My New Deer Rifle
 

Just got this Tuesday and it is a tack hammer.

It's a new Thompson Center Venture Compact .308. 60° (3 lug) bolt lift, short action with a new Hawke Vantage 3-9 x 40 scope and Hawke medium height rings. They discontinued this rifle and are now making a cheapo "Compass" POS. I saw this at my gun dealer friend's store and snapped it up. If anyone doesn't know about Hawke scopes you should take a look through one sometime.

I had seen a article on a test on 10 low priced scopes. It turns out 9 of the 10 were all made in the same Chinese factory and all had parallax problems. The Hawke is made in China but at their own factory and the product is much better controlled and no parallax problems. I couldn't believe the sharp image when looking through this scope.

Nice weapon. Let us know how it shoots.

I spent some time yesterday on the bench and while it did good I know it can do better. I was shooting Nosler 125 gr. ballistic tips (3150fps out of a 24" barrel). This barrel is 20" but I think they are too "short" and a heavier 150 gr. bullet will group better. Will try some Hornady Super performance sst's and see how they do. Man is that Hawke scope nice.

You really do not need a long barrel for accuracy in a centerfire gun. Just find the round your rifle likes. The problem not is to find .308 ammo especially the stuff that is not fmj. I don't know if reloading components are as scarce as ammo is. I have always shot 150 grain corelocts in my .308, the barrel is 21 inches and it groups very nicely.

Thanks for that. I'm open to any other suggestions on ammo.

Just try some different ammo, if the 125 grain bullets are not shooting like you want move up. That load is a good one if it shot well enough though.

That load "wasn't bad" but after 50 years of reloading and playing with different bullets, loads etc I think it will do lots better. I no longer reload so it comes down to finding and buying the "magic load" for this rifle. Gives me something to do (if we ever get ammo back on the shelves).

For deer I'd go with something in the 150 - 165 gr range. No need to spend the $$ on premium ammo either IMO. Just grab yourself some Winchester Super X or Federal Power Shok ammo and try it. Honestly I don't think there is a production rifle out there today that won't shoot 2 - 2.5 MOA which is plenty accurate for the average deer hunter. And most rifles will do even better than that. Almost all of us have fallen to the 1 MOA or less bug. I have a couple rifles that will shoot that well and had others that shot even better but its not really necessary.
I believe your Venture will serve you well for many years. Good luck.

I always want a rifle that shoots MOA in case I win the lottery and can go out west. Only been on one hunt years ago near devil's tower and got a so-so muley. But it was an awesome experience. And I agree on your suggestion of 150-165 gr. not needing premium ammo.

Good for you on your new rifle. The .308 is a great round, The 125 is on the lighter end of its range though...you might find better accuracy with a heavier bullet. The 150 is pretty much the go to (but I myself love and reload Speer 165 gr) . The longer projectile lends more stability in flight, thus better accuracy down range, and the heavier bullets also retain more energy. Now the tough thing is finding ammo this year...

Just bought an extra clip for this thing. TC doesn't even sell them or list them! Everyone else except Midway was out of them. $32 plus shipping for a 3-shot piece of plastic.

Hi there can you guys use suppressors on your hunting rifle's?.

I would imagine we could but I wouldn't want to. I love my BOOM!!

Found this:

It is legal to purchase and hunt with suppressors in Wisconsin, but owning a suppressor that is not properly registered and taxed is a felony. To my surprise, only a few states prohibit them. And two of them are our neighbors. It is currently illegal to own a silencer in Minnesota and Illinois.

o n of suppressors for those who lawfully possess them under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
On May 22, 2015, Governor Mark Dayton signed Senate File 878 into law, modifying Minnesota Statutes 609.66, officially making Minnesota the 40th state to legalize the private possession of suppressors for those who lawfully possess them under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

yes we in the USA can use them to hunt with, in most places, as long as there legal suppressors

BUT one of the issue's one will have using them, is, you will find yourself getting more attention than many want or the hassle's of PROVING you have a legal one, and to have to carry the paperwork along with you to do so,
it can get to be a pain in the A$$ if you follow

I was a dealer for them (suppressors)
and have owned many personally over the yrs
and cannot tell you how many times I was stooped just due to, beings even with one on a firearm!
and add in MANY law enforcement officers here have NO clue what the REAL legal side of them is,(class III items in general here ) or what the LEGAL paperwork looks like or , what is needed to PROVE things
and you can end up spending a LOT of down time, explaining and proving your NOT a criminal, and legally own things!

