Choosing my first ever Rifle, Need General Guidance
- Thread starter ulterior_motive
- Start date
A post above mentions rifles available chamber in 223 with 1 in 8 twist, the only examples I have found are the Tikka and Sako Varmint offerings with 600mm barrels. The Savages are 1 in 9, so is the Remington 700P, all others seem to be 1 in 12. What else is out there in long heavy barrel 223 with 1 in 8 (or better)?
tactical lever
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Fox Creek, Alberta
What kind of long distance shooting? Precision, group, steel? Just what do you want to shoot for, or at? Will this be a hunting rifle as well? Do you want something for strictly bench rest, or is this for off hand or casually rested positions?
You could go to the store and spend $15 000 and up tomorrow. That will not turn you into a 1st class marksman. The guy on the next bench with a $500 rig that has put in some time, will out shoot your mega dollar gun. By the time you start getting good, you might find that you've shot out a barrel or two. And bought the wrong rifle as far as what you are after.
Get a .22 first. Shooting at a couple hundred yards with one is a lot of fun. Just like a fast center fire at longer range, but on a small scale. Hardly anyone just shoots a center fire. Very hard to be good, when you are limited by shooting costs and only shooting at long ranges.
Give pistols another try. They are good training also. Due the unsteady platform of the human body, a pistol will help give you the breathing, timing and trigger squeeze skills that would otherwise be overlooked.
Start out with a more general purpose rifle. Don't worry, you're not going to outgrow it right away, more likely you will shoot out the barrel. With this rifle you will build on your skills; reloading, rifle tuning, accurizing and otherwise.
I would recommend smaller cartridges for punching paper (if that's what you are doing). Like a couple others have said, get a .223. Even reloading isn't cheap anymore and even a modest 300 rounds will run you $100-$120 or so (BTW; 1000 rounds of .22 lr would be around $60).
Reconsider the Savage rifles. Not the Axis, but some of the higher class ones, with better triggers. Get a stainless one, the steel has a little better wear characteristics. They are accurate, and after a couple, few thousand rounds thanks to the barrel castle nut, it is easy to change out to another barrel. Maybe a Lilja, Shilen, Douglas or Wichita if you can justify the added cost.
Don't scrimp on scope. You don't need to remortgage, but buy some thing decent.
You could go to the store and spend $15 000 and up tomorrow. That will not turn you into a 1st class marksman. The guy on the next bench with a $500 rig that has put in some time, will out shoot your mega dollar gun. By the time you start getting good, you might find that you've shot out a barrel or two. And bought the wrong rifle as far as what you are after.
Get a .22 first. Shooting at a couple hundred yards with one is a lot of fun. Just like a fast center fire at longer range, but on a small scale. Hardly anyone just shoots a center fire. Very hard to be good, when you are limited by shooting costs and only shooting at long ranges.
Give pistols another try. They are good training also. Due the unsteady platform of the human body, a pistol will help give you the breathing, timing and trigger squeeze skills that would otherwise be overlooked.
Start out with a more general purpose rifle. Don't worry, you're not going to outgrow it right away, more likely you will shoot out the barrel. With this rifle you will build on your skills; reloading, rifle tuning, accurizing and otherwise.
I would recommend smaller cartridges for punching paper (if that's what you are doing). Like a couple others have said, get a .223. Even reloading isn't cheap anymore and even a modest 300 rounds will run you $100-$120 or so (BTW; 1000 rounds of .22 lr would be around $60).
Reconsider the Savage rifles. Not the Axis, but some of the higher class ones, with better triggers. Get a stainless one, the steel has a little better wear characteristics. They are accurate, and after a couple, few thousand rounds thanks to the barrel castle nut, it is easy to change out to another barrel. Maybe a Lilja, Shilen, Douglas or Wichita if you can justify the added cost.
Don't scrimp on scope. You don't need to remortgage, but buy some thing decent.
Welcome to shooting and the addiction.
If this is your very first gun….stop do not buy any rifle. Go to Bob Raymond’s post here on CGN and sign up for the ORA winter classes in Burlington and the intro day. Explain to him that you do not have a rifle and would like to learn basic shooting skills and the different types of matches. Please note you may need to by an ORA membership, for first timers the price is really reasonable it will save you money in the long run.. Bob is a great guy, (but don’t tell him I said that).
