Rifle Recommendations Please

BattleCorp

I'm thinking of getting a rifle capable of hitting targets at 500m and further. I'm leaning towards a .308 of some sort. Open to other calibre suggestions though. If there's a better calibre, I'd consider that too.

I like the look of the Ruger Precision .308 but what other (better) options are out there?

Can anybody suggest rifles, upgrades, calibres etc. I know absolutely sweet fcukall about long range shooting.

clivej

Sako in .308. Nearest make your get to a custom rifle without spending big bucks.
Get a heavy barrel on any rifle your getting.
600y is capable with a good hunting rifle and the heavy barrel will get you there.
I'm not a fan of the Remington rifles.

If it's purely for long distance then the Savage model 12 is a good starting point.
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/12FTR

Review
http://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_M12-Fclass.htm

tac foley

How much do you want to spend?

5000+ for a rifle?

2500+ for a scope?

Another 500 for rings/mounts?

A couple of hundred for a precision bipod?

Another 1000+ for a spotting scope?

Plus all the stuff that hangs in with long-range precision shooting. Range fees, for a start, a gun cabinet and alarm system, and on and on it goes.

There are many better calibres out there - flatter and faster shooting, less recoil and so on, but your initial choice is a good one - there are few calibres as versatile as the .308Win at the comparatively short range of 500m. Clive's couple of choices are sound ones - and SAKO precision rifles go up to the mighty TRG.

The Savage F-Class is a very specialist item - lugging THAT around the countryside on a dank day is not a plan, but on its home ground - the rifle range, it's really a very fine example of its kind.

Ammunition, however, depending on just how far you want to go spending, can get almost stratospheric, with Lapua 167gr Match stuff hitting almost 3eu a shot here in UK. But a different choice of calibre than the ever-popular .308Win might result in trying to find non-existent ammunition at short notice, as the numerous requests for 'where can I find so-and-so calibre?' that you see on these pages almost every day.

Give us a clue, and we can help you better. Right now you are saying 'I want a fast car - what to I need?'

tac

FISMA.

BattleCorp wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a rifle capable of hitting targets at 500m and further.

No problem for the 308. My 308's are still supersonic at 1000ya. However, if I were going farther, the 308 would not be the first choice.

BattleCorp wrote: »

Can anybody suggest rifles, upgrades, calibres etc.

First, give us some info so we can help you out:
(1) Do you want to be accurate? That is, hit a target, like a gong, but don't care about where the bullets group? If so, what size target have you in mind.

(2) Do you want to be precise? That is, do you want to get the grouping of shots as close as possible?

(3) Have you shot a lot?

BattleCorp wrote: »

I know absolutely sweet fcukall about long range shooting.

In Eire, I think you should go with the 308. About as cheap and cheerful as you're going to shoot - and shoot as much as possible.

I prepped for shooting long range with my 30-06 at mid-ranges. [edit] It was cheap and cheerful.

Then when I had shot a lot, I went out to longer ranges, with a different caliber.Good thing too, at €7.50 a shot, I wouldn't have been able to afford to get/stay in the game.

Rifles to consider: Sako, Tikka, Rem 700, and the Howa 1500. Have a look at some Savage rifles as well. They just might be the best value out there.

Then there's glass...:)

ejg

Maybe an all-round rifle for the start would be the best. Something that will shoot the 500m (any 308 hunting rifle will) as well as maybe the STAG shoots. Something that one does not waste too much money on either, in case one out-grows it soon. A rifle that can be adjusted or fitted with aftermarket parts to the needs. A rifle that is easily re-barrelled as the barrel is the most important part of a rifle.
My advice would be either rem 700 or T3. The T3 has the better factory trigger and has only one action length which might make it more universal for the future. I mostly prefer to shoot the rem 700 but that's me.
If one starts shooting mostly the rifle will outperform the shooter and it becomes a learning process. It is not about how many shots are fired but more about how one evaluates mistakes and corrects them. To get a lightweight 308 hunting rifle to shoot consistently well at extended ranges is a challenge and one can monitor one owns progress well.... better than shooting well with a F-Class rig anyway.
I would certainly recommend a 308 as it is a benchmark. Most experienced shooters on a range can judge if a group out of a 308 under the prevailing conditions are good or bad. 308 rifles are normally easy to get to shoot. If a 308 (with a good shooter) does not shoot under an inch with factory match ammo such as Hornady 168BTHP you can bring the rifle to a rifle smith and get it fixed. With other cartridges one is more in the unknown...is it the rifle or ammo?? if things don't work.
I have tried the Horady Match (nothing else available) ammo in three rifles lately. Two separate T3X CTR's, a Lilja Barrelled T3 and a Bartlein barrelled 308 all being around 20" barrel length. They all shot several 3 shot groups well under 1/4" always under 1/2" except in high wind. One CTR and the Lilja shot a group at 3.5mm and 3.2mm. These are my hunting rifles that I also play and practice with out to 900m. The custom barrels mostly have the edge when the barrels heat up. With hammer forged barrels one never knows if it will start to change POI when heating up nor in which direction.

edi

tac foley

FISMA. wrote: »

...with my 30-06 at mid-ranges. Good thing too, at €7.50 a shot,

The definitive 'golden bullet'! Did you ever get the feeling that your leg was being pulled?

I'm almost demanding that you name the dealer who charged such a ridiculous amount of money for one of the most popular rifle calibres on the planet.

These are the prices for 30-06 at Kirklees Guns - in £, of course, but still...........

30 - 06
Federal 150g SP #FED-3006A 23.40/108.00

30 - 06
Federal 125g SP #FED-3006CS 28.00/129.00

30 - 06
Federal 220g SP #FED-3006HS 39.00/180.70

30 - 06
Winchester 150g SP #X30061 21.60/103.50

30 - 06
Norma 150g nosler BST #17654 42.50/196.00

Don't forget that if you join the Midlands [and to shoot more than 500m that's obligatory in the RoI] getting into F-Class there might also let you into the reloading programme, and the cost plummets like a greased anvil.

tac

gunhappy_ie

tac foley wrote: »

plummets like a greased anvil.

tac

Lol.... not heard that before..... Ill save it for later :P

tac foley

gunhappy_ie wrote: »

Lol.... not heard that before..... Ill save it for later :P

Líon isteach do chuid buataisí.

tac

FISMA.

tac foley wrote: »

The definitive 'golden bullet'! Did you ever get the feeling that your leg was being pulled?

Not Golden, but copper solids!

My mistake, I was thinking one rifle and writing another. I've since edited the post.

I was trying to impress upon the OP to get something that can be fed cheaply so that he can shoot a lot and get practice. Then later, get a dedicated 1000ya rifle.

The price of ammo has come down since then and I have plenty of brass.

Strangely enough, it is cheaper to buy new ammunition from Hornady than to buy just the brass. 20 rounds of Hornady factory ammo - about $50. Price for a single piece of brass - $5. Price per bullet - $2.50.

RWS primers, not easy to come by, go for about $0.45 a piece.

tac foley

FISMA. wrote: »

Not Golden, but copper solids!

Ah, Hornady .50cal.

That'll do it.

tac

tac foley

Remember that right now, there is NO general reloading in the Republic of Ireland, only members of certain target shooting groups who are based at the Midlands National Shooting Centre.

tac

PS - Éire is on stamps. we mostly call it Ireland, or, in my case, the Ould Sod.