Long range rifle help

[ascorb]

For long range stuff no. But its also hard to find match grade .308 at Wal Mart and Dick's. Reloading is inevitable with LR and the internets a wonderful place.

I pay a 1.05 for match grade .308's every time I shoot my a round, the thought of money going down range bothers me more than recoil lol

 

[Biggfoot44]

M700 and the Savage have the most aftermarket support . *Some* of them will be capable of close to .5 moa with minor tuning, others will be closer to moa . If your particular rifle is closer to the tighter grouping end, high five yourself. But if you end up replacing with ( premium bbl of your preference) action blueprinting and other action work, etc, that will push you to more $ than a purpose built rifle from the start. But some people enjoy building up a rifle on purpose, so there's that too.

 

[davsco]

check out snipershide.com for lots of discussion on long range topics.

not really the best time of year, but look for and check out some of the long range competitions and see what folks use and like. peacemaker generally has a monthly LR match but normally stops those during the winter.

 

[redsandman6]

ok here is my opinion

in the class i took with Ed Shell. there were (4) Rpr, (2) Rem 700, (1) AR10. The Rprs were in 6.5. The R700s and Ar10 were in .308. all of us got out to 1200 yrds except the AR10. his scope ran out of adjustment.

i believe the shooter behind the rifle is the limiting factor. training is the most important part. i became a better shooter after just 2 days with Ed Shell. i think you could take a cheap hunting rifle to his class with a good scope and shoot extreme distances with his teaching. he is just that good. i would pm or email Ed for his opinion. he has seen more rifles come through his classes and could tell you what would work.

i am almost thinking that buying a ruger american, put a vortex viper pst and harris bipod on it, would be a good option. then you could spend the rest on ammo and training. later you could buy the 1,500 to 2K rifle to match the skills you learned

 

[TrappedinMD]

A agree with redsandman6, you can pickup a Ruger Predator rifle in 6.5 for 450$ and put a SWFA 10X scope on it for 300 plus swfa rings for 50. That setup will get you to 1000 yards, just spend the money on ammo and training.

 

[Bolts Rock]

Is 6.5 Creedmoor hanging around?

Considering I know what started the 6.5mm craze in the US and where it started circa 1992 and they worked for around 20 years to perfect the 6.5 Creedmoor, I'd say yes it is here to stay. So far it has the best balance of performance and barrel life.

On a hot July morning on Quantico's Range 4 some guy drilled a perfect pinwheel X at 1000 then hit the shot spotter spindle the next 9 rounds using a 6.5-06. The next year Mid and Nancy Tompkins, Gary Anderson and few others showed up with 6.5-08s and the race was on.

Barrel life is the biggest issue with hot 6.5mm rounds as that 6.5-06 had to be set back every 1500-1700 rounds due to throat erosion (the throat was long to start with for pressure reasons). After 3 set backs the original 32" barrel was down to 29" and was toast after the third set back. It also took some extreme precision handloading and was on the bleeding edge of safety. 140gr SMKs at 3150fps with 0 ES for the 20 rounds that were chronographed. Every component weighed +/- .1gr, cases and bullets spun for concentricity, necks turned to within +/- .0001" tolerance.

For the OP, either 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 will do for learning, the .308 is cheaper to load and shoot. Both are on the SA platform with the same bolt face so you can always switch later by swapping the barrel. If you don't mind upgrading as your skills progress then I'd go with a Rem 700, either one of their OOB "sniper" rigs or an SPS Varmint ($600-ish during holiday sales) and drop that in a better stock right away. My preference for stocks best to least is Manners, McMillan, H-S Precision, Bell & Carlson. Then add a good trigger. Plan on at least $1000 for glass. By the time you shoot the original barrel out your skills should progress to where it's worth having the action blue printed and a match grade barrel installed. Barrels are consumable items for precision shooters.

Just for giggles, "some guy" with that 6.5-06 the June match the same year at 1000 on Range 4. First match for that rifle.

 

[Speed3]

Considering I know what started the 6.5mm craze in the US and where it started circa 1992 and they worked for around 20 years to perfect the 6.5 Creedmoor, I'd say yes it is here to stay. So far it has the best balance of performance and barrel life.

On a hot July morning on Quantico's Range 4 some guy drilled a perfect pinwheel X at 1000 then hit the shot spotter spindle the next 9 rounds using a 6.5-06. The next year Mid and Nancy Tompkins, Gary Anderson and few others showed up with 6.5-08s and the race was on.

Barrel life is the biggest issue with hot 6.5mm rounds as that 6.5-06 had to be set back every 1500-1700 rounds due to throat erosion (the throat was long to start with for pressure reasons). After 3 set backs the original 32" barrel was down to 29" and was toast after the third set back. It also took some extreme precision handloading and was on the bleeding edge of safety. 140gr SMKs at 3150fps with 0 ES for the 20 rounds that were chronographed. Every component weighed +/- .1gr, cases and bullets spun for concentricity, necks turned to within +/- .0001" tolerance.

