wapitiwhacker
CGN Regular
- Location
- East Kootenay B.C.
There seems to be at least one thread a week on finding an entry level precision rifle and/or how to get into long range shooting. I recently traveled this road and would like to share some of that experience. Hopefully it will help others find their way to the excitement that is long range precision shooting.
First and foremost let me start by saying that I am a total noob in the arena of long range marksmanship. Nothing I say is written in stone, and should be verified with those that have been there, done that and got the T-shirt.
Thanks mostly to this forum, I got interested in F Class shooting a couple of months ago. I have shot and hunted for years, but until recently was always happy with minute of elk accuracy out of my hunting rifles. The addition of the sporter class to the F Class agenda here in BC really started to get me thinking. The idea of sporter class was that you could just bring to the table what you normally shoot, and try some competition. Most of my hunting rigs are either medium bore, or lever guns, neither of which I felt ideal to test the waters. The search was on to find a sporter class rifle that would fit the bill ( any excuse to buy a rifle is a good excuse, right?). I read lots of posts and PM'd a few nutters and asked a bunch of questions. Everyone was more than happy to answer my questions, and give me advice.
The rifle I ended up with was a Remington M700 SPS Tactical in .223 off the EE. I looked at Savages, Remingtons, Tikka, the works. I ended up with the little Remington because the price was right, it fit the criteria, and .223 was a common caliber easy to find reloading components for. It was going to be light on both my wallet and my shoulder.
I wasn't thrilled with the Hogue stock on the SPS, so I switched it out for an HS Precision off a M700P I scooped up on the EE. The HS had been previously bedded, the fit was snug so I decided to see how it went. After flogging the Hogue, my new F Class rig had set me back a whopping $775.00
I was going to need a rest or bipod. After some quick research I ended up with a Harris 9-13 non swivel bipod. $100.00 I was happy with this particular bi-pod but it may be switched out yet for a 6-9 swivel model.
I didn't have any 223s in my safe, so no reloading components either. More emails, more PMs. Knowing that even a top notch rifle will only shoot a fraction of its potential with substandard ammo I ended up with a mish mash of dies to get the job done. Lee Collet neck sizer, Redding body die, and a Forster Ultra seater. Total cost $145.00
Another hundred bucks or so on bullets, and brass. Sierra and Lapua.
For optics I had an old Tasco laying around that I initially threw on top, but ended up with a Bausch and Lomb 4000 6-24X40 that I robbed off of my rimfire silhouette rifle. Cost 0, but if you are keeping track toss on $400.00 for a good used one off EE. Plus $70.00 for a set of Burris Signature Zee rings.
What next???
I had never shot competitive centerfire at all, let alone at 300 yds? I was lucky enough to secure a place at the Mission F Class orientation day, and spent the day learning the basics regarding long range shooting and scoring. That was time and money well spent, and I would encourage anyone who is F Class curious to search out a similar venue if they exist at a range near you.
After shooting a string under actual conditions at the orienation I was encouraged at what my little Rem and I could do, but had some tweaking to do first. This is where I swapped out the Tasco for the B&L, and took my rifle to a trigger wizard
(fellow nutter) to set it up to a wonderfully crisp 2 lbs. Sporter Class allows a much lighter weight, but the quick and easy fix for an X Pro gets you to around 2 lbs.
My reloading components arrived, and I set out to find a load that would work in my rifle. Time didn't permit a lot of tinkering around. So with no fine tuning whatsoever I settled for a load that gave me a three shot group that showed real promise.
While at the range I found out that with the 20 MOA rail that came on the rifle I couldn't get enough elevation dialed out to find a 100 yd zero, and I was still 6" high at 300 yds. Back to the gun shop for a set of offset inserts for the Signature rings $10.00
I loaded up a whack of bullets and went to the range to sight things in. I was pleased. A five shot group at 100 yds opened the previous group to double, just over a half inch, but more importantly I printed two back to back groups at 300 yds of about 1/3 MOA.
The second group was larger, but with one called shot I was happy.
Nothing to do now but wait for the big day, which by now was only two days away.
