Lightweight Rifle Bolt-Action

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OneWound

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Lightweight Bolt-Action Rifle

Recently I've been looking at getting a .308 bolt gun for 200-500 ranges (with a scope and handloads), but I really can't find a rifle to help suit my needs. It'd be used on more of a patrol basis.
I have looked at the Ruger GSR's, but the only problem I can see with those is that the barrel heats up too quickly (In my stupid brain's opinion). Now, a couple questions.
1) Am I over-worrying about the barrel heating up and and affecting accuracy?
2) Is there a rifle like the GSR who's barrel doesn't heat up as quickly?
If anyone suggests a new rifle, I'm all for it. Some of my requirements are that the rifle must be light.. (I don't have a good idea on weight, but under 9 lbs?), detachable magazine (If someone wants to try to convince me to go with a floor plate, feel free), and in .308 caliber. One last thing..try to keep the rifle under $1000 if you're going to suggest a new one!
 
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1. A real match barrel will be stress relieved and will not lose accuracy as it heats. A production line barrel, maybe, maybe not. Maybe it is covered in user reviews of the model.

2. Barrel heating depends entirely on barrel mass. If you want a true Scout at 3 kg or even the Ruger approximation at 7 lbs, the barrel will heat up about the same no matter what the make or model designation.
Since you say you are willing to hump 9 lbs, you could do with a heavier barrel that would heat up more slowly. Also cool down more slowly.

Without reading all the catalogs for you, I can only suggest you get the Ruger. If it gets too hot to suit you, you can have a heavier barrel put on when the original is worn out.
The selection of "popularly priced" bolt action rifles with detachable magazines is pretty limited.
 
1) Am I over-worrying about the barrel heating up and and affecting accuracy?
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Yes.

It's a bolt-action.

How fast and how many times are you going to shoot it without reloading.

The M-14 I was issued in the Army had a fairly light barrel & 20-round magazines.

And it would kill 1/2 silhouette pop-up targets at 400 yards all day long, or until it wore you plum out doing it.

rc
 
As was stated, the real question is how much you expect to be shooting it. One shot with maybe a single quick follow up isn't going to heat up your barrel enough to worry about. If you expect to dump several 10-15 round magazine through it, then what are you shooting at? If you are mag dumping a scout rifle I doubt you're going to be worried about MOA group size.
 
Scout rifles are not intended for extreme accuracy. With irons or forward mounted scopes you cannot achieve enough accuracy for this to matter.
 
jmr40 said:
Scout rifles are not intended for extreme accuracy. With irons or forward mounted scopes you cannot achieve enough accuracy for this to matter.
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I do plan on putting a conventional scope mount on it. I think with the right loads, I can get at least 3/4 MOA @ 100 yards. Not to bad for me.
 
I own a Ruger G.S.R. . I have not had to use it for fending off anything or anyone yet so I have not had to shoot it until it got that hot that I could not use it. I have taken it to the range with friends & we all shot it. It did get hot after a mag! But we kept shooting &found that it still had the ability to be accurate & reliable. I think that you could solve this problem by following the advice given. And relax the Ruger will do it's part as long as you do yours. Grab that rifle & go have some fun if you can find ammunition for it! :rolleyes:
 
krupparms said:
I own a Ruger G.S.R. . I have not had to use it for fending off anything or anyone yet so I have not had to shoot it until it got that hot that I could not use it. I have taken it to the range with friends & we all shot it. It did get hot after a mag! But we kept shooting &found that it still had the ability to be accurate & reliable. I think that you could solve this problem by following the advice given. And relax the Ruger will do it's part as long as you do yours. Grab that rifle & go have some fun if you can find ammunition for it! :rolleyes:
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How bad did the accuracy decrease after it got hot? Just curious.
 
Just curious, but what do you base your opinion on that it heats up too quickly?
 
The only real rifles that you will notice a difference in accuracy between hot and cold barrels are $3000 match rifles that shoot less than 1/4" groups. With something like the GSR you can probably empty 40-50 rounds through it and get 1-1/2" to 2" groups all day long. That is assuming you are a good enough shot for it. The scout rifles aren't really built as match guns. They are built for being light and handy. That said, you might be interested in looking at the new mossberg 308 MVP. It accepts DPMS mags.
 
