Well I've got a double edged sword. I am looking at a Savage 12 FV and a Tikka T3 Lite. I began looking for a .308 but my buddies think I need a 30-06. I've researched the ballistics and opinions and unless I want to hunt Grizzly bears I can't see putting up with the extra recoil. I reload so I think I can load the .308 to hunt anything up to the grizzlies. The .308 with it's short action should weigh less and I think be better for spot and stalk. Let me know what you think on the gun and caliber.

Go for what you feel you need. I have a Model 94 (.30-30) and an A-bolt (.30-06) and figure the .308 is in between...

I own both 308 and 30/06 and have shot moose, bear and deer with both. I have no complaints with either one. Go for the rifle that you like the best.
Don

Well, a little internet research ... Looks like MSRPs are about the same. The Savage is about 2.5 lbs heavier than the Tika so it will have less felt recoil. The cartridges are pretty much the same until you get to the really heavy bullets. I'd just handle them both and see which one feels better in your hands.

Compared to my 30-06 my 270 Winchester is a lot more fun to shoot and will take anything upto grizzly with proper handloads. I would not use my 270 for the bigger bears but is ok for black! Actually there are several good calibers that will do what you want, but you have to decide what is best for you.

crb0417 wrote:

I reload so I think I can load the .308 to hunt anything up to the grizzlies. The .308 with it's short action should weigh less and I think be better for spot and stalk. Let me know what you think on the gun and caliber.

I think you answered your own question in a very logical manner. With the right loads, anything you hit properly won't know the difference between the two cartridges...there aren't any degrees of dead! Since you seem to lean towards the .308 and cite good reasons of your own, I think that is what I would choose. If you have a serious desire to go after the big grizzlies, I would ideally be considering something a bit larger than the .30-06 anyway.

Well, I've committed to getting a .308. I am leaning towards a Savage, either a 12 FV or a 10 FP. Thanks for your input.

crb0417 wrote:

Well, I've committed to getting a .308. I am leaning towards a Savage, either a 12 FV or a 10 FP. Thanks for your input.

Good Choice. Great round and Savage makes accurate rifles, show us pics when get it
Joe

crb0417 wrote:

Well, I've committed to getting a .308. I am leaning towards a Savage, either a 12 FV or a 10 FP. Thanks for your input.

Both rifles you listed here are great, I myself own the 10FP. But as you mentioned in your first post that you might use this gun to spot and stalk at times. The heavy barrel won't be the best choice, the heft of it will cause you to sway a little while holding off hand. Just yesterday i was picking up a Savage 93fvss 17HMR that i purchased online, the guy brought out what looked and felt like an HMR only with the blued barrel. First off i thought the guy sent me the wrong HMR that i bought when i picked it up but if it was a 110 in 308. Felt much nicer to hold off hand than my 10FP that i have. I am now thinking of buying one in 30-06 since i dislike the heft of my gun in the woods when traveling far.

For the practicality of it all , I'd say grab a stevens in 308 and have a trigger installed to help tighten the groups for ya. This way you'll have a light accurate rifle that cost's way less up front and will allow for a much better scope to top it off with.

Welcome to HuntingNut Tikker. Grab a beer mate, pull up a stump and sit awhile.

Its surprising how much you notice the difference between two rifles when you don't realise what you have in your hand. Happened to me a couple of times. What I thought was a great rifle turns out to be just adequate.

crb0417, I have to agree with Joe...the .308 is a great calibre. As for the difference between the two rifles, well they are both Savage, who have a brilliant reputation, but apart from that they are unknown to me. There are plenty of guys here who can guide you in the right direction, but at the end of the day it is your hands that will really decide...see if there is a chance you can "road test" each model.

Cheers, Vince

Thanks for the Welcome Vince! No beer tonight, just some good'ol iced tea.

As for the rifle i picked up, its a full 2 pounds lighter than the one i own so its not to surprising i thought different considering the circumstances. In the beginning Crb was leaning towards the 308 as to save a few ounces compared to a long action rifle. When there's 2 pounds extra the little 2 1/2 ounces are zilch after you add scope and mounts. If this was to punch paper as a past time or still hunt, the heavy barrel rifles he chose would be top notch guns. I'm a firm believer in savage rifles and enjoy the accu-trigger on their new guns. The stevens i mentioned before is the savage action but with their old trigger, after upgrading with an aftermarket trigger it will outperform the accu-trigger. I myself am planning buying an old savage and upgrading the trigger to keep cost's down. These guns are great platforms for building tack drivers, and changing barrels is possible if one was to tire of the caliber or need a heavy barrel later down the road.

Tikker

Welcome to the HuntingNut Tikker sit and stay awhile. Thats good point about then 12FV I had one in .223 it was very accurate but I didn't much like lugging it around.
Joe

Both cal. and rifles are good choices, I like the Savage 7mm. mag, I put a rifle Basix trigger set a 2 1/4 lbs. groups real nice.

you want to talk about heavy...
Oh ya, Welcome

I own rifles in each caliber,I am currently purchasing a savage,however-this is not because of caliber but because of shooting disciplines.I will say IMOHPO that I would go for the 30-06 if you wish to have a gun for everything -even grizzle bars.The 30-06 can be loaded comfortably with 220gr to the 250 gr bullets that are adequate for the big bears.I said adequate-not the end all.I like the .338 or 45-70 if I know I'm trying to take out a small bulldozer.