Advice for first precision rifle

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SloFire

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Hello all,

This is my first time posting here so greetings. Even though I have registered a while back, I kept forgeting my ID or password somehow. :D I am hoping to get some advice on what rifle to buy next.

I have been shooting a semi .223 for about a year now and have learnt a little bit about precision shooting. I want to get a decent bolt gun for next season and perhaps partake in some of the local “sniper competitions”. I am not the type that wants to own a collection of rifles (mostly because of budget contraints) and I don’t hunt so accuracy is more important than terminal ballistics. Also, I don’t have time to hand load so I have narrowed my choice of calibre to .308 & 6BR (Norma) because there are good factory loads available quite readily. I have read some good reviews on the 6.5x47 but I cannot find any factory rifle chambered for that.

I was thinking about getting a 700P or 700LTR in .308 intially because they are popular (i.e. all those people cannot be wrong) and with the idea that it can be accurized fairly easily but the few dealers that I’ve talked to said they are no longer available. So now I am looking at the Savages (also popular) which are chambered for both calibres this year. The specifications of their model 12 long range precision varminters look especially interesting and I also like the fact that the 10FCP comes with a McMillan stock. I have never held either so I would like to have some feedback regarding those models.

Questions :
1.Is the Savage long range precision varminter suitable for tactical shooting i.e. in a not so clean environment and might be dropped a few times? (I would assume the target action probably have tighter tolerance.)
2.Would the ergonomics of the McMillan stock of the 10FCP edge out the benefit of the lower recoil of the 6BR varminter?
3.Any other suggestion that doesn’t cost a whole lot more?

Your comments would be much appreciated.

PS if I have posted in the wrong section, please move to the right one for me.
 
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Before I had a rifle built I was lucky enough to borrow a Remington 700p with a Bushnell 10x fixed power scope in .308. Not only was I able to compete out to 800m, it gave me a chance to get out with some experienced target shooters and get a feel of the game.
 
If "budget contraints" are a concern you will need to find the time to reload. Just because the ammo box says "match" doesn't mean it will shoot well in your rifle. For the price of 10 boxes of factory match ammo (about 200 rounds) you can set yourself up with a nice reloading kit.
Find a factory rifle in .223 with a fast twist heavy barrel (Tikka Varmint or Savage). Load up some 75 or 80 grain bullets and you at good to go for target work out to 1000 yards.
 
I second the .223 vote. Find one of the new Savages w/ the 1-7 twist, and have at it. Reloading might seem daunting at first, but then again so is paying for match ammo.
 
If you want true precision, you are going to have to re-think the reloading thing. However, if that is the way it has to be for now, fair enough. My vote would be for the Savage F/TR rifle in 308. It (along with the other savage F-class/palma rifles) is the only true match capable rifle on the market for under 4 grand and its results are excellent. If 6BR is an option, then I would suggest the Savage F-Class rifle in 6BR, however hand loading will be the difference between a half minute and a quarter minute, but the black diamond factory ammo for 6BR is excellent.

This will give you everything you need less optics for going out and actually competing on equal terms with 80% of the f-class rifles that show up at most matches, and with the F/TR you can compete in the F/TR class instead of the F-Open where all the expensive customs live.

Savage did this right. They have the right action, the right stock, the right barrels and the right twist for competiton and their accuracy is generally excellent. Team Savage from the US uses these rifles in competiton right off the shelf. Check out the US F CLass nationals thread and look where Darrel Buehl, Stan Pate and John Weiss placed. They are part of Team Savage using F/TR rifles off the shelf.
 
a 1 in 7 or even 1 in 8 223 would be nice if you reload the heavy bullets, but even then, you will have to work hard in the wind.

For a first rifle, I would recommend a LTR, or P in 308. A savage is fine, but only if you buy one with an H&S, or McMilian stock IMO. I hunt with and shoot out to 900 a LTR. Although its barrel is now past due, it is a great rifle. My advice would be to buy it, and shoot it often until you know what you figure you need for the type of shooting you want to do.

The LTRs, and Ps are still available. You just need to look harder.
 
Where are you at BTW SF? Might be better to bring what you got, and come out and shoot to see where you want to be. An F Class shoot will get you up to speed in the world of shiny single shots that shoot bug holes as far as you can see, a tactical shoot will show you what is going on with clip fed crap hanging off it mud shooters.
 
Hi Carbonrod. I am located in SW Ontario and I couldn’t help chuckling reading your comment above.

The local ranges here are all fairly small and it appears that there are more skeet shooters than target shooters. I have checked around and couldn’t find any F-Class matches. That’s why I was thinking about going to the short range (< 300yd) sniper matches that we do have for the learning experience. Up to this point, all my shooting have been from a bench. But, I need a “weapon” and I was told if it doesn’t shoot .308, it ain’t a sniper rifle.

Thanks to all for your input. I do understand the difference between factory ammo and handloads. A friend of a friend who is a benchrest shooter gave me some that he loaded for his girl friend and I can shoot subMOA groups quite easily with them. Both the 55 gr. and 77 gr. shot well in my 1 in 8” twist barrel and I thought the 55 gr. would be spinning to fast. Not so. I have tried many factory loads including the expensive ones like Federal Gold Medal Match and none can shoot small groups like that and this fella had never even touched my rifle. He joking said he didn’t want to be polluted (he called it accuracy pollution) by my gas gun. I noticed that all his rifles are single shot customized ones. No Savage though. I was afraid to ask how much they cost.

Some day, I will definitely try to learn about barrel tuning. At this juncture, I mostly want to find out what kind of shooting I would want to spend my time on (with time being a limited commodity). As I mentioned before, I’m not the type that buy and sell all the time and I want to have a rifle that’s worth keeping yet still have money left over for a good scope. I am still wishy washy about getting a single shot vs. a repeater. I have seen those one hole groups shot by single shot rifles which was very tempting. It’s like “how do they do that?” Decision . . .decision . . .
 
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Some day, I will definitely try to learn about barrel tuning. At this juncture, I mostly want to find out what kind of shooting I would want to spend my time on (with time being a limited commodity). As I mentioned before, I’m not the type that buy and sell all the time and I want to have a rifle that’s worth keeping yet still have money left over for a good scope. I am still wishy washy about getting a single shot vs. a repeater. I have seen those one hole groups shot by single shot rifles which was very tempting. It’s like “how do they do that?” Decision . . .decision . . .
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Don't worry about "barrel tuning", they don't need it and it is voodoo science anyway. There is no reason why a repeater cannot shoot as well as a single shot, it's just that some of the most accurate cartridges don't feed from magazines.
 
if you are looking at shooting 300 yards stick with the 223 and a heavier bullet, after all that is not that far and reloding costs are as cheap as it is going to get. once you cut you r teeth and develop a pasion for it then you can start playing with a ballistic program to see what you want to move up to if you do deciede to shoot longer.
 
If you want to shoot precision you will have to load your own if you want to compete seriously, any gun will work well with its load perfected. you will be happy with the Savage 12F/TR great bang for the buck in a .308 cheap to shoot, lots of bullet combinations, components readly available, lots of ballist info, easy on barrels, low recoil. I have a $6000.00 precision rifle, The Savage 12F shoots every bit as well.
 
My 1 day old rig.
IM001823.jpg

Savage 12F/TR 308 with NightForce 5.5-22X56 LP-R1 reticle.
Winchester factory ammo for break in shooting 1/2 inch 3 shot groups of the first 20 rounds down the pipe. Waiting for dies to come in!
 
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