All around rifle.

[Marmidor]

I'm looking for a good all around hunting rifle. Will be hunting deer. Want something that is good at distance. Not trying to break the bank. Was considering a Savage .308,270 or 30-06 but open to suggestions. Thanks for any input!

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[rkflorey]

Can't go wrong with the savage. Either in a kit or just the rifle and your scope. I'm 308 fan cause it will do the job on anything I will be hunting, is easier to find ammo, and as long as you are not trying to over reach in hunting will easily do the job. Tons of bullet weights from 110 -220s. It's not flashy but always works

 

[ccc]

I hunt with a 30.06 but prefer a .270, it will do anything you need it to do except moose and elk and even then a good placed shot would probably work. But down here in the south I prefer a .270. I only hunt with my 1971 Browning BAR 30.06 because it’s so damn purdy.

 

[John B.]

Unpopular opinion. Chambering doesn't matter once you get above 0.24"
Bullet selection and shot placement are more important.

That said, most all my "hunting" rifles are chambered in .308win due to availability of ammo and components.

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[DAS HUGH!]

Well. I been eyeballing a rifle that is a bit expensive. But some stock with tons of bells n whistles standard. Including even a built in tripod. It's also featherweight and extremely versatile. But it's at my local gunstore and it's called a Steyr Scout rifle. It's in 308. Which I kind of like cause it has tons of availability since it's it's NATO cartridge and been around for ages. Like it also cause you can even get tracer rounds.. AP.. and all that fun stuff in the caliber also. But check online for reviews on it before buying and you'll see it's got alot for the price. It also doubles a little as a closer quarters rifle also. Very neat rifle. Just a suggestion tho if you happen to be wanting something a bit fancier than average

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[Caveman94]

Someone listed a savage .270 I believe with a scope for $450 a day or so ago. That would be a good starter package deal.

 

[DAS HUGH!]

I have a savage 300 short mag I belive at home I could let go cheap. Has some rust n stuff on it but I'm sure it's fine. Got it on a trade from a bud a long while back and forgot I even had it. Needs a scope tho.

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[Fear21]

Well. I been eyeballing a rifle that is a bit expensive. But some stock with tons of bells n whistles standard. Including even a built in tripod. It's also featherweight and extremely versatile. But it's at my local gunstore and it's called a Steyr Scout rifle. It's in 308. Which I kind of like cause it has tons of availability since it's it's NATO cartridge and been around for ages. Like it also cause you can even get tracer rounds.. AP.. and all that fun stuff in the caliber also. But check online for reviews on it before buying and you'll see it's got alot for the price. It also doubles a little as a closer quarters rifle also. Very neat rifle. Just a suggestion tho if you happen to be wanting something a bit fancier than average

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Steyr Scouts are nice (like most Steyr products). I like Cooper's Scout concept as well. If you can find a Ruger or Savage Scout rifle, you'd be forking over a lot less cash for a similar feature set (excluding the built in bipod).

 

[G-rat]

Unpopular opinion. Chambering doesn't matter once you get above 0.24"
Bullet selection and shot placement are more important.

That said, most all my "hunting" rifles are chambered in .308win due to availability of ammo and components.

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i'm a HUGE fan of .243... not for everything, but for most anything!

 

[ccc]

i'm a HUGE fan of .243... not for everything, but for most anything!

My wife loves hers. As I get older I may drop down to a .243

 

[rkflorey]

I have a scout rifle built by a Smith in Arizona back in the 90s after Guns and Ammo had an article about Coopers scout rifle.
It's made on a Mauser action, and I spent the largest amount on tne barrel.
I went with a medium contour 18 inch barrel in 308, and a Burris 2-7 extended eye relief scope.
It will shoot better than most people are capable and is light and fast.
It's first deer was a Cous buck at 60 yds.,the second and last ( too much damage on small deer) was at 526 yrs ( too far but clear shot at a 5x5 doesn't come very often.
If you are looking for an all around rifle the scout is hard to beat, especially with today's magazine FED rifles.

 

[DAS HUGH!]

Yeah just did a quick search. And ruger does yeah make a scout that looks nice. Looks like mossberg makes one too around same price. Shows Springfield makes one for higher than the Steyr lol. And just at a glance I can tell the steyr has way more features. Steyr kinda knocked it out of the park with thier model. Has an extra mag in the stock.. magazine disconnector built into the mag.. but the 1500 was hard to justify after I just spent 1800 on a dang SIG 716i lol. Had I not done so.. and wanted a good bolt gun I'd have bought that rascal. Didn't know so many makers made models of the scout setup. And yeah copper I think really had a great idea when he set those standards. The forward mounted scope may take some getting used to. They also have a neat look to them also. But yeah looks like savage.. ruger and mossberg make em too. So I may peruse those later and invent an excuse to snag one of those later hehe. When I handled that steyr tho my impressions of what a modern bolt gun is.. changed alot that day I have to say. And I now want one

