complete new guy

[stout shooter]

I was hoping to get into the long range shooting world, if for nothing else than to say i can put a little bullet a LONG way down the range. My wife supports me and is willing to hand over the checkbook if just for a brief moment and i am thinking either the howa thumbhole varment in 308 or the tikka t3 in 243. Am i barking up the wrong tree for 400-600 yards? mostly paper punching, but some hunting will not be out of mind. Which is better on a small budget or have i passed on a real buy. Thanks for any info.

 

[BountyHunter]

Look at the savage 12BVSS or 110 FP in 308. Lot of gun and accuracy for the money. 308 is plenty cheap to reload for and has great accuracy. Plus good hunting caliber.

BH

 

[Guest]

savage gets my vote

 

[4ked Horn]

I own a rem vls in .308 topped with a leupold 4.5x14x40 with a mildot reticle and I love it. Relatively cheap and not too much kick.

I don't own a savage but I hear they are a great way to go AND they are less expensive. That is not to be read as "good for the money". Price aside, they have a great reputation for accuracy out of the box and a comfortable price.

As for shooting 400 to 600 yards on paper, I say think "bigger". Anyone here will tell you a steel gong at 1K is quite possible with a factory gun and a good load.

That brings me to another thought. Save a few bucks on the gun. Spend a few bucks on good reloading gear. Just a thought.

 

[4ked Horn]

The above questions are fairly common. take some time playing with the search option on this site to find some answers.

.308 win is a great round that can be shot quite comfortably most of the day from a heavy (10lb and up) gun. My .308 will let me shoot center crosshairs out ot almost exactly 1100 yards. Keep in mind that I have $200 custom tapered base and integral rings that gives me more useable adjustment out of my scope but keeping the ability to 0 at 100 yards. Without this base I was topping out at about 850 (if I remember right).

I would not shoot at a deer at 1100yds but I would a coyote because of the energy loss at this range. If you are shooting paper or steel, the .308 win is a real fun gun as far as you want to push it.

My gun is factory stock, action and barrel. Oh, trigger group too. I have a bead blast matte finish on the bbl and action, a custom scope base and a scope that I bought new cheaper than most people can buy it used. I had my action glass bedded by a fair gunsmith and all the other nuances were done by me so they were free.

Gun $550
Scope $475
Base $200+
Bead blast and re-blue $50
Glass bedding $50
Estimated total $1325 + hours of tweaking and tuning.

 

[stout shooter]

looks like the opinions lay with a savage in 308. Is this a good load for getting way out there

deer hunting will outfit me with my trusty ruger bolt in 270. So if i want to get way out there i should stick with the 30 cal. instead of the 243.

One last question.. is it cheaper to buy or build? (get a stok gun or go see a smith)

Thanks

 

[BountyHunter]

Stout Shooter

30 Cal is the way to go.

You would be money ahead to buy the savage. Try to find good used at gun show or on net. $400-550 Go to www.savageshooters.com for info and link to Sharp shooter supply.

Put Ken Farrel tapered base for $40-50 and FA Enterprise Tactical Rings (Brownells sell them and have insert for either 1" or 30mm scope) for $80 or Burris bases and Signature rings with .020 and .010 inserts. That will give you 30 MOA elevation built in. Good enough to reach 1000 with scope crosshair mainly centered. cost is under $90 for Burris base and rings sets.

Good scope for money is Bushnell 3200 10x with Mildot. Under $180 I got mine from Natchez Supply for $149 on sale. Over 100 MOA elevation.

Set it up to shoot 168s to max 900 yards or 175s to little over 1000. would recommend the 175s for simplicity.

Sharp Shooter supply or Brownells sells the savage adjustable triggers that are super for $100 or under.

Not much else you need to do and you can change barrels and calibers on the savage yourself.

Spend your extra dollars on buying reloading equipment and supplies and shooting.

BH