A neophyte entry in the world of benchrest shooting

G

Gerardoz

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Quebec
I've been shooting my 22lr, 12 gauge and old 303 for a couple summers now and I want to get into benchrest shooting.

I'm looking for a heavy barrel gun in 308win but there's so many models available. What would you recommend me in the 800 dollars range for the rifle only?

Thanks in advance!
 
a stevens 200 with an after market barrel and a tactical knob if you dont like the one that came with the gun, total cost would be around 800 and the accuracy would be hard to beat for that price range.
 
Gerardoz said:
I've been shooting my 22lr, 12 gauge and old 303 for a couple summers now and I want to get into benchrest shooting.

I'm looking for a heavy barrel gun in 308win but there's so many models available. What would you recommend me in the 800 dollars range for the rifle only?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Savage, Remington. Best chance of an out of box tack driver is the savage in my opinion, but the rem wins hands down for aftermarket stocks, trigger and etc. Either can be rebarreled later to make a consistent sub .5 moa rifle
 
juanvaldez said:
Savage, Remington. Best chance of an out of box tack driver is the savage in my opinion, but the rem wins hands down for aftermarket stocks, trigger and etc. Either can be rebarreled later to make a consistent sub .5 moa rifle
Click to expand...

Any savage model in particular?
 
Do you mean benchrest shooting as the type of competition or just shooting from a bench?

If you mean 100/200/300yd shooting with 5 to 10 shot groups, forget about the 308. WAY too much recoil for this type of fun.

I would strongly recommend a smaller chambering with the 6PPC the defacto choice (6BR is another gem as is a 222 or 223).

I just put a Shilen Select match prefit on my Savage test rifle in 6PPC and 100yds groups are hovering in the 1's - I even got a few 3rds test groups in the 0's. I have a bit of tuning to do and looking forward to days with less wind but it will shoot if I can drive it.

If you are putting together a rifle with no worry about a set of rules, then I can lend you some info on my rig. There are also some customer rigs on my website that can lead the way.

If you like a 30cal, the 30BR is also superbly accurate and a top choice in SCORE shooting. Barrels seem to last almost forever too.

A savage can be made to be very accurate for a factory based action and I feel the best bang per dollar spent. BUT it may not be fully competitive in SR BR depending on the class you want to enter and the types of rigs you will bump up against.

if you want to have an inexpensive rig that can put them into one hole at 100yds, a Quality barrel on a savage in an appropriate stock and rests WILL do it.

How small that hole is, is the question...

Let me know if I can help.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Do you mean benchrest shooting as the type of competition or just shooting from a bench?

If you mean 100/200/300yd shooting with 5 to 10 shot groups, forget about the 308. WAY too much recoil for this type of fun.

I would strongly recommend a smaller chambering with the 6PPC the defacto choice (6BR is another gem as is a 222 or 223).

I just put a Shilen Select match prefit on my Savage test rifle in 6PPC and 100yds groups are hovering in the 1's - I even got a few 3rds test groups in the 0's. I have a bit of tuning to do and looking forward to days with less wind but it will shoot if I can drive it.

If you are putting together a rifle with no worry about a set of rules, then I can lend you some info on my rig. There are also some customer rigs on my website that can lead the way.

If you like a 30cal, the 30BR is also superbly accurate and a top choice in SCORE shooting. Barrels seem to last almost forever too.

A savage can be made to be very accurate for a factory based action and I feel the best bang per dollar spent. BUT it may not be fully competitive in SR BR depending on the class you want to enter and the types of rigs you will bump up against.

if you want to have an inexpensive rig that can put them into one hole at 100yds, a Quality barrel on a savage in an appropriate stock and rests WILL do it.

How small that hole is, is the question...

Let me know if I can help.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Just shooting from a bench for now but I'd like to get into competition once I get good enough. The max range I can shoot is 500 yards.

I'm open on caliber suggestions though! :)
 
Decide what class of BR shooting you want to play in and visit sites that cater to that sport.

We have some top SR BR shooters on this board and there have been posts in this forum with names and links. have a look.

For the SR game, the 6PPC and 30BR are pretty much the no brainer choices depending on the game you want to play.

For nostalgia, the 222 Rem was the darling before the PPC showed up. Would also be easier to set up with a standard bolt face.

The 6BR is a superbly accurate rds and has been winning many F Open shorter distances matches. This chambering has also done very well at longer distance BR setting records. With the standard bolt face, it is also much easier to put into a Savage.

For an all around choice with ease of set up, the 6BR gets my nod.

In compeititon, compromises don't work out the best. You build the rig with the best options to meet a task and set of rules. Since you don't have a focused goal, then ease of entry and useage would be key.

222 and 223, 6 and 30BR will use standard bolt heads and are dead easy to get set up.

a factory Savage in 223 with a 9 twist can shoot 1/2 min and sometimes better. Could be a great place to start to lean the ropes on loading and precision shooting AND wind reading.

As you progress, a barrel swap will up the performance substantially and you will have a better idea of the game you want to play.

Figure out what game you want to play and work towards it.

Jerry
 
I will just throw out some additional comment: it seems right now that you are just looking to shoot accurately off the bench and that is a bit different to 'benchrest shooting'. It may be that some of the specialised benchrest advice re cartridge selection etc is more for down the road and therefore it may be that a more simple set up is what could best serve you right now. If that is the case then I'd suggest an entry level Savage or Remington heavy barrel in .223 and medium/good glass. Putting either into an upgraded aftermarket stock will allow you to learn a lot and shoot a lot ( .223 is less expensive to buy and reloading components are widely available ) and you can always upgrade barrel etc down the road when you are more certain about what you want.
 
Mystic Precision said:
Doesn't matter. I use both Savage and Stevens SA and LA

The only one I would avoid are the newer accustock with the smooth barrel nut and bottom bolt release.

Also the Edge/Axis. These have a very different trigger group setup.

Jerry
Click to expand...

What is wrong with the accustock bottom bolt realeas i just got one :D
 
savage440 said:
What is wrong with the accustock bottom bolt realeas i just got one :D
Click to expand...

I have one so I can weigh in here. The slight disadvantages are:

1) If you change the barrel, the smooth barrel nut needs to be removed with a pipewrench, and replaced with a standard notched barrel nut that works with the Wheeler barrel nut wrench. Sharp Shooter Supply does make a smooth nut wrench, but it's impossible to get their stuff in Canada.

2) The trigger guard is a bit wider, requiring fitting when putting into an aftermarket stock. I bought the choate stock and had to widen the trigger guard inlet from 0.55" to 0.60" to allow the trigger guard to fit.

3) The bottom bolt release is quite annoying because it covers the rear action screw. I need to hold the release back with my thumb while simultaneously tightening or loosening the screw.

4) The accustock recoil lug doesn't have a protrusion, like regular recoil lugs, for locating in the cutout of the receiver. Therefore if you change the barrel, you need to buy another recoil lug, or rig an alignment jig for the recoil lug you have.


These problems aren't insurmountable, but next time I will buy a non-accustock action.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom