Poll: What would be your only rifle?

[winsum45]

Model 700, 26" HEavy Barrel, .308

[glazer1972]

700 ADL SS in .308 in MCM Edge Mtn Rifle Stock.

[Skiprr]

Can't stay within the $1,000 limit, but then again, if I'm allowed only one rifle, I can't apologize for going pricier.

Like most, I chose .308, or 7.62×51. Are there better for-purpose cartridges available? You bet. But the .308 is, worldwide, probably the most popular short-action big-game and defensive caliber. And popularity--and availability--is a significant weighting factor in selection.

You don't want to shoot a squirrel with it, and a thousand-yard big-time hit would be better with a .338 Lapua or .50 BMG. But for most in-between purposes, it's hard to beat the .308. Me, I'm not a long-range shooter. Freely admit that. All of my rifles are CQB setup, not for 500-yard surgical shots.

If I could keep only one rifle from my safe, it would be my .308 POF. Also, thanks to the gas piston system, it's the softest shooting .308 I've ever fired.

[jb2012]

I voted .308, but I actually change my mind after reading through the thread. I would take an m1 in .30-06. Pretty available ammunition, packs a punch, semi auto, and reliable.

[Crash]

I have a Howa .308 Win with the 20" barrel and the short Hogue overmolded stock. It will shoot 3/4" 3-shot grooups from 100 yards and has never failed to drop a deer with one-shot. My neighbor, who is ex-Army Special Forces, had the same rifle and dropped an elk with one shot from 550 yards with it. Don't think I need anything else.

Crash

[Dave2]

.308 and I got my DPMS LR308 used for IIRC $900, so I even came in under budget. Do I win a cookie?

[texasmusic]

US Rifle
Cal. 30 M1

[JALLEN]

I've not shot an M1 Garand, unless that was what we shot at OCS a long, long time ago, but I did have one shot next to me at an indoor range in San Diego. I must have jumped a foot, and the muzzle flash almost set my mustache on fire. It was the loudest sound I recall hearing since I spent a week in a 5" gun turret as "safety officer."

The last rifle I get rid of, of the several I have now, will be my Winchester 94 Trapper in .357/.38. I got it when EBRs were illegal in CA, and it pairs wonderfully with my GP100. I thought those would be ideal for "get out of Dodge" scenarios, when I could still get out of Dodge. It is slow to reload, only holds 8-10 rounds, and good at shorter ranges, but it is very light, short, easy to maintain, and uses the same ammo as the pistol. I'm told it will drop anything one is likely to encounter in North America.

[SA_Steve]

woops sorry I did not read closely
anyway sticking with my 30 06 choice

[The Annoyed Man]

I think that these kinds of polls are almost impossible to answer definitively for me. I own 8 rifles in 5 calibers: .308 Winchester, 5.56 NATO, .30 Carbine, 7.62x54R, and .22 LR. Two of the three .308s are bolt guns, but they are very different from one another. The third is a carbine length semi auto battle rifle. Two of the three 5.56x45 rifles are carbines, but they are entirely different one from the other in barrel contour, weight, rifling, metal type, furniture, etc.; and the third is a designated marksman rifle. There is a WW2 vintage M1 carbine. There's a Mosin; and a semi auto .22.

It's not a huge collection, but each one of them is a good choice for an "only rifle" in its own right if your question is scenario-based......as in, "what would be your only rifle if [insert apocalyptic scenario here] happened?" Each has strengths and weaknesses, So I can't really answer the question that way.

And if your question is simply more along the lines of "what is your favorite rifle?"...... I can't answer that either, because I like ALL of them, some more than others, but I like all of them. I can tell you which ones I like less and could part with without shedding too many tears - and those would be the Mosin and the 15-22. But while I might maybe eventually replace the Mosin with some other interesting older mil-surp rifle if I parted ways with it, I would replace the 15-22 immediately with another semi auto .22 of some kind. Of the two, I consider having a reliable .22 LR semi auto to be more important than having an aging mil-surp rifle.

When I answered this back on January 10th, I said:

Any commonly made bolt rifle - i.e. Remington 700, Savage 110, Winchester 70, etc. - for which parts are easy enough to find, chambered in either .30.06 or .308.

For me, the only caveat is that it must be left-handed. I refuse to buy anymore right-handed bolt rifles.

Later that month on the 22nd, I said it was an impossible poll. Then on Feb 1st I said:

I have since then acquired a SCAR 17S which I can't seem to stop bragging about. LOL. Anyway, it shoots the same caliber as my R700, and I have recently shot 10 rounds into well under 1" at 100 yards with it, a 10 round group size that my 700 was only able to consistently beat using handloads.

AND.... while neither rifle is particularly good for SD inside the home, the 16" barreled semiautomatic SCAR is better than my 26" barreled bolt action 700 in that regard. It comes as close to a do-it-all rifle as I can think of.

Today, as I've been writing all of the above, I thought, "just one? Then make it my Remington bolt gun or my new AR". But that's dumb. Because tomorrow I might say that it is my Gunsite Scout, or a .22.

See? You can't really answer the question permanently....... at least I can't.

[bnc]

I would go with a 20" AR in 5.56. I have no plans to hunt big game, so the extra power of a .308 (or similar) doesn't do much for me other than cost and weigh more. And with an AR you get all the benefits of parts interchangeability/common platform.

[Liberty]

Col. Cooper once described what he thought of as an ideal if you only had one gun only. would be bolt action, lighweight, 30 cal, Scout type rifle.

