Cheapest, Good Quality .308 Bolt Gun

[Marine Cpl]

I'm up to my nose in home renovation bills and the wifey will not take too kindly to me putting down $1500 to $2000 on a credit card for a rifle.

My plan is to stash $20 a week until I have enough to get a decent quality .308 Bolt Gun. It may take up to a year but I'm patient. It isn't something I really need since I do not hunt but just want in case I ever do in the future.

What are my options?

Is the Savage Axis any good?

Savage® Arms AXIS Bolt-Action Rifles : Cabela's

I don't know much about Bolt Guns and don't really plan on buying one that needs to be modified.

I basically just want something that's brand new and descent right out of the box without need for modifications with a decent trigger.

Oh. And it must be a .308.

Thanks.

 

[kev74]

If you don't mind buying used, that's where you'll get best value. Especially if you're patient.

 

[Marine Cpl]

If you don't mind buying used, that's where you'll get best value. Especially if you're patient.

Yea I agree but I'm OCD about things. A slight scratch would bug the hell out of me if it wasn't put there by me.

 

[ECU Pirates]

Ruger American. Close thread.

I had the Savage, I like the Ruger better but rither is fine for the $

 

[Deplorable Me]

HOME - HOWA RIFLES
Howa – Legacy Sports International

For plain Jane .308, traditional old school no-frills construction, HOWA has been good to me. Broom handles cost less, heavy barrels cost more. You can buy them without scopes or in a combination package. Blued or SS.

 

[Marine Cpl]

Ruger American. Close thread.

I had the Savage, I like the Ruger better but rither is fine for the $

What did you like better between the two? Trigger, action?

 

[MilesTeg]

What type of shooting? Long distance bench or tactical, hunting or for fun? Ruger American seem like a good hunting rifle for the money. Any of the other shooting styles it will be hard to beat a savage or Remington. The after market support allows you to modify the gun to your needs when money is available.

 

[Marine Cpl]

What type of shooting? Long distance bench or tactical, hunting or for fun? Ruger American seem like a good hunting rifle for the money. Any of the other shooting styles it will be hard to beat a savage or Remington. The after market support allows you to modify the gun to your needs when money is available.

Hunting if I ever get into it and find time, bench rest for fun, and shooting blue helmets.

 

[Mk44]

There are a lot of excellent bolt action rifles chambered in .308 (Tikka, CZ, Sako, Howa, Weatherby, Savage, Remington, Browning, Ruger M77, etc...) It depends on your budget.
Everyone will have their favorite. In the end, you have to pick one that fits you.

The Savage Axis is their "budget" rifle.
I would suggest saving up more $$ and get something like a Savage 10 or Remington "700". There are a lot of aftermarket accessories for these rifles should you decide to modify it.

 

[MilesTeg]

I would go with a savage but that's me. I would get a hunting model and if you ever want to make it a little more tactical you can buy parts for it. The ruger American as of right now doesn't have much for aftermarket.

 

[Celt]

Savage hog hunter

Savage 11 HOG HNTR 308 TB

 

[Cleck]

I've heard all of those thrown around before, they were recommended to me when I was looking for the same thing you are. I've looked at em, you can't go wrong with them, good guns. I'd probably go with the Ruger over the Savage first, but that's just going off of recommendations from my gunsmith friend.

I'm still looking for one, and for the money, I am STILL interested in the Remington 783. Cheap, accepts 700 parts, and a friend has it and loves his. I've read similar good reviews on it as well.

It's still being sold at F&S for $350 with a scope added. Not bad!

Remington Model 783 Bolt-Action Rifle - Scope Package | Field & Stream

 

[Jaywmustang]

Savage model 10 w/ Nikon package.

Savage 10 TH XP 308 NIKON

 

[ECU Pirates]

What did you like better between the two? Trigger, action?

Both. It seemed a bit better made to me. I used to sell guns and never heard of a problem with either. I would go with the hog hunter if you don't mind spending a few bucks more.

 

[ECU Pirates]

Just did the math. $20 a week for a year is $1040. What are you looking to spend and is that with glass? $1040 will buy quite a bit of rifle!

 

[Marine Cpl]

Damn you guys. You don't make it easy. Lol!

 

[Marine Cpl]

Just did the math. $20 a week for a year is $1040. What are you looking to spend and is that with glass? $1040 will buy quite a bit of rifle!

I would like both. I figure up to $500 for the rifle and perhaps $600 for the glass? But the glass would be a whole other thread. I'm not up to yet.

