Best .308 Bolt Gun

[MW740]

I would like some opinions on the best .308 bolt guns that are out there. I am now looking at either Savage or Remington. This rifle would be used for range shooting and maybe whitetail. Also, could someone explain to me the difference between a long action and a short action.

[Ewok_Guy]

Winchester and Ruger also make some real nice .308 bolts. I don't think theres a single 'best'.
Long actions chamber big, long cartridges like 300 win mag, 7mm rem mag 30-06, etc.. short actions are more like .223 and 308.

[AK103K]

I've had Remington, Ruger, and Savage bolt guns, all .308's. The Ruger was probably the prettiest, and also had the worst trigger and accuracy. My Remington Varmint in .308 was a 0.50" gun out of the box at 100 yards, and I had some better groups than that with the right ammo. I had an old Savage sillouete rifle that was pretty close to the Remington. I now have a Savage Scout that is a great little rifle, not as tight shooting as the heavy barrel guns, but shoots under an inch. It would probably be your best bet for whitetails, as its unbelievably fast to shoulder and sight. As for short and long actions, that is the size of the receiver for the round it loads, a .308, .243, .223 are short actions, .30-06, .270, etc are long actions.