Talk me into a deer rifle

[Bed Wetter]

I’m spending this morning getting yesterday’s buck in the freezer. I am now pondering a new deer rifle. I brought two rifles with me, a short but heavy AR10 in 308 (18” barrel) and long and heavy Rem 700 in 308 (24” barrel). I happened to have the Remington with me when this joker crossed my path @ 190 yds. It was a chip shot but he was moving like a tango dancer with his nose to the ground. I’ll say it again: HAVING A SILENCER IS LIFE CHANGING. I didn’t see if or where I hit that buck in the tall grass but I sure as heck heard it. But, lugging around a 10 to 12 lb rifle/flagpole sucks. Time to spring for a shorter lighter suppressed rifle.

I need a stainless short action with a 20” medium or light profile barrel. I’ll be putting a silencer on it. I think I’m going to buy a Remington SPS and have the barrel cut/crowned/threaded @ 20”, then drop it in a Greyboe Outlander stock. For $1k this will be a dandy rifle for chasing deer.

So, NDA goobers, should I stick with .308 or is it worth it to neck some of my brass down to 7-08 or .243? (I have a mountain of good .308 brass). Or is there another rifle out there you’d recommend with a 20” barrel?

(much thanks to SDMF for his assistance in preparation for this year’s hunt!)

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[Lycanthrope]

IMO 7m08 is a great deer cartridge... If varmints are on the menu maybe 243, otherwise Id go a little larger bullet diameter.

 

[guywhofishes]

good job - very cool Jurassic antlers

 

[Kurtr]

If light weight i would run a ti 700 clone one of these http://www.pierceengineeringltd.com/category/actions/product/titanium-action

with a 16.5" proof research https://www.proofresearch.com/the-products/barrels/bolt-action-cf-barrels/

I stay .308 that would be a bad ass light weight deer slayer suppressed.

2.5-10 nsx on top

i carry my 12 pound rifle around with either my tab gear prs sling or the gun bearer on my pack. I suck at shooting light weight rifles.

 

[Auggie]

A 308 is a great cartridge and you already have experience with it. For me, it would be hard to move on. If you're planning a trip for something bigger (elk, moose, etc..) maybe a 7mm or 300 Winmag would be worth looking into. Both are great deer rifles and can handle the bigger game.

 

[Bed Wetter]

Why do some pics show up tiny?

 

[luvcatchingbass]

Unless you are just looking at playing with a different caliber I see nothing wrong with sticking with the 308. As far a as rifles go I have been intrigued lately with the different scout rifles on the market and I believe that some are pre threaded for a suppressor.

 

[Kurtr]

these have gotten good things said about them

https://barrett.net/firearms/fieldcraft/

 

[Davy Crockett]

I agree with the advice given. I always had the theory that you have to shoot twice as much to be half as good when shooting a bunch of different calibers, second nature trumps having to think in the spur of the moment or after the fact.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I bought the Ruger Predaror in 308 with the 18 inch barrel. I bought it as a beater to have fun with and shoot subsonics with. What a surprise. The trigger is terrible, but it does shoot a five shot group of .55 inch at 100 yards. I shoot the 200 gr ELD-X at 2459 fps. It was a surprise, but is not good enough for my primary rifle.
Check out Cooper Firearms also. I have a 6.5X284 in the single shot Phoenix. It groups just a hair over .25 inches. There is nothing wrong with a 308 especially if you want a short barrel. I really like the 6.5 Creedmoor, and they say they outperform the 308, but with the high ballistic coefficient of the 200 gr ELD-X they do not have more energy at the longer ranges.
Light bullets loose a lot of velocity in short barrels. Offhand I don't remember the loss in my 18 inch with the 178 I think it's about 225 fps and the 155 gr Silver Scenars loose about 300 fps. The 200 gr loose only 75 fps.
The 308 isn't a high performance cartridge and is so common it has lost some of it's luster in our minds, but the truth is it's still a very good cartridge. Not a thing wrong with it and with a suppressor the 200 gr don't kick much at all. Surprisingly with the high ballistic coefficient and good velocity it doesn't drop that much either. If you like the 308 stick with it. I have shot nothing that shoots the subsonics as good as my 22 inch 308 and the 18 inch isn't far behind. Surprisingly the 18 inch requires less powder. Evidently the light load is all burned up in less than 22 inches and as it slides down the longer barrel the drag lowers the velocity. My first shot with my subsonics out of the 18 inch barrel were supersonic. I am shooting 9.3 gr of Trail Boss with a 180 gr Rainier hollow point in my 18 inch barrel and 10 gr of Trail Boss in my 22 inch barrel.

 

[Ponyroper]

Why do some pics show up tiny?

Usually it depends on the pixel setting of your camera. The higher the resolution the bigger the picture file and the larger the picture is in emails and posts. I set my camera to 640x480 which is the lowest setting. That setting is about perfect for pictures I want to email or post in line. If you ever get email pictures from someone that are so big that you have to scroll up and down and side to side to see them it's because they sent a picture with high resolution. Most pictures are plenty clear at lower resolutions for email and are much easier to send and receive.

 

[Wrkn2hunt]

I recently received my FFL and set up with distributors and the RAP is a very popular rifle. I am planning on stocking a few but seems the distributors even struggle to keep them in stock. Another that catches my eye is the Bergara which seems like a lot of rifle for the money. There are so many decent choices out there. As for caliber the 308 is great but I love my 243 also. If you have a 308 already I would add a 243. I own a lot of rifles but my 243 puts a lot of miles on with me.

 

[Fishmission]

Nice buck. Do you have more pics besides the micro style?

 

[eyexer]

If I was going to go with a standard rifle that was compact and lighter I'd buy one of these Remington 700 mountain rifles. One of the cooler compact rifles I've seen. http://www.gunbroker.com/item/718460844

 

[SupressYourself]

I've replaced about every part on my Remington SPS and it still pisses me off. I can't recommend it.

As for caliber, surely you've done enough Internet reading by now to know 6.5 Creedmoor is the end-all be-all short action cartridge.
Now that Lapua makes Creed brass, there's no reason not to.

If you really can't sleep at night knowing you're not using your 308 brass, then 260 Rem is the obvious choice.

 

[Bed Wetter]

Well, I stopped in to Scheels to look at Remington rifles and left with a lightly used Kimber Montana in 308 for $849. It’s hard to say no to Leon.

Let’s try another pic of jurassic rack:


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[guywhofishes]

they look like Barney Rubble carved them from stone.

so unique.

 

[Kurtr]

Shoulder mount that one?

 

[Bed Wetter]

Shoulder mount that one?

He’s probably only about 130” and I’m not really a shoulder mount kind of guy. I messaged KDM about hiring his beetles.

 

[Ericb]

Well, I stopped in to Scheels to look at Remington rifles and left with a lightly used Kimber Montana in 308 for $849. It’s hard to say no to Leon.

Let’s try another pic of jurassic rack:


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Cool rack!

That's a awesome gun hopefully she shoots better for you...