 

[RandallOfLegend]

I have fired the Axis, and thought it was worth $300 (with a scope!). I was very accurate with it out to 100 yards, but it feels like a knockaround seasonal hunting rifle. I was impressed with the Savage Hog Hunter with Accutrigger.

 

[Criticalt]

I recently went through this exact thing. Axis, Ruger American, TC Venture....etc.
After going over all of it, I went with the Mossberg Patriot in 308. Although it is a pretty new model, it has great reviews and alot of "gun guys" say it is one of the best for the money and should prove to be a great gun. I got a walnut 308 with a $150 Vortex scope for well under $600.
Ive been shooting it and I can say it feels and shoots better than my Rem 700. However the 700 is old and the Moss is new.
One thing for sure, I will never own a synthetic gun, the Ruger American and Axis in synthetic felt cheap. For a few dollars more you can have the Patriot in walnut. And, I like the lightning bolt trigger on the Moss. It adjusts from 2 pounds to 7 pounds.

 

[ECU Pirates]

I forgot the TC! That might be the best for the $ ever made. Not even kidding.

 

[Marine Cpl]

I recently went through this exact thing. Axis, Ruger American, TC Venture....etc.
After going over all of it, I went with the Mossberg Patriot in 308. Although it is a pretty new model, it has great reviews and alot of "gun guys" say it is one of the best for the money and should prove to be a great gun. I got a walnut 308 with a $150 Vortex scope for well under $600.
Ive been shooting it and I can say it feels and shoots better than my Rem 700. However the 700 is old and the Moss is new.
One thing for sure, I will never own a synthetic gun, the Ruger American and Axis in synthetic felt cheap. For a few dollars more you can have the Patriot in walnut. And, I like the lightning bolt trigger on the Moss. It adjusts from 2 pounds to 7 pounds.

I like the idea of a 2 pound trigger.

Forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject but is 2 pounds the standard on bolt guns or are they all different?

 

[GuyMontag]

Tikka T3 Forest .308 Win Rifle JRTF616

Extremely well put together out of the box, accurate and affordably priced.

Add a mid range Vortex and you've got a turnkey package that will easily shoot sub 1 moa.

 

[Tinman]

Look at the Ruger Precision Rifle. $999 for a .308 and it is fun to shoot.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I think tikka has a 1 moa guarantee

 

[ECU Pirates]

Look at the Ruger Precision Rifle. $999 for a .308 and it is fun to shoot.

Not fun to carry hunting!

 

[meketrefe]

I have been a Remington 700 guy all my life but in terms of budget savage has so many great things.
I got a couple of savage 10 last year for $424 locally with a nikon prostaf scope on them.
The axis is a good rifle for the money but look at the axis II now standard with accutrigger.
The Axis shares the same bolt heads and barrels with the Savage 10/11.\

Hard to beat the value. Later on one can upgrade the stock but not needed for basic use.

Remember Savage created the standards now present in many budget rifles.

Remington 700 and savage 10/11 are the most popular rifles in the world by a large margin.
Unparalleled aftermarket support for anything you need.

even cheaper in my LGS...

Savage 11 TH XP 308 NIKON

Also check the hog hunter with the 20" barrel. Similar price, no scope on that one but extremely accurate and later can put a nice stock.

 

[Marine Cpl]

What is the trigger pull in poundage on an average bolt gun?

 

[twisted]

My neighbor bought the Savage Axis in 308 about the same time I bought a Ruger American 308. He has had an issue since the day he bought it where the recoil unlocks the mag, and it drops just enough that it won't pick up another round. He told savage about it and they sent him another mag, but it does the same ting. He was able to add a small metal shim to the tang to stop this, but you shouldn't have to do that with a new rifle.
I on the other hand have no complaints about the Ruger American. For the price, you cant beat it. For around 500 I got the rifle along with a Nikon 3-9X40 scope. No issues with either one.

 

[MilesTeg]

Savage axis shouldn't be compared to the 110. Two different minders when designing and making the rifles. Now in regards to what twisted said. That is really disappointing I believe the two rifles are on the same playing field. For me being a savage fan it's disheartening to hear.

As to the OP I think one of the main problems is you've labeled a very broad stroke of the role the rifle wants to play. I believe in hunting rifles and bench rifles are different in nature. This isn't an absolute but hold true most of the time.it's a trade off of features to use a hunting rifle as a target gun and vise versa.

 

[Jaywmustang]

4-6 lbs? Never measured mine. The accu trigger (savage)and mark pro(Remington) are adjustable.