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If my questions have already been answered elsewhere, please just post the URLs. Thanks

The club to which I belong has a 1000-yard target with shooting tables at 200-yard intervals.

The one rifle of mine with the longest usable range is a Mini-14. It is intended for encounters at less than 50 yards.

Question for the long-range enthusiasts:

If I have up to the following amounts to spend, what equipment would you recommend?

$1000.

$2000.

$4000.

This is not for competition, just for my own enjoyment.

Ammunition can be either factory, or reloaded, if that makes a difference.

Thanks
 
If I have up to the following amounts to spend, what equipment would you recommend?

$1000. - savage in 308 + vortex viper scope

$2000. - remington 5r + some nice scope

$4000. - 338LM sako trg (but at that price you don't have optics yet)

my 2 cents
 
Greetings,

From my experience, both as a civilian and in the military, I would suggest the following. You need not stick to these "formulas" as holy writ, but they should at least steer you in the right direction.

First off, lets talk cost. When getting started, no offense meant, but your equipment is going to far outweigh your abilities unless you have more in depth training. The $1000 limit might be too little as you consider a good rifle combined with a nice scope. A good scope will cost more than your rifle and you should be prepared to spend more on good glass as its the engine of a good long range rifle. However, at this juncture, there is no need to go crazy and spend $4000 either.
A good, battle proven cartridge is 7.62/ 308. These are accurate, with the right set up, to easily reach the distance you want. At this point, I would suggest a Savage 10 series rifle as they have the adjustable accu-triggers right out of the box, heavy fluted barrels and some models like the 10FCP-SR are threaded for a brake or suppressor, have a rail and have a detachable box mag as well. They run about $1000 for the rifle. You drop a Harris bipod on it and a good scope and you can be hitting 1K yards with practice rather efficiently.
The other suggestion is to find a decent Remington 700 Short Action in 308, get an aftermarket stock that beds nicely, a good barrel, a Timney trigger, bipod, a Badger Ordnance box mag setup and good scope and you'll have a rifle that you could take out Taliban fighters on the streets of Bagdad all day long.
Most guys that shoot long range do their own reloading, but some use match-grade ammo or even cheaper stuff to practice with.
Invest in a quality laser range finder and learn to use it well along with a dope card that you can fill out and keep handy. I have mine rubber banded to the stock of my rifle. There are also several ballistic computer apps for your smart phone that work as well as any military application that exists and are free.
It can be pretty overwhelming at first, and you may not be familiar with all the terminology so if you have any questions feel free to PM me and we'll talk shop....
Good luck.
 
This is how I started out in long range shooting.

Used $250 Remington 700 ADL, standard barrel in 300 Win mag
Used Nikon 4-14 w/mil-dot ret, $175 from a gunshow
20 MOA steel..rail that I had no idea how to use yet, but it was cool
Sandbags
About 2000 rounds of ammo, all 190gr Sierra Matchkings handloaded by me. At 100 yards the old ADL will make .375 groups..
Very well used 40x Bushnell spotting scope...free from grandpa

And be prepared to loose some weight as your heading downrange 500-1000 yards...1000's of trips

Get a mil dot master!

And you dont need a fancy Sako to get into the .338 Lapua. These days I am shooting a Rem 700 LE PSS, (I think thats the model) in .338. Factory break installed and actually works well. 26" barrel, I did hand lap the barrel in so I didnt need to go thru 100 rounds to break it in. The stock came with a full length alum bedding block, and I have not bedded it.
Timney trigger adjusted down to just under 2lbs..
Scope is a Nightforce NSX, that cost more than the rifle.

I have a 14" steel plate, and an 8" steel plate, its fun to make them ring out there between 1000-1500 yards..

Do it!
 
Simon99, you neglected to mention the approximate cost for the Remington 700 Short Action in 308, with an aftermarket stock that beds nicely, a good barrel, a Timney trigger, bipod, a Badger Ordnance box mag setup and good scope. Also, would you recommend to have a gunsmith bed the stock, or is this something that an average mechanically inclined person can handle?
 
I have a older 3-screw savage, and a new marlin x7 that both hold moa at 1,000....
$378 marlin, $250 vxII, $90 Boyd's stock.
$475 savage, $375 VXII, $150 choate stock.

Spending more money to "buy" your way into equipment "that will shoot" that distance won't teach you anything about the discipline. Learn proper shooting and reloading techniques, learn a rifle system, then when you have that part down; buy the equipment that will further your abilities.
 
Simon99, you neglected to mention the approximate cost for the Remington 700 Short Action in 308, with an aftermarket stock that beds nicely, a good barrel, a Timney trigger, bipod, a Badger Ordnance box mag setup and good scope. Also, would you recommend to have a gunsmith bed the stock, or is this something that an average mechanically inclined person can handle?

Alot of it depends if you are buying a new action, etc. As with anything else, you can spend as much or as little as you wish, however these parts would be within the OP's price range parameters.
 
Funny thing is 50 BMG is cheep to shoot compared to .338 and any of the other big boys. I pay under $2 a round when prices are normal. Plus you can get all kinds of special loads. Heck, armor piercing incendiary is the cheapest round I've found. Just be smart where and when you shoot it. You will set the woods ablaze!
Cheep. And 50 BMG is a fun, fun, round to shoot! Ask around. Those that have fired one know what I mean.
The 29'' fluted barrel is mine. The 32'' belongs to my good friend.
1000 Yards is fine. But being able to shoot farther is nice. If you need to.
I went with Barrett. But there are many nice 50's being made now days. It's just that at about 24 pounds. With a bull pup configuration the Barrett 99 is a light compact 50. Prices are down right now so you better buy one! Heck you will probably make money if, and when, you sell.

