Accurate Under $1500//

[jAK-47]

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I want a sub 3" rifle at 400 meters and under. Please limit to .223 or .308. Under $1500.00. Moderate recoil. RELIABLE. Prefer semi-auto but would consider bolt - maybe Remington 700. $!500.00 does NOT include scope.

It's for target shooting BUT if SHTF, I'd like to reach out and touch...

Don't care about difference in ammo price so that's not a problem here. Don't care if one gun is $500 and a "better one" is $1499 - I want the best I can get for under $1500 - OK, if there is "THE ONE AND ONLY" for $1700, I'll consider it.

I owned a brand new Bushmaster and it was JAM CITY. BUT, I'd consider another one AND maybe the AR10. How's the recoil on the AR10? I have a very nice FAL and it shoots good but it IS heavy/clunky.

I am VERY recoil sensitive so a Moisin Nagant that gets .5" groups does NOT interest me.

I'm IGNORANT when it comes to sniper rifles. You can only learn so much by posting, etc. I know I'll have to do more homework and ask to shoot some at the range. I'm just asking for help getting started on my search. The searches I did on this and other boards were helpful but I'm still scratching my head. Any help appreciated.

My idea of the perfect rifle would be a 3" Yugo SKS in .308 (yeah, right) OR a Dragunov in .308. At least that's what my noobie mind says...

Thanks,
jAK-47

 

[ojibweindian]

Given the right load, just about any modern production bolt-action will give sub moa.

I bought a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06 from Wal-Mart for under $400 and, with my handloads, it prints 0.6 inches at 100 yards. Not sure what it will do at 400 yards, but I guessing it will be around MOA.

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

I too am very recoil sensitive, due to severe spinal difficulties. I used to love very long distance rifle shooting... 1000 yards was my lust!

I found the top of the line Savage, with Bull Barrel to be the best, regardless of money in a bolt action. In semi, H & K was by far best for me.

And then of course, as it seems you know, is the scope! My best shooting was with the very best scope, mounts and rings on these guns. I wonder if the scope should cost more than the rifle... I think so.

 

[Plain Old Bill]

Jak-47, try this one out.....a Savage 110 Police tactical carbine (the one with the short fat barrel) and a Harris bipod.
I stuck an admittedly cheap 6-18x scope on Burris mounts...with surplus .308, it's sub-MOA all day.
These rifles are very rapidly gaining a rep for accuracy out-of-the-box. I know I'm happy...haven't heard from anyone who isn't yet.

Good luck in your search!

 

[schromf]

Sorting through the best is difficult at best, and really subjective at worst. Kind of like asking your best friend who is the prettiest girl, maybe to him not neccesarily to you.

The are lot of rifles that fit your accuaracy requirement. Almost every major arms manufacturer today has a model that will fit your need.

In an auto: Look at the Armalite AR-10 , 308, a DPMS in a 308, a Colt H-Bar in .223, there are several other AR clones that will punch that ticket. Your asking for .75 MOA in accuracy from this rifle, I would expect 1 MOA in the auto's some will do better than that, some will needed tweaking. But a reasonable expectation of 1 MOA won't leave you disappointed.

Bolt Action: This is where your options open up a lot. A Remington 700 PSS will do it, so will several other Remingtons, if you can find a 700 with the 5-R milspec barrel so much the better. Mine is doing around .4 MOA groups out of the box, so under 2" groups at that range is what I would expect. Other manufacurers would be in no particular order: Winchester, Sako, FN,
Tika, CZ, Savage. Cooper, all make a production model that will meet your requirement. You stretched you dollar limit up so far you are almost in the realm of custom rifles. Look at GA Precision's site, just a few dollars above your limit and a very fine rifle.

A safe bet, bang for your buck, look at the Remington 700's or the Savage 10 series. Around $800.00 put the difference in glass and mounts and your set.

If your recoil shy avoid light rifles in a 308, most of the tactical/varmit rifles have the weight but look for 10lbs with scope as a min and recoil won't be an issue.

 

[Kamicosmos]

Only jams I've had with my Bushmaster Varminter was due to my handloads. It's been rock solid outta the box.

Anyways, my recommendations:

.223 - Bushmaster Varminter. You can get the gun, decent scope, bipod, some mags and a nice hard case for under 1500 easy. My setup complete was right at 1200.

.308 for an auto? hard to do under 1500, but the Bushmaster .308 or the Armalite AR10 are both very accurate and have plenty of good features, but they are more expensive, starting at about 1200, so easy to go past the 1500 limit. The DMPS guns are cheaper, but I don't know much about them, but people seem to like them.

You could get one of the Romac 3 (Dragonuv clones) for around 800, with 4x scope. They have very expensive magazines though. I have been considering one myself, but keep getting mixed reviews on reliablity and accuracy.

 

[308win]

Look for a 700BDL with the 5R barrel. Recoil won't be a problem. It will do under .5MOA all day with right loads.

 

[jAK-47]

Great Help! Thanks for answers to a TOUGH question/need. When you don't really know what you want, it's hard to answer the question but you guys were a lot of help. I need to really think about what I want/need and narrow it down.

I'm leaning towards a semi-auto but we'll see. How's the recoil in the AR-10 style rifle? If it slams me, I just won't shoot it enough to feel competent. At almost 10 pounds and with a decent brake, it should be relatively tame in recoil/flip. There are a LOT of different models on their website and I'll have to spend some time weeding through it.

That Savage 110 is a GREAT gun from what I hear but isn't it around 18 pounds? I know I'm gettin picky but that's a bit much to carry around. Perhaps there are different models?

If I had to buy one RIGHT NOW, it would be the Bushmaster in 16 or 20 inch (does it make THAT much difference?) I like the cheap FAL mags for one thing and the fact that Bushmaster is only a couple of hours away from my house in Maine.

At 200 yards, would the difference between the 16" and the 20" barrel be more than 1/2"? I like the "versatility" of the 16" barrel and would prefer it. Also, I know that .308 rifles aren't meant for rapid fire but are the AR10 models RELIABLE to eject/cycle, etc. if you do smoke the barrel?

I'll let you know what I decide. I go back and forth and can be a real pain in the a$$ to people trying to help me so thanks for your patience while I learn, digest, research, come up with more ????, etc.

Thanks again,
jAK-47

 

[schromf]

308Win:

Look for a 700BDL with the 5R barrel. Recoil won't be a problem. It will do under .5MOA all day with right loads.

Do you have one of these? Man I like mine, I have some custom rifles that don't shoot that well. My next stop is a new trigger I think. I am trying to get down to the .25-.3 MOA level and I think with a new trigger its going to happen as my best 5 shot riight now is under .4

This was the best $800.00 I ever spent on a rifle, frankly I would have paid a couple hundred more if I knew it would shoot that well. My only real complaint besides the trigger is I wish the rifle was black, I would have gladly dropped another $100 on this rifle to have a black teflon option.