Help with new rifle choice.

[SalCP]

Hey guys, thanks in advance for the opinions. I am looking to add a hunting rifle and I am torn between a couple. I was hoping to get some feedback. I hunt whitetail deer and the occasional mule deer. 90% of my shots are under 200 yards with the longe being 300 yards. Most are at 100. I am looking for something under 6lbs with a 20” to 22” barrel. I have several rifles in .308 and I am leaning toward a rifle in that chambering. my budget would be around 3k for the rifle. I would prefer a carbon wrapped barrel but I would be ok with steel. No pencil barrels as I shoot suppressed. I have 3 that have popped up as contenders but there is an issue with all three and was wanting to see what ya’ll thought and possibly get suggestions on one I have overlooked. First, Seekins element. This one seems to get great reviews but my issue is no distributor within 100 miles carries them. I am having a hard time buying a rifle without every seeing it in person beforehand. Also, and this is nit picking I would prefer not to have a detachable magazine. Second one is Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT. My hunting buddy has one and I have shot it and his is great. Problem is their reputation is trash and it seems to be a coin toss on wether or not you get what you paid for. I know his is good and exactly what I was looking for but I don’t want to deal with a lemon. Third, weatherby backcountry guide. I have not held this rifle either but I own 3 Weatherby rifles and they are all excellent. Problem with the weatherby is it is over budget by a bit and I haven’t found one in the wild to touch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Try the Tikka T3 in .270 Winchester. Won’t break the bank and real good gun. Put a good scope on it and you’re gonna do fine.

 

[ElkArcher918]

Sound like you're not planning to shoot pass 200-300 yds at deer size game. I'd buy a Tikka T3X or Browning X-Bolt 2 270 or 6.5 CM and put a solid dependable scope on it. You can always customize down the road with a better stock or trigger. Save $ upfront and spend it on some good out of state tags. You only live once, just saying.

 

[Dustin B.]

Savage 110 ultralight would match your description. I've heard great things about them. Another to look at is the howa 1500s with the carbon wrapped barrel. I'm if you still don't like those then you could buy an basic rifle that's got an action you like (something like a Remington 700 adl) and have a gunsmith install a carbon barrel. Luckily for me I have the tools for rebarreling so it saves me the cost of a gunsmith to do it myself. You should be able to build a good rifle for under 3k if you don't get too fancy with the action. Bell and Carlson makes good looking stocks that are pretty lightweight and better priced than McMillan. Good luck with whatever you do decide to buy!