Dirt2

I'm building up my "battery", and looking to add a backup hunting rifle. My main rifle is a .270 in Ruger M77, shoots well, has killed tons of game.

For my second rifle I want to build another all-round, moderate-recoil rifle, but built for stillhunting in heavy timber. It must be under 8 lbs. naked, offer quick second shots, and be in fiberglass/composite/laminate stock. It should be .30 caliber or larger. I would really like to put a nice peep sight on it.

I'm looking at the .308 caliber, and the two rifles on my current short-list are the Browning BLR and the Remington 7600.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

DoctorDeath

Look in CZ ...good all around rifle for the money.

dd

kendradad

Have a BLR in .308 very good for heavy timber hunting, plenty of punch and handles nicely. I am partial to lever actions anyway. (Actually this is the second BLR in .308 for me, sold my first one and hated myself ever since, just replaced it a couple of moths ago). Bought it at a gun show from one of the attendees.He had a .243 as well I would have bought, but I hadjust bought a M77 in .243 the week before. Oh well.Good luck on your choice/purchase.

whitetaildreamer

In heavy timber, the trusty old 30-30 is always a good cal. choice.

Maine Shooter

.30-30 or .35 Rem are fantastic woods/timber chamberings.

Colorado Luckydog

You should check out the Marlin 308 Express.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/Centerfire/308MX.aspx

Edcyclopedia

Good choice on the .308, I happen to be a Browning fan so there's my choice...

I personaly hunt with a scoped .270 OR for stalking, I use a .30-06 with open sights for some of the same reasons your looking for.
I chose the .30-06 for the bigger loads available (220 gr.), in case I ever went Moose or Elk hunting, then I can cross dress it a little bit better than the .308.
You did say another all around round, so that's my opion.
Also, I have hunted with a Winchester .30-.30 and this does just fine. Really any .30 cal is good, but the .30-06 gets you a little bigger load if desired?
Another note, the recoil of my .30-06 Browning BAR is minimal with the gas operated system, noticably less than the .270.
Lastly, the BAR is very light and a joy to carry all day long, with the chance of jumping and shooting at a buck in brush @ 20-30-40 yards and needing another quicker follow-up round. This was the case 3 years ago when using the semi-auto, as I tagged the buck instead of watching the famous whitetail run away.

Dirt2

Hey kendradad, thanks for the reply. What kind of accuracy do you get with your BLR? Objectively, how does it compare to a bolt rifle?

Dirt2

I had looked at the BAR. How accurate is your BAR? How does it compare in accuracy to a bolt rifle?

Dirt2

I like the concept of the .308 Marlin Express, but I am very leery of this multiplication of calibers that goes on all the time. They build a caliber, you buy it, nobody else does, and you're stuck with a wildcat.

If I went Marlin, I'd fall in with a couple of posters on here and grab a 30/30, 35 Rem., or even a 45/70. The reason I faded on Marlin is they only offer a laminate stockin a 24" barrel, which makes the rifle too long for an ideal stillhunting platform. Their shorter barrels are wood-stock only, and I will not buy a rifle with a wood stock. Rifles are tools to me, not artwork.