Semi varminter advice needed

[dan belisle]

"an honest 5-shot <1" group at 100 yards"

Ok, but can you do it over and over again, on demand? That's precision, not one fluky group. I have a target with a group in the two's from a Rem 788 carbine, shot with factory ammo (Rem ammo, 139 gr Hornady bullets) in 7mm-08. It's an amazing group, and I keep the target tacked above my loading bench because it makes me feel good, doesn't make that rifle a precision rifle.

As to the accurate semi comments, no one is arguing that semi's can't be made accurate, just not in the price range mentioned and non-restricted. And even then, you don't see many semi's in BR shooting, which is the creme de la creme of precision shooting. On the other hand, I certainly don't mind shooting them at LR, and they keep getting better each successive generation. The new 308 models are certainly moa capable, and that 338 Lapua AR I saw a while back piqued my interest.

Perhaps the new Mini 14 Target (and the one that Ed Brown was building as well) can be considered a precision rifle, I know the two Target's that I have personally tried were not very accurate rifles (neither would best 1.5 MOA with any ammo I tried). Would I use it for coyotes? Sure, but I'd keep my shots fairly close, to ensure a decent kill. FWIW - dan

 

[Woodbeef]

the Swissarms rung about 3700 Canadian.
the XCR is about 2500,
Tavor is 3100 if you can get it.
been a while since i have seen an SL8, last time though was about 2800
the Mini 14 target is the only gun your gonna find that has Decent accuracy and reliability in the caliber you want. the Remington 7400 is not a target gun, its about minute of deer, and far from the most reliable firearm on the market.

Regretfully here in Canada we are lacking a mid range semi with decent accuracy, that is not Restricted.

There is one available. The Voere 2185 line. They even have a precision version.

 

[scianna54]

There is a reason why the Mini 14 target are not more popular, they are too heavy.

I had one and was shocked about 2 things,

1. accuracy, 1 MOA at 100 yards is no problem

2. weight. you don't want to carry a 10 pounds rifle in the bush

 

[carbonrod]

2. weight. you don't want to carry a 10 pounds rifle in the bush

Most of the varminting I've done is on the prairie. 10lbs is not a big deal.

I tried to get a semi auto varmint gun going for a long time. I tried scoped versions of Classic Green(and the sniper model), m78s, Robarm XCR, m14. In the end, the closest I could find was the Classic Green, though the lack of a free floated barrel took some learning. Once that was overcome, it was just a matter of how much snow/rain/dirt exposure I wanted in the rifle. If the ~5K once decked out it takes to get a Classic Green scoped still lets you get it field dirty, then that is what you want IMO.

If the price is an issue, then what you want is probably a bolt gun.

 

[rugerfan]

"an honest 5-shot <1" group at 100 yards"

Ok, but can you do it over and over again, on demand? That's precision, not one fluky group. I have a target with a group in the two's from a Rem 788 carbine, shot with factory ammo (Rem ammo, 139 gr Hornady bullets) in 7mm-08. It's an amazing group, and I keep the target tacked above my loading bench because it makes me feel good, doesn't make that rifle a precision rifle.

As to the accurate semi comments, no one is arguing that semi's can't be made accurate, just not in the price range mentioned and non-restricted. And even then, you don't see many semi's in BR shooting, which is the creme de la creme of precision shooting. On the other hand, I certainly don't mind shooting them at LR, and they keep getting better each successive generation. The new 308 models are certainly moa capable, and that 338 Lapua AR I saw a while back piqued my interest.

Perhaps the new Mini 14 Target (and the one that Ed Brown was building as well) can be considered a precision rifle, I know the two Target's that I have personally tried were not very accurate rifles (neither would best 1.5 MOA with any ammo I tried). Would I use it for coyotes? Sure, but I'd keep my shots fairly close, to ensure a decent kill. FWIW - dan

Yes to be honest about it, that is the best group I have got with the mini, but I only have about 50 rounds down the barrel in total, and a lot of them were spent sighting it in. Sorry if i jumped the gun on making a report on the guns accuracy, but the group that I did get was far better than I had expected, so I "may" have got a bit excited. I will be shooting it again in the near future, and once I get a more realistic picture of what the rifle can do, I will be sure to post back whether it be good or bad.