Building a LRH rig

[Forestmichael]

Hello guys, new member but a long time reader and fellow member from Snipershide. I'm a 17 year old high school student with a lot of shooting and hunting background. Ive owned a couple bolt guns so far including a 25-06 Howa 1500 and a .270 marlin xl7 but have sold those recently and my current rifle is .223 Ruger mini 14 that I plan on getting rid of and starting into long range target and hunting rig. I am here for some advice as I am in a bind. I need advice on rifles... (I do reload btw...)

What I want: A rifle that is very reliable, shoots and hold under MOA. I will be using it for lots and lots of predator hunting (coyotes and bobcat), whitetail and the occasional elk. I will not be takig shots over 500 yards on animals but who knows what distances I will try and reach when target shooting. I don't want something super heavy and it will be taken in the conditions, mountains, snow and rain as I live in Washington.
My budget is realistic, anywhere up to 650 is what I want to spend on rifle.

CALIBERS: Im leanin towards 308 because of the availability but am considering .260 or of course the 300 wsm, 300 wm.. Etc

Now to the rifles: Tikka T3 Lite- I heard there very accurate, there super lightweight but I've hers te recoil lugs are junk..

Howa 1500- I know they're quality but I couldn't get my previous .25-06 to shoot under 2" at 100 even with hand loads so that scares me..

Remington 700 sps (varmint, tactical or standard sps)- we all know the remington 700 have a reputation and are popular and everything is readily available (stocks...) but can be spendy...

Savage 10 or 111- I have read they are extremely accurate out of box and the savage action is easy to work with and change barrels.

Stevens 200- cheap, scrap the stock obviously and possibly rebarrel. But if I can get a out of the box shooter might as well not go through the trouble.

I need some advice on the rifles, I'm not sure what to do and need input. Down the road I would be looking into re stocking and getting a mcmillian or something along those lines. Thanks and all the info will be much appreciated.
-Forest

 

[barnesuser28]

Hello guys, new member but a long time reader and fellow member from Snipershide. I'm a 17 year old high school student with a lot of shooting and hunting background. Ive owned a couple bolt guns so far including a 25-06 Howa 1500 and a .270 marlin xl7 but have sold those recently and my current rifle is .223 Ruger mini 14 that I plan on getting rid of and starting into long range target and hunting rig. I am here for some advice as I am in a bind. I need advice on rifles... (I do reload btw...)

What I want: A rifle that is very reliable, shoots and hold under MOA. I will be using it for lots and lots of predator hunting (coyotes and bobcat), whitetail and the occasional elk. I will not be takig shots over 500 yards on animals but who knows what distances I will try and reach when target shooting. I don't want something super heavy and it will be taken in the conditions, mountains, snow and rain as I live in Washington.
My budget is realistic, anywhere up to 650 is what I want to spend on rifle.

CALIBERS: Im leanin towards 308 because of the availability but am considering .260 or of course the 300 wsm, 300 wm.. Etc

Now to the rifles: Tikka T3 Lite- I heard there very accurate, there super lightweight but I've hers te recoil lugs are junk..

Howa 1500- I know they're quality but I couldn't get my previous .25-06 to shoot under 2" at 100 even with hand loads so that scares me..

Remington 700 sps (varmint, tactical or standard sps)- we all know the remington 700 have a reputation and are popular and everything is readily available (stocks...) but can be spendy...

Savage 10 or 111- I have read they are extremely accurate out of box and the savage action is easy to work with and change barrels.

Stevens 200- cheap, scrap the stock obviously and possibly rebarrel. But if I can get a out of the box shooter might as well not go through the trouble.

I need some advice on the rifles, I'm not sure what to do and need input. Down the road I would be looking into re stocking and getting a mcmillian or something along those lines. Thanks and all the info will be much appreciated.
-Forest

Hello, im Riley, im 14 and also reload, to me it sounds like you need a savage weather warrior in 270 win, you could go 270 wsm for a bit more speed but then you can only hold 2 rounds and if you get 3-4 coyotes coming in at once you dont want to be running out of ammo in the mag.

The 270 will be enough for elk at 500 yards. And loaded with a 165 matrix bullet you can shoot pretty darn far.

I have one of these rifles and they are actually really nice for the $, i will be taking the barrel off mine and have it chambered to a different cartridge and will sell the factory barrel so if you go with the stevens and need a 22" 270 win barrel let me know .

I would shy away from remington unless you want to replace the barrel, trigger, stock, have action trued/blueprinted, have a smith put a bushing on the firing pin, etc.....

Heres a link to the weather warrior Savage Arms .


Riley

P.S. dont you have to be 18 to be a member of SH?lightbulbgun)

 

[silvercreekguide]

Welcome to LRH!

As Riley said a savage would be a great choice for your budget, and it would be very easy to replace and upgrade parts. But for the caliber I would lean more towards a 300 win mag. There is a huge selection of bullets that will be perfect for your hunting needs.

