A reasonably priced beginner rifle for paper and steel to 300 yards?

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gyppo

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Update on post #30: she bought a rifle and scope!

My wife came with me to the range a few days ago and shot my Zastava M85 in 7.62x39. She liked ringing the 200 yard gong with cheap chinesium ammo so much she wants to get her own bolt scoped rifle for the range. She likes the idea of something that she can progress with, she wants to know that when she misses it's her and not the rifle.

I suggested that for the range, a .223 bolt rifle would be a good choice. She actually likes the rifles that recoil a bit more, she likes the x39 better than .223. She was asking about .308 since she's shot an M14 before, I kinda think it'll be too much recoil for a range gun for her and might result in a flinch. But maybe 6.5 Creedmoor would be a good in-between? I do reload.

We had a quick look at local shops and there is a Tikka T3 varmint in .223 available, I know Tikka makes a good rifle, would that be a good choice? What else is decent in the +/- $1,000 range that would do well to 300 yards (that's the max distance at our club)? She's 5'4 as well, is there anything with adjustable LOP out there?

Long range accuracy isn't something I know much about, I like to shoot at pop cans, logs and jars of binary within 100 meters so hopefully you guys in the know can advise us!
Thanks,
G
 
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I've been thinking of picking up a surplus Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55mm as semi-precision gong ringer. The platform could be inexpensive, and the cartridge should offer good accuracy potential along with enough ooomph to let you know you've got a reasonably capable rifle in your hands.
 
Do you have a .308 bolt gun she can shoot and see how recoil is? I don’t find .308 to be bad out of any of my bolt actions, don’t underestimate women shooters either.

My wife loves to shoot the 91/30, metal butt plate and all. Once she works up to something that might have some recoil she’s good to go, was the same with 12g. Started with birdshot and she was shooting buck and slugs in no time, she won’t shoot them all day but she’ll shoot a box or two of full power loads without blinking.
 
BattleRife said:
I've been thinking of picking up a surplus Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55mm as semi-precision gong ringer. The platform could be inexpensive, and the cartridge should offer good accuracy potential along with enough ooomph to let you know you've got a reasonably capable rifle in your hands.
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While this would be my choice given the circumstances, I already have two military rifles in this calibre and a Zastava M70 I bought new; unless you are prepared to home load ammo selection can be very limited and is not available just anywhere. If you have not started loading ammo, large rifle primers are still very hard to find.

.308 and 6.5 creed are the most common right now. Lots of ammo available at a reasonable price for either of these. Certainly, reloading is still a possibility if you really want to tune loads, getting more serious about accuracy.

If you are looking at new, Howa would be a good choice. Too bad Zastava is not available here at present. I love mine.Screenshot 2022-10-26 174819.jpg
 

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IMHO The Ruger Hunter 308 is the best bang for the buck. Adjustable LOP and comb height and accurate. Can be found for about $1000.
 
My wife is like yours. She shoots my .308 off the bench better and more rounds than I care to. My wife is 5’4” and about 110 lbs.. As suggested above I like the 6.5x5.. got a sporter from frontier and I hunt with it and plink. I’ll shoot the 6.5x55 all day but it doesn’t interest her for the same reason, she enjoys a bit more recoil. Same with the .223, doesn’t interest her. I’d say go for it and get her a .308.. lots of ammo availability and options. And it’ll knock down whatever you need to in Canada..


Tikka compact in 7-08 would probably be a very good choice..
 
For cartridge, my suggestion would be 6.5 Creedmoor.

While .308 is pretty fun, it's not the most forgiving if you're not on top of your fundamentals. .30 cal cartridges are where flaws in your fundamentals will really start showing up on target. It can certainly lead to a more frustrating of an experience for less experienced shooters.

A 6.5 Creedmoor has enough recoil that you know you are shooting a rifle, but is more forgiving than a .308. Ballistics are great. Factory ammo is relatively abundant and high quality, as are components for reloading.
 
The overwhelming choice , as was already mentioned, would be a 6.5 Creedmoor.
Never mind ballistics, ease of shooting, or any other nitpicking thing when it is compared to the .308. The biggest factor for somebody not hand loading (IMO anyway)would be availability and cost of ammo.
Take a look in any store, and I am pretty certain the overwhelming centerfire ammo on the shelf is the 6.5 Creedmoor, with several options.
Rifles also are readily avaliable.
Cat
 
Our choice was Howa in 308 shooting 150's to 500 m.'s , smacking the 3" is a challenge bu tthen its almost more about the scope than the rifle
if your limit is 300, there are dozens that will do it
 
6.5 CM seems like a great chambering

Ruger Gen2 - adj LOP and comb in new stock.
Savage 334 - chop it up, inexpensive, seems to shoot well.
Howa SA... with the possibility of dropping in the MDT field stock.
Rem 783... MDT XRS and LSS. A bit of TLC, tons of upside to grow into... this would be my choice.

