Long Range Rifle recommendations.

[coop44]

Winchester model 70, for a few reasons.
the flat bottomed receivers, give you more contact with the stock and larger bedding area.
integral recoil lug, as part of the receiver and not a separate bit.
Prefer a controlled feed gun but a push feed is fine for a bench gun too (and can be had cheaper)
On models with a two piece bottom metal 3 screws hold the action in place. Nice if you have a heavy barrel.

Personally I would look for a "Laredo" model, classic action built around 2000 iirc, came with a 26" heavy barrel, h&s stock, matte finish, easily adjustable trigger. In only two calibers 300win mag and 7mm rem mag, manly man cartridges. Leave the girly cartridges for the girly men.


remember one thing about long range shooting, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GLASS!!
be ready to drop some change on some good quality glass, not this "sniper" crap, at a minimum Leopold vx3, perhaps ior valdada or kahles, if you have a spare kidney just laying around.I
If you don't spend at least as much on a scope as you have into your rifle, you are just pissing your money away.

 

[DirectDrive]

I'd like to get a rifle that I can work my way up to 1000 yards keeping decent grouping. (Not hunting) I'm sure as soon as I learn and get there I'm going to crave more distance. Reading up seems 6.5 Creedmoor is very popular and is capable of going even further once the cravings kick in. I'm not set on that round yet just reading up. My original thought was getting 300 win mag which I'm still considering.

As for getting a savage and customizing and going different barrels and stocks, triggers and glass bedding... I'd love to get to that but low on know how. for now I was thinking; get one rifle setup that is known to be good and fairly reliable in accuracy department. Learn to shoot it then explore with custom guns. Who knows maybe I'm overthinking it. That's why I'm here

1) Forget the .300 Win Mag
2) Thoroughly investigate 6.5 PRC before settling on 6.5 Creedmoor

Pick a cartridge that is going to be fun to shoot for a long range session.
The .300 Win Mag for most people, is not one of those long range session cartridges.

 

[Goosebrown]

US shooting teams are all savage at this time. They're the tightest our of the box for production rifles.

But

You're on the right track. The only reason to use 300wm is knockdown power. 6.5 is going to beat in ballistics most of the time out to 1000 or 1200 easy. 300wm with 220gr for slightly longer ranges then you graduate to 338lm. Or even 308 Norma magnum which is big on the tactical circuit. I think the 308nm is good to 1500+

So my question was what sort of targets do you want to shoot in that hitting steel reliably from the first shot is slightly different than paper targets. For groups, I'm not convinced you need a magazine at all. But if you're shooting tactical you NEED a magazine. For benchrest paper targets you want something different.

I'm getting that you're probably going to do more steel or "informal" shooting.

 

[Flatfish]

223 is ok to 1000 yards. But may have issues around that range, due to crossing thru sound barrier. After that, all bets are off as to performance expectations. Not as great in the wind. Basic lack of recoil is big upside. As is long barrel life. Cheap and easy to feed.

6.5 Creedmoor should extend that by a fair margin.

Past the Creed, if you want much more range, it's gonna get more and more specialized (Read "More $$$$$").

Kinda like racing. Money buys speed. How fast do you wanna go?

 

[coop44]

The savage is a bargain rifle from a bottom tier manufacturer, it's design lending itself more to ease of manufacture than quality. If I got rifles and swag for free i would say they are the best thing since buttered toast too. It's the way the industry works. Likely they are not production rifles either.

Shot a lot of different rifles over the last fifty years, can't say there are any i favor more than the 7mm rem mag and the 300 win mag. Availability of loading data and the variety in projectiles is second to none. While a 6.5 may look great on paper and shoot fine under normal conditions, I prefer the in-flight stability of a little heavier bullet.

6.5 caliber has long been used as a good accurate caliber, b.c. being what it is, since the 6.5 Swedish came on the scene. But the Swedes stopped using it. It's easy to sit in an armchair and tout the latest greatest.

 

[300Pete]

I don't have a ton of time to run through all of the responses BUT my wife bought me my first rifle for me birthday a few months back. It's a Remington 700 LR in 300 Win Mag with a Vortex Viper Scope. Personally I always go full throttle whenever I get into something and my rifle selection was no different. The rifle surprises me every time I pull on the trigger and I have the trigger set to the lightest factory pull. Heh, even my buddy who's been shooting for over 40 years hates it because of the unmuzzled kick but I absolutely love it! A whole lot of long range shooters have been working with the 300 win mag in the Remington 700 for good reason. The gun new will set you back $700-$800 or you can go with the sendero for $1050-$1200 I believe. Either way, there is a huge aftermarket for the 700 platform so you can literally customize every component for it right out of the box. Put about $3k-$4k into the rifle, a good piece of glass, bipod and maybe an aftermarket stock (I dont mind my factory bell & carlson) and you'll have a shooter out to 1000+ yards.

