Bolt Target Rifle

Your $500 budget will eliminate anything new other than a Savage Axis

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Ummm.... no. Not at all. Unless the only criteria is "$500 and must be a Savage"

Ive always been a Rem fan in 700, My son bought a Rem and had some problems with it, So this time I just bought a Savage 10FCP-SR in 308 still waiting for it to come in. But I will give Savage a try
Its to bad about Rem Marlin, Bushmaster they were all good companies at one time, The new Marlins are a disgrace compared to what they were. And for 850.00 that's really to bad.

Fella's;

Bullets for the various 6.5mm's are available up to at least 160 grains, I know that for a fact. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find the B/C numbers for the 6.5's to be right on the heels of the 7mm's either. Berger lists the B/C for their 140 grain target bullet G-1 at .592. There's a reason a lot of the 1000 yard crowd like the 6.5mm bullet diameter, and it isn't poor performance.

900F

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/80563

Look for gently used and you may even beat this. It is so far ahead of the OOB quality of budget Savage/Ruger/Marlins as to be a better value in my mind. Superior trigger, action (even though not a short action) and accuracy (at least comparable to the BEST examples of the budget 3). Some complain about the expensive plastic mags, but I have no problems with them and added a 5 rounder. I have a hard time getting comfortable with the current state of the Remington organization.

Likely, adding glass will be your only additional expense. I advise "buy once-cry once" in this equation. I added an entry level Leupold and am happy, but save up for mid grade Leupold and you should be ecstatic. You could save a few $ on Nikon and still be well equipped.

As to caliber, for me it is 7mm 08 with 1-9 twist, but ANY of the suggested chamberings will likely please you for your stated use in the Southeast. Not sure I'm sold on .223 for whitetail.

This seems to clearly bust the budget.

http://www.eurooptic.com/tikka-t3-ctr-rifles.aspx

I'll heartily second the suggestion to take a look at the Tikka rifles. I have several and they've all been good. If you do, also look at the Tikka Super Varminter. I'd get it in 6.5 x 55mm Swedish Mauser if it t'were me, but they don't put the bolt on the correct side for me.

900F

I notice you are interested in the .243. That is a good target round and a decent hunting round. Every .243 I have shot has been very accurate.

Not at all. Unless the only criteria is "$500 and must be a Savage"

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Actually Savage makes some other $500 rifles that are darn nice. The Axis is considerably cheaper BTW. You can still get a Savage 110 for just over $500 with a Nikon scope. The 110 has been the value leader in rifles for quite a while. I like Tikka too and you can get a T3 Lite for $556 here. That's not real far out of the budget and it's a heck of a rifle.

The thing is there are a bunch of nice rifles around for $500 IMO. Making a choice is the hard part. I might well go with a T3 now if I was looking for a deer rifle. But I have a 110 in 30.06 which I bought used. That's the best way to get the most for your money. There are lots of rifles in the world that were bought and shot a few times during deer season then sold. Some hunters buy a new gun every year with no plans of keeping it. You might find one with less than 10 rounds through it. That's how I bought my Savage 12. The guy actually thought it wouldn't shoot accurate so I got an even better deal. I know dealers that give me a trial period on firearms They know I'm not likely to bring one back and I know they aren't likely to sell me a junker. It works out well for both of us. BTW that 12 of mine will shoot 1" groups at 300 yards all day. It shoots about a 4"-5" group at 500 yards if the wind isn't bad. I paid $900 for that gun. It runs about $1400 new and mine had about 10 rounds through it when I bought it. The LGS owner about had a cow when I told him how well it shoots. The guy who owned it before me just didn't take the time to work out the bugs (had a nub or two on the crown I suspect because it started shooting far better after about 30 rounds. It was like night and day difference. Too many people expect perfection right out of the box which makes it great for people willing to fix the mess they thought they had.

Sunray said:

No such thing as a tactical-ish bolt action. Despite what the assorted marketing wahlahs say. They're hunting rifles or pure target rifles.
Your $500 budget will eliminate anything new other than a Savage Axis. So will deciding if you want a rifle for formal target shooting or a big kid's toy.
Personally dislike commercial hunting rifles. Far too much alike. A nice K98 or FM Mauser is another story. Maybe even a Mosin. Absolutely a 1903A3. Shot enough Lee-Enfields in the Queen's Service.
Wrong time of year for used stuff in gun shops. Just after deer season is the time for looking in them.

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I'd say this is a "Tactical" bolt gun. It's designed for tactical applications, not hunting or target shooting. The AX series has even more "Tactical" features built in. Could it be used to hunt? Sure, but it's sure a beast to lug around. Are they used as target rifles? Yes, but that was not the design intent and there are better purpose built bench guns out there.