I've been rather intrigued with the concept, Ruger has the Gunsite Scout but, I think I would prefer semi-auto. Maybe a M1A /Scout Squad.

[Middle Age Russ]

I am with TAM regarding how hard it is to choose. For me each rifle a person owns should have a purpose. For "only one centerfire rifle" -- one that can be relied on in adverse conditions for multiple purposes -- I have a hard time refuting Col. Cooper's idea for a Scout rifle -- short bolt action (no cartridges of 30-06 length), common cartridge, short, relatively light and handy with a forward mounted scope. The .308 is arguably the most common cartridge that fits this definition, but I'd personally be equally happy with .243 or perhaps even 7mm-08.

That said, if available funds and prices ever come together on a Savage 99 in .308 or .243, I'd be hard-pressed not to acquire it.

[The Annoyed Man]

Col. Cooper once described what he thought of as an ideal if you only had one gun only. would be bolt action, lighweight, 30 cal, Scout type rifle.

I've been rather intrigued with the concept, Ruger has the Gunsite Scout but, I think I would prefer semi-auto. Maybe a M1A /Scout Squad.

I currently own a Ruger scout rifle, and I have owned a full length M1A. I think that an M1A reduced to "scout" length is probably a better defense weapon than the Ruger scout rifle, but it isn't a better all around rifle, and the M1A platform generally has some issues.......mainly around whether or not some of the critical parts are MIM instead of forged (see this thread: viewtopic.php?p=351522#p351522). Those are problems you'll NEVER have with a bolt action rifle.

But if you really wanted a semi auto .308 rifle, honestly, if you can afford it, the SCAR 17 is a better rifle......and you can forward mount a scout scope on it if that's your preference. It is significantly more accurate right out of the box than the M1A Scout Squad. It is softer recoiling than the M1A Scout Squad despite weighing nearly a full pound less. It is 38.5” long (stock extended to full length) to the M1A Scout Squad's 40.33", thanks in part to a 16" barrel compared to the M1A Scout Squad's 18" barrel. But with the stock folded, the SCAR only requires 28.5” to store (and it can be fired and will cycle with the stock folded if necessary). It has polygonal rifling (higher velocities and better accuracy) compared to the M1A Scout Squad's conventional rifling. It is simpler and faster to fieldstrip and clean than the M1A Scout Squad, and thanks to the polygonal rifling, the barrel is very easy to clean. It comes with excellent iron sights. It has a full length top rail and side and bottom rail mounting points. And, it has a folding stock that is adjustable for for length of pull AND cheek rise. Also, the M1A magazine insertion drill has always seemed clumsy to me, having to rock it in just right to engage the latch; compared to which the SCAR magazine slaps right in just like an AR's. And, if you don't want to be stuck using the FN proprietary magazines for it, you can convert the lower receiver (the upper is the serial number part) to an aftermarket one from Handl and be able to use any PMAG/SR25 pattern AR10 magazine made. The SCAR is fully ambidextrous, the M1A Scout Squad is not. The SCAR's charging handle can be swapped to the other side if you prefer, the M1A Scout Squad's cannot.

I really enjoyed my M1A, and I'm still kicking myself for having traded it away for something else I thought I wanted, but honestly, if I had to choose today between keeping either the M1A or the SCAR, the SCAR would be the hands-down winner. Yes, it is a lot more expensive, but it is a LOT more rifle.

I don't know that the Ruger Gunsite Scout is the best bolt action scout rifle you can buy.....it probably isn't (Cooper really liked the Steyr version himself)..... but it is a very good all purpose rifle. Two things I am going to change on mine if you're still considering one:

1. I'm going to purchase an XS Sight Systems extended rail with peep sight for mine which will bring the rail all the way back to bridge the action, and I am going to replace the forward mounted Leopold 1.5-5x scout scope I have on it now with a rear mounted Vortex Viper PST 2-10x44mm scope. As I've gotten older and my eyes have deteriorated, the scout scope just doesn't work for me anymore.
2. The RGS is a beast for noise. Seriously LOUD. If you get one, people on either side of you at the range are going to complain about it to you. So I going to replace the "birdcage" flashhider with a .308 cal AAC 51T flash hider/suppressor mount so that it will accept my AAC 762-SDN-6 suppressor.

Otherwise, the RGS is as good a choice for an all around general purpose bolt rifle as I can think of.

[Liberty]

Hi Tam, Long time no type.
I never cared to much for the black plastic sports rifles. I never cared for the AR15s and their styling, and I prefer the more traditional stocks, also have this thing for the original M14. I also prefer shooting iron sights, Although the idea of of setting up a long relief low power scope does have an attraction to me. The scout style rifles do allow for shooting iron sights while the scope is attached.

There is no such thing is the best rifle for all things. The Scout style though seems to fit my needs and wants pretty well (at a reasonable price too) Some that looks good, traditional, Will be fun at the range, and if I ever get an opportunity will be able to take out a few hogs.

I read the thread about the hammer on your M1A breaking. I hope that I have better luck, The M1A does have a reputation for being reliable. I hope that your experience is unusual and rare. MIM can result in reliable products, at least Ruger has built a reputation using these parts. Although its no secret that done poorly these parts may not be so wonderful.

At the moment I'm holding tight to the purse, and expect to pick up a rifle in the spring or next summer. I'm leaning towards the M1A but I also want the Ruger GSM Scout. I'll probably eventually get both.