davhope Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 Ok I have decided to purchase a 308 when I get to New Zealand in september, The most common ones seem to be remington 700 , Howa 1500 ,or tikka t3, does anyone have any advice they are willing to impart based on experience of the above rifles? Hopefully, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 Any will do the biz,just get a mod and ear defenders..............what.....eh....just ask the Bisley boys . T3 for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 T3 best out the box budget gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
il cacciatore Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 Ill be applying for a .308 when I've had the .223 for a couple of years (which they still havent given me. Strathclyde are really, really slow) Ill be getting a Mauser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 Any will do the biz,just get a mod and ear defenders..............what.....eh....just ask the Bisley boys .T3 for me. My ears are still ringing I have had the remmy 700 and now own a tikka t3. I would buy both again, but if i had to choose between the 2 it would be the T3........can't comment on the howa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 the out of the box howa's synthetic stocks are rubbish. And so far im teribly impressed with rifle So for an out of the box gun which requires no work at all, T3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Best 308 to get? 6.5x55 Tikka T3 (Only 'cos you can't get M695's any more) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rarms Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Remmy 700 VSSF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davhope Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 I keep hearing people moaning about remington 700 triggers, are they really that bad? and if so is it worth paying extra for a t3? Also have been getting my head turned by .270 any opinions on this calibre, All advice appreciated, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 its not just triggers, those can be sorted with drop in units which only cost £60-£100, i just dont like their guns in general, and on some of the larger caliber ones the extractors are not 'man' enough for the job (but we are talking larger than 308) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Also have been getting my head turned by .270 any opinions on this calibre,All advice appreciated, Dave You are right to move away from the .308 but you are going the wrong way Dave, keep going, the 6.5x55 is waiting just round the next corner .270 is a great calibre if you have bit of land with deer and buffalo BTW I keep hearing people moaning about remington 700 triggers, are they really that bad? and if so is it worth paying extra for a t3? Ask yourself if you want a shooter or an ongoing project? Then, grasshopper, you will have found the answer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Ive got 2 Remingtons and nine other makes incl SAKO in my cupboard but the factory Rem triggers are still the best of the lot. They just need a little care and attention. If you cant do it yourself use ............... http://www.triggersmith.com/ By the way it only takes a couple of seconds to replace a broken extractor and as with a spare firing pin I would expect anyone with a Rem 700 to have a couple of spares in his kit. The first thing I do when I buy a rifle is strip it and decide which bits might be a problem then order spares - doesnt everyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davhope Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 ********! Im more confused now than when I started, It looks like I will be in the market for a remington or a tikka but I now havent a clue as to which calibre would suit me best, started looking at 6.5x55 the other night and it has just thrown a spanner in the works, After starting off thinking a 308 would be best, then looking at 270, then looking at 6.5x55 Im all in a muddle, Help, regards Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 I used a Remington 700 in a tactical stock at the Bisley open day and thought how nice it was. Obviously I don't know what had been done to it, but nice all the same. Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 ********! Im more confused now than when I started,It looks like I will be in the market for a remington or a tikka but I now havent a clue as to which calibre would suit me best, started looking at 6.5x55 the other night and it has just thrown a spanner in the works, After starting off thinking a 308 would be best, then looking at 270, then looking at 6.5x55 Im all in a muddle, Help, regards Dave What do you want to shoot? Choose your quarry then the best bullet and then the calibre. 6.5 best at 130grn, 270 best at 140grn 308 best at 150-165grn. If you intend shooting small and large quarry choose a 30cal and shoot 150-180gn at large spieces and 22 sabots at 4000fps at smaller species such as Fox or for NZ Possums. In NZ the larger deer and goat can be quite 'hardy' and you should perhaps think of something a little more powerful. Add a 300WSM (or 300SAUM) to your consideration list as you may well prefer 180grn ammo for the deer there. Get a chance at Waipiti and you could be considering a 325WSM with 220gn! They can be real big boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 I have adjusted my Remington 700 triger down to 1.75lbs where it is safe and feals good. The rifle shoots a lot better than me and now almost without exception shoots groups sub minute of angle. http://www.quarterbore.com/library/article...700trigger.html Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 I have adjusted my Remington 700 triger down to 1.75lbs where it is safe and feals good. The rifle shoots a lot better than me and now almost without exception shoots groups sub minute of angle. http://www.quarterbore.com/library/article...700trigger.html Dave Davhope, Please forgive my interuption to this thread by the reply below but i feel it prudent to respond to Daves post directly. DevilishDave I appreciate you have posted a link but feel that perhaps the instructions may be more applicable to older Rem700s when the triggers had different style springs than present day offerings . It would initially seem to me that you have adjusted your trigger to a little too low a poundage unless you are using new springs and have honed the sear. I am not criticisng merely trying to offer a some help and advice. The latest Remington trigger will drop to around 2.5lbs with factory springs and be really nice and crisp if you are lucky, but anything less than that usually is likely to give a problem when you least expect it. May I suggest you remove the action from the stock and with the bolt cocked and the safety off you hold the action in one hand with the barrel downwards