whats ur opinion on best long range varmint caliber

uncle curt

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Feb 16, 2009
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Im looking into buying a rifle that i could shoot around the 1000 yard range and make an effective kill on varmints. i need a gun dedicated just to long range varmint sniping. what would be my best set up. i also plan on reloading the cases. if anyone has a pointer or opinion, by all means.
thanks for any and all feedback.
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Im looking into buying a rifle that i could shoot around the 1000 yard range and make an effective kill on varmints. i need a gun dedicated just to long range varmint sniping. what would be my best set up. i also plan on reloading the cases. if anyone has a pointer or opinion, by all means.
thanks for any and all feedback.

Prairie dogs, coyotes?
 
In order to make a recommendation on the best 'set up' we would need a lot more information from you like budget, what equipment you might already have, preferences etc.

Without all that I'll start the debate with a caliber recommendation....6mm (.243) or larger. Forget the high-power .22s
 
uncle kurt,

i had pretty much the same agenda last yr and i learned a whole lot from jerry teo's article "building a long range rifle on a budget" . you might read thru the discussion threads about this article and see what he says. I ended up building a 6 X 284 and could not be happier with the results. good luck....AJ
 
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In order to make a recommendation on the best 'set up' we would need a lot more information from you like budget, what equipment you might already have, preferences etc.

Without all that I'll start the debate with a caliber recommendation....6mm (.243) or larger. Forget the high-power .22s
Budget, not to sure as of what to expect. Willing to pay for whatever it takes to create a strong steady rifle. Would i be looking at $1500? Maybe $2000 when done? Maybe your laughing cause i dont know what to expect. Just want an idea basically of what ill be looking at for price.

As for personal preferences, would like a caliber that i would have a wider range of bullet weight choices and also not to hard to reload. ie. finding brass or tips. Im new to longrange hunting and also not to familliar to all the kinds of guns available so not sure where to start. All i know is that ill need a steady bullet when the wind picks up.
 
uncle curt:
Here's my approach to building a long range rifle without breaking the bank....

Rifle: start with a Remington 700 SPS Varmint.
Remington Model 700™ SPS™ Varmint

This particular model comes in .243Win and .308Win. Either of these calibers would shoot 1k and take down a coyote. Also, both would be sufficient to hunt deer (although for deer I would lean more towards the .308 as it will take a deer down at a longer range than the .243). You can get one of these rifles for ~$550. (the sps varmint also comes in some high-power 22s - but they will not shoot 1k)

For both of these calibers you can find inexpensive factory ammo to start shooting the rifle and break-in the barrel. Be sure to save the brass as you can use it to reload.

Rings, Mounts: More options here than I can enumerate. On the inexpensive side though, you can get a set of Weaver style bases for $6.95 ( TOP MOUNT BASES - REMINGTON at Brownells) and a pair of Burris Signature Rings for $25 (Burris Signature Rings). With the rings you will want to get a full set of inserts for the rings. With the inserts you can set up your scope with a 30moa cant (meaning the rear of the scope is 30 minutes-of-angle higher than the front of the scope).

Scope: Lots and lots of choices here. Tough to say what's right for you. Some guys like variable power scopes with high magnification like 6-24. I'm not a big fan of high magnification. I find a scope with 10x magnification is sufficient to shoot 1k. What's important though is the total elevation adjustment in the scope. Because you plan to shoot 1k you will want a scope with at-least 50moa adjustment and 60moa+ would be better. A good inexpensive option is the Bushnell 3200 10x40 tactical (Bushnell Outdoor Products). 10x magnification is sufficient to see 1k, it has a mil-dot reticle and most important it has 100moa total elevation adjustment (the one I have really has 80moa) and that's plenty of adjustment to reach beyond 1k. This particular scope has been reviewed well on this website Low Priced Long Range Scopes This scope can be had for ~$200. Finally, this is just one suggestion. In scopes you can spend as much as you want....a great Night Force scope will cost you about $1500+ 3.5-15x50 & 3.5-15x56

Trigger: The rifle will come with the trigger set at ~6lbs. That's waaaaaay heavy. A gunsmith will charge you about ~$60 to tune it to 2lbs (my recommendation - some people can shoot lighter triggers)

Stock: The stock on the SPS varmint is a piece of junk. Although sufficient to start, you would probably want to replace it soon. There are lots and lots of stock choices....styles, features, colors. The low-end is going to be $150. If you're like me, you'll find that it will take $300+ to get what you want. (like scopes, you can spend about as much as you want on a stock)

Barrel: I have two SPS Varmints (.223 and .308). Both of them shoot quite accurately with the stock barrel - accurately enough that I will not be replacing the barrel until the accuracy starts to wane. But, if you happen to get one that just won't shoot well or you just want a custom barrel you can get a custom barrel installed and have the action trued-up for ~$650. Hart Rifle Barrels (click on 'rebarreling services')

So let's add it up....

$550 Rifle
$47 Rings, bases, inserts
$200 scope
$60 trigger job
$300 stock
$1157
+
$650 barrel
$1807

I would consider this the low end and there are other options. Everyone else will give you a different recommendation and this is just mine. I practice what I preach though...you can find the specs of one of my rifles here: http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-280-a-32771/
 
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