r/canadaguns • u/General_bacon21 • May 31 '26
Buy recommendations Hunting bolt gun recommendations
Hi everyone, I am looking into getting a 308 bolt action rifle for hunting and some range. I want it to be 20 inches or less and I have narrowed it down to these few:
CVA Cascade SB (Threaded barrel, good price but sort of hard to find)
Tikka T3X Lite Compact (Non threaded barrel, probably the most expensive of all, hard to find and the really expensive mags are a con)
Ruger American Ranch Gen2 (Nice looking rifle, I do have some doubts about a 16 inch barrel and I have heard there might be some issues with the feeding sometimes)
Bergara B14 Ridge SP (Also hard to find and the one I know the least about)
I would like yalls opinion on all of these rifles and if you own them what you guys think of them. Note that I think for this one I would like to buy this gun used and I don't think I would be hunting past 250 meters.
Thank you
2
u/COBernard May 31 '26
Can’t recommend the Tikka enough. I got a 20” 308 in Roughtech but that’s a bit more expensive. Nothing wrong with the compact version. If you plan on keeping it for the long run, so many aftermarket upgrades available for them. And if not, it’ll probably be a reliable shooter right out of the box.
I had checked out the CVA Cascade SB at my local shop when they had them on sale for $849. I think the barrel length was like 18”. Felt a bit heavy and cheap to me, but they are often advertised as the new budget kings.
I like Bergara but I’ve seen so many reports of them being picky shooters that I’d be hesitant.
Keep in mind, I don’t have any real life experience with any of these rifles except the Tikka, for which I can vouch for.