Buying a new .308.....Winchester, Remington, or Tikka

[Guinnessman]

I am planning on purchasing a new .308 that will be used for Whitetail Deer in PA, and possibly some future hunts out west. The three brands that I am considering are Winchester, Remington, and Tikka.

The availability of aftermarket parts and accessories makes the Remington and Winchester rifles appealing. It seems like the availability of aftermarket parts is improving on the Tikka's.

My longest shot in PA would be around 300 yards where I hunt.

I have wanted a .308 for a long time and I am finally going to take the plunge soon. The Tikka Lite and new Winchester offerings look sweet. All of the Winchesters that I have owned have been great shooters.

Then again, my brother just bought a Remington 5R, and that gun is just sweet.

I am looking at a $1000 price range. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[JStor]

I'd search the gun auctions for a lightly used Winchester Model 70 short action Featherweight or Carbine version, simply to achieve the old style open trigger mechanism. If the trigger choice doesn't matter to you, then by all means go for one of the FN built Winchesters.

[-one-]

Winchester Model 70

I was going to say the same thing. Either that or a Remi 700. I love my SPS.

[snowdog650]

For a straight-up hunting rifle, I would go with the Tikka. The action is sweet, the rifle is light, and what aftermarket mods do you need to really make on a hunting rifle? From what I have seen, they are also quite consistant in terms of accuracy from rifle to rifle from the factory.

Your brother's 5R is sweet ... until you have to hump it around for three days in the bush.

FWIW ... my hunting rifle is a circa 1968 Remington 700 CDL I bought off of a distant cousin for $150 a few years back. Since that sale, he isn't so distant anymore.

[Arctic33]

Depends on what kind of hunting you do in PA.

If you're that guy who can see your truck from your deer stand (LOTS of those here in southern PA), the only thing that matters is the brand. If you hike in, make sure it's a rifle you can carry comfortably.

You can't go wrong with the Rem 700 action. It comes in a few flavors, pick your candy. Stay away from the 770, however. They're nothing like a 700.

Tikka makes a fine rifle as well.

My brother uses a Browning. He's using the shorter "carbine" looking rifle, it's one sweet shooter and you can carry it all day. He's had it for years, and I believe it was about $1000 when he got it.

Other rifles to consider are Savage. They've come pretty far from being the "bargain" rifles they were years ago. Their new Accutrigger system is a workaround for lawsuits. They're set really light (mine came at about 2.5-3 pounds), but have that safety bar in the middle to stop them from getting sued. Takes a little getting accustomed to, but I have the Model 10 LE "Carbine" and it's a fine shooter. Little heavy, but it's become my stalking rifle for coyote and white tail due to it's short length. It's what I'm using this year for the coyote roundup, and with luck my brother and I will be taking the winner right out of the back field here. Granted, it's not a 700 action, and it never will be, but it does the job quite well.

Honestly, we can make recommendations all day, but at the $1000 price mark you can pick from a lot of fine rifles. The .308 is an inherently accurate round, and there is a lot to choose from that will be considered a quality rifle. The only question is what you like. Wood or composite furniture? Bull barrel or traditional? You want irons or not?

[Norman]

You won’t go wrong with any of those choices. Tikka is very under rated and I would think hard before passing it by. Not sure what aftermarket parts you’re looking at, all I’d get is bases, rings and good glass.

[dstocum]

I'd say buy either a Tikka T3 Lite or a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS. I own both rifles (well, the M70 is an Extreme Sporter which is just a non-stainless version of the Extreme Weather SS), and they're both extremely nice guns. My M70 is my sheep gun, in 270 WSM, and my T3 Lite is more of a utility/hunting rifle in 308 that will ultimately become a heavily modified utility rifle for general purpose woods carry.

For hunting, I like actions with safeties that will lock the bolt. The T3 and Model 70 both allow that; the Remington 700 doesn't. I like the controlled round feed the M70 offers, but the detachable box mag and mostly enclosed action of the T3 offer pretty much the same security of feeding in awkward conditions. The two rifle models I mentioned both come with stocks that you really won't ever have to upgrade, they're both very precise guns, both have very smooth actions... I'm not sure which I like more, really.

If you're interested in an oversize bolt knob for use with gloves or whatever, the T3 bolt knob takes all of 60 seconds to replace with only a 1/8" rod for a tool. That's a very nice feature in my opinion, because I'm all about doing my own work whenever I can and not sending critical components off through the postal system or waiting weeks for a local smith to fit me in.

The only thing I am not wild about with the T3 (besides the stupid stock ring setup that I'll never use) is the fact that the box mags cost so freaking much. $70 for a plastic 3 round mag, yeah... since you can't even really single feed the gun without the mag (it's not impossible just extremely inconvenient), you will want a spare to keep around in case you lose the original mag.

I've read a lot of complaints about the aluminum block (whatever the technical name is for it) in the T3 stock, because apparently it gets deformed over time. However, the complaints usually go along the lines of "My rifle is still shooting 1/2 MOA but the stock sucks because the aluminum block is getting indented!" Well, I haven't had my T3 long enough to know if it's a problem, but I'm not going to replace a major component of a rifle that's shooting well under 1 MOA as long as it keeps performing. The block can turn to powder for all I care as long as the rifle keeps shooting well. Yeah, the stock seems kinda cheap. I don't think it is, in actuality. It is very light and stiff, and it would take a lot of pressure to get the forend to contact the barrel. That's a lot more than most <$650 rifles can boast.

I have no complaints whatsoever about my Model 70, and it's exactly what I want in a sheep gun. I haven't changed anything on it and don't plan to. It shoots a shade under MOA with my handloads, which balance velocity with precision.

[SpyderMan2k4]

I hunted with a 700 adl for years before i sold it to fund an optic. Last month i picked up a tikka t3 lite ss in 308. The action is out of this world smooth. The trigger is one of the best factory triggers ive felt... insanely crisp, set at 3lbs from the factory, user adjustable from 2-4 (if im remembering correctly). Between that and the accuracy (guarantee of 1moa with good ammo) made it a clear choice for a hunting rifle. For a tactical rifle id lean toward the 700 because of stock and trigger choices, but for an out of the box, good to go hunting rifle, the tikka has a lot going for it.

Edit to say: any of the picks are great. Give each a fair look and choose!

[Guinnessman]

Yesterday I ordered the Tikka Lite .308. Now I just need to order a Scope, Rings, and Bases! Once I get it to the range I will report back. Thanks for all of the info.

[SpyderMan2k4]

Yesterday I ordered the Tikka Lite .308. Now I just need to order a Scope, Rings, and Bases! Once I get it to the range I will report back. Thanks for all of the info.

Nice! I look forward to seein the range report