To the OP I'd also vote for the Tikka. It's a little more than your budget but is well worth it. If you must stay around $500 the Remington 700 AAC-SD is a pretty good starter gun. It will need some upgrades but it is a good package to build on.

This is what I built.started with a rem.700 sps tactical aac-sd in the 308. The houge stock was so soft it took a lot of work and after bedding the action it shoots really good. If i was doing it again I'd go with the 260 or 7mm-08 and I still may swap the barrel fore one of those calibers. This group is 500 yards and is under 1/2 inch. In the end it's a 1000 yard for under $1000.


The best part of building your own gun is you can build it anyway you want.

I'd say this is a "Tactical" bolt gun.

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I had pretty much the same "yes there is" reaction when I read the comment about no tactical bolt action rifles. I thought about the Accuracy International AW L96. I'd say it has a pretty solid reputation as a tactical rifle too. BTW you don't mention exactly what you have posted there. Here's the AI rifle I mentioned. I assume your are showing an AI also.

It is an Accuracy International AT and is actually a updated version of the AW. Its pretty much the L96 AW model with pistol grip stock skins, a six lug bolt and quick change barrel system. It also is set up to take a factory night vision bridge as an optional accessory.

Glad someone agreed with me that there are Tactical bolt guns.

I did something similar a few years ago.I wanted something that would be accurate but light enough to use to hunt whitetails.I started with a Remington 700 VTR,one of the Cabela's models that had a true 24 inch barrel without the muzzle brake in .308.It weighs less than 10 pounds with a 6X18 VXII Leupold on top.It's a decent combination of weight and accuracy.I put it in a B&C Medalist Varmint stock and bedded the action to both stocks.In the factory tupperware stock it holds around 1 MOA,and shoots a lot better than that in the B&C stock,and the Medalist weighs more than 2 pounds more than the factory piece of plastic.Used VTR's are usually in the 5-600 dollar range for the ones with the 22 inch barrel with the brake,and I've heard the ones without the brake are a bit rarer and sell for more,maybe some of the guys on here can say what one without the brake sells for.I'd be interested to know,they don't often show up in that configuration.

Glad someone agreed with me that there are Tactical bolt guns.

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LOL I didn't exactly go out on a limb to back you up on that. I was going to say it but you beat me to it. BTW if you're not using that rifle for the next year or so can I borrow itr? That's one nice rifle. I thought it might be an AI but wasn't sure. I also thought about mentioning the McMillan Tac-50. It even has "Tac" in the name and for good reason. It's a heck of a rifle too.

This group is 500 yards and is under 1/2 inch. In the end it's a 1000 yard for under $1000.

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Please post a video of you shooting that rifle @500yds producing 1/2" groups, I am sure we all enjoy seeing that.

It shoots smaller groups on the Internet.

Looks like a Crayola Special........

I had a R700 AAC SD and it was absolutely not a 1/2 inch gun even at 100 yards with that horrible factory stock. Mine in an upgraded stock would shoot .5 or .6 groups on a regular basis at 100 yards but was not capable of 1/2" at 500 yards. The fore end of that stock flexes enough that when you load a bi-pod the pressure will cause the stock to flex and touch the barrel. I know it's the rifle and not the shooter as I shoot in the .2's-.3's at 100 with my AI so I know a little about what I'm doing. My average closest range on any given day is 465 yard and usually I'm shooting 600-1200 yards. I have yet to shoot a 1/2 inch group at those distances using a very high end AI rifle (AI= Accuracy International: You know the company that made the rifle with the longest confirmed sniper kill in military history). So, I call complete BS on your 1/2" 500 yard group as it far exceeds the capability of your rifle. At 500 yards a 1/2 MOA group is roughly 2.5 inches and 1/2 MOA is 1.25 inches so you are claiming to have shot a less than 1/8th MOA group at 500 yards. If you can do that you really should be shooting high power and every other long range competition out there as you would be smoking the rest of the competition with groups that small.

Also, why do you have such high rings on that thing? It seems like it would be tough to get a comfortable cheek weld without having an adjustable stock but I guess it looks like you may have some foam under that stock pack. Also, why the flash hider? A brake would help reduce recoil and increase accuracy not that you need any help with a 1/2 inch at 500 gun. When are you going to post your 1 inch at 1000 yard groups?

I made my own little paper scale that I used on my screen based on the .308 entry hole because huntinfool's group even looked bigger than the 1/2 inch group he claimed. So here is a poor illustration about what I found. It's actually a picture of a near 1 inch group so Longhorn76 you were dead on, it did get smaller on the internet! His 1/2 inch at 500 claim is more like a 1 inch at 500 yard claim now so he is still a better shooter than all of us and should be winning the Wimbledon Cup this year.

Please post a video of you shooting that rifle @500yds producing 1/2" groups, I am sure we all enjoy seeing that.