I know I have spend a LOT of time, being DETAINED by law enforcement officers(and no bash here just saying)
explaining things to them, waiting on supervisors to show up, that know more than first officer did, or??
and it can get frustrating., pending where your at and where using things

I DO thing things are getting better with more ways and info out there
BUT if one wants to hunt with one here, I strongly suggest making sure you KNOW all the LEGAL FINE PRINT details, and carry your PROOF with you and don't be shocked if your held/detained and have to explain your self to law enforcement officers or??

NOW< back on topic
I will State this
finding a load/bullet your rifle likes, doesn't ONLY have to do with bullet weight,
as Shape Design, and BC, all come into play!
as do powders used under said head!

I have a lot of very high end super accurate custom rifles, that are SUPER picky on things they like
and have some that will ONLY shoot one bullet design and powder combo, to get max results

where same grain bullets of other types will shoot 2 inch groups, one's of EXACT SAME WEIGHT< will shoot sub 1/2 inch groups

so, just changing bullet weight isn;'t the only part of finding a round YOUR rifle will like

and I will go as far as to say this too
since your planning to deal with factory loaded ammo

I have seen guns shoot same factory loaded ammo, but of different ammo runs, meaning ALL ammo NOT from the same lot
shoot differently!, as in group sized changed just from LOT to LOT of exact same factory ammo load!

SO, typically and I know this time with ammo being scares and crazy high priced

BUT once things calm down, and you find ammo gun likes
I strongly suggest buying a few boxed of same lot ammo to have for rifle!

its worth buying once you find what it likes!
call it all food for thought !

Suppressors in 🇺🇸
 

Thanks in NZ we are using both muzzle brakes & Suppressors nationwide. I use a suppressor reduces noise, low recoil and deer have know idea what is happening or where the shot has come, so you can follow up a second+ shot if you need to.

Since I used to reload for years I know exactly what you're saying and totally agree. I did have a Ruger 77 Stainless Synthetic in .300 win mag that would take ANYTHING (factory ammo) I gave it and put ALL of it in the same 1" circle. I'm talking different bullet weights (at 100 yards), different brands etc. It never changed zero. I have no explanation why but I spent many hours on the range with that rifle and put down every animal I ever shot at with it. I could not improve on it with my handloads and I tried ball powders, extruded powders, different brand and weight bullets.

'Actually found a box of Federal power shok .308 150 gr. online and snapped them up. Now I can do some more shooting with this rifle and see how these work.

Okay. heavier bullet is the answer. Now to find the best 150 gr..

You understand how China works right?...There is no OWN factory in China other than the Chinese government. Sam Electrical, Miao, Superior Lens, Aimbond, Changhong ect ect all share R&D and technologies they have stolen from other countries/companies that used factories in China. The government is at least a partial owner in every single one. That is how communism works. Like anything else, good Chinese made optics are not cheap such as Athlon MIDAS TAC scopes. A $100 scope is a $100 scope no matter where it is made but i would trust a Filipino Kenko made cheap scope over Chinese any day of the week.

This company is actually owned by the factory that makes them. They produce scopes and other high end optics for many major brands. Not one of their scopes are made in China.
https://www.opticsplanet.com/sightro...iflescope.html

Might have discovered why I can't get a rifle to shoot good at this range. Instead of having a solid wood backstop to fasten the targets to they use a plastic mesh that you clip the target to with cloths pins. And the wind can blow the mesh so your target could be moving!!! Stupidest thing I've ever seen. I'll sight in somewhere else.

Having the target lowing around a bit kind of adds a bit of realism. Not ideal for getting a group but good for practice on live animals.