Sniper Rifle for Beginners

danb · Mar 29, 2018

I second (third) those suggesting lighter calibers. I would not go for a 300 win mag, or anything over a 308 at first. Even 30-06 can be harsh for beginners and its also expensive to shoot. If you are new, you do not want to develop flinch. Personally, I'd suggest 223, 308, or another common cheap to shoot caliber. I'd avoid Remington, they just went into bankruptcy and they have suffered recalls on triggers. Cant go wrong with a Savage or Browning. i'd avoid specialty calibers - they are expensive to shoot. You are looking for a good trigger and a free float barrel, if you can find it in your budget.

dlharsh · Mar 29, 2018

For your budget you can get a lot but nice. Something like a Sako 85 in 30.06 from eurooptics for $899 and a Bushnell 6500 in 2.5-16x42 for $700. The Bushnell has a 30% rebate if you buy it in the next 2 days. The Sendero is a great rifle also but pretty heavy to carry hunting.

Squaregrouper · Mar 29, 2018

I am a new fanboy of the caliber 6.5 Creedmoor for precision shooting. The caliber is extremely flat shooting, easy on the shoulder and is more than powerful enough for deer hunting.
I bought an entry level Thompson Center Compass in 6.5CM with a Vortex 3-9x40 for $365. That rifle is far more accurate than I am.
The Savage Axis seems to be the choice of most for a quality rifle on a budget. Listen to the people who mentioned don't skimp on the optics.

BUFF7MM · Mar 29, 2018

dlharsh said:
For your budget you can get a lot but nice. Something like a Sako 85 in 30.06 from eurooptics for $899 and a Bushnell 6500 in 2.5-16x42 for $700. The Bushnell has a 30% rebate if you buy it in the next 2 days. The Sendero is a great rifle also but pretty heavy to carry hunting.

Do you have a link for the rebate details, I just looked at their website and saw no mention of a rebate. I’m interested in one of these higher end scopes.

Uncle Duke · Mar 29, 2018

Buff7mm said:
Do you have a link for the rebate details, I just looked at their website and saw no mention of a rebate. I’m interested in one of these higher end scopes.

https://www.natchezss.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf/reb/getbehind.pdf

Good only thru tomorrow, March 30th.

BUFF7MM · Mar 29, 2018

Uncle Duke said:
https://www.natchezss.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf/reb/getbehind.pdf

Good only thru tomorrow, March 30th.

Thank you kind sir. :thumbsup:

BradMacc82 · Mar 29, 2018

I won't tell you what to buy, but I'll make a suggestion -

When I got the bug, found myself a used Savage 10 FP-LE 24" .223, and I shot that until the throat was roached. Swapped some parts around, and converted it into a 26" .260Rem (which is a round very similar in performance to 6.5CM). Rifle was under $600, barrel and misc. parts to convert to .260 was under $400 - bonus, I did all the work at home, no trip to a gun/riflesmith. I pissed away more than a grand finding a stock/chassis that I really liked. Optics, I've got about $750 or so in that between glass, rings, and 20-moa base. Discounting my pissing away a grand on stocks/chassis', within your budget. Bang for buck, it's hard to beat a Savage. Remington has more aftermarket support though.

What's really going to get costly, is devoting the range time and ammo expenditure to learn the rifle and build your skills. If you're smart, you'll seek out instruction - as it's much easier to learn good fundamentals, before you teach yourself bad habits, that then have to be untaught by a professional.

iH8DemLibz · Mar 29, 2018

CrazySanMan said:
I'm still confused about why the OP referred to a "sniper rifle" instead of a "deer hunting rifle" or a "varmint hunting rifle".

Enter HB1302.

If yer askeert, file a report in good faith an yer GTG.

Society can never be too safe.

danb · Mar 29, 2018

#27 ^^^^^

Good advice.

outrider58 · Mar 29, 2018

DC-W said:
What is a sniper rifle?

This belongs in the #2 spot. :thumbsup:

gwchem · Mar 29, 2018

No one has told him he'll need to start reloading as well?

davsco · Mar 29, 2018

what are you thinking about hunting? for deer, something like 6.5 creedmoor, 308, 270win, 30-06 are real popular calibers. in the roughly $1k price range, tikka t3 and t3x have pretty good reputations.

since you mentioned "sniper," if you want more of a 'tactical' rifle (which frankly just means more adjustable for the most part, generally with larger, detachable mags), again tikka has their t3x tac a1, and then something sort of in the middle, their t3x ctr (compact tactical rifle).

then you have to decide if you want more of a hunting scope (basic crosshairs) or more of a tactical scope (more of a grid to make it easier to hold over and adjust for wind, plus the ability to easily dial your turrets for elevation and windage change). nikon monarch gold is a good hunting line including 2-7, 3-9, 4-12 and the like), and they're coming out with a tactical scope (can also be used for hunting of course) black fx1000 4-16, around $750. and free advice, don't cheap out on the scope, hard to hit what you cannot see. generally the scopes that come with a rifle in some sort of combo ain't all that great.

what i'd recommend, on a weekend when busier, hit a few rifle ranges and just see what folks are shooting and see if anything fits your fancy. most folks should let you hold their rifles and a few may even let you shoot a round or two. also hit cabelas or bass pro again to see what hits you.

BUFF7MM · Mar 29, 2018

gwchem said:
No one has told him he'll need to start reloading as well?

Baby steps, gotta get him hooked deep first.

dlharsh · Mar 29, 2018

Thanks for posting the link.Places like B&H have good prices for the bushnell 6500. The 6500 is a 30mm scope. The rebate apply to others also like the 1 inch tube 4500s also.

dlharsh · Mar 29, 2018

Fyi. The 6500s have more eye relief that is good for bigger calibers.

303_enfield · Mar 29, 2018

Snipers? CMP still has some M1D's. You can find repro Russians for $700 (Lankfords in Blades DE), real are $1,500+, repro German are 3K, Enfield T's are 2.5K+, 1903A4 repro 1k or so a real one under 3K.

Get a book first before you jump into snipers.

303_enfield · Mar 29, 2018

Snipers? CMP still has some M1D's. You can find repro Russians for $700 (Lankfords in Blades DE), real are $1,500+, repro German are 3K, Enfield T's are 2.5K+, 1903A4 repro 1k or so a real one under 3K.

Get a book first before you jump into snipers.

CombatAK · Mar 29, 2018

Buff7mm said:
Baby steps, gotta get him hooked deep first.

I don't know anyone like that!!! :innocent0

BUFF7MM · Mar 29, 2018

CombatAK said:
I don't know anyone like that!!!

I’ve been known to set the hook. :lol2:

OLM-Medic · Mar 29, 2018

You don't need all of that expensive stuff.

Just get a ruger American or something and a nice fixed power scope.

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