New Rifle, What to Get?

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Tophernj

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I'm looking for an "intermediate" range gun for range fun and possibly hogs in the next little bit. I will be joining a range that has a 300 yard max and will be taking a trip with a friend to go to 600 in the spring.

I am betwixt and between 3 different rifles at the moment:
the Ruger Gunsite Scout in stainless
the Savage Mod. 10 Police Carbine
and the Remington 700 SPS Tactical

All three are short barreled, detachable magazine guns in .308 (Please do not suggest other cartridges as I only want a .308 for various reasons important to me). That's about where the similarity ends.

The Savage is a lightly used gun from a trusted friend for a decent price. The Ruger would be brand new from my LGS.

My thought is that the Ruger will be awesome out of the box and can be shot without spending money on glass to start. The Savage will need a new stock at some point, and glass, but will be more accurate from the drop. The Remmy is a Remmy with awesome aftermarket support and good accuracy. It will need a new stock as well further down the road.

Suggestions, please!!!

C
 
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You summarize the trade-offs well, so what is most important to you? I have a personal bias toward Remington 700s, because that is what I know well. Others prefer Savages, and at least one here seems to prefer Rugers. ;)

Can't decide for you ... can only tell you which I prefer ... and that would be Remington--even though I tend to think that Savages provide the best out-of-the-box bang-for-the-buck.
 
For a brush gun, the Ruger.
For a range gun, the Savage.
For a benchrest gun, the Remington.

The Remington will have the most aftermarket support, the Ruger the least.

Wanting a rifle to shoot targets at 300 and 600 yards is one thing, hunting pigs is another. A lightweight gun with open sights is great for pigs at 30 yards, not so great at 300/600 off a bench. Conversely, a heavy gun with a big scope is a pleasure at the bench, but a burden in the brush.

I guess you could get the Savage and swap barrels, stocks, and triggers as needed....
 
I like Savage for their out of the box accuracy, but the 700 Tactical that I had would shoot under 1/2 MOA with several loads. The thing was down right scary.

Haven't had my mitts on a Scout, yet.;)
 
any of the three would work fine for what you want. the ruger obviously has irons, so if you enjoy practicing with or hunting with irons, that's the ticket. if you prefer glass, the remington and the savage are the way to go, and the two seem about equal to me. for me, between the three it would boil down to sighting preference, or use. if you want a gun with irons to lug through the bush, go ruger. a bench or prone range toy, rem or savage.

i had a ruger scout that shot about moa with factory loads. never worked up any handloads for it though. my r700 will shoot .75 moa with factory loads and a hair above .5 with handloads consistently.
 
I personally love my Savage 10 Precision Carbine. Im not sure if that's what you're looking at but it is very good. I have mine topped with a 4-16 Nikon Monarch. I can easily hit bowling pins at 300 with my own loads.

Factory Federal and Hornady loads shoot MOA but my handloads get down to 1/2 MOA when I do my part.
 
Thanks all for the replies. I guess I'm looking for a do all rifle that doesn't really exist. Something that's "precise" but can still be carried in the woods if necessary. I keep wanting to get the GSR however I don't think it will tick the precision box all that well. The other two guns won't carry as well but I don't know how much I'd hunt them anyway. I guess I'll look further into a heavier gun.

C
 
How much do you intend to shoot it? I have a Remington Model 7 -- two of them, actually -- that shoot sub-MOA with the right loads; they are sweet carry-all-day hunting rigs. But the are not shoot-100-rounds-in-quick-succession range or competition rifles. If that's what you want, you will want something heavier. I have a friend who took a Steyr Scout to a long range rifle course; it was plenty accurate, all the way out to 900 yards. He used it to see "if it could be done." It can; it's just not what I would want to use for high volume shooting.

So accuracy and light weight can often go together. The configuration you want, though, should be dictated by primary application. So I have two rifles in .260 Remington: one a lightweight hunting rig, the other a fairly heavy custom range gun. Both are plenty accurate, and each has its place.
 
