re: Best Bolt Action .308 under $1000

This from Wiki (emphasis added):

In October 2007, FN Herstal announced that it would produce Controlled Round Feed Winchester Model 70 rifles at its facility in Columbia, South Carolina, where it currently manufactures the M240, M249, and M16 for the United States military, as well as its SPR and PBR lines, which are, in fact, variants of the modern Model 70 Controlled Round Feed rifles.


I was shooting a friend's Rem 700 last winter, and I was less than impressed. The action was a little finicky, and the rifle just had a cheap feel. I've handled (but not shot) some new model 70s at BP and Cabelas, and they just had a much more solid/quality feel.

Also I prefer the controlled round feed in the Win over the push feed of the Rem. And don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Remington, I love my 25 year old 870. Though it appears that Rem qa/qc might have been slipping recently.

I've been looking to pick up a model 70 featherweight compact in .308. It's got a 20" bbl, 39.5" o/a, 13" lop, and weighs in at 6.5 lbs. I'm thinking I'd put either a Leupold VX-3 1.75-6x32 or 2.5-8x36 on it. I'm looking at making up a sort of lightweight 'mountain rifle'.