold as a barreled action only?

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CodeWarrior1241 said:

Also interested in this model. Have you seen the 12FV sold as a barreled action? Is there another Savage model with the same heavy barrel sold as a barreled action only?

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I have not seen that, no sir. But yeah, if I'm following you here, pull the action and trash the stock comes to mind here also. The price is right to do just that, especially if caught on sale.

I'm a LONG time deer hunter.
There's lots of great bolt manufacturers out there.
All I'll add is that I would not recommend a heavy(ier) barrel for my deer gun.
Depending on how you're hunting you'll want something light but not TOO light.
If you're sure all you're ever going to do is hunting from some sort of a stand with a rest, then sure, get a bull barrel.

I have never wished for a heavier gun when deer hunting.

This is just the thread I was looking for. I'm looking to pick up a hunting rifle as well. I'm leaning towards the Remington 700 in. 308, but I've heard a lot about the Tikka. Grice Gun Shop in PA is having a sale on a lot of the 700's though.

Ruger American in .308 plus a Nikon or Vortex scope and you are all in with a rifle that has a highly regarded trigger for $650.

Uncle Duke said:

Compromises.....and assuming you're talking deer here?

Having spent a lot of years hunting in the hills of W.Va., I can tell you that the rifle you'll want to carry PROBABLY isn't going to be heavy barrel. You won't need one either if your goal is both plenty sufficient hunting accuracy AND grouping capability off the bench in the range of say, 1 to 1.5 MOA with quality hunting ammunition that the rifle likes.

.308 Winchester is a damned fine cartridge for many reasons. Just by way of mention though, if you're used to shooting only .223 to this point, you'll find .308 recoil to be significantly heavier. Arguably getting toward the upper end of what most people can tolerate and still shoot well, for "extended" range sessions. Just another example of the old adage across the firearms spectrum that the gun you most want to carry, and the gun you most want to shoot, are typically 2 different guns.

Were I to buy one deer rifle today, to do the double duty you seem to describe? Plenty of gun for deer, and a joy to shoot off the bench? Were I pinned down to have to name one, with a lot of variables in mind not mentioned here? I'd personally look hard at 7mm-08. Good Luck!

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To add, .308 in a lightweight hunting rifle is not something you want to sit there shooting all day. Or even a half a day. Probably
Not even a couple of hours. My Sako tips the scales at 8lb3oz with scope and sling. It starts to be tender by 15 shots in a t-shirt, 30 or so with winter clothes on (like, reasonable layering, not like parka and two sweatshirts).

With a bipod adding a little weight make it more like 25 or so with a t-shirt on.

Really in a bolt gun, in my limited experience (I’ve shot 5 or 6 other bolt guns in .308, but mostly just 3 or 4 shots, a couple a whole session) you really want a bolt gun around 11-12lbs all up if there is no brake to be comfortable for “all day” shooting.

A semi I’d think would buy you a pound or two lighter and still be comfortable. A bolt gun with a brake could be dandy at 8lbs for all day shooting if reasonably effective (probably not what you want to be hunting with. A big brake I mean).

And, yeah, a real target/bench gun isn’t going to be fun humping up mountains and over hills.

Also a medium or light contour barrel on a real hunting rifle also is likely to suffer stringing during prolonged bench fire. Unless you go real slow. I finally tamed the large shot groups on my Sako (bad scope), but before and after figuring it out, it has a medium contour barrel. It can go about 5 rounds and groups will start to open a little. By 10 rounds in 15 minutes and the groups seem to open to about 2 inches and stay there till it cools for half an hour or so (compared to about .6MOA groups with the right match ammo).

Granted a TOTALLY different gun, but my HBAR AR-15 in .223 wylde, the groups don’t really seem to open up, even when the barrel is roasting hot. A good match ammo is 1MOA or a little under and stays right there for 5 shot groups. Whether you are talking 1 group or 10 groups in 15 minutes.

If you want a bench and hunting gun, I’d suggest getting a bench gun and a hunting gun. Not trying to get one gun to do both. Or, pick a caliber and do both with it, through two different guns.

I am slowly finishing an 18” 6.5 Grendel flutted HBAR. I would have gone M4 profile, but when and where I was looking my only choice was 16” or 20” in M4 profile and 6.5 Grendel. I could get fluted or non-fluted 16, 18 and 20” barrels and I really didn’t want to cut my velocity as much as a 16” Barrel would and I wanted something a little handier than a 20” for the woods.

I figure the 18” fluted HBAR Barrel weighs about as much as a regular 20” M-4 profile barrel.

