Thread: What 308 to buy

Good to know. Would like to hear more negative reviews and specific problems with the howa if anyone's got them

I have no experience with Howa rifles but have several Tikkas. I recently bought a standard T3X in 308 and shortened it to 20 inches and put a DPT on it . I put a Leupold 3.5x10 30 mm tube scope on it which I have found to be good out to 600 yards on a target. I think the 20 inch barrel gives you a bit more for the longer shots but doesn’t make it to long for the tight stuff. After I set my one up I shot 3 shots into a 9 inch square at 600 yards, I actually surprised myself with that one. I was using 165 gr SST at 2730 fps handloads.

600 yard target attached

I wouldn't put anything bigger than a 3-9x40 type scope on a superlight, the whole point of a superlight rifle is enjoying how it carries and outright weight is only part of that equation, when you start putting big objectives etc on a short light carrying rifle they become unbalanced which may not bother you but when you've had the pleasure of carrying one around with a nice compact scope you'll most definitely notice the difference going to anything bigger. I was shooting gongs at 548yds with mine today no worries with a little vixen 2-8x32 on it, was dialing rather than using the reticle which it's not really designed for but did the job perfectly fine, I definitely won't go rushing out to put a larger scope on it just for the few times it might be roped into longer range duty. I also find it hard to believe that there is an inherent problem with sling studs pulling out of them, they are not the flashest stock in regards to the inletting etc but bedding mine tidied it up nicely, I've also got a MTNGear rail on mine now, one of the bolts goes into the steel thread which is built into the stock where the original sling stud was and the other I put through it and epoxied a nut and washer into the stock to hold it. The factory setup was done quite well compared to a lot of other carbon stocks I have messed with and the rifle is also a lot lighter than most to begin with so there's not a lot of stress on the sling studs, to pull one out you'd probably have to be a bloody rough bugger and would probably pull the sling studs out of a a lot of other stocks also. Things I don't like about it.. I didn't like the soft touch coating and camo pattern so stripped mine back to the nude carbon look, I'm also not a massive fan of detach magazines in hunting rifles so the sooner a floorplate bottom metal and internal mag becomes readily available in nz the better.
I've had plenty of flasher rifles, bigger (much much) more expensive scopes etc but I really like this wee rig, it's accurate with pretty much all the factory ammunition I've put through it from 123gr to 168gr, it does the job near and far, it's not so flash I'm spending all my time babying it, and it's super super awesome to carry and shoot

@Mooseman same set up but a 3x15 bonne and crockett I can drop mine of to you and see if you can get it to shoot the same
I've only used some sako ammo in it so far nothing over 200m

Originally Posted by bigbear

@Mooseman same set up but a 3x15 bonne and crockett I can drop mine of to you and see if you can get it to shoot the same
I've only used some sako ammo in it so far nothing over 200m

I haven’t done any long range stuff for a while but will one day, I am sure your set up will shoot just as well as mine the most important thing I think is inputting the right ballistic info so your dial up is correct. I have mine zeroed for 200 yds and found the 3.5 x10 quite adequate out to that range , I could see the white square plain as on 10 power.

Maybe I should just keep the little 3-10 z3 that's on my sako currently and put that on the howa or tikka. I rather like the idea of a dialing scope though.

Thanks @Ryan_Songhurst , was hoping you'd chip in. Why don't you have rings on it instead of a rail?
Also, have you decided to swap with my Bergara yet? Haha otherwise I would just buy it outright. Seems you're still attached to it though.

Originally Posted by Brad S

Thanks @Ryan_Songhurst , was hoping you'd chip in. Why don't you have rings on it instead of a rail?
Also, have you decided to swap with my Bergara yet? Haha otherwise I would just buy it outright. Seems you're still attached to it though.

It has talleys on it, rails also creep me out, rails and detach mags

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

It has talleys on it, rails also creep me out, rails and detach mags

Oh roger that. I thought you said it had a rail on it, but you weren't referring to the scope rail I see by the picture.

Maybe a Mauser M18 cut down to 16”? That will cost you well under $2k.

Originally Posted by Krameranzac

Maybe a Mauser M18 cut down to 16”? That will cost you well under $2k.

I paid $1k for one with Talleys included and have left the barrel at the standard 22" for now, really like it as its nice to shoot.

Originally Posted by Krameranzac

Maybe a Mauser M18 cut down to 16”? That will cost you well under $2k.

I paid $1k for one with Talleys included and have left the barrel at the standard 22" for now, really like it as its nice to shoot. Oh I much prefer the detachable mag it sits totally flush when you remove it your ammo doesn't get dumped on the ground, but that's just my opinion others may differ

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

I paid $1k for one with Talleys included and have left the barrel at the standard 22" for now, really like it as its nice to shoot. Oh I much prefer the detachable mag it sits totally flush when you remove it your ammo doesn't get dumped on the ground, but that's just my opinion others may differ

When I was young about 4 years ago I had a M18 in 6.5PRC that I cut to 20". Apart from being at the top end of "sporter" weight I cant recall a single fault. It was factory cerecoated and that was nice. Trigger exceptional. Action and loading smooth. Shot beautifully.
Cant get carbon stocks for them which is a shame (for weight) but the factory stock has a good shape and nice feel to it.
Sold it 'cos if you have a 6.5 swede (or any 6.5) you dont need a 6.5prc. M18 would be great value in 308 with a shorter barrel.

In the real world the perceived advantages of one brand of rifle over another don't really matter so just buy whatever you like - I can almost guarantee that you will never be in a situation where you can honestly say if I had got the other brand rifle I would have got that animal, etc ...

You have got a nice scope in the Z3 so just use that until you work out what you really need.

Just my 2c

I'm with this guy, the actual action and barrel don't really make much of a difference. What does is the stock, the trigger, the scope, the suppressor and the accessibility and usability of the sling/bipod mounts and mags etc.

I really hate most of the cheaper factory triggers especially the ones with smooth slippery blades. They always get biffed and upgraded to something with a ridged and not slippery trigger even if they work fine... The factory stocks are never perfect, always on the upgrade list to stiffer, lighter and foam filled butts so they don't ring like a drum if they tap something. Very hard to find the perfect mag setup, Rem suit my purposes with the side release and long enough to seat a little further out than factory but others hate them - personal choice. I do prefer detach mag, just easier come unload time.

I have not yet found an off-the-shelf factory synthetic stock that ticks all the boxes on any brand.