First long(actually middle) range rifle?

sonichanxiao, before you spend any money on a rifle. I suggest to contact the Ontario Rifle Association and book your self into one of the Intro Days at CFB Borden. I would hate to see you spend a lot of money on a rifle and scope set up that just isn't up to the task you intended. Regardless of what caliber you choose, learning to hand load will be a huge step in accuracy at all distances.
 
maynard said:
sonichanxiao, before you spend any money on a rifle. I suggest to contact the Ontario Rifle Association and book your self into one of the Intro Days at CFB Borden. I would hate to see you spend a lot of money on a rifle and scope set up that just isn't up to the task you intended. Regardless of what caliber you choose, learning to hand load will be a huge step in accuracy at all distances.
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Email sent months ago, no reply received.
 
By the way not sure if it is easy to convert a tikka T3x tac a1 from one caliber to the other like some semi auto rifles using a conversion kit?
 
I think you should check out Nathan Fosters books on practical long range shooting, maintenance, reloading etc. Tons of info and probably answer all you questions and more that you haven’t thought up yet.
 
Colquhoun said:
If it’s your first rifle I would go for the .308 personally....the 6.5’s are better ballistically but only once you stretch them out.
As for accuracy they are a dead heat.....so if your shooting to 500 I would look at other criteria such as much improved barrel life from the .308 and many great off the rack rifle choices along with excellent ammo availability if your not reloading yet.
If you plan on getting something higher end or custom later on get behind everything you can to know what you want then see what your needs are for most appropriate caliber choice....buy a decent scope that you can move along if you wish, but again you might find a reticle that best suits future needs as you go....in other words you’ll want a new scope too come new rifle time!
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From those diagrams at the bottom, it seems not that significant difference when it’s about 500 yards, https://www.primaryarms.com/blog/65-creedmoor-vs-308-winchester-caliber-battle

I am thinking if not getting a 6.5 tikka maybe go for the .308 stag 10 first to get use to the .308 shooting. Then get a bolt action rifle for 6.5 or maybe 338 LM later. Would this work?
 
2-500 I'd be looking into a .223, significantly cheaper than .308 and plenty to go that far.
 
clg said:
2-500 I'd be looking into a .223, significantly cheaper than .308 and plenty to go that far.
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I have a Tavor X95 already, looking for something bigger and longer distance before the Tavor 7.

Having Tikka T3X Tac A1 308/6.5 in mind, but haven't decided which caliber to go as I am not pro and wouldn't shoot over 500yard for a while. So had a thought about Stag 10 .308 to fill in for the short term.
 
I would be practical in what you’re actually going to be doing. If you want to shoot long range but will be spending most of your time at short range get something that does what you need it to do. You can stretch anything out longer for the sake of trying it.
If you have access to long ranges then buy something that will be versatile there as well (Creedmoor)....
There’s just no sense in burning up a shorter life barrel inside 500 yards if that’s your max.

Then .338 Lapua is a whole other ball game....I love this caliber, but again no sense using up a barrel for short range stuff.

sonichanxiao said:
From those diagrams at the bottom, it seems not that significant difference when it’s about 500 yards, https://www.primaryarms.com/blog/65-creedmoor-vs-308-winchester-caliber-battle

I am thinking if not getting a 6.5 tikka maybe go for the .308 stag 10 first to get use to the .308 shooting. Then get a bolt action rifle for 6.5 or maybe 338 LM later. Would this work?
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Colquhoun said:
I would be practical in what you’re actually going to be doing. If you want to shoot long range but will be spending most of your time at short range get something that does what you need it to do. You can stretch anything out longer for the sake of trying it.
If you have access to long ranges then buy something that will be versatile there as well (Creedmoor)....
There’s just no sense in burning up a shorter life barrel inside 500 yards if that’s your max.

Then .338 Lapua is a whole other ball game....I love this caliber, but again no sense using up a barrel for short range stuff.
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Thank you for the advise.

Not sure how many rounds the barrel life is for Tikka, I guess should be at least 2-3000 or even more.

Most likely I will spend the first 2-300 rounds under 300 yard distance to start with, then move out to a proper long distance shooting place between 500-1000 yards to skill up.

Hard decision to make between 308 and 6.5 caliber. Seems under 800yard, it doesn't make that much difference on performance from the statistics. But for sure 6.5 is the way to go in the future.
 
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For barrel life, 308 is one of the best options. A 308 barrel will remain accurate for like 4000 rounds. 6.5 CM is good, but I think they last something like 2000?

Once you burn out the 308 barrel you have the choice of getting another 308 barrel or switching to the 6.5 creed. They use the same action, magazine, bolt face, etc. Price of a replacing a 308 barrel or a 6.5 CM would be the same. If you start reloading, you can even make 6.5 CM brass out of your stockpile of 308 brass.
 
sonichanxiao said:
I have a Tavor X95 already, looking for something bigger and longer distance before the Tavor 7.

Having Tikka T3X Tac A1 308/6.5 in mind, but haven't decided which caliber to go as I am not pro and wouldn't shoot over 500yard for a while. So had a thought about Stag 10 .308 to fill in for the short term.
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Be careful not to confuse your Tavor 223 with the 223 used in 1000 yard competition.