2nd and IMHO don’t get a Centre fire for your first gun think about getting a bolt action 22lr. You can buy bricks and bricks (500 count) of rimfire ammo vs. 20 round of 308 centre fire ammo. They are fun guns to shoot all day all the time. No sore shoulder, no flinching, an excellent tool to learn how to shoot and understand trigger control and aiming.
Looks like others have already covered these points I would like to stress that there is no need to rush out and buy a rifle and then figure out what you want you can figure out what u want then go buy a rifle. The ORA can help you there.
Trevor
P.S.
The intro days shoots a 223 out to 500 (starts at 300) and you have coaches.
If this is your very first gun….stop do not buy any rifle. Go to Bob Raymond’s post here on CGN and sign up for the ORA winter classes in Burlington and the intro day. Explain to him that you do not have a rifle and would like to learn basic shooting skills and the different types of matches. Please note you may need to by an ORA membership, for first timers the price is really reasonable it will save you money in the long run.. Bob is a great guy, (but don’t tell him I said that).
2nd and IMHO don’t get a Centre fire for your first gun think about getting a bolt action 22lr. You can buy bricks and bricks (500 count) of rimfire ammo vs. 20 round of 308 centre fire ammo. They are fun guns to shoot all day all the time. No sore shoulder, no flinching, an excellent tool to learn how to shoot and understand trigger control and aiming.
Looks like others have already covered these points I would like to stress that there is no need to rush out and buy a rifle and then figure out what you want you can figure out what u want then go buy a rifle. The ORA can help you there.
Trevor
P.S.
The intro days shoots a 223 out to 500 (starts at 300) and you have coaches.
Savage F/TR in .223 has a 1:7" twist with a 30" barrel. The Savage VPL is 1:7 with a 26" barrel.
- Location
- Halifax, NS
If you're looking for a 223 with a 1:7" twist, I wouldn't recommend anything other than the Savage VLP DBM. I've done alot of looking around at the Tikkas and Remingtons and I still haven't regretted my decision. It's well below $1000 and looks so very ###y. My only complaint is the bolt; it's pretty tight (bolt lift, trigger reset only), due to the accurtriger I think. It comes with pillars too, but a real bedding job we be beneficial.
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Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
My only complaint is the bolt; it's pretty tight (bolt lift, trigger reset only), due to the accurtriger I think. It comes with pillars too, but a real bedding job we be beneficial.
Pretty common unfortunately. I do the bolt timing which smooths and makes the bolt lift so much nicer and lighter.
Feels just like a full on custom action.
Very reasonable cost.
Let me know...
Jerry
All very good questions which i have to think about or try out.
I started looking into the higher end savage rifles last night, some really good ones, i think im going to go to the sportsman show and speak to the manufactures rather then sales reps.
Thats going to be my favourite part of this whole decision making process.
Im starting to consider this as my first option.
ALMOST everybodys first suggestion is sign up for ORA.
I emailed them and am waiting for a response.
One thing i forgot to take into consideration...Barrel life...
which leads me to...
Which alot of people are starting to tell me to do.
Then redshooters comment i read which i will be following.
On a funny note,
I'll post initial shooting video of me flinching like a baby.
And lets sum up what im going to do...
Thank You All for all your help, with your initial guidance and what ORA members will teach me, I will jump into this hobby richer then what i would have been had i ignored comments or had i splurged on a impulse buy.
I emailed them and am waiting for a response.
One thing i forgot to take into consideration...Barrel life...
Maynard offers such good advice.
which leads me to...
Which alot of people are starting to tell me to do.
Then redshooters comment i read which i will be following.
On a funny note,
I'll post initial shooting video of me flinching like a baby.
And lets sum up what im going to do...
Thank You All for all your help, with your initial guidance and what ORA members will teach me, I will jump into this hobby richer then what i would have been had i ignored comments or had i splurged on a impulse buy.
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Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Sorry, but if you decide this is your thing.... RICHER is not one of the adjectives your bank account will described with 
enjoy...
Jerry
enjoy...
Jerry
The 12 VLP DBM is definitely one to consider, and I'll discus it with Chemist as it may be one of the options we looked at yesterday. The F/TR is single shot, great for what it is made to do but not as useful around the property as I would like.
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/12VLPDBM
A friend lined up a nearly new Sako 85 Varmint Laminted for me, but even at 2/3rds the new price its out of the budget.
http://www.berettausa.com/products/sako-85-varmint-laminated-stainless/default.aspx
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