Long Range Rifle/Scope/PRS question(s)

[Picher]

My first centerfire rifle...a Savage 110, 30-06 when I was 17 yrs old. I ordered an after-market 70% finished Bishop stock and filed off about 25% of the bulk. My Dad showed me how to thin varnish and take several coats to make a deep, lasting finish. I used boat repair epoxy from a Marine Supply store in Waterville, Maine, where I lived. Bedded the action and floated the barrel. I could only afford a K2.5X Weaver scope, but it was a deadly combo! It killed a lot of woodchucks, a few crows, and accidentally...a major power line in a valley...when honestly, shooting at a woodchuck on a dreary day. The line, about 230 yards of a 500 yard attempt at a standing woodchuck was invisible in my cheap 2.5X scope, against the similarly-colored dead spring grass, when seen from the top of a hill, behind a chicken barn in China, ME. We called the power company to report the downed line and awaited our fate, but nothing came of it. I was 15yrs, or so and my buddy was a few years older. We apparently didn't hit the woodchuck, despite about 4 shots taken. I still maintain that it owed it's life to that power line!

 

[Picher]

Ruger Hawkeye Long-Range Target
View attachment 817295


Do they shoot as well as the Ruger Precision Rifle (AR 15), which has garnered a good reputation for accuracy, at least in its price range.

Any cons to them?

I ask because I am considering trying the PRS game (They have a place in my state) and they have a "production" class (Less than 2K rifle and less than 2K scope) division as well as a "senior" category.

Looks like the Savage GRS could be a viable option as well. Thoughts?
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Any other options? Not ready for a 4K rifle (Drool) and 3K scope just yet, gotta start saving my pennies, plus find out if the game is for me.

Any and all insight is welcome. (Scopes too)

Savage 110, 30-06 was my first new rifle, when I was 15 yrs old. I bought a semi-finished Bishop stock and glass-bedded it with boat repair "marine-epoxy". Back in 1959 there wasn't any such thing as a "Bedding Kit", but I bought an Epoxy Boat-Repair kit and it worked fine. See Below (before Weaver K2.5.scope):

 

[Picher]

I hunted woodchucks with this rifle and Weaver 2.5X scope, averaging about 200 yards per kill. It grouped about 1" with handloads done on a buddy's press, but without adjusting for my larger chamber. I got some misfires, due to chamber differences. After getting my own press, It worked better, since the dies were adjusted to my somewhat longer chamber than my buddie's Winchester 70.

My Dad worked in a furniture store and gave me pointers on finishing the stock. They worked!

In retrospect, I probably should have learned to checker, but certainly didn't want to have my beloved 30-06 be my first project. Cost of checkering tools was also a bit high, considering my meager part-time work...50 cents per hour at the family business.

 

[Walkalong]

At Altus this AM. They’re drawing for a rifle for folks here today who have also shot two+ matches this season . Ruckus action

 

[JFrank]

I won’t attend any events with prize tables but that’s pretty cool, especially if the person winning doesn’t have a rifle.

 

[Nature Boy]

Good shooting today @Walkalong

 

[Walkalong]

It was a brutal day for me, the barrel has tried to tell me it was done at the last two matches, but hard headed me didn't listen. Came in 23rd, had a lot of WTHeck happened/where did that go shots where I was rock solid, made a good trigger pull, and the bullet went into orbit somewhere. Sigh. But it was a lot of fun, my nephew was able to go with us today, so that was great. My buddy Jeff was 11th, despite a couple of tough stages.

My nephew.


Me

 

[C-grunt]

Im looking for a muzzle brake for my 308 to help spot my own shots. I'm not a big fan of muzzle blast though. Are there any of the good brakes that have less blast?

 

[xphunter]

Im looking for a muzzle brake for my 308 to help spot my own shots. I'm not a big fan of muzzle blast though. Are there any of the good brakes that have less blast?

Holland's Radial Brake (He does not have a self-timing brake).
Best brakes I have ever used-Hands down.
It doesn't give the concussion that a lot of other brakes have that angle backwards

 

[Walkalong]

(He does not have a self-timing brake).

Perhaps he'll remedy that.

 

[xphunter]

Perhaps he'll remedy that.

I will be pushing him to consider it-In fact, I already planned to do that before these posts.

 

[Tinker-S]

Perhaps he'll remedy that.

A little late to this thread, but:
Did you get the rifle/scope that you wanted?
If yes, what combo did you get?
I am on the road to build a target rifle in .243, and I got my eye on a 1:7 twist barrel. I have ordered a left hand action from PTG with a Jewel trigger. I do not compete, but I want a target rifle to engage steel targets at my local range as far as 1000 yards. Why 243? Because I am already set up to reload.
I have a 6.5CM RPR as well, but I enjoy to shoot the .243.

 

[Walkalong]

Sounds like you have the rifle figured out, what scope(s) are you interested in/looking at.

 

[Tinker-S]

Sounds like you have the rifle figured out, what scope(s) are you interested in/looking at.

