I'm looking at purchasing my first centerfire rifle in the next month or so but I still have some questions that hopefully the great men and woman of THR could help me out with. But first, here is something a little about me. This rifle will mostly, about 95% of it will be used on the bench. I don't hunt, maybe I will in the future, but currently in my life I have neither the time, will, or need to hunt. I live in CA, I don't think it will matter much when talking about bolt rifles, but I'm just putting it out there.
I was really stumped on not only the rifle that I wanted but also the caliber. Spending almost all my life shooting .22s out of my 10/22, I didn't really know my tolerance from the recoil of a decent size centerfire. I was lucky enough to have a friend let me barrow his r700 BDL in .308, a marlin lever in .30-30, and a savage 110 in .243. Before I even shot I was extremely biassed toward the savage because all I hear now on the forums is how terrible Remington has become, not to mention the Savage is free floating and the r700 was not.
Im 19 years old, 140 pounds after a huge dinner, and I didn't know how I was going handle the .308. I automatically thought the .243 would fit me better and I should lean more toward the .223 spectrum rather then the .308.
After the day at the range with a buddy, I was extremely happy with the Remington 700 BDL in .308. I was hitting gongs at 500 yards out with a 4x with no previous practice. The action is like butter and I never wanted to give the rifle back. The savage was so-so. Eh, I know the Savage was an older model and I hear that Savages are GREAT guns, and I believe that. I just didn't have that click with it. While I was at the range, other shooters were extremely helpful, most even letting my firing mutilple rounds to see if I would like their caliber, from .17, .223. 300mag. .338. and more. A lot of fun. I couldn't believe my ears when I would heard the gong ring when I used the .338 700 yards out....
Now to my question!!
I was looking at the R700 Tactical in .308, but I just cant get myself to love that 20in barrel. I am also looking at the 700 police in .308 with the heavy barrel, free floating, and HS Precision stock, but you can imagine that might be out of the price range for a college student with other expenses. Should I get a cheaper r700 sps-V and switch out the stock and barrel, or save up for the R700 Police?
The fact that I can finally decide on a caliber and company is really exciting, I've only been doing research for the last 8 months......
For accessories, depending on how much I spend on the rifle.
-Harris Bipod 3-9x
-Nikon Monarch Rifle Scope 6.5-20x 44mm Adjustable Objective Fine Crosshair Reticle Matte 480$
or
- Leupold VX-II 4-12x40mm - 450$
I'll be going to a range with targets out to 600-700 yards
Thanks for all help guys!!
I was really stumped on not only the rifle that I wanted but also the caliber. Spending almost all my life shooting .22s out of my 10/22, I didn't really know my tolerance from the recoil of a decent size centerfire. I was lucky enough to have a friend let me barrow his r700 BDL in .308, a marlin lever in .30-30, and a savage 110 in .243. Before I even shot I was extremely biassed toward the savage because all I hear now on the forums is how terrible Remington has become, not to mention the Savage is free floating and the r700 was not.
Im 19 years old, 140 pounds after a huge dinner, and I didn't know how I was going handle the .308. I automatically thought the .243 would fit me better and I should lean more toward the .223 spectrum rather then the .308.
After the day at the range with a buddy, I was extremely happy with the Remington 700 BDL in .308. I was hitting gongs at 500 yards out with a 4x with no previous practice. The action is like butter and I never wanted to give the rifle back. The savage was so-so. Eh, I know the Savage was an older model and I hear that Savages are GREAT guns, and I believe that. I just didn't have that click with it. While I was at the range, other shooters were extremely helpful, most even letting my firing mutilple rounds to see if I would like their caliber, from .17, .223. 300mag. .338. and more. A lot of fun. I couldn't believe my ears when I would heard the gong ring when I used the .338 700 yards out....
Now to my question!!
I was looking at the R700 Tactical in .308, but I just cant get myself to love that 20in barrel. I am also looking at the 700 police in .308 with the heavy barrel, free floating, and HS Precision stock, but you can imagine that might be out of the price range for a college student with other expenses. Should I get a cheaper r700 sps-V and switch out the stock and barrel, or save up for the R700 Police?
The fact that I can finally decide on a caliber and company is really exciting, I've only been doing research for the last 8 months......
For accessories, depending on how much I spend on the rifle.
-Harris Bipod 3-9x
-Nikon Monarch Rifle Scope 6.5-20x 44mm Adjustable Objective Fine Crosshair Reticle Matte 480$
or
- Leupold VX-II 4-12x40mm - 450$
I'll be going to a range with targets out to 600-700 yards
Thanks for all help guys!!