Originally Posted by
noonesshowmonkey
There's guys on here with a ton more experience than I have. I did an absolute shit load of research before I bought my rifle, and specced out a set of goals for it. The result was that I got an extremely accurate rifle that can easily shoot out to 1000 and beyond that is relatively light weight and has amazing glass. The lightweight barrel profile won't let me prone or bench shoot it all afternoon and will get finicky after a string of 3-5 shots, but I didn't buy the rifle to do 10 shot groups all day long. But, I can backpack the rifle in a way that someone's bench gun would break their balls.
The best advice that I can give was the advice I got: figure out a list of wants and needs for what you're trying to accomplish.
Your main goals from the OP are:
.308 / 7.62x51mm
factory threaded / easily threaded to accept a suppressor
Light weight
300 yard capable for four legged game
Note: you didn't include bench shooting or ranges beyond 300 yards.
If you're genuinely looking for a good brush gun, something light weight that you can hump through the hills and take game with, that is not the same as a bench gun. With just the list of characteristics that you laid out, you can go to just about any .308 bolt gun from a major manufacturer and accomplish this, with the only search argument that will cause you any ass ache being the threaded barrel, as this will narrow the field a bit and add weight due to the profile required.
Tikka is a sub-brand of Sako, and Sako is a legendary rifle maker from Finnland. Tikka means 'woodpecker' in Finnish, because the rifle will hit the same spot over and over and over and over. They are a 'budget' brand of the luxury Sako mainline. This means that they have polymer stocks, simpler furniture, standardized trigger assemblies and bolts, and generally lack the overall finish (puns!) of the Sako guns. My Tikka is a T3X Lite in stainless steel, so it has a polymer stock (totally serviceable), a fantastic trigger, and a completely stainless construction otherwise. I could dump the thing into a salt marsh, pull it out, shake it off, check the bore and muzzle for obstruction, and drive on. It'll survive a fall off a truck or ATV, and so long as the crown doesn't get damaged, I can literally just rub out any nicks. It was gotten as a work horse rifle. It's a little long with a 62cm barrel (24.3 inches), and the stock isn't exactly gucci, but it is easily half MOA with good ammo and a talented shooter.
There's a reason that Tikka and Sako come up over and over in long range shooting threads / forums. They are the shit. They actually deliver on it, too.
An advantage to any of the other guns that have been recommended, to include the Thompson Center, is that they will accomplish what you are asking of them without having to spend a lot of money. 300 yards isn't a goal you have to blow through wads of cash on to get to, and nearly any production rifle that is worth a shit can accomplish it. I'd be looking for something that hit my goals of suppressor ready, had a good polymer stock, and was around or under 7 lb before glass, with the lighter rifles getting the nod.
That Savage that I linked to wearing a light optic like a Leupold Firedot 2-7 will give you everything you want in a relatively compact and lightweight package, and without having to dump loads of money onto the problem. You could probably figure it out for $1000 all-in if you watched for sales.
You could spend a shitload more money to get a 'nicer' rifle and 'better' glass, each of which would really only show themselves to you over a long life of the rifle, and especially if you use it well outside of your proscribed set of goals. I'd be looking for a rifle that I could grab out of the truck bed without having to worry about the glass or the gun and take a quick shot on a buck standing in the tree line across the field.
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