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[Deersniper270]

If I was starting new I’d go .308. I’ve killed all of my deer with my .270 no problem but .308 is cheaper and comes in some many different setups. Ruger Gunsite is nice on the higher end($1,000+). If you’re looking for cheap but functional, I’d look at something like a savage hog hunter .308($600+). Just my opinion as I know there are a ton of options

 

[Raven]

Get a milsurp barreled action and drop it into an Archangel stock. Those Archangel stocks are only like $160+ and they're fully adjustable for cheek height, length of pull and have new detachable 5 and 10 round mags available for milsurp bolt actions. The milsurp will have tried and true combat proven ruggedness, with iron sights, and if you get the Mosin M44, a medium barrel profile that is fairly short. Try and find a 1950's manufactured M44 that didn't have to go through a world war. Spring the extra hundred bucks and get yourself a nice long curved and welded bent bolt handle. I had all this put together on a Mosin I bought at Ron's Place and took to Maine. Was holding out for a particular drill+tap scope mount when something else caught my eye about 5 years later, and I sold it. I'll do this again sooner or later, tho, because it was a fine, combat proven bolt action in mud, swamp, rivers and beaches all across Vietnam, a very similar environment to here, and the Mosin ammo can be had for half the cost of 308, and it's still a 7.62 caliber

 

[Raven]

I have a scout rifle built by a Smith in Arizona back in the 90s after Guns and Ammo had an article about Coopers scout rifle.
It's made on a Mauser action, and I spent the largest amount on tne barrel.
I went with a medium contour 18 inch barrel in 308, and a Burris 2-7 extended eye relief scope.
It will shoot better than most people are capable and is light and fast.
It's first deer was a Cous buck at 60 yds.,the second and last ( too much damage on small deer) was at 526 yrs ( too far but clear shot at a 5x5 doesn't come very often.
If you are looking for an all around rifle the scout is hard to beat, especially with today's magazine FED rifles.

That Mauser "controlled round feed" bolt is worth its weight in gold on a scout rifle, and there's quite a few Mauser carbines out there in 308, and it seems like that's the caliber you're after. I've cycled them Mausers upside down, sideways and backwards and never had a problem, unlike the "push feed" bolt designs of cheaper made rifles, like the Savage's, some Winchesters, Ruger Americans, Mosins, etc, all of which are "push feed" bolts. I've had a dozen Mausers in 308, and a few were FR7 and FR8 carbines, (featuring 16" machine gun barrels, rifle grenade launcher capabilities, bayonet lugs, and bird cage style flash suppressors) and a couple were WW2 Nazi carbines rebarreled to 308 by the Israelis. One of them Isrealis had the fairly rare WW2 German enlarged trigger guard (a popular upgrade for AR15's nowadays, 80 years ahead of it's time!). The damn lawyers had to be paid, though, and the Scarborough Cabelas gave me a pretty penny for them! But I bought them here about ten years ago, for cheap, so keep an eye out. They are here. Cheapest one I ever bought was a South American Mauser in 308 for $100, sporterized, in a pawn shop on Pace Blvd in Pensacola. Never know what you might find in a pawn shop, for cheap. A 308 FR8 mauser scout rifle like the one pictured below can be had in good shape for only $350-$450

 

[DAS HUGH!]

Very interesting. I'll have to read up on those and keep an eye out for them now. Also saw keltec is making a cousin to a scout. But in semi auto and its a 233/556. Kind of like a scout AR. The 308 models all seem to have a pistol grip style

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[Rebel_Rider1969]

I like the .308, for all the reasons stated above. The scout style looks good, but that scope stuck out on the handguard would be very different vs. A standard scope set up. ( after x about of years of shooting) I had a savage hog hunter( threaded, high IRON SIGHTS, detachable mag, etc, etc.)and should have kept it. Short, handy and very accurate with plain jane ammo. Savages can easily be rebarreled if another caliber catches your eye. I think baddog? On here that does alot of work with them and has some impressive builds.

 

[John B.]

What platform you end up with end up with really depends on what sort of hunting you plan on doing... Are you hunting public land from a climber?? Are you hunting private land from boxes on plots or fields? Do you plan on hunting out west in mountainous terrain?

To me, a good overall hunting rifle should not only be in an adequate chambering with a proper bullet... but also a platform that matches your need. That scout rifle will be great for short walks to shooting houses but you will hate that heavy rifle on a long walk.

To me, a good overall rifle is a stainless bolt gun with a 18-22" barrel and a common non magnum chambering.

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[Deersniper270]

I agree the weight can wear you down walking with a climber on your back lol

 

[Duckyou]

25-06 or 6.5 creedmore in a Remington 700 Magpul hunter stock.