Buying a new Bolt gun

Which Rifle

  • Savage 11/111 Hog Hunter

    Votes: 48 78.7%

  • Mossberg ATR Short Action

    Votes: 2 3.3%

  • Something else that fits my parameters

    Votes: 11 18.0%
  • Total voters
    61
  • Poll closed .
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O

onebadcaballero

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
41
Location
northwest florida
All right, I'm in the market for a budget bolt action .308 with adjustable sights. From my research I was able to turn up two that had sights and stayed in my budget.

First off is the mossberg ATR
http://www.mossberg.com/product/rifles-bolt-action-centerfire-100-atr-centerfire-short-action/26252

Next the savage 11/111 Hog Hunter
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11HOGHUNTER

The mossy is running between $280-300 and the Savage is around $400-440.

On paper the Savage's advantages include a threaded muzzle, heavier barrel profile, 2" shorter over all length, plus a free floated barrel.
The Mossberg is a good bit cheaper and might milk a couple fps out of the extra 2" of barrel but I doubt anything noticeable. Both guns weigh around 7lbs.

I really like my mosin nagant m44 carbine and was looking for a .308 carbine that would be a little more accurate. (By the way I'm young and my eyes are still good so please don't try to convince me to buy a sightless rifle and just scope it)
 
Although the ATR is a sleeper and one of the best bargains out there, I would have to pick the Savage just because of the trigger. Plus I picked up a digital camo accustock at the gunshow yesterday for $40.:D
 
among the 2 choices you listed, savage..
marlin x7 bolties are awesome and cheap but no irons.
my son's girlfriend shoots an x7 .243 that is clover leafing (100yds) sandbagged
 
Savage. Once you squeeze that trigger, it's hard to leave without one. Are you stuck on having a synthetic stock? There's lots of older, wood stocked, used/well maintained .308 rifles out there. Just something to think about. I've never liked Mossbergs...but I have no idea why. Both rifles have a great look, but I'd still take the savage.
 
Ugaarguy,
The savage is pretty much at the top end of my budget. As far as use goes mainly recreational but I might take it hog hunting. Here in Florida there is mostly brush and swamps so I cant help but laugh at guys who take there 10 pound, 26" barrel, 7 mil mag with a 12-24x scope out in the woods. Besides not to brag but if I ever do get a rare 150+ yard shot I have put ALOT of rounds through my other iron sighted rifles and pride myself on my long range off hand, open sight shooting. Just don't give me a scope(I can never get use to eye relief) or aperture sights(can't hit $#!T).

WoodchuckAssassin,
I actually prefer wood stocks but I couldn't find a sighted bolt action in my price range. I don't mind used guns it's just that I've never bought a new one (besides my 60's unissued yugo sks if that even counts) and I want to get a whiff of that new gun smell!
 
I dont know about the hogs in FL but the hogs in TX are mostly nocturnal and iron sights are useless after dark.
 
I handled one of the Savage Hog Hunters at Cabelas and it fealt like a nice rifle. Sights looked pretty good to if I remember correctly.
 
abelbridge,
I've gone hog hunting in the day in Florida.

ColtPythonElite,
I would prefer a rifle with sights, but thanks for the suggestion.

Ian Johnson,
Sorry I forgot to mention I'm not a fan of aperture sights, but I do love scout style rifles!

C-grunt,
thanks for the info, I'll have to check one out myself.

Zgunner,
is the accutrigger like a glocks?

CaptCurt,
What a steal on that stock, is the trigger that much better? Anything would be an upgrade from my creepy m44!

Sansone,
Yeah the marlin would be in the running if only it had sights, Sorry to be picky but I just gotta have em'!
 
Zgunner,
is the accutrigger like a glocks?
Click to expand...

Yes, to a point. To be honest I don't notice the safety blade in a glock trigger.

The AccuTrigger on the other hand, the silver safety blade is the first thing your finger will contact. Start squeezing that and you have a very light, alomst unnoticeable pull. Once you get to the trigger itself you'll have your adjustable pull. I'm not sure what that is from the factory, but Savage is nice enough to include an adjustment tool to tailor it to your liking. Both triggers on my Mark II FV-SR and Precision Carbine are extremly crisp. I'm suprised everytime I pull the trigger, both by the crispness and the lack of pull.

I really can't explain in words how much I love that trigger system, it's just something you have to experience to understand.:D
 
Another vote for Savage. The accuracy is hard to beat, the iron sights on the hog hunter are great, and the AccuTrigger is a joy to use.
 
Alright I think you guys convinced me to put the extra few dollars in to buy the rifle I really wanted. My only question now is if the front and rear sight are dovetail as they can be swapped (of course I haven't seen the sights yet, so if there as good as you guys say I might not swap them out at all).
 
The Hog Hunter has a blind magazine. You have to cycle the bolt to remove the rounds. A detachable mag or hinged floorplate is easier to unload especially if you are hunting.
 
I'm fairly certain you can convert the blind mags to DBM's, but I can't recall how much it is for the parts.
 
You can add a hinged floor plate to a Remington 700 ADL, but I have never seen a similar Savage conversion kit. The Remington conversion is expensive. $140 for the hinged floor plate plus around $100 for a new stock.
 
I found the info for at least ONE conversion kit...
The kit


You can modify your stock, but I would recommend buying a new one so that you're not stuck with an unusable stock (which equates to an unusable rifle).
 
I own 3 Savage rifles.
One is a Model 340 Bolt action in 30-30, A model 110 in 30-06 Bolt with the Accu-trigger, and the last is a Model 111 in 338 Win Mag, with a standard trigger.

The Accu-trigger is incredible. It took mine down to my gunsmith where he polished the action and we adjusted to trigger to 3 lb, 4 oz, where it's perfect for me. When I got it the trigger was set a just less than 2 Lbs and it was way too touchy. but with the Accu-trigger it was easy to get it adjusted to the perfect sweet spot for my shooting.
I ended up putting a muzzle break on it to bring down the recoil too. Now it's my goto rifle if I can't decide which one I want to grab in a hurry. And it's perfect for a solid range session.

My vote is for the Savage, without any doubt.

regards,
Gearchecker
 
The blind mag would of been a mild concern but now I know (thanks to Inebriated) how to get a detachable... I love this forum
Thanks all!
Click to expand...

Glad I could help you! You'll love the rifle, and if you ever find yourself needing to modify it, SavageShooters.com will be an EXCELLENT resource. They know all about that stuff.
 
Blind Magazine is something I would want for hunting hogs in bush!!

Nothing worse than losing a magazine while chasing unfriendly game.

Cycling the bolt is not unsafe. There is the Darwin award for those that can not master keeping their finger off the trigger while unloading a rifle.

Hinged floor plates are fine, but honestly I hate using them.
 
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