.308 target rifle any suggestions?

[Albert 888]

Made my mind up and im going for a. 308 rifle and the variation is going through the long drawn out process. What im after is a rifle that will shoot 100-1000m mainly 300m. Been looking at the high bc bullets to help me cope with the wind which are around 200grain so I need to get the twist rate right and the barrel length to match. It will need to have a 10 shot mag. The other thing is im not made of money and im going for a top end high mag scope also. So any ideas would good as im stuck. Cheers Albert

[welshwarrior]

Remington 700 with heavy barrel ideally I'd like an AI stock and mag conversion but there are cheaper stock options.

 

Edit miss reread that

Edited March 7, 2014 by welshwarrior

[clakk]

if u deffo want .308 u can get a parker hale from SGC at exeter for £95 quid.then u could put a longer sporterised barrel on it and the sights of your choice .theyve got 3 in different prices for the same rifle,upto £295 .thats as budget as it gets

[kent]

Its not all about heavy bullets (200 is a lot for a 308, up to 180 is often more appropriate), 155 senars and 150 grain matchkings have lifted more than a few trophies. The 308 win as std is a little out of its depth after 180 ish and the extra punch of heavy bullets in a tactical match is to be considered. I suspect those who go the heavy bullet route select their day as staying supersonic could potentially be an issue among other things.

 

Mag fed is the limiting factor on accuracy at extreme range as bedding area and rigidity has to be compromised. The better mag fed actions are the likes of the surgeon (but action alone will set you back the cost of a new Remington 700 rifle) For any after market 10 shot conversions a Remington 700 is the only really practical choice IMO, look at Badger ordinance M5 kit, it uses the AI mags so 10 shots is easy fixed. Fix a 20 MOA piccatiny in steel to the top and locktite is and it will compensate for the lack of rigidity some.

 

The only off the shelf items worth looking at made here in the uk are AI and RPA. Scope wise something with the capability of 30x or over for long range and also the capability to get down to 18-15 for those mag fed tactical matches were FOV counts, if it can get down to 8x better still. No rubbish though if it don't track 100% reliable its junk with your needs

 

It wont be cheap though, I am a bit out of touch now but I doubt you could get a rig capable of winning for less than say 4k and likely it will be over that. If you spend 1500-2k you will get something that goes bang and doesn't embarrass you too much, though you will only place at low level

 

If your just going to play at it a Savage FTR rifle and a good loopy ontop is your best bet, but that is single shot rifle (you can win events like McQueens single round loading though if your good enough)

 

Remember FTR when putting things together has weight limits

[Gimlet]

Does it have to be .308? I started a similar topic on here a few months ago asking for suggestions for a multi purpose vermin/deer/1000 yard target calibre. After some good advice from PW members, especially Fister, the best candidate for me was a .260 Rem.

 

However I've since got my .222 shooting extremely tightly with 50 grn bullets at 3480 fps, which is pretty sprightly for a triple and makes a good vermin round, and I've discovered my .308 stalking rifle loves 150 grn Hornady SSTs which are coming out at 2900 fps. So I'm doubting now with the performance I'm getting from my existing rifles whether I really need another deer/vermin rifle, which is always going to be a compromise. In which case I'm thinking now in terms of a purpose built target rifle. The calibre of choice at the club I shoot is .284 Win which is a superb performer at long range, particularly in wind.

If I build a custom target rifle I will go .284 Win. If I was to reconsider an all-rounder I think, on balance, I'd stick to plan A, the .260 Rem. That would be my choice after much head scratching.

[Albert 888]

Cheers guys. Put in for 308 but still awaiting for the feo,so I could change it 6.5x55, 6.5x47 260 were also on the cards. Need good barrel life and a versatile rifle that will do all, as it will be used for stalking & maybe mcqueens,f class and what ever else I can do. So I need a heavy barrel 10 shot mag and not too heavy. Have a 22&223 that I use for vermin and target,which im doing well with when not windy but hindered but not having a 10 shot mag for timed comps. Put in for a 357 mag underleaver for target indoors and 100m,303 service rifle with peep sights for comps 100-300m and 308 for target & comps100-300m mainly and having a go at diggle and the odd stalk from time to time. Looking to spend around £1000 + or - rifle only. Nightforce s&b sightron leupold etc scope to put on it I would like to see the bullet holes at 300m. Anyone any ideas were I can get info for the 308 twist rate to bullet weight and barrel length ratios think standard is 1/12 and im after 1/10. Cheers again Albert

[Gimlet]

Cheers guys. Put in for 308 but still awaiting for the feo,so I could change it 6.5x55, 6.5x47 260 were also on the cards. Need good barrel life and a versatile rifle that will do all, as it will be used for stalking & maybe mcqueens,f class and what ever else I can do. So I need a heavy barrel 10 shot mag and not too heavy. Have a 22&223 that I use for vermin and target,which im doing well with when not windy but hindered but not having a 10 shot mag for timed comps. Put in for a 357 mag underleaver for target indoors and 100m,303 service rifle with peep sights for comps 100-300m and 308 for target & comps100-300m mainly and having a go at diggle and the odd stalk from time to time. Looking to spend around £1000 + or - rifle only. Nightforce s&b sightron leupold etc scope to put on it I would like to see the bullet holes at 300m. Anyone any ideas were I can get info for the 308 twist rate to bullet weight and barrel length ratios think standard is 1/12 and im after 1/10. Cheers again Albert

 

I'm a target rookie myself but I do know my mate's Sako TRG has a 28" barrel and a 1:11 twist. He uses it regularly at 1000 yards with 155 grn Lapua match bullets and at 400 yards at the local club its a drill.

