Newbie Rifle Questions

[Hoppsing55]

Steel, paper. To get accurate at 1000 yards and everything in between is my first goal. Beyond that some point down the road.

OK Cool. Good goals. There are some very good production rifles out there, for under $1000. The Savage long range hunter might be worth looking into. Good place to start. Remington makes some decent rifles, in the same price range, but you might (likely) have to replace the trigger. I own 4 Remington's and have replaced all triggers. So add $125.00+ to the Remington price. Another good feature of the Savage line is, a "handy person" can replace the barrel themselves, at home. This gives you some additional freedom to pick a caliber that "burns" barrels. The 6.5's 243 win, 270 win, 7mm mag's, etc. With the 7mm Rem mag, getting you to 1000yds and well beyond, as you build your skill set. And if you are not doing your own reloading, 7mm "quality" ammunition is readily available.

Scopes: a fixed power SWFA can be bought for less than $300. The Athlon ARES BTR for $600-850. Athlon ARES ETR = $1200, and is my preferred scope. Nightforce will start at $1500+. Leupold makes some high quality scopes for every budget. Vortex has and requires a good warranty.

You can learn a lot putting a package together yourself vs buying a ready made package.

Good luck. Keep us informed as you evolve.

 

[338 dude]

I'm going to jump in here, because I have similar questions to the original poster.

I got my hands on a brand new Winchester model 70 sporter in 300 WM. (I live in Colorado, btw). I actually won it in a sweepstakes...please don't hate me!

I was leaning towards keeping it since I don't have a bolt-action rifle and may want to begin hunting next year (I've never hunted anything... Well, besides the Taliban with ISR aircraft while in the Air Force). I'm wondering if you would recommend I stick with it, or if I'd be better served selling it and buying something else.

Thanks in advance.

Keep it!

 

[skipglo]

I'm new to long range shooting, and have been looking at rifles for a few weeks. I wanted to try and get some feedback from actual shooters so I joined these forums for help. I started out looking at the Seekins Havak Bravo, Bergara Ridgeline and DD Delta 5. Also have researched glass like Vortex, Nightforce and others in the $2k price range. I decided I didn't want to spend $4k+ on my first setup so that led me to looking at cheaper options like the Bergara B14 HMR and Browning Max Long Range with something like Vortex Viper PST Gen2 glass to go on it. A setup like that is roughly half of what I started out looking at and I'm leaning to going that direction but wanted some more feedback from actual shooters.

To sum all that up, I'd like recommendations for a roughly $2k setup including glass, and same on a $4k setup like mentioned above. Im not a pro but I can work on my guns some. I've built a couple AR's and repair my older shotguns when I have issues myself, so building one might not be out of the question. Any input appreciated!

Look at Howa while you are exploring... extremely accurate out of the box. GRS, KRG BRAVO or new ORYX stocks all under 1200.00 U.S...check out you tube you can see them all in action

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

Look at Fierce Firearms...they have some great long range rigs (with glass-about 5K) that shoot right out of the box--guaranteed 1/2 MOA with factory ammo or they'll work you up a load and give you the recipe. I've also had some great luck with accuracy of Sako 85 Rifles, right off the shelf. While they don't get much love on this forum, My son and I have six Viper Vortex 4-16 X 44 HS-T scopes on 6.5 CM, .260 Rem, 2 X 7mm-08, .300 WM and .300 Wby mag. and they are great. Also not that expensive. Caveat, I seldom shoot over 500 yds and mostly use my rifles for hunting. When I've shot further though, they've done fine. I also like the Leopold VX6-HD as well.

 

[hzy1369]

Rifle I have the first one in 300 and the second in 308. Both are capable of 1000 yards. Or you could jump on the fad of the month with a 6.5 with either. Not a big fan of the H-S Precision Stock so I put another $300 into a Magpul hunter stock on it. Both have removable magazines so I don't have to try and load around my scope. 300 has the Nightforce SHV and at 1100 I think it's hard to beat. Nikon's had always been my go to and that's what's on the 308 quality for price point I think they are great.

https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-700/model-700-5-r-stainless-threaded-gen-2

https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-700

I hear allot about the trigger guess I'm lucky case all my Remington's have the stock trigger in them to include a 40 year old 30 06. But after 20 years of M16 triggers almost anything is better
Shop around check the classified on here another good place to start is Yeti (only place I could find with a in stock Gen 2 in 300) in Phoenix 623-213-8594 or check his auctions on Gun Broker even after shipping to my FFL it was cheaper then Remington's list price

Sorry so long winded

 

[Forcedoutage]

If I were just starting and had your goals, I def would not go the 4K route. Howa, Savage, Remington, Bergara etc all have rifles that will fit your need. Have any of them bedded and trigger replaced or tuned and be off to the races. If you get good and enjoy it down the road, you can upgrade. If your original purchase ends up being a remington, it is easy to upgrade. Savage is pretty easy too. 2K should not be a problem even with the trigger and bed job.