I do not know.
I have some that I had on other rifles, old Bushnell 10 Fixed Power, mil. I do like this scope, and I bought 2 of those for a very low price several years back. For what I want to do, it is plenty. Hell, I shoot steel at 700 yards with a 1-4.5 scope and a .223, so, 10X should be plenty, I think. The only drawback is that the tube is 1".

 

[Walkalong]

Lots of good questions and answers about scopes here.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?forums/long-gun-accessories-and-optics.73/

 

[Tinker-S]

Lots of good questions and answers about scopes here.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?forums/long-gun-accessories-and-optics.73/

I saw that thread, and read some of the post. Very interesting.

 

[Tinker-S]

It was a brutal day for me, the barrel has tried to tell me it was done at the last two matches, but hard headed me didn't listen. Came in 23rd, had a lot of WTHeck happened/where did that go shots where I was rock solid, made a good trigger pull, and the bullet went into orbit somewhere. Sigh. But it was a lot of fun, my nephew was able to go with us today, so that was great. My buddy Jeff was 11th, despite a couple of tough stages.

My nephew.
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Me
View attachment 1118835
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How hard is the physical demand on your shooting discipline?
Do you have to "huff and puff" from shooting position to the next one?
I figure it will suck to walk from one stage to the next one with a heavy rig.

 

[Walkalong]

Moving during a stage with a heavy rifle and bag(s) in hand.

Think starting on the ground and shooting from five places on these rocks in a minute thirty. Not many years ago that was a lot easier.


Me on the 2nd spot on the rocks.


3rd spot

 

[GoldieMI]

Think starting on the ground and shooting from five places on these rocks in a minute thirty. Not many years ago that was a lot easier.

I don't notice it so much in the middle of the match, but I pay for it on the drive home and the next day
usually the knees and elbows are sore lol
beats not being able to shoot though anyday....I'll take sore on Sunday if I get to shoot and compete on Saturday

 

[Walkalong]

beats not being able to shoot though anyday....I'll take sore on Sunday if I get to shoot and compete on Saturday

Darn tootin'

 

[C-grunt]

How hard is the physical demand on your shooting discipline?
Do you have to "huff and puff" from shooting position to the next one?
I figure it will suck to walk from one stage to the next one with a heavy rig.

I haven't started PRS style competition yet but i do shoot Black Rifle competition. Its kinda like 3 gun but only the rifle part.

Similar though is we have to move all our equipment from stage to stage. I have been using a utility wagon and it works okay. The mail problem is deep sand and going up and down slopes.

Several guys have taken the big wheel jogging strollers and converted them with gun racks inside. I plan on doing that. Those move the stuff around so efficiently.

 

[Varminterror]

How hard is the physical demand on your shooting discipline?
Do you have to "huff and puff" from shooting position to the next one?

Not many stages are terribly physical any more - the worst is about like climbing a ladder with a 20lb rifle. @walkalong’s rock pile above is the most physically demanding I have seen in a few years. At a match in ‘17 or ‘18, we climbed a 20ft cargo net and shot from the rail at the top… definitely wasn’t an OSHA approved activity…

I figure it will suck to walk from one stage to the next one with a heavy rig.

A lot of guys have started bringing firewood wagons or jogging strollers, much like the gun carts used in other disciplines. I just hang my rifle from my backpack shoulder strap, and either sling my tripod or tip it over one shoulder, but I’m in relatively good shape. Some ranges get a bit long between stage locations, especially wrapping from the last stage back to the first, so a lot of guys have started bringing some kind of cart.

 

[Walkalong]

Not many stages are terribly physical any more -

Giggle snort, what do these young guns know..........

 

[Walkalong]

A lot of guys have started bringing firewood wagons or jogging strollers

I haven't done that yet, but it's not a bad idea. The physical is fine, it's the speed I have problem with on some stages. That's age as well.

I like shooting the rocks, and I have liked "physical" all of my life, being athletic and energetic, but I'll be 67 very soon, and it's catching up with me.

 

[Tinker-S]

I haven't started PRS style competition yet but i do shoot Black Rifle competition. Its kinda like 3 gun but only the rifle part.

Similar though is we have to move all our equipment from stage to stage. I have been using a utility wagon and it works okay. The mail problem is deep sand and going up and down slopes.

Several guys have taken the big wheel jogging strollers and converted them with gun racks inside. I plan on doing that. Those move the stuff around so efficiently.

Same here, I have not participated on a PRS style competition, but I took the plunge and participated on a Service Rifle competition at CMP Talladega last month and it was a blast!
I felt kind of "out of place" because all of the participants brought their gear in a dedicated cart, and I had my stuff in a utility wagon. Now, I am entertaining the idea of more S.R. competition, but I will dump the money and buy one of those cool carts design specifically to transport my gear and at the same time, providing for a platform to rest the rifle after every round fired on the slow fire stage. I suck at shooting, but neither here nor there.
I like the S.R. competition style at CMP Talladega, because there is no need to move equipment from stage to stage. All of the stages are fired from the same point, and I do not have to use a spotting scope to score my target. It takes me about 4 hours to get there from Augusta GA, but it is all worth it! (I gain an hour on the way there due to the new time zone!).