buying new long range rifle

[longrangegunner52]

I am only 18 and have just got interested in long range hunting and am going to buy a rig but; i am low on money(under 1,000) and would like any information on a good rig for that price and any other tips or information about long range hunting that one might could give (cailber, scope, mounts, stock, trigger).

thanks alot austin

 

[huntin1]

You may be able to find a used rig in your price range, watch the for sale topic on this and places like snipershide.com and gunbroker.com, as always buyer beware. If you want new I would recommend a Savage 10FP .308 with the accutrigger, you can sometimes find these new for around $500 sometimes less. Once you get the rifle then you will know what you can spend on a scope and rings. Get the best you can afford. Farrell is a good base and can be had for about $45 at sharp shooters supply. Rings, Burris Sig. Zee rings are good, I like the Tactical Precision TSR-W rings but they cost a little more than the Burris. A Leupold 3x9x40 Tactical would be a good scope for around $350-$400. I would also check into Sightron, they have a 3x12x42AO Mildot, or 4x16x42AO Mildot these will range from $300 to $450, you just have to shop around to get the best price. Check midwayusa.com too. Don't be afraid to ask, there are many guys on this and other forums with a lot more knowledge than me, and it has been my experience that they will help you whenever they can. Good Luck!

huntin1

 

[jon12]

I just got a Winchester Model 70 Coyote in .270 WSM and its a good all around long range hunting rig. Shoots really accurately especially for a pretty much factory rifle, and was reasonably priced. Its built on the Winchester model 70 CRPF action(matte blued), has a heavy stainless 24" barrel, and a laminated stock with wide fore-end(great for sandbags, bipod, shooting out of a deer blind). It may be alittle higher than something like a Savage, but its alittle less than a Win Stealth or Rem Sendero and(although they have some strong supporters) I would never put savage up against a Win model 70 or Rem 700 for quality. You can get a coyote in any of the WSM calibers and I think the WSSM calibers as well as some standard short actions like 22-250 and .308.

It will have a really heavy trigger out of the boxso take it to a gunsmith (you could actualy do this yourself) and have him clean up the trigger and take it down to 2-2.5 lbs. for probably less than 50 bucks. Also have him check that the barrel is floating and if it touches anywhere(mine did alittle bit directly below the barrel about halfway from the front of the reciever to the tip of the stock), go ahead and have him fully float the barrel and reseal the stock where he removed wood. This should also be very cheap of you could do it yourself. I think i actually spent 50 total for the trigger and floating work at a local gunsmith. Then you will have a good shooting rig. I just used a standard 2 piece leupold base with leupold rings(i think around 40 bucks for both). I dont know why people are all about thier hardcore ultra heavy duty scope mounting hardware with the rail and the huge rings, its expensive, ads alot of weight, and unless you beat the crap out of your rifle or are looking for any edge you can get for competition, i think youll be fine with the regular leupold mounts. Ive always used them and dont believe theyve ever moved on me.

That should leave you a couple hundred bucks under your 1000 dollar cap for the scope. If you have enough left over, get a 3.5-10x40 Leupold vari-X III. The Vari-X III is a good scope and i dont know that you can get better without dishing out a bunch of money for the european optics. If you dont wanna spend that much, a 3-9x40 or 4-12x40 vari-X II should be fine(i think you can get the 3-9 for just a couple hundred).

That will get you started and I think will get you in the best possible setup for the money. It should do all you want it to. After you get more money saved up you can get some dies and reloading stuff to start handloading your own ammo which will be cheaper and higher quality. Then get other accessories like Harris Bipod(a definate must) and you can upgrade stuff on the rifle as wanted when you can afford it(full pillar bedding job, lap lugsinto full contact, muzzle brake, whatever).

Hope this helps.

 

[longrangegunner52]

thanks for the advace i also have another question i already have a rem. 700 adl .308 22 in. barrel synthetic stock is there any thing i could do to turn this into a good rig instead of buying a new good same price cap. any suggestions would be most helpful.