 

[Vol1975]

Spend the money and get good glass. Research is your friend. Pay once and cry once.
I would also tell you to go and watch a place like gun broker for someone who either is in need of money or just getting out of the sport or as most people say upgrading. Way to save money. If you really like it then u can always be one of those upgrade guys.
What the pros use on glass is a good place on information. I will also tell u if u buy a gun already put together do a little research on the gun smith.
It's way easier and cheaper to buy a good foundation with a good setup and just swap barrels if you want to try a new caliber.

 

[skipglo]

Steel, paper. To get accurate at 1000 yards and everything in between is my first goal. Beyond that some point down the road.

Much later.. perhaps .01% of all shooter's are consistent at 1000... keep your goals realistic and you won't be disappointed!

 

[ericbc7]

My buddy bought a Tikka tac A1 6.5 Creed and a Vortex pst gen2 and loves it. Sub 1/2 groups with prime ammo. He also got a sig rangefinder with wind meter - has his son work the rangefinder and is confident out to 700 yds on deer.
Rifle and scope runs a bit over $2k
Look for sales

 

[Deleted member 25294]

I'm new to long range shooting, and have been looking at rifles for a few weeks. I wanted to try and get some feedback from actual shooters so I joined these forums for help. I started out looking at the Seekins Havak Bravo, Bergara Ridgeline and DD Delta 5. Also have researched glass like Vortex, Nightforce and others in the $2k price range. I decided I didn't want to spend $4k+ on my first setup so that led me to looking at cheaper options like the Bergara B14 HMR and Browning Max Long Range with something like Vortex Viper PST Gen2 glass to go on it. A setup like that is roughly half of what I started out looking at and I'm leaning to going that direction but wanted some more feedback from actual shooters.

To sum all that up, I'd like recommendations for a roughly $2k setup including glass, and same on a $4k setup like mentioned above. Im not a pro but I can work on my guns some. I've built a couple AR's and repair my older shotguns when I have issues myself, so building one might not be out of the question. Any input appreciated!

I'll echo what others have said, don't cheap out on your optic.
You don't need to spend a ton but get something solid like a high end Vortex or Bushnell minimum.

For a rifle I'd get a 6.5 Creed match style chassis rifle that doesn't need a stock upgrade or bedding, and is designed to shoot prone.

The savage 10 BA stealth looks like a solid rifle, or you could get a Tikka T3x in 6.5 Creed and drop it in a KRG Bravo chassis stock.

My match rifle is a Tikka action re barreled to 6mm Creed in the KRG Chassis, it's dang hard to beat for the money.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/savage-10-ba-stealth-bolt-action-rifle

https://www.anarchyoutdoors.com/krg-bravo-chassis/

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/45234

 

[John Klingenberg]

I think CDNN has a sale on heavy barrel 700s right now. You can easily upgrade a 700.

 

[cgshoots]

Thanks for all the replys so far. Does anyone have any real knowledge of the Browning MAX Long Range? Seems like a good value and From what research Ive done seems like a good rifle. I'm drawn to it out of the rifles in that $1k price range.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Thanks for all the replys so far. Does anyone have any real knowledge of the Browning MAX Long Range? Seems like a good value and From what research Ive done seems like a good rifle. I'm drawn to it out of the rifles in that $1k price range.

It looks like it'd be a solid choice in 6.5 PRC.
I'd do a little more digging on the specs for that stock, and trigger..
Browning doesn't have the aftermarket support that some of the others offer, so you'll want to be sure that you like what you get

 

[Orange Dust]

Remington 700 5r Gen 2 with a vortex PST II. I have that set up in 260 rem and have run it out to 1250yards. The gun is crazy accurate, I am getting 1/2 moa with factory prime ammo. The scope tracks flawlessly. I did drop a triggertech in the 5r, but that is all I have done to it.

Sound advise. If you have the money, spend it on a better scope. The vortex PST is fine if you are just using it for target shooting where you have all the time in the world, and is great to learn on. The drawbacks to it are a very small eyebox, poor low light performance, and resolution is just ok. Generally they track pretty well and are fine in good light. Just don't look through a ATACR, S&B, Kales, or TT, and you will be pretty happy. Find a way to get a solid cheek weld. Use sticky back foam, a neo sock, or drill a couple of holes in the stock and install a kydex riser, get it solid so you are looking through the center of the scope, and you will be happy with the Vortex, at least for a while.