Sniper Rifle sugestions

[nipprdog]

Anyone want to suggest good sniper rifles. I am in the market for probably a 308 in semi auto, but by no means will rule out a bolt. I'd like a resonably priced rifle.

its amazing that such a broad and nonspecific request has produced so many(most good) responses in 5 hours.



sorry, but "Hunting long range target." is not specific.

best post so far is bcochran's.

welcome to page 2.

 

[Zak Smith]

Bunch of "sniper" rifles, more or less-

 

[Commissar Gribb]

aww- no PSG-1s?

 

[Jonathan]

ocabj, although those calibers can have advantages over the .308, I really don't think a specialized round would be a good choice for a first-time precision shooter.

300WM is maybe the exception of the ones you listed.

 

[nipprdog]

ocabj, although those calibers can have advantages over the .308, I really don't think a specialized round would be a good choice for a first-time precision shooter.

thats why his post also said........"If you just want imitate a military/LEO sniper rifle(which is most likely the case), then any Remington 700 or Savage in .308 will get you there. Get a decent stock if you decide to get the Savage, and make sure you put some decent money into the optics system."

 

[ocabj]

ocabj, although those calibers can have advantages over the .308, I really don't think a specialized round would be a good choice for a first-time precision shooter.

That is a good point. It is true that a .308 is a good caliber to start off with since it's cheap to reload and factory match ammo is readily available offering the shooter a lot of practice for the buck.

 

[Zak Smith]

It is true that a .308 is a good caliber to start off with since it's cheap to reload and factory match ammo is readily available offering the shooter a lot of practice for the buck.

ABSOLUTELY!

Before I bought my AWP, I looked at a bunch of calibers.. from 243, 260, up to 6.5-284 and 7RM. In fact, my original plan was to rebarrel in 260REM once I had my hands on the rifle. Now 7 months later, I'm 2600 rounds into the log book still shooting 308.

With 308, you get:

* Excellent barrel life compared to more overbore cartridges (any magnum, and any other 308 sized case with a smaller bullet).

* Ubiquitous match ammo, and many many known-good accuracy/match handload recipes.

* More rifles ready to go from the box

* Moderate recoil (compared to the magnums)

All of these mean you can spend more time learning to shoot, and more money on ammo or reloading components. You won't be rebarelling every 6 months or a year, you won't be fiddling around trying to find a good match load. When you run out of good ammo and have a match coming up, you can buy some Federal Gold Match, or Black Hills, and be good to go, whereas with some more specialized caliber, you might have to pull a couple late nights to get all the brass prepped and load a batch.

For practical targets, ie 6" - 12" at arbitrary distances, 308 is fine out to 700-800 yards if you're sorted out. 1000 yards requires more homework and judgement, but it's doable.

This isn't to say that other cartridges like 6XC, 6.5-284, 7RM, 300WM, 338LM, etc, don't have their place-- they do. Given the same amount of wind and ranging uncertainty, they basically extend 308 shooter's "effective range" by a couple to a few hundred yards. All those skills you develop shooting to 600 or 800 yards with 308 will transfer over to a more specialized caliber later.

Many long distance shooters keep a 308 rifle for practice, and a similarly-configured higher velocity & BC caliber rifle for match use. The 308 barrel lasts a lot longer and is cheaper to shoot, but he can switch to the other rifle to get its advantages when he needs them.

 

[RevDisk]

If you want to go semi, M14 knockoff with a scope will do ya nicely.

Bolt. You could go with a Rem or a Savage if you want to follow everyone else. I recommend a Tikka.

Only 'custom' work I did was slapping a muzzle break on it. Ran me circa $600 or $700 for everything in that photo. Be warned, Tikka does charge out the rear end for mags. Aside from that their prices are very reasonable.

Aside from replacing the glass and maybe getting the metal coated (nothing fancy, just probably a dark green), I couldn't imagine making any changes to the weapon.

 

[Tomac]

I'll take the .308 NDM-86 Dragunov. Although the original 7.62x54 Dragunov was designed for the Designated Marksman role and not the sniper role as we normally use the term, the .308 version is far more accurate. Using a cheap Russian 8x scope and Georgia Arms "Canned Heat" budget 168gr match ammo my personal best 4-shot ctc group at 100yds is .44", my personal best 3-shot ctc group at 100yds is .24" and my best 3-shot ctc group at 500m is 4.5".
Tomac

 

[InfernoMDM]

Well let me give a little more detail and clarification. No I am not hunting people....... yet I want a hunting rifle, I want something reliable accurate, and I can take very long shots with just for fun. Hence the .308 because of the price of the round. The comments I posted were due to my lack of definition of what I want it for. I dont want a cheap piece of crap, I use to shoot competion small bore rifles, so I like accuracy.

The reason I want semi auto (which I am begining to doubt) is I wanted it to be a little more left handed friendly.

I like military weapons and really dig the Dragounov, but have been told accuracy out far isnt great. I really don't like the Chinese version because of how its designed.

Well thanks for all the good suggestions I am going to go through the list and check prices etc. That should help me figure out what I want/need to be happy with.

 

[BillL223]

This rifle was mentioned (Remington LTR) but I didn't see any comments. I've had one for three years and it has given excellant performance. It is compact and light enough that it could be used for hunting. I have shot 1-1/4" five shot groups @ 300 yards prone with a bipod. My best 3 shot 500 yard group was 3", 5 shot 3-3/4". The factory trigger can be adjusted to about 2 -1/2#. Thats the only mod to the rifle. I have used Black Hills 175s and Federal Gold Medal 168s and 175s with good results. I now hand load the Sierra 175 Match King using Varget and CCI Benchrest primers. When I bought the rifle it was under $800. I'm currently using a Bushnell 3200 fixed 10 x 40. this scope is currently under $200.