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If the OP is looking for a good valued out of the box solution: the Savage 12 LRP series is worth a look. Comes in .260 rem, .243 Win and 6.5 Cred since reloading isn't an issue?

If factory ammo is preferred then something in .308 like a Remington 5R with a lot of FGMM 175 would be a good out of the box solution at a similar price point to the Savage 12 LRP. Otherwise the usual Remington 700 or Savage 10 series suspects are all good starting points but generally require a chassis or bedded stock for better consistency.

For value optics: Vortex Viper, SWFA Super Sniper and Bushnell DMR, ERS or XRS series are worth looking into.

For field work, one will eventually gravitate towards a Vectronix Terrapin...

Beyond that, it's GA Precision, Accuracy Interational or Sako TRG time and matching optics from S&B, Premier, Nightforce and the likes...

Rifle, optics will be the big ticket items. Then you have the consumables of ammunition and barrels. Everything else is relatively cheap: Base, rings, Harris or Atlas bipod, rear bag, level, data book, steel targets...

To echo Dakker, long range precision is about the fundamentals...but having some fun toys to do it with doesn't hurt, either.
 
If you're just starting out, spend sometime watching the Sniper 101 series on YouTube by TiborasaurusRex. The guy is not preachy and covers the basics all the way to advanced in a very easy to follow manner. He does get repetitive sometimes, but I've enjoyed watching quite a few of his video's. It will give you a great idea of what rifle and caliber to start with, as well as glass. It's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon if you've got the time. My current 7mm-08 build is because of his video's.
 
Good advise above. There are very accurate guns out there for under $1000. Like Savage 110. And $1000 on a scope is not a waist. Like simon99 said it's the engine. Among other things. Degrease and lock tight blue everything down. With special attention to simple, strong base and rings. I don't care what you spend or what brand you shoot. A $7500 rifle scope combo will not perform at all, if not put together right. A simple scope/base install is not unimportant. It's simple not necessarily easy. If you don't get this right then don't bother playing with long range guns.
Really. Ask yourself How many rifle /scope [red dot and other] combinations do I have. Then look at the care taken to mount your optics? And do you need the complex options found on most mounts? Are they well made and do they fit correctly? This is where most long range systems fail. Or will fail. That's right. You may get your rifle to hold a zero at the range. That can change quickly with a failing cheep, or overly complicated mount/base/rings. Or may fail slowly. With a loosening base not cleaned and lock tighted down. So frusterating! Chasing your tail.
 
I agree that shooting the 50bmg is fun and cheap. But I've found that the surplus bullets vary quite abit.. Powder and good bullets really chews thru the $. But it's fun. 50 bmg for long range is spendy if u want precision.

I've been shooting the .338 Lapua now for 3 years. Brass Is an expense but I have 15-20 reloads on 99% of my cases now.. Brass life is amazing..
 
This setup works pretty well for the $2000 range.

The rifle is a .308 Savage Law Enforcement 10FCP-SR with 24" fluted & threaded barrel, accustock, accutrigger and aftermarket bolt handle. ($1,100)

The scope is a Vortex Viper pst 6-24x50 ffp with MRAD Reticle ($950)

A word about scopes: If you have not yet learned how to use a scope to find range this <broken link removed> will give you an introduction (and help you waste time at work)

I went with milliradian reticle and milliradian knob for the simple reason that I find the math simpler. This is also a first focal plane scope which means that the reticle is correct at all magnifications (the reticle gets bigger as you increase magnification.) In contrast to a second focal plane scope that you would use at 10X or 20X (unless you are a math savant.) You can try both styles on the demo and you will see what I mean.

The mount is a GG&G Accucam QD base with 30mm integral rings ($150) It is a very easy to remove and is absolutely rock solid and repeatable.

You can also get a <broken link removed> if you desire

In addition to the Harris Bipod I am going with a rear monopod.

As for ammo, I have found PMC to be reliable, accurate and reasonably priced. However if you want three shot groups that you can brag on, you are going to have to experiment to find out what your gun likes. I have some 145 grain military white box that gives acceptable performance from the 24" but is terrible out of my Gunsite Scout with a 16.5" barrel.

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If you're just starting out, spend sometime watching the Sniper 101 series on YouTube by TiborasaurusRex. The guy is not preachy and covers the basics all the way to advanced in a very easy to follow manner. He does get repetitive sometimes, but I've enjoyed watching quite a few of his video's. It will give you a great idea of what rifle and caliber to start with, as well as glass. It's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon if you've got the time. My current 7mm-08 build is because of his video's.

Great link DeiselScout

I also recommend buying Magpul art of the Precision Rifle

 
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I picked up in a trade a Vortex Viper PST 6 x24 x 50 ffp ,
Moa reticle scope....Anybody have shooting experience with one? My original idea was more a 4 x 14 but this was to good to pass up.
 
I bought a Remington 700 Varmint in .243 winchester, SWFA SS 10X mil/mil scope and dropped it into a Rock Solid chassis. The stock is more than is needed but I had the money at the time and figured I'd just get a decent one to start with. Future plans are a higher magnification SWFA, Vortex or Nightforce mil/mil scope.

Haven't had much time to tailor loads for it, but have no problem shooting .75-1moa at 100 yards with my 105gr Hornady BTHP's. Only shot it once out to 800 yards with fairly good success.

Right now I have about $1,700 into it.

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