r/canadaguns • u/WinterOrb69 • May 11 '26

Buy recommendations Need help choosing 308

I'm on the market for a new 308 win.

If you had to chose 1, which one would you choose and why?

Straight pull:

MRA Maverick

Savage Impulse

Beretta BRX1

Semi-auto:

Benelli R1

Browning bar

Bolt:

Ruger American gen2

Tikka T3X

Pumps: I haven't looking into those yet. Not really a fan.

11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

View all comments

14

u/GodsGiftToWrenching May 11 '26

Tikka T3X is pretty solid. do not get the ruger american, they are cheaply made and feel like it. And alternative to the ruger for a similar or better price point (depending on cknfiguration) is the Bergara B-14 series. I've been using a B-14 ridge with the shorter 18" barrel, thing feels great and is a pretty decent weight. Definitely feel miles above my ruger american ranch gen 2 which I kinda dislike ahooting

3

u/WinterOrb69 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

Regarding the ruger, noted.

3

u/gspotcowboy May 11 '26

The American line is fine at what they used to sell for. But I agree with the other poster, once they hit the $1000 mark there are much better options for not much more money.

FWIW I have a gen 1 ranch in 556 and I have zero complaints but I paid 600 plus tax for it like 5 years ago

1

u/Traditional_Bus2955 May 11 '26

Would have to disagree. I have a Ruger American Ranch Gen 2 and it actually feels really good. Have put around 400 rounds through it no complaints so far.

2

u/GodsGiftToWrenching May 11 '26

Genuinley curious, how many other bolt actions have you ran before? Because between all my milsurp rifles including a Mosin, and all of my modern bolt actions, the ruger is by far the cheapest feeling and poorest finishing quality amoung them all. The sharp edges and visibly rushed machining are to be desired, it's also the only bolt action in my collection that I consciously have to thing about how I'm running the bolt or else it binds up if I'm running it fast

1

u/Traditional_Bus2955 May 11 '26

I have a pretty extensive collection of bolt actions with milsurp and modern rifles. Maybe you just got a dud or need to work your bolt in more🤷‍♂️. If the issue is the stock maybe great aftermarket options exist (sharps bros etc.)

2

u/GodsGiftToWrenching May 11 '26

No see that's exactly the issue, if you're paying almost 1,000 dollars for a bolt action rifle you shouldn't have to work anything in. My savage rimfires didnt have to be worked in, my savage 10T-SR didn't have to be worked in, nor did my R700 or bergara lol. The binding it due to whack tolerances and the amount of slop at rear of travel where if mild outward pressure is applied to the bolt it becomes cockeyed in the reciever and will not move. (polished bolt surfaced was attempted to mediate this but it did not work) which is a problem I've seen on a couple at the range too lol. Another issue the gen 2 ranch has is feeding, a couple other guys at my range kept getting feeding issues with P mags whereas mine hates cross mags, but every .223 I've owned hates cross mags so I'm giving it the benifit of the doubt. The ruger american ranch just isn't a good rifle for the price, if it was still 650 bucks I wouldn't be so critical but like... an axis 2 has a better bolt