to the floor and hit the rear tang of the action quite hard with a nylon or dense rubber hammer. For your own peace of mind do this at least 3 times and if ok then you are not likely to have an unexpected discharge in the field. The problem I have found is that the sear engagement can take in dirt (burnt powder or just plain old grit blown in by the wind) and can leave it with the effect of being half set. Now at 6lb you won’t notice the difference but at less than two shaking the gun could just about set it off. If you have replaced the springs and /or honed the sear then you are obviously very competent and the rifle will be fine but if not I feel a word or warning is necessary. I believe myself to be totally proficient at trigger adjustment on all or any rifle but I had an experience last week that I have never had before in many many years of shooting and 100s of thousands of rounds and worst of all with no specific cause showing I can only put it down to dirt. I spied deer coming out of the wood ¼ mile away so got out of my vehicle on to my hands and knees and crept forward lifting the rifle with the scope as I went, foot by foot. I racked the bolt but didn’t fully close it and crept on. I was glassing deer about 200yds away and I reached out with my left hand to bring the rifle to me. I felt over the scope and was going to lift with the scope but felt the bolt handle was still up (by the way rifle is left-handed 700) I just pushed down the bolt handle from over the scope with one finger carefully so as to make no noise and bang the rifle fired a shot. On return I stripped down the rifle but I can find no reason for the mishap whatsoever. I could not have reached the trigger from where my hand was situated and it was not a slam-fire so the only explanation I can suggest was a small piece of dirt under the sear leaving it on a knife edge. My usual pull is 2.5lbs and it still is. The rifle has behaved faultlessly since. I was lucky the only consequence was running deer but the outcome could so easily have been very different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 MRY Your words of caution are well received. Personaly when adjusting a triger or after cleaning I always carry out the safety test that consists of: Cocking the rifle Apply the safety squeeze the trigger release the safety Now give the butt several sharp taps on the ground. If the action operates your trigger is to light or you have deeper problems that need investigating. I think your misshap serves to highlite the importance of muzzle awareness at all times and never pointing a rifle at anything you dont want to shoot. Incidently where did the fired round go? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 "Now give the butt several sharp taps on the ground" That may be fine for some rifles although I would never test a trigger myself with the action in the stock for fear of stock damage and certainly for the Rem 700 I do recommend a series of quite a sharp taps on the end of the tang under the bolt whilst holding suspended in the other hand. This allows the full effects of the shock to be transmitted. "I think your misshap serves to highlite the importance of muzzle awareness at all times and never pointing a rifle at anything you dont want to shoot". I fully agree BUT I as with all others when shooting live quarry do things that are to the advantage of sucess rather than applying Range type safety. Some rifles such as the older 700s cannot be on safe when closing the bolt and normally extra care does need to be taken with that type of action but................. "Incidently where did the fired round go?" Into the tree line I trust, but certainly not what I consider a 'safe' backstop. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davhope Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 All right, I will definatly not be shooting somthing that will not fit on a quad bike, so thats wapiti out of the equasion , I think that goats and pigs are a definate as well as the odd deer, will get a rimmy for the possums, Does this help to narrow it down? Regards David. Sorry to sound bewildered but I have only used 22.250 and 243 up to now and I am pretty sure that they will leave me undergunned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 On the matter of shooting feral goats. From my experience, i have found a quick, but resonable expanding bullet far better at killing goats, then say a massive powerd rifle with a big soft point bullet, passing straight threw, even when hitting a bone. Goats are slab sided, their chests are not too deep Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 Davhope I think my best advice would be stick to your original suggestion and get a 308. Buy a Howa and you will get the best value for money going and be spending a lot less than on other makes. Where are you heading for? If its anywhere near Dunedin pop in and see the folk here http://www.centrefire.co.nz/index.html You will get a pleasant reception whether or not you spend any money. If its near or in Christchurch try to find time for an early visit to http://www.firearms.co.nz/index.htm Another site worth looking at for help and advice is http://www.gunsmithsociety.com/ and it also has plenty of good links. There are shooting ranges everywhere in NZ so you wont have far to go for a 'bit of a play' If you send me an email I can send a few good NZ search engines sites for you. mry716@hotmail.com. You were talking about pigs - if on the way to NZ you get an Air NZ flight then for about £100 extra you can get a stopover at Vanuatu. Now there is a place for pigs - its as bad as Tonga but in Vanuatu most are feral and anyone can shoot them. Well they could 10 years ago when I was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davhope Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Allright ,Having read everyones comments I am erring towards the howa, mainly due to a initial price that allows me to purchase decent optics. I will just have to be choosey when it comes to buying one and not just take the first one I pick up, Hopefully it will not be a bitch to sort out but that is why blokes have sheds anyway, Regards David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Every Howa is the same, they are that good. The way they are made means there is no leeway for differences, so the first you see will be as good as the last. Take any you will be fine. The only areas of discrepancy from one rifle to another is where someone has done something by hand. eg set the trigger, pushed in a roll pin (into bolt) or fitted a stock. Of course look it over, not everyone will be as careful as you will be with your rifle and may well have scratched it. But every Howa is a good Howa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Good luck with what ever you get Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.