Would appreciate advice on new hunting rifle.

[Gunner3456]

Hmmm. I haven't looked at hunting rifles in decades. I bought my trusty tang safety Ruger M77 in .270 in about 1974 and haven't looked back. It's a dandy.

Now I'm thinking of going to .308 to consolidate calibers with AR-10. I'd still work up hand loads for the new rifle, but I could stock just bullets and brass for .308 and fire the mil spec rounds in the new rifle if needed.

I haven't decided and won't unless I find a gun I like at a reasonable price. The AR-10 is plenty accurate and may get put into service with a 5 round mag instead of buying a new rifle.

I'm looking for a mag fed rifle which I hope would have at least 10 round mags available for a reasonable price. If I can't find that, I might just buy a used M77 or a used Rem. 700 BDL.

Please don't tell me about $1,000+ guns, plus mags + rings + optics.... That's not what I'm up to. I'm thinking $500 or so + optics, even if I need to go used.

Any ideas, please?

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[kenno]

Savage with detachable mag/safety trigger
no matter what mfg you'll pay through the nose for extra mags

 

[TylerDurden]

I bought a Howa stainlessbarreled action in 25-06 added a full length bedded houge stock. All total I think I'm into it for 550 or so. And it's a shooter 3/4 MOA with handloads.

 

[Ironbar]

Yeah, Savage or Weatherby is about all you can get in that price range. That or a used rifle.

 

[Gunner3456]

If I can't find one that will take at least a 10 round mag, I'd actually rather have a used M77 or 700 BDL.

 

[Mark W.]

Any of the many Savage models available in .308 can be had with a DBM and then you can buy a 9 round mag from Sharp Shooter Supply Granted not cheap but cheaper then 2) 4 round stock mags.

Sharp Shooter Supply - The Savage Specialists

Go to the Savage web site and use the gun finder to look at what models fit your needs.

 

[Ding]

Nothing wrong with what ya have.If anything spend the 500 ducats and get a nice piece of glass for it.OR get a nice barrel for it if ya have glass ya like.A great barrel would really get ya what you never thought possible from it.You'd be shootin tacks at 300 plus meters..Look at places like PAc-Nor,lilja,krieger,douglas,hart.Many places have barrels that would be great shooters

 

[Cougfan2]

Nothing wrong with what ya have.If anything spend the 500 ducats and get a nice piece of glass for it.OR get a nice barrel for it if ya have glass ya like.A great barrel would really get ya what you never thought possible from it.You'd be shootin tacks at 300 plus meters..Look at places like PAc-Nor,lilja,krieger,douglas,hart.Many places have barrels that would be great shooters

If the weight of your AR 10 isn't an issue, I agree with Ding. With 5 rd mags it should make a dandy hunting rifle. Just invest in some good glass if you don't already have it.

If you are looking for a mountain rifle, you might consider a Browning BLR lever action in .308. Maybe even the take down model. Either that or any decent .308 bolt gun. There are a plethora or them.

 

[Gunner3456]

I have great glass on it which I'd keep. It's already sub moa. I'm just thinking of going to .308 to consolidate calibers.

I've spent the last two years buying and selling to consolidate calibers and even guns. Right now for pistols I have only .22lr, 9mm NATO and .40 SW, mostly Glock 19 and 23 with a PF-9 in there for some reason. .22's are Ruger autos. For rifles I have only .22lr, .5.56 NATO, .308 and that .270. I reload so it helps with consolidating tools, components, as well as ammo.

Anyway, if I don't find out about a .308 bolt which takes mags, which doesn't cost an arm and leg, I'll just stay with the .270.

 

[james2562]

Just a question: why is a mag important? If you are hunting it should be one-shot-one-kill. And BARs typically have three in the well.

 

[Cougfan2]

Just a question: why is a mag important? If you are hunting it should be one-shot-one-kill. And BARs typically have three in the well.

Good question!

 

[Gunner3456]

Just a question: why is a mag important? If you are hunting it should be one-shot-one-kill. And BARs typically have three in the well.

Just sort of double duty if I'm caught out with it and need some firepower.

I'm more and more now thinking of keeping the .270 (it's killed everything I've pulled the trigger on since 1974) and using the AR-10, especially after what Cougfan2 said. I was kind of thinking that anyway. I just want some thoughts because I really haven't looked at new bolt guns for a long time.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

If you want a bolt gun and can drop the coin you might look into the remington 700 with a 5R barrel. Occasionally you can find them for a decent price. Then add a Badger Ord. detachable mag kit Triggerguards | Badger Ordnance and any glass you like.
You'll have a less expensive M24 clone.
My deer gun is an older remington 700 in 7mm-08 with a mountain profile barrel (very thin, it's light but heats up quickly) that I got when I was 12. After the factory wood suffered a tragic warping incident, I put a choate synthetic on it that transformed a sub MOA gun to a 2-3 moa gun. I more recently put it in an HS precision stock and the accuracy returned to sub moa and it's rediculously light. A detachable mag would be nice, but I seriously start second guessing myself if I can't hit an animal in 5 shots and have to reload. By then the barrel heats up and the POI changes anyway.

ETA: Kinda sounds like you are after colonel cooper's "scout" rifle. A mag fed, light, short, 308. I think the original was a remington 600 and I'd love to find one of those for a good price.
Ruger is making one but I don't know if it would be possible to transform yours to that config or if you'd have to buy the whole enchilada.

 

[Ding]

I was referring to a barrel and/or glass on the .270 rifle,NOT the AR-10.......you wanna "scout" the .270,get a quality barrel,convert it to mag and now ya have a great lightweight/compact shooter.