PRS Rifle Recommendations?

I have been doing some work on 783s, and am quite impressed with them. I would not suggest that they are approaching a limited production precision action, but I do think they represent excellent value, and would work very well for a new shooter, particularly one who has not made the decision to get really serious about a particular discipline. The Tikkas are certainly holding their own. Investing in coaching, ammunition and range time might be more beneficial to a new competitor than buying a high end custom rifle.
The scope is where it makes the most sense to buy quality from the get go. Going cheap on the optic is poor economy.
 
5.45 said:
783 is so inexpensive that it might be better to eventually buy a complete rifle for each caliber, ditch factory stock, get one chassis to start, and mags as required. 6.5CM and 308 use same mags. Swap barreled actions as needed, or grab a second chassis when MDT has their next Black Friday sale. Mags and LSS chassis usually go 40% off or so.
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Now I'm picturing a shooter collecting the whole set of calibers and having a golf bag full of rifles to be able to use the right one on each shot!

I'm thinking the .22LR trainer/CRPS rifle and a 6.5 CM for really reaching out should be enough for most of us, and spend the money on one really good rifle and a decent .22 rather than spreading it over too many so-so guns.

What logic should I be looking at (other than "I want ALL the guns") for needing to cover more PRS calibers?
 
old303 said:
Now I'm picturing a shooter collecting the whole set of calibers and having a golf bag full of rifles to be able to use the right one on each shot!

I'm thinking the .22LR trainer/CRPS rifle and a 6.5 CM for really reaching out should be enough for most of us, and spend the money on one really good rifle and a decent .22 rather than spreading it over too many so-so guns.

What logic should I be looking at (other than "I want ALL the guns") for needing to cover more PRS calibers?
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You only need one cartridge for PRS. Pick one, and learn it inside and out.

6.5 Creedmoor is a great starting point, especially for those that don't reload, but the trend of the past few years has been going to 6mm's.

6BR, 6BRA, 6 Dasher, 6 Creedmoor, 6GT, 6BRX, 6XC, etc are all great 6mm's. All have their advantages and trade-offs. I'm personally a big fan of the 6BRA, but it may not be for everyone.
 
QUATTROISKING said:
Sometimes you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for accuracy.
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You pay an "arm and a leg" for guaranteed precision, quality/fit and finish, QA/QC and customer service.

Handle and shoot a custom rifle versus a Savage and it's pretty apparent why a custom rifle costs a lot more. Not everyone needs or can afford a custom rifle, and that's fine. And with everything, there's always the law of diminishing returns at play. But a Savage is not a custom rifle (or an AI, DTA, PGW, Cadex, etc).
 
old303 said:
Now I'm picturing a shooter collecting the whole set of calibers and having a golf bag full of rifles to be able to use the right one on each shot!

I'm thinking the .22LR trainer/CRPS rifle and a 6.5 CM for really reaching out should be enough for most of us, and spend the money on one really good rifle and a decent .22 rather than spreading it over too many so-so guns.

What logic should I be looking at (other than "I want ALL the guns") for needing to cover more PRS calibers?
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Since you asked about the logic: basically what you are trying to achieve is to execute the stage in the most efficient way. I.e. minimize the deviation (errors) from the “ideal” scenario.

Mathematically, we can write it as:
Total error = stage planning errors + transition errors + shooting technique error + environmental factors (wind etc) + optics error + ammo error + hardware (gun) error + other things

For a new shooter, the first three will be the biggest contributors for quite a while. Most modern guns can shoot well enough with optimized handloads that the hardware error part will not be an issue until you reach a certain level.

Bottom line, a “good enough” gun + lots of range time is better than a top of the line gun and little practice.

P.S. that thing above is known as multivariate linear ANOVA in statistics
 
What's the best relatively compact (under 20" barrel) .308 tactical style rifle for around $2K? Tikka A1? What else? Sig Cross looks good but is MIA.
 
Virtual.Chris said:
What's the best relatively compact (under 20" barrel) .308 tactical style rifle for around $2K? Tikka A1? What else? Sig Cross looks good but is MIA.
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Hands down the tikka is the best factory rifle in that range. Also Bergara is one to look at.
 
QUATTROISKING said:
Sometimes you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for accuracy.
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It's not just about accuracy or precision( there is a difference in the two). Precision or accuracy without reliability means nothing. Savage does not instil much confidence in the reliability department. As was mentioned you get what you pay for.
 
