This is my first post. I have been trying to learn and gather information reading the forum...lot's of information and lot's of learning to do.
I have been in the process of getting my first custom rifle together. What prompted me doing this was wanting to learn and get a rifle that I would feel confident to shoot 500 yards, working up too 600 yards possibly in the future.
Some things that have me stumped is that I want a rifle that I can carry up and over hills while travelling a few miles of steep country, so I want to keep weight down. I want to have a rifle outfitted with the approiate scope for accurately dispatching Coyote's to Elk.
Getting to my post topic I think I am making a compromise with a light rifle to carry vs. a heavier one to shoot. It maybe individual preference, but is there a happy medium that most all would agree works well? Some recipes so to speak.
A major component to my new toy is optics. I have never looked through anything other than a fixed or variable power plex reticle scope. With my reading I am getting information on ballistic reticles, mil-dots, and ballistic correcting turrets such as a Leupold M3. I am confused, I will admit, I don't know what direction to go because not many of my shots are over 250 yards, but sometime there are opportunities in the 400-450 range. What is practical? I am not seeing many light carry rifles with "big optics", most are 3.5-10 or 4.5-14x40 Leupolds. When the rifle's bump up in weight with thicker barrels, and the accompanying stocks then I start seeing Turrets, Adjustable Objective, Bipods, and higher magnification.
What this leads me too is what I call the "crossover", from Ultralight, light to the more tactical type rifles. Can there be an in between or does it just go against the objectives of the other type of shooting/hunting?
What's your feeling in keeping a rifle light, and being reliable to 500-600 yards?
I have been in the process of getting my first custom rifle together. What prompted me doing this was wanting to learn and get a rifle that I would feel confident to shoot 500 yards, working up too 600 yards possibly in the future.
Some things that have me stumped is that I want a rifle that I can carry up and over hills while travelling a few miles of steep country, so I want to keep weight down. I want to have a rifle outfitted with the approiate scope for accurately dispatching Coyote's to Elk.
Getting to my post topic I think I am making a compromise with a light rifle to carry vs. a heavier one to shoot. It maybe individual preference, but is there a happy medium that most all would agree works well? Some recipes so to speak.
A major component to my new toy is optics. I have never looked through anything other than a fixed or variable power plex reticle scope. With my reading I am getting information on ballistic reticles, mil-dots, and ballistic correcting turrets such as a Leupold M3. I am confused, I will admit, I don't know what direction to go because not many of my shots are over 250 yards, but sometime there are opportunities in the 400-450 range. What is practical? I am not seeing many light carry rifles with "big optics", most are 3.5-10 or 4.5-14x40 Leupolds. When the rifle's bump up in weight with thicker barrels, and the accompanying stocks then I start seeing Turrets, Adjustable Objective, Bipods, and higher magnification.
What this leads me too is what I call the "crossover", from Ultralight, light to the more tactical type rifles. Can there be an in between or does it just go against the objectives of the other type of shooting/hunting?
What's your feeling in keeping a rifle light, and being reliable to 500-600 yards?