Sure its the same 223 case but throating and bullet selection is very different. You will not purchase such loads in any store... hand loads only here.

Going with a 223 for your purposes is actually not a bad idea at all... if you hand load. As Maynard suggested, spending some time on the range with the guys at Borden will be a real eye opener for you.... and you will see plenty of 223s there at the 900 meter firing point. TR shooters have no fear or reservation in changing between 223 and 308 out to 1000 yards... TR is shooting jacket and iron peep sights.. prone off a sling and no bipod... Maynards specialty BTW.

While earlier I suggested to avoid the RPR because we were speaking in terms of 308 or 6.5 but I will recommend the RPR in 223 because it is chambered for the long heavy bullets used out to 1000 yards, and can feed that long load from the magazine. (this is truly unique for a 223)

I have one... for now... (Defiance replacement on order) and my hand loads are 80 grain bullets seated out to 2.5 inches OAL running 2800+ FPS. I have another custom 223 throated longer that can hit 2900 FPS. Your Tavor mag will only hold rounds out to about 2.25 inches long and could not come close to that speed with 80 grain bullets.

That allows for an extra 0.25 to 0.35 inches of powder capacity and higher velocities than possible in your Tavor.

In all reality the 223 (correctly throated and with the right bullet and twist rate of 1:8 to 1:7") is extremely competitive out to 600 meters, but tends to fade further out against the 308 in F Class... not so much in TR.
 
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TheNatural21 said:
For barrel life, 308 is one of the best options. A 308 barrel will remain accurate for like 4000 rounds. 6.5 CM is good, but I think they last something like 2000?

Once you burn out the 308 barrel you have the choice of getting another 308 barrel or switching to the 6.5 creed. They use the same action, magazine, bolt face, etc. Price of a replacing a 308 barrel or a 6.5 CM would be the same. If you start reloading, you can even make 6.5 CM brass out of your stockpile of 308 brass.
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I am thinking the same way too, but haven't got any response for the price of replacement barrel from dealer yet. Some of them even doubt tikka have replacement barrel.

Any idea of the cost of a new tikka barrel?
 
Maple57 said:
Be careful not to confuse your Tavor 223 with the 223 used in 1000 yard competition.

Sure its the same 223 case but throating and bullet selection is very different. You will not purchase such loads in any store... hand loads only here.

Going with a 223 for your purposes is actually not a bad idea at all... if you hand load. As Maynard suggested, spending some time on the range with the guys at Borden will be a real eye opener for you.... and you will see plenty of 223s there at the 900 meter firing point. TR shooters have no fear or reservation in changing between 223 and 308 out to 1000 yards... TR is shooting jacket and iron peep sights.. prone off a sling and no bipod... Maynards specialty BTW.

While earlier I suggested to avoid the RPR because we were speaking in terms of 308 or 6.5 but I will recommend the RPR in 223 because it is chambered for the long heavy bullets used out to 1000 yards, and can feed that long load from the magazine. (this is truly unique for a 223)

I have one... for now... (Defiance replacement on order) and my hand loads are 80 grain bullets seated out to 2.5 inches OAL running 2800+ FPS. I have another custom 223 throated longer that can hit 2900 FPS. Your Tavor mag will only hold rounds out to about 2.25 inches long and could not come close to that speed with 80 grain bullets.

That allows for an extra 0.25 to 0.35 inches of powder capacity and higher velocities than possible in your Tavor.

In all reality the 223 (correctly throated and with the right bullet and twist rate of 1:8 to 1:7") is extremely competitive out to 600 meters, but tends to fade further out against the 308 in F Class... not so much in TR.
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Thanks a lot for the details.

I guess once I am in Borden, I would start preparing for reload. For now, only can get some good ammo for match purpose if going long range.
 
Tikka does not make extra barrels you would have to order one from another manufacture (kreiger etc)

sonichanxiao said:
I am thinking the same way too, but haven't got any response for the price of replacement barrel from dealer yet. Some of them even doubt tikka have replacement barrel.

Any idea of the cost of a new tikka barrel?
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IvoB said:
Tikka does not make extra barrels you would have to order one from another manufacture (kreiger etc)
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Does that mean most of other precision rifle manufacturers don't make extra barrel for replacement either? That sounds like if 6.5 barrel only lasts for about 2000 rounds, I shoot weekly, every time 25 rounds, it only lasts for about 2 years, that's how long their warranty is. Seems like a wear and tear part in a rifle.
 
Barrels are definitely a consumable. There's lots of barrel makers out there though. With a Tikka you'll need a gunsmith to install. Prices range depending on quality and options, but 600 or so?
 
TheNatural21 said:
Barrels are definitely a consumable. There's lots of barrel makers out there though. With a Tikka you'll need a gunsmith to install. Prices range depending on quality and options, but 600 or so?
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If price for a new barrel is around $600 plus gunsmith cost, I guess that's within $1000 in total? Still somewhat acceptable.

I was expecting it can last for something like 4-5000 rounds.
 
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