Target Rifle for 100 - 300 yards -- suggestions?

About 80% of the rifles on the line at the Canadian National Silhouette Championships are built on Remington 700 actions and most have the factory barrel and stock. That says something right there. For out to 300m shooting the 6mm BR's or 6mmPPC are less wind sensitive than any of the 224 calibres.
 
If it were me again then I would follow this advice learned through much of what has been mentioned here:

Cartridge. up to 300m, A 223 will provide you with years of entertainment with the least cost per shot. Yes, the 6br will also provide the same entertainment but at a larger cost per shot and a little less barrel life.
Action/Barrel: which ever you can afford. However, I can say with extreme prejudice that the savage platform will be your least cost option. As for the nay sayers....it is equally competitive with higher cost platforms as I can and have shot side by side with such platforms and won my share of hardware with it. Your gains in accuracy will come at the cost of the barrel and chamber job and trigger time. Over and over again I see folks spending thousands more for 0.1 moa advantages. If that is you then fill your boots. A savage prefit shilen or krieger for about $650 new will do.
Scope: spend as much as you can on this after saving with lower cost options mentioned above.

Here is your budget in numbers and what can be achieved by using our ee as I have done in the past.

platform: used savage ftr ($1000) shoot the heck out of it and rebarrel with a premium.
Barrel: new or used premium barrel (600ish for a new prefit or find a used one on the ee for half the cost) learn to install it yourself and save more cash.
That leaves you with 1200 or so for a top notch sightron or other scope. do not compromise on this tool. look at the ee and save more $$$
Then expect to lay out about $1000 a year on building your own fodder for that beast. Trigger time will provide you the edge. Enjoy the sport mate....enjoy!
Elkies two cents...
 
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I'm not sure if you're ever considered competing or not, but .223 and .308 are the only calibers allowed in FTR.

My vote, and it's just my vote, would be a Tikka T3 Varmint in .223, or one of the 6.5's.

Enjoy - will be a fun journey!!

-J.
 
Here is my modified Rem 700 .223 in a MDT chassis with, JC custom barrel on it, last planned change to it is have a NF ATACR 4-16 ordered for it, shoots easy under 1/2 MOA with factory ammo.

 
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grauhanen said:
I'm considering a center fire target rifle for relatively short range. The ranges around here are up to 200 yards so I don't imagine shooting beyond 300. I don't yet reload and understand that it is an inevitable necessity for shooting CF and I plan to take it up when I start shooting such a rifle. My experience of late is with rimfire, and I know very well that better quality rifles like Anschutz are well worth the investment. I'm looking for suggestions about caliber and more specifically about a rifle that will be able to shoot well enough that I will be satisfied with it for years to come.

What is a good target rifle that doesn't need much fiddling and is good to go out of the box? My budget is up to around $2500 for the rifle but it is not necessary to spend it all if it's not needed. I'm looking for a rifle that I will be pleased with and won't be saying that I should have spent a little more. The scope is another topic, but my rimfire experience has taught me that optics are very important as well.

Thanks.
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Weatherby Vanguard SII
Well under your 2500 mark (With a good scope)
Sub-MOA
These rifles are tack drivers at a great cost.
Get a .223 (or better yet a .243) Ammo is reasonable, ballistics are great, and you can shoot them all day long.
Or go with a .257 weatherby which has even better ballistics, buuutt probably costs more for ammo.

My 2 cents.
 
I apologize for not saying sooner what rifle I chose, but I haven't looked at this forum for a while.

The rifle I received on November 21 was a Tikka T3X Varmint in .223 Rem. I haven't yet decided on a scope but did mount a temporary one to try the rifle out at 100 yards. At first I used inexpensive American Eagle FMJ 55 grain ammo and got some promising results. The next time I tried some Sako 50 grain ammo, but the results were quite disappointing. I expected better from Sako ammunition. I was beginning to think I had made a mistake. The third time out with the rifle, I tried some Hornady American Gunner ammo in 55 gr HP as well as Hornady Superperformance Match 75 gr HP. Both of these gave much more satisfiying results, showing the Tikka T3X Varmint can indeed shoot MOA and better.

To be sure, I expected much better results from the Sako ammunition as it costs $1 per round. Perhaps 50 grain bullets are too light for a 1:8 barrel. Nevertheless I can say I'm pleased with the Tikka T3X Varmint in .223 Rem.

Now I have to figure out what scope I should get.
 