I'd also recommend prepping yourself for reloading if you dont already. This will help you weed out what loads your gun likes and what doesn't do so well. Also, be sure and hop on here to ask a ton of questions. Even lurking through the threads has taught me a ton of valuable information and I'm literally on a few months in. When in doubt, ask the wise folks on here and they will surely help you out.

 

[eightyeight mag]

Tikka.
Shoots lights out as a factory rifle, butter smooth action, and a ton of after market support. Shoot the barrel out. Rebarrel it.
Throw a manners, McMillan, or some chassis on it and be done.
Unless your going full custom, do yourself a favor and get a tikka.

 

[oremike]

.... and despite all that my Weather Warrior Savage 116 in 300 winnie with it's VX-2 3X9 40mm Leupold just shoots. Granted it is set up as a hunting rifle but with a 350yd point blank range using a 200 gr Partition it should be "bang-flop" for anything I'll hunt.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

is this just for Long range shooting? you wanna hunt with it?

As mentioned there are a lot of great factory options out there. for someone who wants flexibility i would stick with savage. that being said accuracy isn't cheap. i would start with something that you can change the caliber around at home with minimal fuss.

i shoot 300wm, 338LM quite a bit, i countered recoil with weight. Mainly barrel weight. No one wants to shoot a lite weight magnum or for that matter even a 5lb .308.
this is my 300wm the entire package was somewhere in the 7k range and it shoots smoother than some 308s
View attachment 597579

While I hear that statement thrown around quite often, I have to strongly dissagree. You can find accuracy at a very reasonable price point. I've proven that way more times than I can count. I like pictures as well, so I'll post some targets, not of some pretty expensive rifle sitting there looking pretty, but target pics from yesterday at a local centerfire shoot, and some other recent targets...

...and to just show a comparison of a $300.00 rifle scope as compared to a $2,000.00 rifle scope, please note the difference:

This target was shot 7-5-19


Here's an even "cheaper" rifle and scope package and a good representation of how the combo shoots day in and day out. This was shot at a centerfire competition yesterday (7-6-19)


That's a $400.00 lightweight hunting rifle package right there and in my world, as "cheap" as they come...."budget rifle" pricing, if you will...

Now, on to why the CTR gets a lot of praise here and on the firing line:


Oh, by the way. I decided to keep the Savage 12FV 6.5 creedmoor. If someone would have said "I'll take it", they would have gotten themselves a damn good deal on a great shooting rifle and scope package.



I suggest to any new shooter, that is thinking about getting a rifle to practice and learn with, to look at the Cabela's exclusive 12FV chambered in 6.5 creedmoor or similar cartridge and throw a SWFA SS rifle scope on it. Put some trigger time in and learn the rifle and learn how to dial that scope. The Savage 12FV that I posted target pics of will ring 4" diameter steel plates at 450 yards religiously and without effort. Also keep in mind, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a good accurate rifle. To tell anyone that, especially beginners or someone looking into getting into the sport, can be highly misleading.

 

[rcnpthfndr]

very true, accuracy is subjective to the individual. i know guys that are happy with minute of a pie plate and others that if its not one ragged hole its not accurate enough.
From my perch, "accuracy" goes beyond your kit. Its the training, bullets, components, reloading gear, optics and all the stuff that goes with it to be repeatable and consistent its more than the rifle. the rifle is really a small part of the expense.

those are great groups, now do it while conducting a 10" box drill. does your optic track true? is 1" of adjustment really 1" at 100yds/mtrs? can it be repeated out to the max distance of your cartridge.
I am not bashing anyones rig here. in my experience to have that repeatability through the entire cartridges range (max effective distance) it just costs more in equipment and training.

and yes "jezebel" is very pretty and you can shoot her anytime you want...……..

ETA: didn't i say Savage was a great starting point?

 

[bsa1917hunter]

very true, accuracy is subjective to the individual. i know guys that are happy with minute of a pie plate and others that if its not one ragged hole its not accurate enough.
From my perch, "accuracy" goes beyond your kit. Its the training, bullets, components, reloading gear, optics and all the stuff that goes with it to be repeatable and consistent its more than the rifle. the rifle is really a small part of the expense.

those are great groups, now do it while conducting a 10" box drill. does your optic track true? is 1" of adjustment really 1" at 100yds/mtrs? can it be repeated out to the max distance of your cartridge.
I am not bashing anyones rig here. in my experience to have that repeatability through the entire cartridges range (max effective distance) it just costs more in equipment and training.

and yes "jezebel" is very pretty and you can shoot her anytime you want...……..

ETA: didn't i say Savage was a great starting point?

Better yet, you can bring your high dollar set up to our next centerfire competition. Id love to see you prove it out. Sounds amazing! Id love to see how that $7000.00 rifle does. Pm me if interested.

 

[rcnpthfndr]

i will PM ya to see what your schedule is. For the mean time i am 7, 224 miles away teaching service member show to shoot down threat drones.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

i will PM ya to see what your schedule is. For the mean time i am 7, 224 miles away teaching service member show to shoot down threat drones.

Thanks for the pm buddy. I look forward to meeting you and shooting with you.