Ok, $1500 Total Budget, Rifle and Scope

[The Annoyed Man]

Remington 700 VSF in .308 - $831.00
Leupold VX-III 4.5-14x50mm - $530.00
Leupold bases, rings, flip-open end caps - $125.00

Total expenditure - $1,486.00

Shoots like a dream AND is classy looking.

Yes, this is a sort of Ford/Chevy debate, but in one case, you're getting cloth seats, and in the other, leather seats. Both function just fine, but one is nicer than the other. The 700 has the leather seats.

 

[atblis]

Page 35 of CDNN's current catalog
On sale for $999
TIKKA T3 TACTICAL
20” FLUTED HEAVY BARREL
308 BOLT ACTION
BLACK SYNTHETIC VARMINT STYLE STOCK
ADJUSTABLE CHEEKPIECE•SWIVEL STUDS
NON-REFLECTIVE BLACK PHOSPHATE FINISH
5RD DROP FREE DETACHABLE MAGAZINE
BUILT-IN PICATINNY STYLE SCOPE RAIL
FACTORY TESTED 1" GROUP @ 100YDS
1 IN 11” BARREL TWIST

T3 Tactical $999 +shipping and transfer (no tax though)
Warne Rings $30
Weaver Grandsalm 6-20x40 from Natchezss $299

Once you pay shipping etc. should still come in under $1500

That rifle would be ready to rock and roll. No need for modifications. Remington made a nice rifle 20 years ago. They've been slipping for years now.

 

[GunTech]

Tikkas are nice, but I don't want to pay $60 (if you can find one) for a cheap plastic magazine. And not much in the way of after-market parts.

 

[karnaaj]

The 20" barrel on that Tikka is not going to be of much use at the longer ranges he is talking about.

 

[GunTech]

I shoot a 20 inch 40x and make 1000 yards easily. Depends on the load and the bullet. I can get 2650 fps from 155gn Lapua Scenar, 2520 and WW brass, and they have a BC of 0.508, the same as the LR standard 175gn SMK. They are still supersonic at 1200 yards at Amy metro.

I do sometime miss the 7.5 inches I chopped off the barrel, but the rifle is lighter and easier to manage in tactical matches.

A 20 inch barrel will easily get you to 1000 yards if you feed it right.

 

[lencac]

You might consider something chambered in one of the modern 6.5 mm rounds. 6.5mm round has great sectional density and ballistic coeffiecent and is proving to be winning the 1000 yrd. competitions, plus it has relatively mild recoil. pretty much best of all worlds.

 

[quicktime]

Here is my best advice give up the 1000 yard dream for now. Go out to a local range and view a service rifle match. Then if it is something you are interested in buy yourself a quality AR and shoot service rifle for a few seasons. Service rifle is the best start up for target shooting. 1000 yard target shooting is a very specialized event that many factors play in to. If you work your way up through the service rifle ranks. They offer plenty of competition are relatively cheap to shoot (nothing target is cheap) and are a great fundamental builder. Just my two cents.

 

[GunTech]

Personally, I like long range tactical (sniper) shoots. I find shooting unusual targets at unknown distance both challenging and better training for hunting. Shooting at a bullseye at 600 yards isn't hard compared to ringing a 10 inch gong that is out there some distance. Tactical matches also tend to be held in interesting terrain with unpredictable shooting positions. You shoot anything from 100 yards to 1000+. If you aren't obsessed with winning you can have a lot of fun, and learn a lot that will be useful hunting. Taget shooting porepares you for...more target shooting.

Your's truly waiting to shoot. I'm in the jeans with the green hat in the center.

We have a little of everything. There's a hunter class and a precision rifle class. Note the variety of weapons:

Interesting shooting positions. Much more like out in the field.

Targets at various ranges, just like real life hunting.

Unusual target placement

 

[jd46561]

Rifle = Swiss K31 $149.95.
Scope = Bushnell 4 x 12 Banner $60.00 E-bay.
rings & mount = $65.00 E-bay.

This rifle shoots as good or better than any brand new remchester out there. Save yourself alot of money and get a k31 set up like I did, you wont regret it.

 

[Jim Watson]

Yes, Tod, but how do you learn to do all that neatokewl stuff? Without knowing how to get hits in the first place?

I put that in the same category as the people who want to take up Sporting Clays with little shotgun background as is available from Skeet and Trap, or IPSC with little pistol background as is available from NRA. If you don't know the basics, the advanced stuff is a lot harder. And the basics are done with known distance shooting. I think the Army has lost a lot of marksmanship by jumping into popup ranges too soon. Maybe not the Marines.

 

[GunTech]

OK, you got me there. Much time spent on the target range.

From the sound of it, the person in question wants to hunt, and do some 1000 yard shooting. I didn't get the impression he wats to be a world class competitor.

To have a reasonable chance of ringing steel at 1K, you have to know the fundamentals, have a decent understanding of ballistics and know how to read wind. The latter is the one I find hardest.

But there is something infinitely satisfying about pulling the trigger and hear that clang two seconds after you fired.

BTW, the army went to popups to condition troops to shoot at people - operant conditioning. Teaching target shooting doesn't help human beings overcome their reluctance to put bullets in to other human beings. Nor does target shooting prepare one for the rigors of combat shooting, which is quite unlike sitting at the range throwing lead at bullseyes. Actual studies have shown that so called 'aimed fire' delivered by expert shots has no significant improvement over unaimed fire. It's the dirty little secret of modern warfare. Read "Operational requirements for an infantry hand weapon" buy Norman Hitchman.

