Torn
 

Looking to buy a new rifle and I'm torn between the following rifles:
Savage 111 308
Remington CDL 308
Remington CDL SS 308
Remington Mtn. SS 308 (concerned about pencil thin barrel)

I have some Savages now and they shoot sub-moa all day they just don't look the prettiest.

I bought my grandson an older Savage 111 used in .243. It has nice wood hand cut checkering and a butter smooth bolt. It also is a tack driver. I bought used because I didn't know if he would stick with hunting and he is left handed and I didn't want to tie up a lot of money in a gun I couldn't shoot. If it wasn't a left handed bolt I would love to hunt with the rifle.

Savage is a good rifle and won't break your wallet. If you're use to the Savages why not stay with them. Yes the Rem is a sleeker looking rifle and if it were me I opt for the SS version.
BTW have you looked at Tikka T3 rifles? Those are some sweet rifles and excellent shooters as well.

I have a couple savages, and don't like the quirks of them. Such as leupold scopes are cantalevered over magazine. I have also had issues with failing to load, and fail to fire. Bolt passing over round, and dented primers.


That being said, they are extrememly popular.

But no point discussing any of this, if you don't say your goal.


I have thought about Remington 700 mountain gun, for carrying in woods. It will heat up, and slow to work up loads. At some point I will probably sell my savage weather warrior and get one. Can't have a gun you don't trust. Even if failure is only every 100 or 150 rounds.


But talking about this is useless. Since we don't know what you want to hunt, where, or how.

But I vote for 700s.

I was thinking about a Winchester Model 70 as well.

Mountain SS is a nice looking rifle but I don't want to wait 8 years between shots if practicing at the range. :)

:)

Are you hunting in a blind near 4 wheeler, or walking a mile or so?

walking :)

Another option may be to buy an SPS and then put an aftermarket stock on it.

Skip the mountain rifle unless you're really looking for something very light.

Personally, I'm a Stainless guy, so having the SS CDL on the list, I scratch the blued CDL.

The 111 is blued, but knowing the trigger will supercede the CDL, and the precision be better - and knowing both need a block & bed job, I'd probably be looking for a 116 stainless, or 112, but the Savage is a great rifle for the money. If I bought the blued, I'd likely find myself cerakoting it shortly thereafter.

Play odd-man between the 111, CDL, and CDL SS. All 3 are right answers to the same question. The Mountain Rifle has just enough specialty strapped to it, I'd pass. If I were needing a lightweight rifle, then the MR is the ONLY right answer, and hard pass on the other 3.

My choice would be either the Mountain Rifle or the stainless CDL. I have both.

My wife hunts mid-sized game with a stainless Mountain Rifle chambered in 270 so naturally I do all of the load development and shoot it fairly frequently. The barrel does heat quickly but it is not noticeable if I shoot three shot groups. The five and ten shot groups take a bit of time at the range, but it is quite a nice shooting rifle. The skinny barrel is not really a problem for a hunting rifle.

I have a couple CDL rifles that not only look good but shoot small groups to boot.

I must admit that the Savage rifles are not my cup of tea but some other fellows really like them.

Remington's walnut stocks are good quality on the 700?

I have owned all of those and I would add one more to your list to consider, the Ruger American. Great gun for the money. I would suggest looking into them. They have a trigger similar to the accu trigger. Other than that, I would suggest holding and possibly firing them all. What one person likes others do not.

For walking, light guns are the way to go. But like I said, working up loads can take a long time. Need more than one.

Keep in mind, most of us will have a heavy coat on or sweatshirt when hunting to absorb recoil. Even if you don't, its only one shot.

I'd go with the cdl. I do have a mountain rifle in 25/06 had a 280 but turn it into a 280AI and changed the stock. The barrel is thin but working up loads isn't that bad just don't get to carried away I shoot mine in groups of 3. It is a tack driver. Another reason I say cdl is the wooden stock. My mountain rifle has one and all the ones I've seen now have a synectic stock. Just my thoughts good luck

I promise I'm not just trying to muddy the water...too much.lol While not on your list, I'd also recommend the TC Compass in the budget rifle range you're looking at (have one in .308). Can't beat it for $200! Do take note that it's a 1:12 twist though, if that's the sort of thing that matters to you. It doesn't like 180+ grain bullets but is superb with most 150-168 shells.

The Ruger American previously mentioned is a great shooting budget rifle as well (have one in 7mm-08).

If you've already looked at these rifles and ruled them out, I'll throw one more into the mix....the Mossberg Patriot with wood stock, fluted barrel and bolt. Great looking budget friendly rifle and all of these mentioned are light enough to be used as "mountain" rifles.

It can be hard to experiment with other rifles, like TC, but I have been curious after reading a few reviews.

Though, not sure what you mean by for $200.

Today I handled the Tikka T3x, Winchester M70, 700 SPS, 700 CDL, 700 Mtn. SS, and a Savage.

Figured I would handle a Tikka T3x due to the hype, and they felt cheap to me. The magazine is cheesy and the plastic trigger guard? I don't really like the looks of the Tikka/Sako 85 actions.

The Savage action is very long on open/close and it's an ugly rifle. They shoot awesome though from my experience with them. I've owned a few over the years and had .3 - .5 groups stock out of the box using Federal Fusion or my hand loads.

700 CDL felt the best and next was the M70. I just didn't like the way the bolt felt on the M70 and the safety sucks.

There is a $75 rebate in several TCs right now and with that, there are several Compass models in .308, 30-06, .223, .243, etc. that are going for $199 with rebate. For $200, you can't beat it.:party0005:

Ya the T3 felt cheap. I guess that is part of being ultra light. I have handled some Sakos I really liked though. I was debating the black bear.

Also they don't do the standard 1:10 twist, which is you may or not care about.

Wow, that is cheap. Don't have any scopes laying around, but ya, you can't beat the price.

I just went with the CDL and ordered a 510 trigger.