Ban-Compliant Defensive Rifles in the 2020s

[okie john]

In the opening years of this century, Remington made the 700 ADL Youth Model in 308, 243, and 7mm-08. This one is a 308. It's 39" overall with a 20" barrel, just a shade over 7 pounds, iron sights, parkerized finish, and a synthetic stock. It's supposed to have a 12" LOP but someone added a more recent recoil pad so it's 13", which is perfect for me.

Attachment 103957

It's close-ish to the idea of the Scout, but with a conventional scope.

Only one range trip thus far but several sub-MOA groups with cheap factory ammo and an older 4x Leupold scope. Velocities seem to be 2,650-2,700 with 150-grain loads and 2,500-ish with a couple of 180s that have traditionally run on the slow side in my rifles. I got some Fiocchi ammo for it yesterday and a shipment is inbound from Barnes. Both of those brands tend to run fast.

It will ride with me as I scout for bears in the next few weeks, and I'll definitely hunt with it.

Remington currently makes a 20" Youth Model (no sights) in 243, and I expect they'll add chamberings as time goes on. That would be another excellent choice.

This thing has turned out to be accurate, even in a cheap OEM stock with a 4x hunting scope. This is probably due to the barrel, a Remington sporter contour at 20” in length. Like a lot of sporter-weight barrels, it starts to behave like a bull barrel when you cut it short. At some point I’ll get it into a better stock, mount a stronger scope, and test accuracy handloads but for now it’s more accurate than I am.

Loads in this rifle average 57 fps slower than in my 22” Model 700. Some run faster than advertised, others run slower. On the slow end are Federal’s blue-box 180-grain softpoint at 2,464 fps and Remington’s 180-grain Pointed Soft Point CorLokt at 2,475 fps. The high end is the Barnes 130 TTSX at just over 3,000 fps—neck and neck with 130-grain factory 270 Winchester loads. Factory 150s go from 2,653 fps to 2,784 fps. Factory 180s average right at 2,500, about like some factory 30-06/180 loads in carbine-length barrels.

After zeroing, I tested loads without changing the scope to compare POI. Many 308s put different bullet weights close together. In this rifle, those loads include:
• Barnes Vortex 130 TTSX, Federal 150 TTSX, and Fiocchi 150 SST
• Fiocchi 180 SST and blue-box Federal 150 softpoint
• Remington 150 CoreLokt, Federal 180 Fusion, Norma 150 Whitetail, and Federal lead-free 150
• Federal blue-box 180 and Remington’s 180 PSPCL

That matters because most 308 loads have all but identical trajectories to about 350 yards IF you zero for the same maximum ordinate. The trick is to find loads whose terminal ballistics differ enough to make it worthwhile and that have the same 100-yard POI.

Loads in the second group fit those criteria in this rifle. Zeroed 2.5” high at 100 yards, they stay within an inch or so of each other to 350 yards. The 150 is a cheap and a good choice for a deer and hogs. It would likely drop an elk if properly placed. The 180 is better if you specialize in bigger animals or if the wind picks up. The loads in the bottom three groups are close enough that you could probably use them with the same zero to about 200 yards.

So why bother with all of this?

Airlines.

Those bastards will lose your ammo bag when you least expect it. But you can find good 308 ammo in a big-box store 30 minutes before closing time on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the slack-jawed teenager behind the counter.

Just know your zeros and you’ll be OK with almost anything.


Okie John

[HeavyDuty]

https://www.steyr-arms.com/us/steyr-scout

I will be getting one of these somewhat soonish, I've been looking at the ones in the Gunsite proshop during lunch the past two weeks and the green one in the rack keeps calling out to me...

Attachment 103698

I used to drool over these when they were new, but we were so poor at the time getting one was unthinkable. I haven’t seen one in years.

What are you thinking for an optic?

@rcbusmc24 , did you end up getting one?

[HeavyDuty]

I mentioned elsewhere that I happened into a Ruger Ranch in 5.56 that I couldn’t resist - I have a MagPul Hunter stock coming for it, and will either move the Nikon 1-4x over to it from the 5.56 Stevens 200 or put my spare PA 3x prism on it. I need a KeyMo FH, too.

If Palmetto ever rereleases the Nodak Spud iron sights for the Ranch I’ll reassess. This will be my new entry in the legal distopia rifle genre.

The STANAG magazine MagPul Hunter stock finally showed up yesterday. I much, much prefer the wrist of the MagPul stock to a traditional stock, but it’s a porky thing - 28 ounces heavier than the original Ruger rubber stock. Not a rifle I’d want to carry all day long going up and down hills, but at this point of life I’m not going to be doing that anyway - this is a beater, not a hunting rifle. I need to get a KeyMo muzzle device on it.

And I was a bad boy. I liked the unfired Ranch enough that a few weeks ago I jumped on a decent deal for a Ruger Predator in .308, with the same stock in AICS guise showing up today.

I won’t get a chance to shoot either of these for a few months until after surgery recovery, but now I can go ahead and sell off the unfired .308 Stevens 200 I found while moving (I forgot I had it) and the unfired .308 Savage Hog Hunter. The 5.56 200 sold already.

[BobM]

The STANAG magazine MagPul Hunter stock finally showed up yesterday. I much, much prefer the wrist of the MagPul stock to a traditional stock, but it’s a porky thing - 28 ounces heavier than the original Ruger rubber stock. Not a rifle I’d want to carry all day long going up and down hills, but at this point of life I’m not going to be doing that anyway - this is a beater, not a hunting rifle. I need to get a KeyMo muzzle device on it.

And I was a bad boy. I liked the unfired Ranch enough that a few weeks ago I jumped on a decent deal for a Ruger Predator in .308, with the same stock in AICS guise showing up today.

I won’t get a chance to shoot either of these for a few months until after surgery recovery, but now I can go ahead and sell off the unfired .308 Stevens 200 I found while moving (I forgot I had it) and the unfired .308 Savage Hog Hunter. The 5.56 200 sold already.

Funny, I have an unfired 223 Predator in the safe. I did finally scope it a few weeks ago but got a good deal on the Magpul stock from Brownells. I also picked up a 308 Predator last year and finally scoped it also. I liked the Magpul stock so much I ordered another for the 308 (Brownells is having a 15% off sale this weekend, and I remembered to use the PF link this time).
I hope to get the stocks installed next week and get them to the range.