If you are interested in and find a Sako 75 in 6PPC buy it.
Fantastic little rifle that is a pleasure to shoot. Recoil is minimal - around .223 light or less.
Accuracy is exceptional at short range, and even long range it is very good still. Perfectly suited for 100-300m in my experience.
Excellent build quality out of the box, including the barrel.
 
In my experience, to consistently shoot sub-MOA, you will need to reload. I'm still new to the game but I wouldn't question your rifle's potential based on factory FMJ performance. Hornady ammunition is much better but you can load it yourself for half the price (or less).

I haven't seen any factory centerfire ammo that gave me the feeling you get when you bughole .22LR at 50m with premium ammo.
 
thenerdboy said:
In my experience, to consistently shoot sub-MOA, you will need to reload. I'm still new to the game but I wouldn't question your rifle's potential based on factory FMJ performance. Hornady ammunition is much better but you can load it yourself for half the price (or less).

I haven't seen any factory centerfire ammo that gave me the feeling you get when you bughole .22LR at 50m with premium ammo.
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Just about any factory or reloaded .222 Remington with a 50-55 grain quality bullet.
Also modern Browning rifles in the .22 Hornet chambering.
 
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For a new rifle I would buy a Savage single shot. The solid bottom makes for a solid bedding job and better sustained accuracy. I am a bit prejudiced, since I had a small hand in the design.

But, you best value would be to buy a used target rifle like a Musgrave. If I bought a used target rifle I would have my gunsmith set the barrel back an inch, to give me a fresh chamber and throat, good for another 2000 rounds.
 
Ganderite said:
For a new rifle I would buy a Savage single shot. The solid bottom makes for a solid bedding job and better sustained accuracy.
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I agree. Here is a picture of mine which has the HS Precision stock with the aluminum bedding block, before and after bedding. I can't say that I like the third action screw left hanging there over the end of the aluminum block, but I suppose when you kind of have to leave room for the trigger, perhaps there was no other choice for the location of the screw, and the length of the block.

LRPVStock.jpg


LRPV-AB.jpg
 
My suggestion is a Remington 700 in .223 . Ammo is cheap, little to no recoil, and a heavy barrel sps tactical can be had for $800-$900 new. Upgrading a 700 is very easy, and $250 will get you a phenomenal trigger, throw it in a high quality stock and you'll be sub moa or better. Also in my opinion, I wouldn't waste my time with specialized cartridges unless you plan on shooting past 300.

My gopher gun is a Remington 700 in .223 with a timney trigger in a magpul hunter stock. Weaver rail holding on a kahles 3-12i scope in a sphur mount. Once I shoot out this barrel I might upgrade to a better barrel.
 
grauhanen said:
I'm considering a center fire target rifle for relatively short range. The ranges around here are up to 200 yards so I don't imagine shooting beyond 300. I don't yet reload and understand that it is an inevitable necessity for shooting CF and I plan to take it up when I start shooting such a rifle. My experience of late is with rimfire, and I know very well that better quality rifles like Anschutz are well worth the investment. I'm looking for suggestions about caliber and more specifically about a rifle that will be able to shoot well enough that I will be satisfied with it for years to come.

What is a good target rifle that doesn't need much fiddling and is good to go out of the box? My budget is up to around $2500 for the rifle but it is not necessary to spend it all if it's not needed. I'm looking for a rifle that I will be pleased with and won't be saying that I should have spent a little more. The scope is another topic, but my rimfire experience has taught me that optics are very important as well.

Thanks.
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grauhanen, I know you have great taste, treat yourself and buy a nice Sako heavy barrel, something like a model 75 or older.

You will be pleased by every aspects of the rifle and the resale value is excellent.

I bought this Sako at the end of summer.
Its an almost mint model 75 HB in .204 ruger.
I paid around 1700$ if i remember well.
That'll leave you some room for a very decent optic.



 
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Walthershooter said:
About 80% of the rifles on the line at the Canadian National Silhouette Championships are built on Remington 700 actions and most have the factory barrel and stock. That says something right there. For out to 300m shooting the 6mm BR's or 6mmPPC are less wind sensitive than any of the 224 calibres.
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Easy now there are some 223 with a 1/7 twist shooting 80 & 90 gr bullets that do quite well at 300m out to 900 mView attachment 77734
 
there is a sweet remington 700 with a 6mm ppc barrel on it in the EE
A fool and his money are easily parted, shoot the known or waste your money trying........
 
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