New to Precision Rifles, what to buy?

Holdfast197

Holdfast197

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Hello all,

I'm looking to buy my first precision rifle, and from what I've read on the site, the options seem to be the Rem. 700, anything from savage, and the Tikka T3 tactical.

I'm leaning towards the 700 in .308 because of it's customizability.

So my qestion, to anyone who owns one of these rifles, can you give me any examples, from personal experience, of the performance of these rifles, and the potential of different calibers?

Edit: and because I forgot, I plan to use this for target shooting at first, but once I get the hang of ranging, compensating for wind, etc. I plan on moving into competitions.
 
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Of the 3 brands you list the 700 will certainly win in the accessability to aftermarket dress up parts. The Tikka and Savages are good rifles, but at this point the Remingtons have the most custom parts, things like triggers and stocks can make a world of difference in how well you shoot a given rifle, and in what conditions.
The 308 is likely the most common caliber as it is accepted in almost all forms of competition. Reloading your own ammo will get the costs down to nearly what 223 box ammo sells for.
At the BCRA match last weekend, the rifles that were most common were 700s or full customs. Very few Savages or Tikkas present.
 
I have the Remington 700 R5 which is a fine rifle and, as others will tell you, easily customised - many consider the Rem 700 action to be the foundation for a superb custom rifle. I also have a Savage 10FP in .223 which I bought with the factory stock ( contrary to what many say, I find this to be an adequate stock but I do agree that is probably ought to be replaced if you get semi serious ) and the very good Accutrigger. I am very pleased with this rifle - for a budget gun it shoots and handles really well and, to me, represents excellent value.

The .308 cartridge is the universal standard for the military or police marksman and long-range competitive shooting and is probably the way to go but, for learning, a .223 does have advantages ( i.e learn with the .223 and move up to .308) in that the lower recoil and the availability of very inexpensive ammo allows for lots of practice.

Whatever you do please set aside money for a good scope !
 
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I bought a 700P last year in .308 as my first precision rifle and love it so far. I don't think you can go wrong with either of those brands.

The only half peice of advice I would give is to resist the temptation to look at the magnums at least for your first rifle.

I know the range and power tempted me, but thankfully was talked off that ledge.
 
2bad4u2 said:
I have (2) words for you: "Stevens 200".
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You say it sarcastically, but it's not without merit. If you're new to precision shooting, starting with a cheapie might not be such a terrible idea; precision shooting is 90% shooter and 10% rifle. Starting with something like a Stevens or SPS Tactical allows you to spend that much more on ammo and practice. And with the SPS in particular, it DOES give you that upgradeable 700 platform to build on, down the road. The aftermarket for the Stevens isn't as great, but it does exist, should you wish to go down that path
 
You say it sarcastically, but it's not without merit.
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C'mon man, you're hurting my feelings here.

I've got a serious itch wanting to try out a Tika Varmint at some point, however, I'm rifle rich and optics poor right at the moment. Where you're a noob, I would recommend a .223 to start out with for shear economics alone.

A Tika Varmint .223 with 1:8" twist barrel might be the winner here though I've never heard a single report of this rifle/cartridge combo on this board. Rather curious as to why not. They simply may not be that popular.

I have a Rem 700 LTR and it's quickly becomming one of my favorite rifles. 1/2" groups @ 100 yds. with 50 gr. Hornady V-MAX in a bone stock rifle with no bedding or trigger adjustments. Happy as punch. Can't wait to lighten up the trigger as it's heavy! Trying to find the love with 75gr. BTHP Hornady's but no joy so far with Varget. IMR4895 & H4895 are next on the list.

The LTR's can be a little pricey for what they are. A 700P in .223 would be an excellent place for a new shooter to begin if price was a factor. A .308 Win. would make a great choice as well but I think you'd be better served with the lighter recoiling, less expensive cartridge.
 
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As a matter of fact we are just putting our TAC stock for the T3 into production and Jackson Rifles of Scotland is producing a superb trigger for them, also available through us.
 
I own a done up 700 and a savage l/tr in 308, my thoughts... buy a cheap used 700 and do it up. my 700 has a krieger barrel, action done.. and with a $600 scope i have $2400 into the thing (including a trigger) and it has never shot a group larger than 1/2" at 100 yards. this is including 4 different bullets during load development. my savage shoots good.. mostly under 1" but i am still playing with it ( only has 139 rounds through it). the time and materials saved with the 700 are worth a lot as well. 1 day after i got my 700 i had a killer load i could go and shoot, not a month later and still working on load development! my.02 cents
 
thanks for all the advice guys, from the sounds of it I'm going to be looking at a Remington 700 5R milspec in 308. I'm not really worried about the recoil, I've been shooting for years, it's not going to bother me... even though the price might. Two new questions. Do they make a 5R with a detachable mag? And do any of you have any suggestions for glass?
 
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I have a couple 700's and a savage... I also have a tack driver Winchester 70...

The 700's are very nice...But, the 10FPLE is built as a precision shooter and is very smooth... However the 700's can probably be every bit as good as the Savage with time and $$$
 
two things I'll have plenty of when I'm finished building my AR. :D alright, that's a lie, I'll be too busy with it at the range for a few months, but I'll get there. :sniper:

Are there after market stocks for them that have detachable mags?
 
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Holdfast197 said:
Are there after market stocks for them that have detachable mags?
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AICS stocks have detachable mags. You can also get a VBull kit installed, an HS precision kit, or a Badger kit (and probably a couple other less common ones I'm forgetting). My vote would be for one of the first two options I mentioned (AICS or VBull).
 
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