Looking for a 308… Maybe

[tzone]

I bought a Christensen Arms Mesa .308 last summer that I like quite a bit.

I'd call it a mid-weight that's on the lighter side. But certainly not a lightweight rifle by any means.

But if you'd like to stick with the browning you could go with a Hell's Canyon Speed with the 22" barrel or the X-bolt Compact with a 20" barrel. That would be a sweet little rifle actually.

 

[tzone]

If it fits your budget, take a look at the Bergara B14 Ridge and/or Wilderness Ridge. 308 avaialble in an 18" or 20" barrel and threaded at 5/8x24. I don't own one, but I've shot one my friend owns and I thought it was a nice accurate rifle.

Those are far from a light rifle though.

 

[JohnCushman]

Why do you need anything on one of the least recoiled rifles? My ex was 5'6 and 115# and shot a .308 like a champ.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Another vote for Bergara. I have the 18" wilderness ridge and run a Harvester can on it. What sold me on the Bergara is it's one of the few production rifles in that price point that you don't have to upgrade the trigger or a cheap plastic stock.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Just asking because I don't know but doesn't shortening the barrel significantly impact velocity and/or accuracy downrange? If someone wants an elk rifle to shoot from ridge to ridge, aren't they better off carrying a heavier long barreled rifle?

 

[Dsnow9]

Just asking because I don't know but doesn't shortening the barrel significantly impact velocity and/or accuracy downrange? If someone wants an elk rifle to shoot from ridge to ridge, aren't they better off carrying a heavier long barreled rifle?

Who said I was shooting ridge to ridge?

 

[Dsnow9]

Why do you need anything on one of the least recoiled rifles? My ex was 5'6 and 115# and shot a .308 like a champ.

Because I have one… leaving it in the safe just seems foolish. But if I don’t get a new rifle I’ll likely hunt the xbolt without the can this year and upgrade the scope with something lower power

 

[LuketheDog]

Who said I was shooting ridge to ridge?

If you're lucky, you can kill two elk with one shot too!

 

[Don Fischer]

Just a though. probably my all time favorite hunting rifle was a 660 Remington in 308. Stock was factory and sotra looked like a fence post but the rifle handled really really well. Had a 20" barrel and a fixed 2 3/4x Redfield on it, my son has it now. Something about that rifle that I think really contributed to it's handling was the barrel was heavier than a standard barrel. Here at the house right now so got it out for a look. At the muzzle the barrel is .585". In contrast my 308 partiot is .605 at 22". And maybe the biggest plus for nice handling was the 2 3/4x fixed Redfield. My son didn't like the scope so took it off and gave it back and put a 2-7x scope on it, just doesn't feel the same to me! I have a Mod 70 Feather weight in 6.5x55 with a 22" barrel that measures .540" at the muzzle and it's a really nice handling rifle. I have a Leupold/Redfield 2-7x on it which is really nice but I just wonder if the 2 3/4x might not have improved it? Not a clue. I think a good part of the weighjt thing is how the rifle balances between your hands and the 660 is a real sweetheart, the mod 70 ain't no slouch either though. Have a 788 in 308 with an 18" barrel and just don't excite me and I loved the ole 788"s. I think it's the barrel that turns me off. Had a Rem mod 7 when it first came out and loved it,,,till I shot it. Thing didn't group well with anything. had a really thin barrel and think that had something to do with it. Beautiful rifle though!

 

[Don Fischer]

Why do you need anything on one of the least recoiled rifles? My ex was 5'6 and 115# and shot a .308 like a champ.

It seem's to me that the trend for a lot of years has been toward heavier recoiling cartridges in lighter rifles and installing stuff to tame recoil. For myself I think if people got rifles in cartridges that didn't recoil so much they could do away with the stuff and come out ahead even with a standard cartridge. But reading this stuff in recent years lot of people seem to believe they need a cartridge that will reach out 400+ yards just in case. Guy from Pa on one of these sites was asking about a rifle to come out west and hunt elk with and was thinking strongly about a 300 mag. I've lived out here most my life and did go through the magnum stage years ago, never needed one for an animal or any country I hunted. Can see a long way from my house in about any direction, farther than I think, hope, anyone would want to shoot. The whole idea is spawned buy what guys write on these forums.