I sometimes take my Tikka 595 .308 on informal club days and at 400 yards with hand loaded ammo its pretty damn good. Its never going to win competitions but its damn good fun and keeps me on my toes. I would say if you're going to use a.308 hunting rifle on the range get a 1:11 heavy barrelled varminter, 24" minimum.

[Dekers]

How serious do you intend to get with this target malarkey?

 

As above, a £100 Parker Hale will get you up and running and will deliver very acceptable results, but you can make those results look pretty tame if you up the anti with a few more zeros after the £ sign.

[trev45acp]

My SSG-69 is a really nice piece of kit, with a good quality scope you have a reasonable setup. Otherwise you need to be looking toward the Accuracy Internationals and other specialist rifles, but cost starts rising. All depends what you can afford.

[welshwarrior]

As pre my orginal answer I would want an AI setup or possible a Sako TRG

 

personally topped with a S&B PMII there are lots of option I depends what you call a cheap target setup.

[sle]

Steyr SSG 08 or Rangemaster would be my top choice, bit on the high priced side though. I am after a 308/7.62 for target as well, but can not chose. to many options out there.

[Albert 888]

Ok im well up and running have cz 527 varmint Kevlar 23.5" 1/10 twist shooting home loads. Im at the point where I need to move forward. A parker hale wont cut it as 10 shots in 1 min would warm the barrel and it would lose accuracy. When you say ai is that accuracy international?. I could push the funds up to£1500 for rifle only. Second hand is a good option as I can barrel later on.

[kent]

AI is accuracy international. £1500 is going to be tight and there is no point buying any rifle with a suspect barrel unless it is very, very cheap. Try A Remington PSS (which has a HS stock) purchase an M5 mag kit from Badger ordinance and buy the 10 round mag, inlet and fit is yourself, bed it top and bottom and fit a good trigger like the Jewel HVBR. 20 moa steel piccatini and you might come closest to that £1500. The AI might offer an easy barrel re-fit but it aint cheap on barrels and the gun itself will set you back

[welshwarrior]

Kent is spot on IMHO for £1500.

[Dekers]

Ok im well up and running have cz 527 varmint Kevlar 23.5" 1/10 twist shooting home loads. Im at the point where I need to move forward. A parker hale wont cut it as 10 shots in 1 min would warm the barrel and it would lose accuracy. When you say ai is that accuracy international?. I could push the funds up to£1500 for rifle only. Second hand is a good option as I can barrel later on.

Mckillop Engineering Ltd Phone: 01189333100 Butlersland Farm, Mortimer, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 2AG Neil is an excellent RFD, gunsmith and engineer, he builds rifles and fixes any and every problem I have given him, he also sells precision crafted used rifles. UK Champions use his guns. For help and advice there are few better in my experience, you may well find a chat with him very beneficial, and don't be too concerned about money, he is very reasonable!

[Albert 888]

Cheers guys all info taken onboard. Shot this morning with a lad using cz 550 kevlar varmint with the hs stock 308 26" heavy barrel and a 10 shot mag and picturany rail but they are 1/12 tiwst,the lads best loads are 185g loaded hot and also shoots the cheap hornady 155g factory ammo quite well. The rifle mentioned is the bigger brother of my 223. Will keep my mind and eyes open and have a good look around.

[Harnser]

A swing or paramount is what you need if you are serious about full bore target shooting . Been a long time since I was an avid long range target shooter . Dont know if these guns are still made . But in my day these rifles were the ones to shoot with .

 

Harnser.

[kent]

Or a Brown Bess!

[welshwarrior]

Or a Brown Bess!

Harsh Harnser would have had a Baker Rifle.

[pork chop]

have a look on ukv,there's always some good kit for sale.there was a rem 700 with 10 shot mag and a mcmillan stock for £1400 if i remember correctly

Edited March 10, 2014 by pork chop

[kennym]

CZ's have a reputation for accuracy hoe do they fare in .243 .308?

[Harnser]

Harsh Harnser would have had a Baker Rifle.

 

Yes I did and I shot well with it at 300 yards .

Harnser.

[Albert 888]

Ok chaps thanks for the info, I will keep saving and sell some gear to make space and put more money towards a rifle. So rem,sako,styr and tikka are what im generally loking at. I will post back if I find anything else.

[Alycidon]

BSA CFT is a dedicated 308 target rifle, single shot, hell of a good tool but pretty rare these days,

 

A

[Albert 888]

BSA CFT is a dedicated 308 target rifle, single shot, hell of a good tool but pretty rare these days,

 

A

Need to let off 10 shots in 1 minute, so wont be much use for my needs,but thanks anyway