I think the accuracy of all three of your choices will be on-par with one another, it will depend on your abilities at that point.

I vote Ruger, especially for hogs, as you mentioned, due to the iron sights and ability to scope.

Mossberg MVP Patrol .308 is another option you should look at. I have alot of experience with the MVP and love the accuracy and trigger. Much nicer than anthing in its price range.

Check out the Savage hog hunter in .308 as well.
 
The MVP is an interesting gun. The reasons I would (and will, when funds permit) go with the Ruger over the others are:

1.) It's a CRF action. When going after potentially dangerous game like hogs, that may be important.

2.) I like that the Ruger gives me the stainless/laminate combination with the 18 inch barrel.

3.) I would not trust Remington QC.

4.) Finally, I like that the Ruger takes Savage 10BA mags because that's another one on "the list"
 
Well...

I'm going to go to my buddy's house to look at the Savage tomorrow morning. He's sent me pics of the gun and some load development he did and the gun is a shooter. The price is really good and I might be able to work him down even a bit more.

I've added another Ruger into the mix, the Ruger MkII Predator Varmint (No. 47123). It's a gorgeous gun and I like everything about it. If anyone has any feedback I'd appreciate it.


Thru this thread and in speaking with some friends of mine more knowledgeable about rifles than I am, I have been clarifying my wants for this gun. I already have a .308 hunting rifle that I will be taking out for the first time for both of us this fall, a Winchester Featherweight Compact. It's a solid, straight shooting rifle that will do just fine on hogs if I so choose.

I am looking for a rifle that is more "precision" oriented. Not a bench gun, per se. More pseudo-tactical. Something that can put 3-5 rounds inside of an inch or better at 100 yards. And something that I can stretch out to 300-600 when I get the chance. I am also looking to make it something of a project. Buy a base gun and add components as I figure out what I want(in this area the Remmy shines, I know). I am looking at glass right now but afterwards will most likely look at a stock and a detachable box mag if the gun does not already have one. That may change. I may just bed what I have and call it a day. It will all be gun dependent. But I AM looking for a project. This will leave out the Ruger Gunsite. It's a "heartstring" gun. I just like the way it looks but I don't think it will fulfill the role I have in my mind. As for the Mossbergs, I am not a fan. Great guns, but there is something about them that just doesn't do it for me. Most likely because I had some issues with a 500 sometime ago. So, they are off the table for me.

C
 
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The only 'experience' I have is with the Ruger--excellent.
My Savage 94 is also (cheaper) and excellent.
My Rem is the worst gun I own by a long shot...but I recognize it is a lemon and every manufacturer has them.
Knowing nothing else, I'd be 60-40 Ruger-Savage

$.02

Greg
 
I shot some hogs with a brand new GSR on the weekend and was quite happy with it. Loved the ghost ring sights. It ate up all of the 150gr core-lokts we could feed it, and also shot well with Winchester 130gr woodleigh factory ammo. Its not a gun I would personally put a scope on and shoot to 300+ yards on, as it is our "scrub gun". The recoil was much more enjoyable than my Tikka in .308.
 
I think of the three I like the ruger scout. Two oh her rifles I like are the browning BLR take down lever action hog hunter model in 308. I also liked the Ruger Frontier which allowed for a scout scope. You have a good problem.
 
Well, I made my decision... I went with a gun that I barely mentioned. Or, maybe didn't at all. I am getting the Ruger M77 Varmint. The barrel is a bit longer than I would like at 26" but it should be a heck of a shooter. If I decide that I want it shorter, there is a gunsmith about an hour from me that will do it for 60ish bucks. If I can find someone closer, I will. Thanks to all that helped me along in this decision. Even if I didn't take your advice, I still took it in.

Now, to glass...

C
 
I figured I would close this out with a picture.

Thanks again to all that contributed.

C
 

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