One last thing, the 308 is a low, relatively speaking. cartridge, not rifle. But when people ask about cartridges for their kid or wife it is often mentioned. I've use a 308 a lot of years and recoil just isn't that bad. But remembe in the past I shot a great deal and that makes a difference what recoil you can handle. I could imagine a 6' 200# man that doesn';t shoot picking up a 308 with a 165gr bullet and thinking it's a brute. ?at the same time I cae see some 125" kid shooting it and thinking nothing of it! The effect of recoil depends on the shooter and lot of shooter's just don't get that. I've never shot a 7mm-08 but shot a 7x57 a lot. I can see where a 7mm-08 might turn the wrong shooter off. It the guy recommending the cartridge and he shoot a lot, he thinks the recoil of different cartridges is nothing. Have a kid here in town that likes to shoot. 14 yrs old and all he'd ever shot was his grandfather's 30-30. I let him shoot my 6.5x55 as he said the 30-30 was no problem for him. he loved the 6.5x55. then let him do a 243 and now if we go shooting all he'll shoot in that 243! Actually the rifle stocks were all to long for him but we all know or should know the difference in a 30-30 recoil and a 243 recoil. Rifles don't recoil and the stuff added on is to try to handle the recoil from the cartridge! the only thing I can thing is they hang stuff all over the rifle to handle recoil and end upthrowing the rtfle pout of balance.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Who said I was shooting ridge to ridge?

The question wasn't directed at you specifically. Guess I should have made that clearer. Just curious.

 

[Farmerj]

Just asking because I don't know but doesn't shortening the barrel significantly impact velocity and/or accuracy downrange? If someone wants an elk rifle to shoot from ridge to ridge, aren't they better off carrying a heavier long barreled rifle?

There’s been several articles written that guys have gone out with a 26” barrel and using a cutoff wheel take an inch at a time …

General consensus on the article’s is that a 20-21” barrel is all you really need for velocity.

 

[ramsdude47]

Kimber hunter or the new Howa Superlite.
A lot easier (and cheaper) to make a rifle that is too light heavier than the opposite.

 

[OntarioHunter]

There’s been several articles written that guys have gone out with a 26” barrel and using a cutoff wheel take an inch at a time …

General consensus on the article’s is that a 20-21” barrel is all you really need for velocity.

Interesting. I suppose twist plays into that somehow. So velocity is unaffected but how about accuracy?

 

[Farmerj]

Interesting. I suppose twist plays into that somehow. So velocity is unaffected but how about accuracy?

Two of the tests I’m aware of showed no loss of accuracy. One was published, the other was not.

I’ve posted the link in a thread here once already.

You can call Accuracy 1st to talk about their work he did if you care to. He used a .338 Lapua.

 

[Redman]

I use a .308 with a 15 in barrel out of a handgun and it kills everything I shoot with it and is more accurate than some rifles I own.

 

[Rob96]

Interesting. I suppose twist plays into that somehow. So velocity is unaffected but how about accuracy?

In my case going from a 26" barrel to 20", the accuracy greatly improved.

 

[Dsnow9]

In my case going from a 26" barrel to 20", the accuracy greatly improved.

Really? That’s great!

 

[Don Fischer]

In my case going from a 26" barrel to 20", the accuracy greatly improved.

I have heard that before. Something about you shorten the barrel and it get's stiffer.

 

[Fire_9]

Just asking because I don't know but doesn't shortening the barrel significantly impact velocity and/or accuracy downrange? If someone wants an elk rifle to shoot from ridge to ridge, aren't they better off carrying a heavier long barreled rifle?

I figured an all knowing man like yourself would know all about this stuff. It’s simple physics. A bullet quits accelerating as soon as it leaves the barrel so yes, shortening the barrel will have an effect on velocity. I believe most cartridges are around 20 fps/in. You can sometimes see an increase in accuracy with a shortened barrel as it makes it stiffer. This isn’t always the case but it can happen