 

[GunTech]

I went back and read over this thread, thanks to Jim's comments. The crux of his post was 'what rifle for $1500' that would be suitable for hunting and shooting 1000 yards.

The short answer is 'yes, you can put together such a rifle' and you don't need to spend thousands and thousands. However, a $1500 package ( rifle scope, mounts) is not going to be world class, and allow you to compete at the highest level.

As Jim and others have noted, to expect to do reasonably well with any of the recommended rifles (are any firearm) you will need to master the fundementals and practice, practice, practice. Formal target shooting is one way to polish your technique - but not the only way.

I certainly wouldn't spend a ton of money until you know exactly what you want. Take this first rifle and shoot the lands out of it. By the time you worn out you first barrel, particularly if you are shooting with others, you should have a much better idea of what you want or need in a rifle.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

 

[atblis]

308

I think everybody's wearing a green hat in that picture.

308 Doesn't loose much with a 20" barrel. Below 20" it does.

The mags may be plastic, but they work just fine and have proven durable so far. I will agree that the price is outrageous though. Should be $20 or less. Just because Remington's detachable mags were crap doesn't mean everybody else's are as well.

 

[skinewmexico]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Savage F/TR in 223, but that wouldn't be too good to haul around hunting. So Savage Model 12 in 223, 1-7 twist. Probably stretching to 1000, unlike the 308. Well.......start with a Model 12 like this, and switch the barrel out to a Shilen yourself someday in a bigger caliber. It will cost you about $400 and 30 minutes to do the barrel swap. Try that with a Remchester.

 

[GunTech]

Atblis, I came so close to buying a Tikka Tactical.

I was quite impressed by the trigger, and the weight. This killer was when I asked about spare magazines.

"$60, if you can get them"

It looks like they are more available now. However, the other factor is that I tend to personalize all my rifles. I have yet to find one that was perfect out of the box, at least for my. I am about as picky as they come, and want things to be the way I want them. It's a character flaw, but there it is. BNo real after-market for the Tikka.

In terms of the poster, the Tikka wouldn't leave much for glass, and glass is important at 1000 yards. You can usually upgrade a rifle later, but you have to replace the scope if you want to upgrade. That's not an option with the Tikka.

With a Remington, Savage or FN, you can always upgrade the stock, barrel, trigger, etc to upgrade the rifle. Not much you can do with the Tikka. You buy the full meal deal from the get go. If that's not what you want later, you have to sell it and try again.

 

[Hot brass]

Savage 10fp w/accutrigger= $500
Warne rings and base= $175/or less
Super Sniper scope = $300
Stockade Mule Deer or B&C Metalist stock = $275/$210

WOW!!!!!!!! $1200 and it won`t need a gunsmith to do a trigger job, tune, time, or tweek.
Just think, $300 in ammo. And shoot with the best of them.

How do I know, I have the same set-up. Sav 12/.223 Stockade M/D and Bushnell 6-24x40s on one Savage, Sav 10/.308 B&C Metalist and SS10x42 on the other. Why change the bbl on one of most accurate out of the box rifles.

 

[mrcpu]

What makes a set of rings so expensive? Couple hoops of metal and some screws... 175 bucks?

Obviously, there's more to it than I understand... enlighten me.

 

[skinewmexico]

What makes a set of rings so expensive? Couple hoops of metal and some screws... 175 bucks?

If you ever fastroping out of a helicopter and drop your rifle on concrete, you'll be glad you had them. Otherwise......you can impress the guy next to you at the range.......I mean, after a point, you're getting performancce that is entirely unmeasurable, and subjective. IMHO.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

I have destroyed some cheap rings before. It wasn't a big deal when my mosin lost zero every other shot, compared to when my friend went cheap and they broke and dropped a Swarovski scope off of his Steyr.

 

[skinewmexico]

I wasn't trying to imply that you need to go cheap.

 

[10-Ring]

For your budget, check out Savage Arms & Howa.

 

[corncob]

I second this opinion:

Take this first rifle and shoot the lands out of it. By the time you worn out you first barrel, particularly if you are shooting with others, you should have a much better idea of what you want or need in a rifle.

But quicktime is right about practicing the fundamentals. I don't have a place to shoot that far, but I am a fairly accomplished pistol shooter--and there is nothing like random targets and the "clink" of steel. But there is also nothing like holding your breath as your front sight settles in under a black bull (over and over) to make you good at the other one. Learning control is hard. Using it is fun. It's all fun, really.

And you don't have to compete at all to train yourself, although competition is fun. The part of competition that makes you good is the practice you do by yourself (over and over) to get ready, anyway. But you have to study or shoot with others to find out how to practice.

Back on topic: when I buy a new rifle, it will be in one of the 6.5's, I think, but you'll no doubt get more for your money buying a ready-made "varmint" or "tactical" version of something in .308. You will have to train yourself to deal with a little more recoil and the trajectory won't be as flat, but when staring out, getting started at all is more important than exactly how (which is what GunTech was saying, I think).

 

[1911]

You could probably get a rem 700 and one of these Kahles 6x for under 1500.

Check out the scopes I have for sale here.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=303614

That S@B would make you a great one too.

 

[Davo]

So where are you headed? You post alot, Im curious to see what research youve done.

 

[redneck2]

This is what I have. Remington Sendero 700 7mag with 8x32 Burris Signature on .020 offset Burris Zee rings. You'll most probably need the offset to get enough adjustment range and the Zee rings are easy and cost effective. Stock is factory HS Precision.

There's enough weight that the recoil is quite acceptable. Whole thing came in under $1,500 when I got it a few years ago.