 

[jon12]

That is probably possible for the price youre talking about. You can send the rifle to a custom barrel manufacturer and have a match grade stainless barrel installed and have the action trued(square receiver, lap lugs, ect.). Hart and Pac Nor are both reputible button rifled barrel manufacturers who will do this and it should shoot exceptionally well. I belive Pac Nor will do it for 420 and Hart for about 540 last time i checked, plus any additional finishing like bead blasting, re-bluing, teflon coating you might want, but thats not really necisary. You will be cool with any caliber that uses the same .473 bolt face as your .308 that will fit into a short action like .243, .260, .308, ect., and sticking with the .308 is definately not a bad choice.

Next, that factory plastic stock wont do anything for your accuracy. Get a fiberglass stock from HS Precision(I think you can get a short action 700 ADL or BDL from cabelas for $260 in either sporter or varmint with the wide fore-end). You might could find a used "take-off" stock from a rem model 700 VS or PSS which came with a short action HS precision varmint stock for around $150, but i belive those will all be BDL so if your rifle is an ADL you would also have to buy new bottom metal and maybe magazine box so would probably cost as much as buying a new one that fits your gun already. Take the stock to a local gunsmith and have him glass bed the action in the stock and adjust the trigger down to 2-2.5 lbs(shouldnt be more than about 100 bucks, and you could do the trigger yourself, theres info on doing the rem 700 trigger on the internet).

That should be really accurate and so far is a couple hundred bucks under your 1000 limit. Now on optics, what do you currently have on it? If the scope and/or mounts are of decent quality, just use what you have until you can afford to upgrade and spend the extra money on reloading stuff and ammo. If not, just get the regular leupold one piece rem 700 base and regular leupold rings and put a Vari-X II on there.

[ 05-26-2004: Message edited by: jon12 ]

 

[Nighthawk]

Longrangegunner, how much power would you like to posses and how far do you want to shoot. If its a reasonable distance may I recommend a .300 Win Mag. Lapua makes brass and you could get a Remington Sendaro for about the same price as the Savage. I'm not framiliar with the Savage so I can't agree or disagree with huntin1.

 

[Charles A]

No you can not get a Sendaro for the price of the savage. By a difference of a acouple hundred dollers. And across the board the savage will typicly be more accurate.

 

[sniper2]

A couple of years ago I purchased 2 Savage Mod.116 Weather Warriors @ $429. ea they are 300 RUM, a friend got one and they both will shoot sub sub min. You can spend a lot of cash and not get a better shooting rifle. The only thing I would change would probably be the stock.But even with the less than perfect stock they shoot like some custom match grade rifles.

 

[SeniorSendero]

I'm in the same process that Sniper2 has done. I picked up a 116 Weather Warrior on clearance at Bass Pro shops for $399. So far I've bedded the receiver and adjusted the trigger. Still have to get the brake on but it is alot lighter than my Sendero's and hope it shoots just as good. Alot lighter for that hike in the mountains.

I know after taking an off the shelf sendero and just adjusting the trigger, I could never justify spending thousands of dollars for a custom rifle that may not shoot any better. JMHO.

Ronnie

 

[johnny k.]

If it was me, I would purchase a used Sendero with low mileage, adjust the trigger down if needed. I would also invest in the Leupold Dual Dovetail rings/mounts, they usually tear a $50.00 bill to shreads. I would then trade the .308 for the best scope I could and never look back.
I have owned a Savage 110FP in 7mmRM and currently a .223. The best the .223 has done so far is .3's. Looks like it needs a new stock or a lot of work to the current "Tupperware" handle, trigger replacement and crown job. Is this considered "outta the box"?

 

[longrangegunner52]

I have found a rifle i like online but have doughts about ordering. The website is gunsamerica. com and the rifle is a sendero, 300 win mag and it is at a really good price $599 wondering if anyone has any experience with website. Would this be a good buy the rifle has never been fired or so they said.

 

[johnny k.]

Have never purchased a firearm on-line but that is the price that I paid for the .300 WinMag Sendero that I bought used. As I understand it, you will have to go through someone with a FFL to purchase it for you. There may be a small fee for this also ($20-30). Johnny K.