Anyway, I am sure it’ll work fine from a bench, but I plan to pickup a Howa barreled action from Brownell’s in 6.5 Grendel. Comes with a 22” Barrel. Standard profile. Or I could go 20” with a heavy barrel.

I'm a long time target shooter. I broached this question years ago and thought I had solved it with a Remington 700 HV in .308. I had a competition stock and kept the BDL stock that came with the rifle. On the rare occasions I went hunting, I swapped out the stock. Ultimately, I went full on towards the competition mode and got a McGee prone stock. I had the barreled action glass/pillar bedded into that stock, set up as a single shot. I bought a separate deer rifle. The deer rifle became a safe queen and I sold it to fund something else.

gwchem said:

Hi all, I got invited to hunt in West Virginia, and don't have an appropriate rifle. Looking for recommendations. What I have is an AR-15, which could potentially wear a 6.5 or 6.8 upper if that's the answer. But my collection is also missing a larger caliber bolt gun, so I'm interested in that too. Opinions on .308 bolt guns that are heavier barrel for bench shooting that could also hunt fields a couple days a year? Something like a Remington Tactical? Budget issue, but I haven't defined that yet. Maybe 5-700 for the rifle? Thanks!

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If you ask, I'm sure somebody would be willing to give you a parts list for a 300BLK, that is known good. If you ask for help assembling it, I'm sure that same person would help assembling it too...

BTW, I assembled a 300BLK for a friend and it is sub-MOA if the meatbag does his job.

Look at this thread to see what you can do with good ammo in a 300BLK.
https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=213710&highlight=blackout

Rack&Roll said:

Ruger American in .308 plus a Nikon or Vortex scope and you are all in with a rifle that has a highly regarded trigger for $650.

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You'll want a limb saver recoil pad on a light 308 bolt gun. Ask me how I know.

BigSteve57 said:

I'm a LONG time deer hunter.
There's lots of great bolt manufacturers out there.
All I'll add is that I would not recommend a heavy(ier) barrel for my deer gun.
Depending on how you're hunting you'll want something light but not TOO light.
If you're sure all you're ever going to do is hunting from some sort of a stand with a rest, then sure, get a bull barrel.

I have never wished for a heavier gun when deer hunting.

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I agree - put a limb saver on it and realize that you are not going to shoot that many times hunting deer.

Alright, you guys are talking some sense into me.

First priority is a deer rifle, so maybe I'll just have to find another slot in the safe for a target rifle in a year or two. Then the Tikka lite starts to make sense. Though I talked to my buddy and we will only be shooting from blinds and hay bales.

What I don't know in that case is if .308 is the right deer-only caliber...

DaemonAssassin said:

If you ask, I'm sure somebody would be willing to give you a parts list for a 300BLK, that is known good. If you ask for help assembling it, I'm sure that same person would help assembling it too...

BTW, I assembled a 300BLK for a friend and it is sub-MOA if the meatbag does his job.

Look at this thread to see what you can do with good ammo in a 300BLK.
https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=213710&highlight=blackout

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Thanks for the offer, and I'll gladly take you up on it, but probably after this season.

? Not sure what you mean by deer only. It’ll get the job done fine with coyotes up through elk with heavy bullets and relatively close shots (I mean, I wouldn’t want to take more than a 200 odd yard shot on an Elk with a .308).

*IF* you are speaking of "normal" hunting distances , aka within which 95% plus of deer, etc are shot , a .308 is just fine .

IF you intend to shoot diagonally accross a 400ac field, or waaaay down the length of a power line ( and have the suitable long range shooting skills ) , a 7-08 , .260Rem , or 6.5Creed ( or several Wildcats) ( or 7x57 , or 6.5x55 ) would have advantage, with similar or less recoil than .308 .

Now you've done it. Opened it up to a caliber discussion, eh? .300 win mag!

I have been looking at the Bergara B14 HMR, It is advertised as a hunter/match rifle. Available in 6.5 and 308. Does anyone have any experience with this rifle?

I recommend a .270 bolt action. Very accurate and great for deer and target shooting. .308 is nice too. Very nice rifles on a budget look at Savage Arms. They have an accu trigger out that has adjustable trigger pull so you get what you like. For the money Savage is one amazing rifle.

threegun said:

I have been looking at the Bergara B14 HMR, It is advertised as a hunter/match rifle. Available in 6.5 and 308. Does anyone have any experience with this rifle?

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I've heard good things about the Bergara....its along the same lines as the Ruger Precision Rifles. I have an RPR and took it hunter ONCE, tack driver but very heavy and with a 9" suppressor, its too long for me in a tree stand.