The day finally dawned, and full of anticipation I made my way to the range, where I humbly stacked my little baby Rem on the rack with all these humongous open rigs
Talk about feeling of inadequacy!
This quickly passed, as I got talking to folks, and finally into the match!! The match was just waaayyy too much fun. It is incredibly thrilling to touch the trigger, watch your target disappear, only to reappear seconds later sporting an indication of a V bull or 5, well OK maybe the odd 3 or 4 too
As the day wore on the winds kicked up, and I was introduced to the concept of doping the wind. Frustrating yes, but rewarding too when my guess,....er calculations rewarded me with a 5.
Soooooo......., after all that, all I can say is this. If you're holding back, and haven't tried it, JUST DO IT. If I can enter a match like this a total noob, compete, not just shoot, but compete for my first time with a gun I have not even sent 100 rds down the pipe YOU CAN TOO. If you were keeping track, if you started with nothing except basic reloading gear, the total cost would be somewhere around $1600.00. The beauty of this is, now that I have the bare bones basics. I can upgrade as I go. Next year, maybe leave the ranks of sporter class and add a barrel, next a trigger, a stock, and on and on it goes. As much or as little as you want, at the pace of your choosing.
After having done what I just have, the only thing I might do differently is forget sporter class and start in F/TR. If you have a varmint rifle or heavy/medium barreled rifle already sporter class is the way to go ( the guy next to me was shooting a bone stock M700 varmint in 22-250), but, I passed up some nice rifles that would have been perfect for F/TR but were overweight for sporter ie: Savage Model 12 VLP. There are some very nice specimens to be had for very little more than my SPS Tac. These rifles, the VLP at least, have a faster twist (1:7) for the heavier bullets which will make life in the wind a little easier. The B.C. Sierra Championships are coming up in May. There is no sporter class, but I think I will enter my little SPS Tac in F/TR because she will compete, and we will have fun. We won't be on the podium, but we will have fun.
If you are still reading, thanks for staying with me, now go get some gear, and get shooting!! Also, a big thank you to the fellow nutters, and long range gurus who helped me on this journey. I appreciate your time and patience.
My name is Wapitiwhacker, and I am becoming an F Class addict.
Roughly $1300 F Class rig, including scope and bipod.
First and foremost let me start by saying that I am a total noob in the arena of long range marksmanship. Nothing I say is written in stone, and should be verified with those that have been there, done that and got the T-shirt.
Thanks mostly to this forum, I got interested in F Class shooting a couple of months ago. I have shot and hunted for years, but until recently was always happy with minute of elk accuracy out of my hunting rifles. The addition of the sporter class to the F Class agenda here in BC really started to get me thinking. The idea of sporter class was that you could just bring to the table what you normally shoot, and try some competition. Most of my hunting rigs are either medium bore, or lever guns, neither of which I felt ideal to test the waters. The search was on to find a sporter class rifle that would fit the bill ( any excuse to buy a rifle is a good excuse, right?). I read lots of posts and PM'd a few nutters and asked a bunch of questions. Everyone was more than happy to answer my questions, and give me advice.
The rifle I ended up with was a Remington M700 SPS Tactical in .223 off the EE. I looked at Savages, Remingtons, Tikka, the works. I ended up with the little Remington because the price was right, it fit the criteria, and .223 was a common caliber easy to find reloading components for. It was going to be light on both my wallet and my shoulder.
I wasn't thrilled with the Hogue stock on the SPS, so I switched it out for an HS Precision off a M700P I scooped up on the EE. The HS had been previously bedded, the fit was snug so I decided to see how it went. After flogging the Hogue, my new F Class rig had set me back a whopping $775.00
I was going to need a rest or bipod. After some quick research I ended up with a Harris 9-13 non swivel bipod. $100.00 I was happy with this particular bi-pod but it may be switched out yet for a 6-9 swivel model.
I didn't have any 223s in my safe, so no reloading components either. More emails, more PMs. Knowing that even a top notch rifle will only shoot a fraction of its potential with substandard ammo I ended up with a mish mash of dies to get the job done. Lee Collet neck sizer, Redding body die, and a Forster Ultra seater. Total cost $145.00
Another hundred bucks or so on bullets, and brass. Sierra and Lapua.