Because the whole "scout" concept depends on reducing weight, you should look into a rifle that accepts stripper clips instead of detachable mags. For example: I can carry 180 rounds for my SKS in my Chicom bandoleir on stripper clips with a minimum of bulk and a tad bit less weight than with mags.

I am currently building a scout rifle out of a Mosin - (just for fun). If you get used to stripper clips they can be a whiole lot less hassle than mags.
 
what makes you think that the GSR barrel heats up and lessens accuracy? also, what are you using the rifle for that you anticipate shooting it enough to heat the bbl up that much?

i own the GSR as well, and haven't found the barrel heating up to be a problem. it's a medium contour bbl, a heavier bbl will add to the overall weight. does your 9 lb figure includes scope and rings?
 
I bought my GSR to shoot wild hogs, center of mass. Over the weekend of the 4th of July, I decided to test out the factory iron sights. I set-up on the bench, at 100 yards, and fired "center-of-mass" into a 15" AR500 target, painted all white, no dots or points of reference for shot-to-shot consistency. Kinda like hunting deer and hogs. :D

I and my nephews were getting 3" (and smaller) groups, using either 46 or 47 grains loads of Varget, pushing either a 165 HPs or 168 grain HPs. The loads made no observable difference. Those groups were fired using factory peep sights, after already having fired 3, 10-shots groups, with perhaps 3 to 5 minutes cool down between the 10 round strings.

I don't know what more anyone could ever ask of a Ruger GSR. It's not a varmint rifle, or target rifle. It's a scout-type rifle, to be used as such. Did the barrel get hot? Heck yes, of course! You would not have left your hand rested on it for very long. :evil: Did it effect accuracy? Dang! A 3", 3-shot group (shot #s 31, 32 and 33?! Using iron sights?! I was impressed.

Geno
 
I've got a pair of sporter barreled rifles that do double their group size after 5 rounds. I've read that is quite common with light barreled hunting rifles and is widely acknowledged.

The Ruger GSR barrel is a bit heavier, but I haven't done a "mag dump" followed by accurate shooting to test mine out. I do know that if you shoot 10 rounds over about 2 minutes, take the time to reload an empty mag, then fire 3 shots for accuracy that the group size out of the GSR doesn't seem to change at 100 yards. Maybe further out it would be noticeable.
 
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Hey, take a look at the spanish mauser FR-8 and a enfield jungle carbine. On the jungle carbine, you can probaly get a repro one in 308.
Edit: saw you wanted one with a scope, but you never know what will peak your interest.
 
back40 said:
what makes you think that the GSR barrel heats up and lessens accuracy? also, what are you using the rifle for that you anticipate shooting it enough to heat the bbl up that much?

i own the GSR as well, and haven't found the barrel heating up to be a problem. it's a medium contour bbl, a heavier bbl will add to the overall weight. does your 9 lb figure includes scope and rings?
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No, I haven't. I'm still working things out.
 
I have a GSR with a fairly cheap Nikon scope mounted in the regular (rearward) position. When I got the rifle, I figured I'd shoot it mostly with iron sights at 100 yds or less and get another rifle for shooting groups. I'm not a hunter, so I only kill paper. I was surprised that the GSR with as short a barrel as it has will easily shoot inside an inch when I do my part. I'm not a kid anymore and haven't shot rifles since the late 60's in the Marine Corp, so I feel pretty pleased with the Ruger. I load my own ammo and usually use 150 grain boattails with 44-45 grains of varget or RL15.
 
bainter1212 said:
Because the whole "scout" concept depends on reducing weight, you should look into a rifle that accepts stripper clips instead of detachable mags. For example: I can carry 180 rounds for my SKS in my Chicom bandoleir on stripper clips with a minimum of bulk and a tad bit less weight than with mags.

I am currently building a scout rifle out of a Mosin - (just for fun). If you get used to stripper clips they can be a whiole lot less hassle than mags.
Click to expand...
I'm not going to be able to use stripper clips because even though it is a scout rifle, I'd like to put a conventional scope. I just wanted a scout-like rifle for the weight, and the detach mag:). If you don't mind me asking, are you going to put any optics on your scout mosin?
 
No, I haven't. I'm still working things out.
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i don't follow. i asked what you were using the rifle for, and if your 9lb figure included the scope or not.

in all the research i did prior to buying mine, not once did i read of someone stating the bbl heated up and affected accuracy.
 
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