Unfortunately, $1000 doesn't go very far for a (new) precision rifle that's suitable for getting into PRS-type shooting. You're looking at closer to $1500. That will get you something like a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor, Remington 700 PCR in 6.5 Creedmoor, Tikka T3X CTR 24" 6.5 Creedmoor. All of those will get you up and running and allow you to upgrade things as you learn what you prefer (triggers, chassis/stock, muzzle device, etc). I'd also suggest checking the EE for something lightly used.

If it were me, I'd get this:https://theammosource.com/remington-700-complete-barreled-action-6-5-crdmr-24-threaded/ and drop it in an MDT XRS chassis. That puts you at about $1250 with a good action/barrel in a great chassis that can be accessorized for PRS. Add an MDT 20 moa scope rail and the muzzle device of your choice (I'd suggest an Insite Heathen) +your optic and rings and you're off to the races. Furthermore, being a Rem 700, you'll have the most choice when it comes to aftermarket triggers and other accessories. Once you burn out the barrel, you can get it re-barrelled with a custom barrel and get the bolt knob changed at the same time. Further down the line, if you decide you want a custom action, the vast majority of them will fit in your existing chassis. Basically you get a great rifle to learn on with the flexibility to change things as you progress vs putting yourself in a corner from the get go with something like a rem 783.
 
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All I will ever need for the PRS game... some items are more blingy then needed. Figure around $1500 for the rifle minus accessories...including match prefit barrel and 1/4 MOA capable

Feeds very well, ejects properly. Timney trigger is possible which breaks very cleanly at 1.5lbs.

Tikka, Howa/Wby Vanguard, Rem 700 are also excellent donor rifles to build from. I am not a fan of factory barrels and for what ammo costs, swapping in a prefit match barrel is a small investment.

note, Savage SAs have a history of spotty ejection. If you find a donor that actually ejects well, and an older generation action, go for it.. BUT test the crap out of that ejector and why I don't use this action despite having 15 yrs of useage in F class.

Jerry
 

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I'm suspecting that for a new precision shooter, the round count that wears out the factory barrel is about the training count needed, and lets you defer the cost of your first match barrel to that point down the road from the initial rifle/chassis/scope/etc purchase. Basically a graduation present to yourself for doing your apprenticeship with the rifle.
 
old303 said:
I'm suspecting that for a new precision shooter, the round count that wears out the factory barrel is about the training count needed, and lets you defer the cost of your first match barrel to that point down the road from the initial rifle/chassis/scope/etc purchase. Basically a graduation present to yourself for doing your apprenticeship with the rifle.
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Either use it as a practice barrel and wet your feet with it, or if you can find a seller, sell it and use the funds to help purchase a custom barrel out of the starting gates.

For PRS/NRL type shooting, you don't need custom barrel level precision. Stage management, wind, and your technique will play a much bigger role in your ability to make impacts or not at a match.
 
rugbydave said:
Unfortunately, $1000 doesn't go very far for a (new) precision rifle that's suitable for getting into PRS-type shooting. You're looking at closer to $1500. That will get you something like a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor, Remington 700 PCR in 6.5 Creedmoor, Tikka T3X CTR 24" 6.5 Creedmoor. All of those will get you up and running and allow you to upgrade things as you learn what you prefer (triggers, chassis/stock, muzzle device, etc). I'd also suggest checking the EE for something lightly used.

If it were me, I'd get this:https://theammosource.com/remington-700-complete-barreled-action-6-5-crdmr-24-threaded/ and drop it in an MDT XRS chassis. That puts you at about $1250 with a good action/barrel in a great chassis that can be accessorized for PRS. Add an MDT 20 moa scope rail and the muzzle device of your choice (I'd suggest an Insite Heathen) +your optic and rings and you're off to the races. Furthermore, being a Rem 700, you'll have the most choice when it comes to aftermarket triggers and other accessories. Once you burn out the barrel, you can get it re-barrelled with a custom barrel and get the bolt knob changed at the same time. Further down the line, if you decide you want a custom action, the vast majority of them will fit in your existing chassis. Basically you get a great rifle to learn on with the flexibility to change things as you progress vs putting yourself in a corner from the get go with something like a rem 783.
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This is good advice.

I would suggest sticking with a platform that has plenty of OEM and aftermarket support, that allows you to upgrade and evolve the rifle as you the shooter evolve in the sport. I would stick with either R700 or Tikka patterns/footprints, as both platforms have a plethora of support and growing. All the aftermarket support is geared towards these two footprints, simply because the demand/market (and thus economics) is much better then other platforms.

Experimenting with a platform with very little aftermarket support backs you into a corner as rugbydave states. A lot of times, it ends up being a lot more expensive when you go cheap.
 
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