Introduced by Winchester as a new sporting cartridge in 1952, the 308 Winchester is nothing more than the NATO 7.62x51mm military round. According to Cartridges of the World 17th Edition, “This was a very smart move, to tack the Winchester name onto what was sure to become a popular sporting number. Practically every manufacturer of high-powered sporting rifles chambers the 308, since it will work through medium- or standard-length actions. The Model 70 bolt-action and 88 lever-action Winchesters were the first American sporting rifles so chambered. It was adopted as the official U.S. military rifle cartridge in 1954, although guns for it were not ready until 1957.”
Gun Tests has evaluated many rifles chambered in 308 Winchester over the last few years, and we’ve often NOT liked some market favorites because we’re able to shoot several side by side, which shows the deficiencies and strengths of each firearm.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled our Top Ten 308 Winchester Bolt Action Rifles list below. We haven’t tested every rifle on the market, of course, so we’ll be interested to see which one is your favorite in the comments below. As always, prices reflect what we paid for the gun at the time of the test. Expect the prices of new or used guns to be different. — Todd Woodard
TOP TEN 308 WINCHESTER BOLT-ACTION RIFLES
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+
Good build. It did shoot sub-MOA with one round. We loved the handle and AccuTrigger.
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+ [OUR PICK]
We took off part of a grade for an adjustable trigger that didn’t adjust much. Once we were finished being very picky, we thought the Colt CBX shot very well and had some nice features.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A-
Best Buy. It works well, is accurate enough for hunting, and it is affordable.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A-
Most accurate rifle tested. Modest recoil. The rifle never failed to impress us.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A-
Weatherby tried to use the best elements from the very popular Remington 700 design and correct its shortcomings. We think they did a great job on this new rifle line. Overall Length, 41.5 in. Barrel, 22 in. long, 1:10 in. twist. Weight Loaded, 7.66 lbs. Magazine Capacity, 5 AICS-compatible Detachable Box. Stock, Polymer. Trigger Pull Weight, 2.34 lbs.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A
A nice piece of wood, a good trigger and a compact 20-inch barrel on a rifle that could really shoot.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A-
With a very functional polymer stock, the smoothest bolt in the group of test rifles, and the best out-of-the-box trigger, we really liked this rifle.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A
Light enough, accurate enough, and inexpensive enough for us to want to keep it.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A
Best Buy. The Remington 783 was the most accurate rifle tested this month. There were no demerits.
GUN TESTS GRADE: A
Smooth handling, very good accuracy and classical styling.
Note: Older firearms in this listicle may still be available as NIB products or as used guns.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Taurus Expedition 3-EXP308181 308 Win., $765 (January 2025)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B
We really liked the stock on the new Taurus Expedition and how well it was designed to mate up easily with the bipods and tripods. The trigger was great, though we couldn’t get the rifle to group under 1 inch, so we subtracted from the grade.
Ruger American Rifle Gen 2 46902 308 win., $620 (Aug 2024)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B
This new generation Ruger American sports an upgrade to its aesthetics, and accuracy was great, as we expected. There was an issue with the magazine that cost this new rifle a letter grade.
Ruger Hawkeye Compact 37139 308 Win., $691 (April 2020)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+
This rifle has a short length of pull and a 16.5-inch barrel, this could be a great truck gun or an outstanding rifle for a smaller shooter.
Ruger Scout Rifle 6830 7.62mm NATO (308 Win.), $1139 (July 2019)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+
The Ruger Scout comes closest to the original Scout rifle concept, but it falls short due to weight. We still feel this a great rifle, and it offered excellent accuracy.
Mossberg MVP Scout Combo 7.62 NATO, $780 (July 2019)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B
Not a true interpretation of the Scout Rifle concept. Accurate, well-handling short rifle at a good price.
Mossberg Trophy Hunter 308 Win., $240 (Dec. 2018)
GUN TESTS GRADE: C
Overall, the rifle was worth the modest price, but there are better choices.
Remington Model 700 SPS 84218 308 Win., $606 (Oct. 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+
Hard to find a production rifle that is capable of greater practical accuracy.
Remington M700 SPS 85538 308 Win., $600 (Oct. 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B+
This short rifle isn’t the most accurate, but the overall handling is superb.
Savage Axis 19223 308 Win, $240 (Oct. 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: C
Accuracy wasn’t the best. The rifle was dogged by a heavy trigger that we fixed.
Remington 700 SPS 85538 308 Win. $655 (March 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: A-
There are few rifles that are as handy as this one.
Savage Axis XP 19231 308 Win., $390 (March 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: B
Accuracy was acceptable with the provided riflescope.
Mossberg 100 All-Terrain Rifle 27230 308 Win., $200 (March 2017)
GUN TESTS GRADE: C
The rifle did not misfeed. We liked the cheek rest. The primary problem was accuracy.
Hi Todd – long time subscriber. I’ve been a big Ruger fan since the 70’s, being a former FFL and sold and owned quite a few. I recently purchased the stainless steel .308 Scout with the 18.7″ barrel and had problems with it right out of the box. The bolt would not cycle smoothly no matter how much lube I slathered on it. I’ve owned quite a few M77’s over the decades but never seen one this bad. Even my dealers’ gunsmith said he’d never seen anything like it.
They sent it back. After a lengthy, time it was returned -same problem. The dealer sent it back again. Another lengthy wait. This time it was a little bit better, but still horrible. Ruger also let the dealer know there was nothing else they would do. I have a safe full of various Ruger, long and short, some quite rare and collectable, but I’ll never add another one!
It has been my experience too. As of the last 5 years, Ruger has disappointed me, In the old days, I would highly recommend Ruger semi-automatic rifles. Now the only way to get a Ruger semi-automatic rifle to be reliable is to only use factory Ruger Brand magazines. Of the three brands I have used that are not Ruger brand, the rifles will fire the first cartridge and not pick up the next cartridge as the slide travels forward. I tried 10 magazines. Then I inserted two different Ruger brand magazines and all 10 shots from both magazines fired reliably. Now either this is a marketing strategy by Ruger not sharing
engineering data or there is something else wrong. But I used three different USA made Magazines and they all fail the same way. Ruger Magazines are also twice the price of comparable Ruger magazines by alternate USA makers.