 

[nhhillbilly]

Left hand suggest the Savage or the Remington 700 VS in left hand. Both are accurate.

 

[Onslaught]

The reason I want semi auto (which I am begining to doubt) is I wanted it to be a little more left handed friendly.

Well then you DEFINITELY should look at the Savage... I'm Right-minded as well, and I found that Savage offered more left-handed choices than ANY OTHER maker (of course, things could have changed in the last year and a half).

As I already mentioned, I was utterly AMAZED at the accuracy of the Savage 10-FLP (FLeft-handedP) I owned, and have found myself staring longingly at the Savage website again... although I may go for a more realistic hunting model in 7mm-08. The ONLY thing I was disappointed about with the Savage is that the 10-FP comes in several barrel lengths, with 20" having the best balance (for me). But the 10-FLP only comes in 24", which I found to be uncomfortably Sendero-like in it's front-heaviness.

 

[30 cal slob]

I have a Steyr SSG 69 .308 (Seacaucus, NJ import stamp) bolt rifle in very good condition (with bock scope mounts) if you're interested. Right now it's wearing a plain-vanilla Leupold MkIV with mil - dot reticle. I got it off a local PD and is supposedly has some combat mojo.

Let me tell ya, it's real easy to overspend on these things. I guess to a certain extent, "tactical" is now a marketing garnish which means you automatically spend another x thousand bucks on the rig.

My own bias is to start with a custom smith (several good ones were mentioned on this thread) and build up a bolt rifle in .308.

I've owned several accurized semis - tuned National Match M1/A's and Stoner SR 25's. They are fabulously accurate, but they don't compare to the tuned bolt guns.

Shop around ...

 

[Stinkyshoe]

So for a beginners rifle, the Savage is the way to go? What would be a good set of mounts for the Savage with Leupold MarkIV?

Bill223
I assume that your rifle has a 20" barrel. In terms of long range ballistics, how does it do?(600-800 yards)

 

[Beethoven]

So for a beginners rifle, the Savage is the way to go? What would be a good set of mounts for the Savage with Leupold MarkIV?

It depends.

The Savages are nice rifles, extremely accurate out of the box and the accutrigger is supposed to be grand.

However, unless you get one of the models that comes with a McMillan stock, you will eventually have to replace the cruddy factory stock, as it simply is not rigid/durable enough.

Further, the Remingtons and Winchester (particularly the Stealth II) have far nicer fit and finish to them, and I like their overall feel much better than Savage. They also come with fantastic stocks straight from the factory.

The fit/finish of course is not going to help you or me shoot any better, but I much prefer the nicer fit and finish anyhow.

Also, you will have a much easier time finding spare parts/accessories for the Rem. 700 or Winchester Mod. 70 action, as they are extremely common.

If you are on a really tight budget, get the Savage. If you aren't on a super-tight budget, I'd strongly recommend the Rem. 700P or Winchester Stealth II.

At the end of the day, you have to buy what you personally like best. Check out all three rifles and see which one tickles your trigger finger.

 

[Beethoven]

Oh, and you should get Badger mounts/bases. You'll probably end up wanting/needing them at some point, so you might as well save the money you would waste on lesser mounts/bases and just get the Badgers from the get-go.

They are not cheap, but quality usually isn't.

I don't think I've EVER heard anyone say, "Gee, I wish I would have gotten the lower-quality widget instead of the top-of-the-line."

 

[odysseus]

In zak's photo, what are the two rifles in the foreground?

 

[Stinkyshoe]

The real question I have is the difference between barrel lengths. It seems like there is a big difference between a 700p and the Savage varmint. About 6 inches of barrel to be exact. The 700 stocks are great. Any suggestions for an add on that helds get the proper check weld.
Thanks
Ss

 

[ocabj]

The real question I have is the difference between barrel lengths. It seems like there is a big difference between a 700p and the Savage varmint. About 6 inches of barrel to be exact.

Both the Remington 700P/PSS and Savage 10FP series are available in 26" barrel lengths. You can get a Savage 10FP in a 20" as well as a police Remington 700 aka Remington 700 LTR.

 

[NMshooter]

Well, Inferno, what is your definition of "reasonable price"?

 

[db_tanker]

Everyone is talking Remington this and Savage that....BAH!

Nice rifles..don't get me wrong...but not too many factory rifles, IMO, can compare to an FN weapons system....slap a nice "varmint" style scope.

Styer would be another good choice...but then these preclude having a large stash of the green stuff on hand...

MTCW

 

[Zak Smith]

..but not too many factory rifles, IMO, can compare to an FN weapons system...

The FN SPR, their police sniper rifle, is merely a Winchester model 70 action with a different stock and barrel.

 

[ocabj]

In zak's photo, what are the two rifles in the foreground?

Some sort of Accuracy International rifles and/or Remington 700 in a AI chassis.

 

[Zak Smith]

The 1st one is an AI-AW, and the second is a short-action Remington 700 action in an AICS stock.

ETA-

The AI rifles were designed from the ground up as a sniper weapons system, while the AICS stock is merely an add-on for the Rem700 action. For more AI-AW info, check the "AWP" thread I posted back in the March timeframe.