Carpmaster

I say whatever strikes you as feeling right, they all shoot well with the right ammo....

A11en

If you're moving out West, I would recommend somthing that shoot a little flatter than the .308.

MakeUr1stShotCount

there's been some great advice in this thread!

Hunting in a primarily wooded and thick area down South and just having gotten back from a hunt in some mountains between Utah and Nevada (you're in PA and moving west, right?), I'd suggest you talk to some gun folks out there after you move.

I always put my trust in the locals wherever I am when it comes to hunting, and it is so incredibly different out west than it is where we have more woods. Even if your gun shop up in PA is great, and I'm sure it is, you might want to have the opportunity to talk to some folks out west after you move.

Good l uck!

TomFromTheShade

A friend of mine just got the Stevens 200 in .308 Winchester. She won't win any beauty contests, but it was only about $300 brand new. It shoots fine and feels great. You can take the money that you save and put it into better glass.

TomFromTheShade

The .308 is plenty powerful enough for any deer sized game. Considering ammunition availability I consider it a very good choice. There is also a TON of great reloading information available for it. The point is that any man who becomes familiar with his .308, and what the bullet does once it leaves the barrel, can become a pretty darn good shooter out to the 400 yard mark. I have only been hunting about 20 years, but if you can't get within 400 yards of your game you need to concentrate more on your hunting skills than your shooting skills. I personally hunt with a 30-06, but that is just a hair faster than the .308 with the same bullet. I really don't know if I would notice the difference between the two rounds if I were to switch today.

garbsie

If you want a rifle that is glass bedded, free floating barrel that will group at 100 yards inside a quarter, wood stock and minimal recoil. purchase a SAKO hunter series. (about 9.5lbs ) and so you know the price tag is for the quality.

minnesotaminuteman

.308 is an good round!

choosing a rifle depends on what you want. wood stocked, nice looking rifle will cost more than a synthetic stocked ugly gun. savage, remington should be a bare minimum in terms of quality. if you want to spend more look into browning, weatherby, ruger and the like. i cannot recommenda marlinas i have had more than one that has gone to hell on me. winchester is also nice. if you were pondering that mossberg 100 atr that thing is junk.

stubblejumper

There are many reasonably priced 308 rifles available including savage,tikka t-3,remington 700 sps,howa 1500 etc.

salukipv1

If going with a .308 round, I'd strongly look at the 7mm-08.

I think a .270 or .30-06 might be my choice if I was getting my 1st rifle as an all around.

There's plenty of good rifles out there for all of those chamberings.

HuntAway

A short action BLR would be my choice.