Savage Hog Hunter 308

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BSA1

BSA1

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Being the gun crank of my family a nephew has asked me for advice for selecting a gun for hog hunting. He is a novice with firearms.

My son-in-law and I paid a visit to some shops and at one of them the clerk showed us the Savage Hog Hunter in 308. We were both impressed with this gun as it has iron sights which will be nice for close range hunting such as over a feeder.

Our thought is to start him out learning the basics of shoot by using the iron sights and later adding a scope of he decides to start deer hunting and for longer ranges.

My son-in-law and myself are of no real help on bolt action rifles as we are both lever action fans for hunting. However the bolt action would be more versatile.

I am curious about opinions about the rifle.
 
I'm a big fan of using ARs to hunt pigs. They are frequently in groups and being able to quickly shoot a few at a time is a big advantage over a bolt gun. The hog hunter is a nice rifle though and would work just fine as well.
 
Worked with one, good package.
Trim, light, decently accurate with irons, good for brush & close-in terrain.
Would've kept it had I not already had a short .308 boltgun covered.
Denis
 
my "hog hunter" rifles range from .17hmr to .308 and most calibers inbetween, whatever I get out of my safe....some people believe everything they see or read by writers or advertisers....I don't see what makes this a hog gun more than any other.
 
Short & light for easy carry & quick shots in dense brush, accurate enough with irons for longer shots if terrain varies.
Sufficiently powerful to handle bigger critters in areas where they may grow a bit heavier.

More appropriate for hogging than a .50BMG, a 26-inch McMillan-bedded 338 Lapua, a Marlin Papoose, and so on. :)
Denis
 
My buddy has one and it is surprisingly accurate and awfully handy. I would say it is an ideal all-around hunting rifle for a variety of game out to medium ranges. I am tempted to get one myself.....the neat thing about them is that they are basically an accurate, totally stripped down to the basics hunting gun for a very decent price.
 
I have a .338 Win Mag version that I'm enamored with.

Couldn't be happier with it. Irons are great, they come up very quick for me and are fine enough to be precise on game further out. I've seen a YouTube video where a guy got a couple crazy good groups with his .308 and a scope, but I haven't bench rested mine. The barrel is quite thick, I think Savage calls it medium profile but I would just call it heavy... Stock is flimsy and there's some flash on it, and for a bipod, it's far too flimsy, but for carrying around, I like the weight savings. Plus, I don't like Savage's DBM system, so I'm glad it's a blind mag. I was iffy on the threaded barrel (as in, if I need it), since I'm not into government extortion fees to have safety devices, but I think a brake might be kind of nice, and the threading is cut well anyhow. If he's ever going to suppress, the .308 Hog Hunter is a fantastic option. Also, it came with plugs for the scope mounting holes, which is nice because I don't believe a lot of their others do. I could be wrong there.
 
This drives my wife crazy, but I tend to think of rifles like golf clubs. I could most certainly play a whole game of golf with a seven iron and a putter, but it is more fun to have the right club for the shot. I like to have a rifle or handgun that best fits where I am going to hunt. I don't have tons of stuff, but enough to pretty much cover all my hunting needs.

I fully get TP308's perspective though. When I was lucky enough to spend some time on a ranch in north Texas, we pretty much grabbed whatever was closest to the door and we had the most bullets for.

I like the Savage and think it would work well for the intended purpose and probably some other things as well.....
 
I held one and was impressed with the whole thing. It had a better stock than the usual "Tupper-Junk" stock.
Click to expand...

Shows you how opinions go, I thought the stock on mine was the cheesiest junk I had ever held and flexed way too much. I put a Boyds Varmint stock on it and now it is nice!
 
I am also interested in a hog hunt. I have decked out a .308 as if it were to be used in a 3 gun shoot. I decided upon this from watching every video I could find on what and where others were using. What a list! Everything from Tanerite to 1911's. The .308 seemed to be a rather clear choice. Any new shooter I take to the range starts with iron sites. Getting quick and accurate with iron seems to improve the move to scopes. I like the break idea as for some a .308 may seem a bit unpleasant. Sure would like to hear how this story goes. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I just finished a civil war reproduction cannon that shoots 3" pretty accurate to 500yds. If ya want to take it for back up let me know.
 
I've handled one, decided against it. It is actually the same rifle as the "Precision Carbine" with a slightly different stock and iron sights. With the heavy barrel profile it is too heavy for it's intended purpose. Would work better as a light varmint rig in the smaller calibers. The weight might help tame the recoil on the 338 mag if someone wanted a compact medium bore for bear up close.

I ended up going with the Ruger American compact instead. About $100-$150 cheaper and well over a pound lighter. If the Savage is any more accurate it can't be by much, I'm shooting about .75 MOA

I already had a decent scope, but the savings would pay for a decent 1-4X scope which works better than irons anyway.
 
Got one for my son and the only thing I can add, (other than he really likes it), is that the flimsy stock definitely controls recoil. The kick seems minimal on this offering. Combination, no doubt, of the heavier than normal barrel and the soft recoil pad.
 
Gander Mountain Sale

I am visiting relatives in San Antonio and being bored I visited a Gander Mountain store. They have the Hog Hunter in stock for $530.00. They are running a 10% off everything in the store which knocks the price down to $477.00.

I told my nephew. I dunno about him. He'll probably ignore me and buy something used from a pawn shop for $800.00. :banghead: Seems my wife's side of the family isn't too bright (then again there's my sister). :rolleyes:
 
have to agreed for the same money you could pick up a compact American that's a lb lighter and afford to be able to put something like a 1x4 vx1 leupold on it which is faster up close and more accurate out far. I don't have an American but have a buddy whos bought three and all three are sub moa shooters. In my opinion youd have a better gun for traipsing around in the woods chasing pigs or deer
I've handled one, decided against it. It is actually the same rifle as the "Precision Carbine" with a slightly different stock and iron sights. With the heavy barrel profile it is too heavy for it's intended purpose. Would work better as a light varmint rig in the smaller calibers. The weight might help tame the recoil on the 338 mag if someone wanted a compact medium bore for bear up close.

I ended up going with the Ruger American compact instead. About $100-$150 cheaper and well over a pound lighter. If the Savage is any more accurate it can't be by much, I'm shooting about .75 MOA

I already had a decent scope, but the savings would pay for a decent 1-4X scope which works better than irons anyway.
Click to expand...
 
You do get a few minor perks with a Hog Hunter that you might not get with a budget bolt rifle. Whether or not they are worth the extra $150 to $200 is up to you.


In my case, I felt it was worth the money. I have one in .223 that I like fine, just what I was looking for. As a project gun, beginner's gun or beater/loaner a budget bolt might work better for another person.
 
I am visiting relatives in San Antonio and being bored I visited a Gander Mountain store. They have the Hog Hunter in stock for $530.00. They are running a 10% off everything in the store which knocks the price down to $477.00.

I told my nephew. I dunno about him. He'll probably ignore me and buy something used from a pawn shop for $800.00. Seems my wife's side of the family isn't too bright (then again there's my sister).
Click to expand...

Too bad I missed you were in Satown, I would have met you at the range to try my hog hunter with and without the suppressor.
 
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