Although not readily available, 300Blk... cast or plated heavy bullets with similar recoil to the 7.62X39 for little cost per bang. Low report which for many shooters is more important then lower recoil. prefit barrels for most of the above list are possible so any chambering is possible

Jerry
 
A Tikka .223 with a 1:8 twist will get you out to 1000 yards with the right bullet. Forget about being a recoil junkie, go for more bang for the buck, and get her smaller gongs to shoot at. She will have a bigger smile on her face smacking a 3" gong at 300 yards time after time than being thumped in the shoulder by a .308. Find some bulk .223 that will shoot well in the rifle and keep the brass to reload. .223 is about 1/2 the price to reload than .308 or 6.5 CM.
 
maynard said:
A Tikka .223 with a 1:8 twist will get you out to 1000 yards with the right bullet. Forget about being a recoil junkie, go for more bang for the buck, and get her smaller gongs to shoot at. She will have a bigger smile on her face smacking a 3" gong at 300 yards time after time than being thumped in the shoulder by a .308. Find some bulk .223 that will shoot well in the rifle and keep the brass to reload. .223 is about 1/2 the price to reload than .308 or 6.5 CM.
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You know I am also a big fan of the .223 Maynard, especially when it comes to long range TR, but I don't think the OP's wife was fond of it for whatever reason.
Often it is a misconception that the round is just not accurate at longer ranges, which is simply untrue!:cool:
Cat
 
Butcherbill said:
Do you have a .308 bolt gun she can shoot and see how recoil is? I don’t find .308 to be bad out of any of my bolt actions, don’t underestimate women shooters either.

My wife loves to shoot the 91/30, metal butt plate and all. Once she works up to something that might have some recoil she’s good to go, was the same with 12g. Started with birdshot and she was shooting buck and slugs in no time, she won’t shoot them all day but she’ll shoot a box or two of full power loads without blinking.
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I don't have a bolt action .308 for her to try. She's shot an M14 with the steel butt pad in .308 but that rifle weighs a ton and is semi auto. I guess she could get a .308 with a muzzle brake, I'm set up to reload 308 too, so that could be an option?
She's shot my Rossi 92 in .44, it has a limbsaver but she's still not a fan of the full house 240 grain loads. She likes shooting 12 gauge with bird shot but not buckshot. I've never shot a bold action .308 either so I really don't know how it feels, I just know it's almost double the power of 7.62x39.
 
Hmatt said:
My wife is like yours. She shoots my .308 off the bench better and more rounds than I care to. My wife is 5’4” and about 110 lbs.. As suggested above I like the 6.5x5.. got a sporter from frontier and I hunt with it and plink. I’ll shoot the 6.5x55 all day but it doesn’t interest her for the same reason, she enjoys a bit more recoil. Same with the .223, doesn’t interest her. I’d say go for it and get her a .308.. lots of ammo availability and options. And it’ll knock down whatever you need to in Canada..


Tikka compact in 7-08 would probably be a very good choice..
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Thanks for the advice. It's tempting to go .308, I do have dies and some bullets and hundreds of cases, but I'm not sure I'd even get one for the range, it seems like overkill!
 
You should consider the 6 ARC and 6.5 grendel as well. Light recoil and accurate. I know the Howa mini is chambered in both, not sure of others. MDT makes a few chassis to fit the mini if you want to go down that path, and Prophet River sold them in a chassis not long ago.
I like my creedmoors, they're a good option too. Lots of good SRP brass available so you're not stuck selling your body for LRPs, and the cartridge is easy to load for.
The Tikka varmint in 223 us a great choice. Great action, excellent trigger, goofy accurate, and the 8 twist is versatile. Absolutely love mine.
 
gyppo said:
I don't have a bolt action .308 for her to try. She's shot an M14 with the steel butt pad in .308 but that rifle weighs a ton and is semi auto. I guess she could get a .308 with a muzzle brake, I'm set up to reload 308 too, so that could be an option?
She's shot my Rossi 92 in .44, it has a limbsaver but she's still not a fan of the full house 240 grain loads. She likes shooting 12 gauge with bird shot but not buckshot. I've never shot a bold action .308 either so I really don't know how it feels, I just know it's almost double the power of 7.62x39.
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Might be an idea to find one she can try, maybe someone you know at the range would let her take a few shots. There’s got to be some you know with a .308 bolt action, it’s such a common cartridge.

I know my .308’s are all different with regards to felt recoil, between them they all weight different weights due to what stocks they have or barrel profiles. I don’t find them to be punishing, can shoot .308 (165gr or 180gr) all day and not be worse for wear the next day. A good recoile pad helps to take things as well.
 
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