BigBL87
Member
If you're used to shooting lefty, that's what I'd go with just for uniformity. I am also cross dominant (left eye/right handed) but I shoot right handed with some adaptation when I shoot pistols and shotguns.
If you're used to shooting lefty, that's what I'd go with just for uniformity. I am also cross dominant (left eye/right handed) but I shoot right handed with some adaptation when I shoot pistols and shotguns.
I have a Thompson Center Dimension in 223. Different looking rifle but shoots much better than I can. I bought it for it's caliber changing options from 204 Ruger to 300 Win Mag. Just swap barrels and bolt groups with provided tools. They are discontinued but can still be found at reasonable prices.
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I'm currently leaning toward .223? It's enough for those distances, has minimal recoil for a newb like me, and I could share ammo with future purchases of a semi auto (AR or Mini-14). I do not hunt.
But those 17 HMR guys sure do seem to love their caliber. And so do the 308 crowd.
Hey rabid wombat.. Could you expand on what that means?Do not load to the magazine (goofy design limits touching the lands). Enjoy.
Thanks!Howdy matto6! Welcome to THR!
I was thinking of avoiding hand loading, mostly to avoid ending up with a garage full of equipment before I'm sure how often I'll really use it. But I could totally see it happening
Oh I'm definitely shooting lefty. My right eye is terrible.
The decision is whether to work the bolt with my weak hand (left) or strong hand.
Hey rabid wombat.. Could you expand on what that means?
Savage 12 fv in .223 is 420 at cabellas Or bass pro If theres one near you. It’s got a bull barrel and for the price of a tikka you can have that, put a good target stock on it, and get a scope. With the extra heat dissipation that rifle should last thousands as thousands of rounds along with be plenty accurate for 300 yards. You hit the nail on the head as for caliber. This will also have the weight of a bench rifle and doesn’t blow a budget.
The .308 is $289Savage 12 fv in .223 is 420 at cabellas Or bass pro
Could you expand on what that means?
The .308 is $289
But you guys are convincing me for a first gun, a cheaper model might be the say to go. Spend the money on glass, customization, and ammo.
Why would you even want to shoot cheap 5.56 loading through a target rifle? You could.Personally I would get 5.56 so I could have dual ammo capability.
I was told to get glass equal to or better than the value of your rifle. I consistently get better than. I can’t hit what I can’t see.
I'm also cross dominant - right handed but I shoot lefty. So I guess the tradeoffs are:
Righty gun: allows using my dominant hand to work the bolt, and this seems fine (even preferred) by folks for bench: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...tion-the-benefits-of-weakside-bolt-placement/
Lefty gun: Forces me to use my weak hand to work the bolt, but would allow me not to be a complete mess if I ever wanted to do it standing up.
I was thinking of avoiding hand loading, mostly to avoid ending up with a garage full of equipment before I'm sure how often I'll really use it. But I could totally see it happening
I have my press on a rolling table in the garage. That's the only indication of reloading you can find. Dies and everything else is in the house for moisture control. Even if your a 500 round a month guy that's not much space. When you measure brass by the 5 gallon bucket and cast bullets by the pound then your talking a hobby that starts to take over your space.Just to reload .223/5.56 (if you're a handloader, the data's the same), you only really need a Ruckchucker, Lee Pacesetter dies, a powder measure and scale and a few other small items... it really doesn't take up that big of a space. There's plenty of guys who run into space issues when they start stacking ammo cans.
I reload for my 223 I just run the bolt back slowly and catch the empties on the bench and if your smart lay a towel down to catch the cases so they don't roll off the bench.I'm cross dominant, also. I can get away with shooting right-handed crankbolts, but generally, a left-handed bolt is real nice. You don't know the difference till you try running both.
Another thing... most right-hand rifles eject to the right. That's fine if you're shooting from the right-hander's side of the bench. You'll eject your brass onto the bench. If you shoot a right-hand rifle from the left-hander's side, you'll throw your brass on the floor or into the next lane. You do plan to reload, right? Retain/recover/scavenge as much brass as possible because .223/5.56 reloading brass starts at $0.22 per piece and goes up near $1.50, which adds up.
I saw some talk about twist rates and everybody has a preference. I've seen no problem with a 16" 1:9 twist barrel stabilizing up to 75gr Hornady match loaded to run 2500fps by the book. On one occasion, I had the chance to play with a 20" 1:7 twist and ran that same handload... for better or worse, I didn't notice any appreciable difference. I figure within 300yds it's all running similarly, assuming the rifle and load are accurate.
A 1:12 will stabilize a 55gr bullet, but generally not much of anything heavier. MidwayUSA sells what they call "Dogtown" bullets... that's a good less expensive option to reload (you can shoot more for the money) and they're good in twist rates 1:7 through 1:12. See what twist rates are available, but I'm thinking a 1:9 won't disappoint you like some seem to figure.
FWIW, I pulled the ejectors out of my range guns. Since I don't need fast follow-up shots, its pretty nice just pulling the extracted shell from the action by hand. I was testing a new load a couple of months ago and another guy was watching. He noted that that I wasn't chasing brass. When I told him I had removed the ejector, he said, "Duh; why didn't I think of that?" Not hard to put the ejector back in should I need it.