Thread: What 308 to buy

Hypothetically speaking, if a young guy were to sell his 30-06, 223, and 7mm rem mag, and replace them all with one 16" 308, what should he buy? Tikka, howa super lite, or something else?
Light and handy is key, and no more than approx. $2k for the rifle is also key. And preferably new - im tired of buying 2nd hand guns that have hidden issues. I do love a nice wooden stock, but I want something light.
And it must be a short 308. I always wanted one, and I'm not going to be persuaded to buy something else this time

I've been looking at getting custom guns in invercargill to set up a howa super lite with a GPO centuri 6X 3-18X44i. If someone thinks this isn't a good idea please let me know.

This would be primarily under 200m hunting, i don't have time to drive 3hrs and get into big open central otago tops hunting usually. But it would be fun to shoot gongs at 500m if I ever got the chance, hence the dialing scope.

Originally Posted by Brad S

Hypothetically speaking, if a young guy were to sell his 30-06, 223, and 7mm rem mag, and replace them all with one 16" 308, what should he buy? Tikka, howa super lite, or something else?
Light and handy is key, and no more than approx. $2k for the rifle is also key. And preferably new - im tired of buying 2nd hand guns that have hidden issues. I do love a nice wooden stock, but I want something light.
And it must be a short 308. I always wanted one, and I'm not going to be persuaded to buy something else this time

I've been looking at getting custom guns in invercargill to set up a howa super lite with a GPO centuri 6X 3-18X44i. If someone thinks this isn't a good idea please let me know.

This would be primarily under 200m hunting, i don't have time to drive 3hrs and get into big open central otago tops hunting usually. But it would be fun to shoot gongs at 500m if I ever got the chance, hence the dialing scope.

Im no pro but - I just fired a Howa superlight 16" in 308. What a rifle. It was hitting targets bang on at 300m. Phenominal rifle and am thinking about one myself . Good luck.

Originally Posted by Brad S

Hypothetically speaking, if a young guy were to sell his 30-06, 223, and 7mm rem mag, and replace them all with one 16" 308, what should he buy? Tikka, howa super lite, or something else?
Light and handy is key, and no more than approx. $2k for the rifle is also key. And preferably new - im tired of buying 2nd hand guns that have hidden issues. I do love a nice wooden stock, but I want something light.
And it must be a short 308. I always wanted one, and I'm not going to be persuaded to buy something else this time

I've been looking at getting custom guns in invercargill to set up a howa super lite with a GPO centuri 6X 3-18X44i. If someone thinks this isn't a good idea please let me know.

This would be primarily under 200m hunting, i don't have time to drive 3hrs and get into big open central otago tops hunting usually. But it would be fun to shoot gongs at 500m if I ever got the chance, hence the dialing scope.

Standard tikka .308 and get dpt to cut and fit their suppressor. Incredible accuracy to 300yds with plain 150s cor loks

Tikka bush hunter.
I have never been a tikka fan but I bought one in .308 and was so impressed I now have one in .223.
I wouldn't call them a good looking rifle but they just work well and shoot and seem to be adaptable.

Howa superlite is hard to go past for an ultralight hunting rig.....can I suggest you get a centuri 2.5-15x50 instead of the 3-18....better low light and closer parallax adjustment.
I've just bought one to go on my 30 06ai the 2.5-15x50 is approximate 640g and to my eyes marginally better than the 3-18x40, to me better low light perofrmance is far more usefull at prime hunting times than 3x more zoomies that you can't use in low light anyway....15x mag is enough to get you out to a long way on deer sized targets

personally I would go a GPO super compact 3-12 or 1.5-10 as they are lighter again.

I'm just waiting for a Howa superlite 308 to come up second hand and I think I'll have to snap it up

Howa Superlight is a great little rifle. Have used a friends one a bit just out of interest. If I didn’t already have my old Win. M70 lightweight I’d have one of these. Not sure about your scope choice though. I have a GPO Spectra 4-16x, great scope but a bit weighty, although the weight would help settle the rifle when firing. Tends to upset balance when carrying rifle in hand though, not that many hunters seem to do that these days.

Originally Posted by woods223

Howa Superlight is a great little rifle. Have used a friends one a bit just out of interest. If I didn’t already have my old Win. M70 lightweight I’d have one of these. Not sure about your scope choice though. I have a GPO Spectra 4-16x, great scope but a bit weighty, although the weight would help settle the rifle when firing. Tends to upset balance when carrying rifle in hand though, not that many hunters seem to do that these days.

Righto, open to alternative suggestions?

I thought 600g wasn't too bad for a decent quality dialing scope in that price bracket

600g is pretty light. I never sling carry rifles, always in hand, my scopes are in the 650ish gm range

Originally Posted by Brad S

I thought 600g wasn't too bad for a decent quality dialing scope in that price bracket

it's not, but you could cut wait even further buy using the 3-12x44 (535g) or 1.5-9x44 (575g)

I think the closer parallax and minimum mag of 2.5 would be more useful comparing the 2.5-15 vs the 3-18.....talk to Martin at Ammo direct Rolleston he'll give you plenty of guidance around GPO's

I would include a Ruger for consideration. Something like the predator, already 18" and threaded. Or maybe something like the Gen 2.

Tikka T3, end of story

If its your one gun solution, I'd be inclined to go with a 20 inch barrel. Tikka are good value and shoot. I've got a bergara ext hunter, heavier but shoots and has a floor plate mag now.
No experience with the light weight Howas.

If you’re willing to spend about 2 thou on a scope the GPO Spectra 1-8x24i would do everything you want. Nice and compact compared to 3-18x44i. Matches Howa Superlight well.

Sako finnlight 85 would be my go to if you can find one but a good would be good aswell


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