For optics I had an old Tasco laying around that I initially threw on top, but ended up with a Bausch and Lomb 4000 6-24X40 that I robbed off of my rimfire silhouette rifle. Cost 0, but if you are keeping track toss on $400.00 for a good used one off EE. Plus $70.00 for a set of Burris Signature Zee rings.
What next???
I had never shot competitive centerfire at all, let alone at 300 yds? I was lucky enough to secure a place at the Mission F Class orientation day, and spent the day learning the basics regarding long range shooting and scoring. That was time and money well spent, and I would encourage anyone who is F Class curious to search out a similar venue if they exist at a range near you.After shooting a string under actual conditions at the orienation I was encouraged at what my little Rem and I could do, but had some tweaking to do first. This is where I swapped out the Tasco for the B&L, and took my rifle to a trigger wizard
(fellow nutter) to set it up to a wonderfully crisp 2 lbs. Sporter Class allows a much lighter weight, but the quick and easy fix for an X Pro gets you to around 2 lbs.My reloading components arrived, and I set out to find a load that would work in my rifle. Time didn't permit a lot of tinkering around. So with no fine tuning whatsoever I settled for a load that gave me a three shot group that showed real promise.
While at the range I found out that with the 20 MOA rail that came on the rifle I couldn't get enough elevation dialed out to find a 100 yd zero, and I was still 6" high at 300 yds.
Back to the gun shop for a set of offset inserts for the Signature rings $10.00I loaded up a whack of bullets and went to the range to sight things in. I was pleased. A five shot group at 100 yds opened the previous group to double, just over a half inch, but more importantly I printed two back to back groups at 300 yds of about 1/3 MOA.
The second group was larger, but with one called shot I was happy.
Nothing to do now but wait for the big day, which by now was only two days away.
The day finally dawned, and full of anticipation I made my way to the range, where I humbly stacked my little baby Rem on the rack with all these humongous open rigs
Talk about feeling of inadequacy!This quickly passed, as I got talking to folks, and finally into the match!! The match was just waaayyy too much fun. It is incredibly thrilling to touch the trigger, watch your target disappear, only to reappear seconds later sporting an indication of a V bull or 5, well OK maybe the odd 3 or 4 too
As the day wore on the winds kicked up, and I was introduced to the concept of doping the wind. Frustrating yes, but rewarding too when my guess,....er calculations rewarded me with a 5.
Soooooo......., after all that, all I can say is this. If you're holding back, and haven't tried it, JUST DO IT. If I can enter a match like this a total noob, compete, not just shoot, but compete for my first time with a gun I have not even sent 100 rds down the pipe YOU CAN TOO. If you were keeping track, if you started with nothing except basic reloading gear, the total cost would be somewhere around $1600.00. The beauty of this is, now that I have the bare bones basics. I can upgrade as I go. Next year, maybe leave the ranks of sporter class and add a barrel, next a trigger, a stock, and on and on it goes. As much or as little as you want, at the pace of your choosing.
After having done what I just have, the only thing I might do differently is forget sporter class and start in F/TR. If you have a varmint rifle or heavy/medium barreled rifle already sporter class is the way to go ( the guy next to me was shooting a bone stock M700 varmint in 22-250), but, I passed up some nice rifles that would have been perfect for F/TR but were overweight for sporter ie: Savage Model 12 VLP. There are some very nice specimens to be had for very little more than my SPS Tac. These rifles, the VLP at least, have a faster twist (1:7) for the heavier bullets which will make life in the wind a little easier. The B.C. Sierra Championships are coming up in May. There is no sporter class, but I think I will enter my little SPS Tac in F/TR because she will compete, and we will have fun. We won't be on the podium, but we will have fun.
If you are still reading, thanks for staying with me, now go get some gear, and get shooting!! Also, a big thank you to the fellow nutters, and long range gurus who helped me on this journey.
I appreciate your time and patience.My name is Wapitiwhacker, and I am becoming an F Class addict.
Roughly $1300 F Class rig, including scope and bipod.
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