What's the ultimate 308 rifle set-up?

[omega1]

Since no one else has brought it up......Sako TRG-22. And it is available in .260 from the factory now.

[oinco]

I would/(will?) use either a Bighorn, Surgeon or Badger receiver single shot setup, using a Brux or Obermeyer barrel, non fluted MTU or AMU profile at least 28" if not 30" at 1:10 twist, throated for Berger 215gr hybrids. Trigger- for me a Shilen or Timney. Stock would be what fit- probably a Manners T4A or AI AX- and most importantly all put together more than correctly by the right LR gunsmith.

The choices above would be for receiver stiffness, proven cut-rifled barrel, long enough barrel to get max speed out of the slower powders and longer bullets for a few more yards of supersonic flight. If possible-I think the TBAC brake/suppressor combo would be an ideal setup too.
It seems to me that the selection of receivers would be qualified by need of a repeater and the actions' appropriateness to the intended COAL and reliable feeding, the need for multiple re-barreling, and to me- availability.

There are a sea of really nice rifles(all with acronyms?) out there- AI, TRG, PGW, KMW, Surgeon etc. -but one correctly built to fit me vs the shelf is better.

[islandermyk]

I choose my 20" 308 POF the wife just bought me! Ya I know it's not a bolt gun, but it's bad ass!

I'm a semi-auto guy myself. Like the idea of rapid engagements... Just load a full mag, charge it, and squeeze squeeze squeeze I'm pretty confident it can hit that 1000 yard, but I haven't pushed it over 600 yet. Hate the long walks



But if I had a chance to get or build a .308 bolt rifle... I would like to start off from a REM700 26" BBL with either a McMillan stock or AI stock and parts, and spend the big buck$ on a really nice glass (SB, NF, US, Leupold, Zeiss, etc...) and scope mounts.

[mcantar18c]

Here's a friend's input on this. Built as a "Guerilla Sniper Rifle," the idea being he wanted something quick and easy to work, small enough to conceal if needed, accurate enough for 200/600 work (as a minimum requirement, this reaches out a good bit further than that).
Total cost was around $850, total weight about 12lbs.

The Action: It started out as a Savage model 110 and was $130 from a pawnshop several years ago. It was chambered in 30-06 with a 24” factory contoured barrel. It was about a 1.5-2 MOA stick with hand loads for about the first 3 rounds. Then it heated up, got fouled, and opened up to 3 MOA.

The Stock: I chose the Choate Ultimate Sniper stock, overall I like this stock and for the money $60 on ebay, it’s pretty good. The best thing that I can say about it is that this stock is tough and tight with the aluminum bedding blocks. The worst thing that I can say about it is that it is on the heavy side, but again if you are a meat eating, kettle bell swinging, man with calluses on your hands it’s less of an issue than many make out of it. Most of the design features I have found to be very functional. Although assuming the “Hawkins” position can be rather challenging.

Glass: The scope I have selected is a Nikon 3-9x40 with their BDC reticle $210. The Nikon BDC has a graduated set of circles as aiming points for hold over from 100-600 yards, much like the Burris Ballistic-Plex reticle.On the subject of comparing the two optics, my evaluation found that both had about the same good quality of light gathering and clarity. Both were about the same size and weight. And the reticles are graduated close to the same with the Nikon having circles and the Burris having hash marks as aiming points. Truth be told I actually liked the Burris hash marks over the Nikon circles at first due to the ability to more precisely place them on the point of aim. In the end for me the deciding factor was in the adjustments. The Burris has standard ¼ “ adjustment knobs, while the Nikon has actual ¼ MOA “low profile” target turrets, allowing the user to dial their DOPE for more precise shots and shots beyond the range of the BDC. One thing I could not find was the actual dimensions of the Nikon BDC so I had to put a 1” grid at 100 yds and measure all of its dimensions. And from those measurements have worked out and easy formula to range with it. And of course I added a set of flip up Lens Covers (inside the eye cap I have a small ballistics card)

Mounts and Rings: I mounted the scope as close as possible to the bore with Leopold Rifleman two piece bases $7 and their matching Medium height rings $10. I plan to replace with a one piece integral setup by DedNutz very soon.

The Barrel: Someone properly said that the barrel is the heart of the rifle. No other single component (other than the shooter) is more important to the accuracy of a rifle than the barrel. For that reason I spent the money $350. I had my rifle smith install a handy length 18” Shilen #7 contour “Match” barrel 1-10 twist, chamber it in .308 and install a Smith Industries Vortex flash suppressor $75, he also made a thread protector for the muzzle when not wearing the Vortex. Gabe stated it pretty well in reference to the AK system “All fighting rifles should have a flash suppressor” and I couldn’t agree more. And as flash suppression devices go the Vortex is amazing, it completely eliminates muzzle flash in lowlight and greatly reduces the ground blast as well as protects the muzzle crown from damage that can happen in the environment that a sniper rifle lives. I know opinions are very wide as to weather a sniper rifle should have a barrel less than 20 inches. So I did A LOT of research on the subject. And it is true that you do lose some velocity with a shorter barrel but I found that with a .308 you don’t lose too much until you get around 16” and a lot of that is ammunition dependant. So I weighed the pros and cons of both longer and shorter barrels, and for me opted for the shorter handier tube. With hand loads I am still getting 2600 fps out of it.

Extras: I then finished (painted) the rifle with my favorite weapon finish Krylon, cause it is cheap, durable enough, and easy to change with my environment. I have a pair of Harris 6”-9” bipod mounted on the stock’s accessory rail but, prefer to shoot off my pack most of the time. And because all rifles should have slings I like the V-tac sling for both carry and shooting support.

Personally, I'd have gone with a different stock and NF glass, but this does its job pretty damn well.

[smchop]

"throated for Berger 230gr hybrids" on a .308? I would be interested in how that would shoot. Man that is a heavy bullet. I don't know anyone shooting them so its an honest statement, I would like to know. Would probably end up being a sling shot rifle right?

[oinco]

smchop,

sorry- i corrected post- meant 215gr (.696 g1 BC!) hybrids but just ordered some 230gr for my RUM- so had it on the brain. there are at least a few who have tried the 230 in the 308 with success using R17. ( I remember 2250-ish fps out of a 20"?! barrel??) Case capacity of course would be somewhat like having a new sportscar with a xxmph governor.
You could make it a repeater with the correct mag/bottom metal, I am running a 2.9"+ coal with 208gr amax out of my AI mags now. Depending on the action- you may have to modify the feedramp.