Mike

 

[Loud by design]

much like you i am new to the long range world.as far as what brand i asked the same question a few months ago and got many people telling me to go the savage route. they are cheap and all the ones i have shot have been pretty accurate. recently i shot a savage model 12 a buddy of mine picked up and was very ipressed with it accuracy wise. he was shooting right around 1/2 to 5/8 inch at 100 yards whilei was shooting right around 3/4 of an inch. this was due to him being a better shooter than me and him being more comfortable with his gun but either way we were both putting up good groups. in the end i went with a remington 700 varmint in 223 for my target/practic rifle and couldnt be more pleased. i normally shoot right around 5/8 " groups with this rifle and it is bone stock. with a better shooter behind it i am pretty sure the rifle could group a bit better but my best so far has been just under 1/2" 5 shot grouping which i have replicated 3 times now. as far as the budget i am also on a tight budget and the remington was cheaper than many of the savages i had looked at and ran me around 400 when it was on sale and after the rebates. dicks recently ran a black friday special on the rem 700 varmint for 349.99 so i you can find them on sale its definately not a bad rifle for the money. just like the savages they also have a adjustable trigger but dont have the blade system the savage uses which i didnt like. my advice would be to go to a store and check out a few savage rifles and also the remingtons and see which is more comfortable to you.

 

[midnightmalloy]

Hello guys, new member but a long time reader and fellow member from Snipershide. I'm a 17 year old high school student with a lot of shooting and hunting background. Ive owned a couple bolt guns so far including a 25-06 Howa 1500 and a .270 marlin xl7 but have sold those recently and my current rifle is .223 Ruger mini 14 that I plan on getting rid of and starting into long range target and hunting rig. I am here for some advice as I am in a bind. I need advice on rifles... (I do reload btw...)

What I want: A rifle that is very reliable, shoots and hold under MOA. I will be using it for lots and lots of predator hunting (coyotes and bobcat), whitetail and the occasional elk. I will not be takig shots over 500 yards on animals but who knows what distances I will try and reach when target shooting. I don't want something super heavy and it will be taken in the conditions, mountains, snow and rain as I live in Washington.
My budget is realistic, anywhere up to 650 is what I want to spend on rifle.

CALIBERS: Im leanin towards 308 because of the availability but am considering .260 or of course the 300 wsm, 300 wm.. Etc

Now to the rifles: Tikka T3 Lite- I heard there very accurate, there super lightweight but I've hers te recoil lugs are junk..

Howa 1500- I know they're quality but I couldn't get my previous .25-06 to shoot under 2" at 100 even with hand loads so that scares me..

Remington 700 sps (varmint, tactical or standard sps)- we all know the remington 700 have a reputation and are popular and everything is readily available (stocks...) but can be spendy...

Savage 10 or 111- I have read they are extremely accurate out of box and the savage action is easy to work with and change barrels.

Stevens 200- cheap, scrap the stock obviously and possibly rebarrel. But if I can get a out of the box shooter might as well not go through the trouble.

I need some advice on the rifles, I'm not sure what to do and need input. Down the road I would be looking into re stocking and getting a mcmillian or something along those lines. Thanks and all the info will be much appreciated.
-Forest

Where in Washington do you live? I'm in Bellingham. Pm if u want my number. I'm headed down to Arlington tomorrow and if your around I could meet up with you.

 

[Forestmichael]

I'm out in Maple Valley area. I've narrowed it down between the Savage, Tikka and Howa but can't seem to come to a decision. Anyone shoot the Tikka t3 lite?

 

[Black Sheep]

I've got a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 270WSM, and I absolutely love it. With no mods to it at all, other than tuning the factory adjustable trigger, I have rang gongs at 700yds, and shot sub moa groups at 500 yards. With my loads, it shoots 1/2 moa at 100 yards. (Haven't shot groups at range since I got my 7STW!) Lite, Cheap, and very accurate. Not a good Coyote gun if you want to keep the pelts! It has killed coyotes, deer, and cow elk. Downside, is not too much upgrade stuff available for when you get the itch down the road! I don't have any personal experience with Savage, so I can't speak for that other than what I read here. Your age, your situation I would suggest either a Rem 700 used from someone here, or what Riley suggested--A Savage weather warrior. Great quality for the price, and way more upgrade capacity than the Tikka.
A little over a year ago, I did a LRH class with a former member here, and that SOB got me hooked! He developed the load for the Tikka, and watched with fatherly pride as I squealed like a little girl when I hit the gong at 700! Since then I've bought 3 Leupold 6.5-20 scopes, a Remington Sendero in 7STW, and a custom Remington 700 in 338Edge off of the classifieds here.
Having said that, I'll say this---It's a disease! Stay away!!!!! But if you must, spend wisely and give yourself upgrade options!

 

[midnightmalloy]

I would suggest something with a heavier barrel profile than a tikka that provides for less recoil also. For your age and budget I would steer you to the savage long range hunter Savage Arms in either a 7mm rem mag, 6.5x284 or a 300win mag or WSM. If you want to get another cartridge its only $440 to get a custom barrel from benchmark (located about 1 hour from you).

here is one already setup and cheap.

Savage 111 Long Range Hunter 7mm Rem Mag Rifle : Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com

trying to help a local guy out. if you want to go shoot sometime let me know.

 

[clemens]

Savage great rifle to start with easy to work on and reasonably priced. Benchmark in Arlington WA has good reputation easy to work with quality work. I do not remember the name there is a gunsmith/builder in the Kent WA area. There was a rifle in photo section that was built by this gentleman he also seems to be of quality. so when the time comes you got 2 places to choose from to possible go custom. good luck and fun finding your rifle and welcome to your new addiction there is no known cure. Then again who would want to be. This stuff just way to much fun to read about and put ideas to paper.