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Hey I've shot 1" groups with my Savage at 500 yards. I certainly can't do it every time or possibly ever again. But I did it once. If you shoot enough you get some good groups. Well you do if you have a decent piece of equipment and you spend some time learning how to make it work. Don't ask me for a video because it's cold outside and I haven't got to shoot 500 yards for about 18 months now. They closed the 500 yard range at the club. But they have been working on a 600 yard range for a while. Hopefully I can get there when the weather breaks.

It's too easy to slam what others say on the net. If you look around there are videos of people shooting groups like that. Why not take the positive view and believe someone? Maybe he did stretch it a bit but people assume the worst and post it too many times on the net IMO. It doesn't make you look cool to slam other people. I think it's too much David Letterman and other professional smart a's. Society has become far too coarse in such matters. Where I grew up people killed each other over personal slams. That's certainly a bad thing but it's where things go when people get tired of being slammed. I'm not suggesting you are going to get killed or anything like that. I think our culture is heading that way though. Certain segments already are back to operating that way. If the hippies did anything right it was stopping people from being so violent over slights. But that influence is being replaced by "gansta" culture. That's not a good thing. And they will shoot you for any stupid reason. I would prefer that people be civil to each other.

Here's a video of a guy shooting a 2" group at 500 yards. Actually it seems his shots were tighter than he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Z09VxvM_g

A couple of things about that video. He makes the claim that a semi-auto is usually more accurate than a bolt action rifle which is pure hayseed. And second I've shot better groups than he did with my rifle I paid $900 for. I bought it used but still. It will do the job.

Here's a video of a guy shooting a 2" group at 500 yards. Actually it seems his shots were tighter than he said

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How can you tell? All I know from watching that is he hit the gong. Good shooting, no doubt but no way to tell what that group measured.

I can see where the bullets are hitting. They're all hitting low and center on the gong right at the bottom of the square. You can tell by the way the gong swings for one thing. I guess I have just learned to read bullet impact over the years. I think you'll see it if you look. But again I've done it and I know what happened then. I knocked the center out of a Shoot N See target with 5 shots in a row. I was amazed to be honest because most of my groups were much larger. I ran out of the cartridges in the box I was shooting from and thought I had more of the same ammo. It was the same brand and weight etc. but it was from a different lot. I instantly went back to shooting my normal size groups. That's why people reload I guess. I don't get to shoot enough to justify learning to reload to be honest. If I had started shooting centerfire rifles for the best accuracy I could get when I was 20 years younger I would certainly have gotten into reloading. But I've mostly been a rimfire shooter for most of my years. I didn't deer hunt because there were no deer for many years in my youth and when the deer showed up it was dangerous to get in the woods to be honest. People were doing crazy things because too many newbies started hunting at the same time. Besides I was a coon hunter. I hunted squirrels too but mostly coon. You don't need a centerfire for either. I did have my SKS but it's not exactly a rifle to shoot for accuracy.

I watched it several times, paused a bunch and, if you say so. Couldn't prove it by me. Nice shooting though. I won't accept a group measurement as proven from that, perhaps your perception is more acute.

If I ever shoot a 1/2" 5-shot group at 500 yards I'm going to immediately pack up my stuff and head home for the day without firing a single additional shot. The Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC edition is a decent rifle for the price… never saw one that could pull of a 5-shot group in the 0.1 MOA range at 500 yards!

I can see 2-3 inches. I can even imagine 1 inch. Half inch groups at 500 yards seem about as common as unicorns that poop jellybeans! To do that with a stock Rem 700 would be one for the books, to be sure.


Anyway, my Tikka has been a great target rifle for the price (I also have the CTR version in .308 Win — the older model from five years ago), and the aforementioned Remington 700s are another nice lower priced option. My Tikka has put up 5-shot groups in the .3's at 100 yards on a number of occasions, which has been impressive to me. I really love my Accuracy International AX 260 like no other rifle I've owned, but its price isn't for the faint of heart, either. Also, there's no denying the the AIAX is a "tactical" bolt gun… it's a purpose-built sniper rifle, and just happens to make a darn fine range gun.

Groups

This thread caught my attention. I will not fault anyone's claims. There is evidently some very fine shooting taking place.
For comparison....the IBS sponsors benchrest shooting at long distances. Their matches are at 600 yards, not at five. They seem to get pretty excited when groups drop below one inch at that distance.
The WR at 600 is a 3 shot group at 0.349".
Matches are won by aggregate scores....the average of four targets.....and are normally closer to two inches than to one.
Google 500 yard BR records and one result will be this:
http://www.brocksgap.com/matches-500yd-benchrest/500-yard-benchrest-match-results/
So....if you are shooting better than that.....you may want to get into competition.
Pete