.308 Mountain Rifle - Your Thoughts

[tylerduce]

I currently shoot a 6.5 Creed Bergara B14 Ridge. It is a bit too heavy of a rifle for that caliber to be lugging up and down the mountain, imo. It became pretty obvious after my recent goat hunt. I am looking to move to a lightweight .308 with a short barrel. Something along the flavour of the Ruger Hawkeye. I know the 6.5 and .308 perform similarly, but I think the larger 30 cal is better for short range bear defense (low probability but still a factor), shorter barrel, lighter weight, cheaper to reload, and easier to find ammo.

I realize there are lot better calibers for mountain hunting, but for the above reasons, combined with the fact that I don't ever see myself shooting beyond 500m, I think the .308 hits the sweet spot.

Am I completely missing something? Anyone here have a .308 lightweight mountain rifle that would like to chime in? Or other thoughts. Thanks in advance.

[REMINGTON JIM]

I have LW Mountain rifles in 6.5 CM - 7-08 REM - 284 Win and 308 Win . I am pretty FOND of the 7-08 cartridge . The 284 Win and 308 are a bet harsh RECOIL in the LW rifles . That being said I am building another 284 Win on a T3 action now . BUT I
Just got a Christensen Arms Mesa FFT rifle (5.5 lbs) in 7-08 and mounted up a Leupold 3.5-1O with a B&C reticle . Gonna go shoot it in the next few days . BEAUTY rifle . All JMO RJ

[Bullreaper]

Wife has a Sako finnlight chambered in .308. Has the short 20” barrel, lightweight. It’s a sweet little gun. That being said, my CA mesa FFT chambered in 7PRC, is lighter and less recoil, not that the .308 has much. Regardless it’s an awesome mountain gun, tons of ammo variety and availability. I shot an elk with it last year with 150gr Nosler ballistic tip at 180 yards. Dropped him in his tracks. I bought her the finnlight in 308 a couple years ago as it was much more suitable than the handy-me-down, POS, 300win she was shooting, at the time I figured the .308 would be perfect for her, but personally, knowing what I know now and what’s out there, I’d of got her a 6.5prc instead, it’ll do everything a 308 will do, but better and with less recoil, imo.

[RackStar]

Got rid of my Kimber 300wsm and a model 70 300wm and got a .308 featherweight , though not a “mountain rifle” I find it’s a pretty ideal cartridge for practical / realistic hunting ranges

[Darksith]

I think you need to talk to Omer at precision optics...He's a sponsor here and maybe one of the premiere knowledge guys. If it was me I would be looking at a 7 SAUM or a 7 PRC. Its not the distance capabilities of the .308 that is my problem with that calibre its the wind deflection. The .308 won many a 1000y shoots in the day, with modern optics and range finders combined with turrets its easy to shoot many calibres a long distance...BUT up on the side of the mountain where the wind is gusting and coming in from different angles you want to reduce the winds ability to deflect your bullet POI.

People put too much concern on getting the lightest rifle possible. If you are around the 7-8lbs mark you are doing fine, lightening up too much makes the rifles harder to shoot, that being said a good brake can help as well. I've listened to a lot of info from some of the top manufacturers and their takes on the lightweight phenomenon, to gain something you are going to need to give up something, its a good philosophy when it comes to shooting and although we try to reduce weight as much as possible, it can come at a cost. Lots of podcasts out there where you get to absorb what the experts have to say. Do your research, find that happy medium, but IMO buying a new mountain rifle in an old school dare I say obsolete calibre doesn't make any sense.

Sacrifice in a lot of areas, but a shootable rifle shouldn't be one of them. My rifle is 8lbs w/ scope, I have one of the fastest bullets on the mountain with the least amount of wind deflection and I don't even really need to think about wind at 500 yards...one less variable for me to mess up on at the most critical time. 6.5 prc, 7mm saum, 7mm prc would be the calibres I would look at if I was to replace my rifle now. I shoot a 28 nosler in case you are wondering...

[justachip]

I have a lightweight ish 308 Model 7 Remington. I built a load for the 130 ttsx and it shoots well. It does buck pretty well if you load the bigger bullets. I do love how the gun handles and packs.

[Timberjack]

Firstly, I agree with all the comments from above. That's said I've been toting around a Kimber Montana in 308 for the last few years in the mountains. At 5lbs 2oz it does kick a bit with the 165 accubonds I shoot. But it's not built for the range and when shooting an animal you don't notice a thing. I've taken a good number of deer and goats with it and have had wonderful success. Yes, be conscious of wind, but I've not found it to be a limiting factor. This year's goat at 435 yards went down with 1 shot - lung, through the far shoulder and lodged in the far side hide. Couldn't ask for more and it sure is a pleasure to carry.

TJ

[VLD43]

I think Remington Jim nailed it. 7-08 or 284 is hard to argue with and when combined with Christensen arms FFT, you get both light weight and recoil. They are not cheap, but you wont be disappointed. Best of luck with your decision. So many good calibers out there now, it's hard to go wrong.

[Greenthumbed]

Hi Tyler,
I don’t think I would go with a 20” barrel for a mountain rifle. Reducing the muzzle velocity on an already relatively slow cartridge with the shorter barrel might prove to be disadvantage when taking the longer shots in the alpine.

[JAGRMEISTER]

you must be an Octopus to have so many rifles that all do the same thingÉ