For the OP, either 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 will do for learning, the .308 is cheaper to load and shoot. Both are on the SA platform with the same bolt face so you can always switch later by swapping the barrel. If you don't mind upgrading as your skills progress then I'd go with a Rem 700, either one of their OOB "sniper" rigs or an SPS Varmint ($600-ish during holiday sales) and drop that in a better stock right away. My preference for stocks best to least is Manners, McMillan, H-S Precision, Bell & Carlson. Then add a good trigger. Plan on at least $1000 for glass. By the time you shoot the original barrel out your skills should progress to where it's worth having the action blue printed and a match grade barrel installed. Barrels are consumable items for precision shooters.

Just for giggles, "some guy" with that 6.5-06 the June match the same year at 1000 on Range 4. First match for that rifle.

I received a karma from "some guy"...it was a B&C M40 stock that sits on my .308 now. If you ever talk to "some guy", tell him thanks again!

 

[photoracer]

I built a bolt .308 for under $1k, no glass, using a How's 1500 heavy varmint. Added a B&C stock and a Jard match trigger. Build for PNTC LR matches but never get time to shoot it due to other shooting priorities. If I had to do it again I would likely have got it in 7mm-08 instead as it's a better round past a thousand yards although not as good as the 6.5s. Scope ended up being a Bushnell Elite Tactical 6-24x50 on Burris Tactical rings and an EGW 20 MOA offset rail. Entire rifle was under $2k. Which considering my commitment was about all I was prepared to spend for occasional use.

Sent from my XT1064 using Tapatalk

 

[Yoshi]

Whatever you do, dont get a hunting rifle unless you change the barrel. Hunting rifle barrels are meant to be light weight and will start to sag as it heats up. Your POI will change as that happens.

 

[dist1646]

www.USRifleteams.com
Probably the best source of info., they have a long range forum and a national match forum.

 

[ROBAR35]

I've been shooting long range (1000yds +) for over 17yrs. I started out with a Remington PSS .308 with a 24" barrel. It shot well under 1 moa out to 1k yds with Federal 168s. And when you do decide to step up to a more custom rig it will very likely be built around the Remington platform. Good luck and practice practice practice. Accuracy equals consistency and vice versa

 

[ClutchyMcClutcherson]

Thanks for all the advice. You guys are really helping me out. I'll check out the other forums also. It seems like most people recommend a rem 700 or a savage. Is there any opinions of which model of those models to get? In other words which one is the best starting point? Sounds like the caliber is just gonna be a personal decision between 308 or 6.5 or 300 win mag. Thanks again.

 

[BradMacc82]

For a Savage base, the Model 10 is a great starting point, IMO. I started with a Model 10 FP-LE (24" .223Rem), bought used for a respectable price. Shot it as it was for some time, and then rebuilt it into what it is today. 26" .260 Remington - hands down the most consistent and enjoyable bolt-action rifle I currently have.

Original barrel and bolt components are sitting in storage, have the process down to about 25/30 minutes to do the conversion. Hardest part of the process is breaking the barrel nut loose the first time - that seems to be the biggest variation. Some barrel nuts come loose with relative ease, some appear to have been done up by a 800lbs. gorilla.

 

[ClutchyMcClutcherson]

Haha. I really liked the Savage 10's when I looked at them. I actuallu thought the savage had the smoothest action out of all the rifles i picked up. That said, I like that the 700's have so many aftermarket options. Thanks for specific model of the Savage 10 recommendation. They make so many options on each action that it's confusing as hell.

 

[BradMacc82]

If you go the Savage route, try to go after the center-feeds with the 4.40" action spacing. There's a little more options for aftermarket items (stocks, chassis', etc.) for the 4.40" action spacing, compared to the older 4.25" action spacing stagger-feeds.

That, and some of the newer offerings use a smooth barrel nut - which can be a little less than ideal to break loose if you're planning a barrel swap.

Could also consider the Target variants, if internal/external box magazine(s) isn't a huge requirement for you.

 

[Speed3]

www.USRifleteams.com
Probably the best source of info., they have a long range forum and a national match forum.

100% agree on this website, tons of info on there.

Thanks for all the advice. You guys are really helping me out. I'll check out the other forums also. It seems like most people recommend a rem 700 or a savage. Is there any opinions of which model of those models to get? In other words which one is the best starting point? Sounds like the caliber is just gonna be a personal decision between 308 or 6.5 or 300 win mag. Thanks again.

Dont discount the tikka action either. You will want something 24" or longer, the 20" do well they just lack velocity out at those longer ranges.

 

[ClutchyMcClutcherson]

One other question about the savage. What would be the difference if I go with a model 10 fcp-sr (seems like most popular savage for my intentions) and the dicks special of a model 11 VT?

Thanks again all.

 

[EHinson]

This is a video by Military arms channel that is all about starting in long range

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq9DSUHzoLg

 

[EHinson]

Also Military arms channel did the 1000 yards for a thousand dollars video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVDu1EARBc

Both of these should be helpful in getting started
good luck

 

[ClutchyMcClutcherson]

Thank you