First Precision Rifle - Please Don't Flame

This is what the Original Poster wants to hear:

Yes, buy the PGW it's a hell of a choice, you are doing the right thing.

Thus ends my post, as to say anything else would be wasting my time typing, and his time reading. As that is how this will end anyway.
 
This is what the Original Poster wants to hear:

Yes, buy the PGW it's a hell of a choice, you are doing the right thing.

Thus ends my post, as to say anything else would be wasting my time typing, and his time reading. As that is how this will end anyway.

Ha! Very nice.

Well I have been talking to a good friend on here who is a mod and I am sure you all know (no name dropping) and he has me fairly convinced to do a Savage or Remington build and buy good optics (like NF) with the money I was going to spend on a PGW TWolf. I have a lot of details and pricing to do but I definitely want a McMillan A4 or A5 stock on it, that is for sure.
 
you can come up with a hell of a package if you take your time and spec out exactly what you want. Good quality components put together by a good smith, topped w/ solid glass will take you wherever you want to go.
 
I would only add that it appears you are settled upon 308. I will get the wrath of the FTR and TR crowd, but it is not the best "precision" cartridge out there - not by a long shot. It recoils hard, its bullets cost more, and it lacks the inherent accuracy you will get with more precision-minded cartridges. Remember, this was developed for GPMG's.

The T-wolf is an awesome piece of kit... never mind its killer looks, it is built extremely well and the folks at PGWDTI are true gentlemen. It also has a Krieger barrel, and they are arguably the best there is.

Spend your money on a good barrel and good glass, and work off a less expensive platform. The barrel is everything. A Savage 10FCP, Tikka Tactical, or Remington 700P with a good tactical scope such as a Leupy Mk IV or a Nightforce NXS an a high quality barrel such as a Krieger, Pac-Nor, Gaillard, Bartlein, Brux or Tru-Flite and you are there.

The best part is you can uses almost any cartridge you want. The 260 is the same size as a 308 cartridge but has far better long range and precision characteristics and less recoil. The best 6.5 bullets outperform 95% of 30 cal bullets
 
Agreed Ian. Only reason to go .308 is if you are building to shoot a dicipline that demands it. I've got a 700 based rifle sitting here that I built in .308 as my first serious foray into F/Tr. Now that it's about to get relegated from backup to fun gun, I'm thinking 7mm-08 set up specifically to shoot 162 amax, or open the bolt face and go 7 RSAUM.
 
I would only add that it appears you are settled upon 308. I will get the wrath of the FTR and TR crowd, but it is not the best "precision" cartridge out there - not by a long shot. It recoils hard, its bullets cost more, and it lacks the inherent accuracy you will get with more precision-minded cartridges. Remember, this was developed for GPMG's.

The T-wolf is an awesome piece of kit... never mind its killer looks, it is built extremely well and the folks at PGWDTI are true gentlemen. It also has a Krieger barrel, and they are arguably the best there is.

Spend your money on a good barrel and good glass, and work off a less expensive platform. The barrel is everything. A Savage 10FCP, Tikka Tactical, or Remington 700P with a good tactical scope such as a Leupy Mk IV or a Nightforce NXS an a high quality barrel such as a Krieger, Pac-Nor, Gaillard, Bartlein, Brux or Tru-Flite and you are there.

The best part is you can uses almost any cartridge you want. The 260 is the same size as a 308 cartridge but has far better long range and precision characteristics and less recoil. The best 6.5 bullets outperform 95% of 30 cal bullets

I totally agree, there are better alternatives to 308 such as 260 and 7mm-08 but with 308 I have twice the barrel life of better cartridges and the availability of 308 projectiles is vast. With a cheap cartridge like 308, I can afford (and this is me selling myself) to shoot out to 1000m a ton and learn how to read the wind without worrying about swapping barrels by the time I start to feel comfortable judging wind/temperature changes.

I have settled on probably getting a cheap Rem 700 SPS, throwing on a Krieger barrel and topping it with a Night Force NXS. I am really hating getting gunsmith quotes as I didn't ecpect the cost to be so high. I would go with a Savage so I could do some of my own work but I was not impressed with my last one and I like the look and feel of the Rem 700 more than the Savage action.

I am not agaisnt the idea of moving into a 260 after shooting the 308 a ton but I just have a hard time justifying the need to rebarrel after 2500 rounds after spending a ton (in my world) on glass, barrel, stock, gunsmithing etc etc
 
I have settled on probably getting a cheap Rem 700 SPS, throwing on a Krieger barrel and topping it with a Night Force NXS. I am really hating getting gunsmith quotes as I didn't ecpect the cost to be so high.
You were willing to get a PGW, but the cost of gunsmithing one barrel is too high?
I need to move where you live and make some real money.
 
I went the route of having ATRS build a rifle for me, based off of an SPS Tactical in .308. The rig (including the stock barrel) shoots better than I do. Which is nice, because I plan on continuing to develop my precision skills - and then moving on to a new barrel when required.

P1280011.jpg


SPS Tactical
McMillan A5 Stock
Timney Trigger
Versapod Bipod
NXS 5.5-22x56
 
You were willing to get a PGW, but the cost of gunsmithing one barrel is too high?
I need to move where you live and make some real money.

Ha! It's called Return of Pensionable Funds aka getting out of the Army before 25 years of service, not my pay cheque. I don't often get a cheque this size so I decided I would spend a set amount as a "retirement" gift for myself and invest the rest. And if I get a PGW then I have no $$$ for optics but if I do a Rem 700 build I can get gucci optics like 5.5-22x56 NXS Night Force with Zero Stop. A trade off I guess.
 
I went the route of having ATRS build a rifle for me, based off of an SPS Tactical in .308. The rig (including the stock barrel) shoots better than I do. Which is nice, because I plan on continuing to develop my precision skills - and then moving on to a new barrel when required.

P1280011.jpg


SPS Tactical
McMillan A5 Stock
Timney Trigger
Versapod Bipod
NXS 5.5-22x56


Total cost if you don't mind me asking?
 
I can't find the receipt right now. But it was a touch over $5,000, including the bedding, and everything else. If you don't want the zero stop model scope, it'll save you 200 right off the bat.
 
The SPS above could be a practical solution. I own a .223 Tactical, and a .308 Varmint. The .223 has been fitted with a bedded HS Precision stock. The Varmint is still in it's original clothes (but not for long). Both rifles shoot sub MOA often enough I would call them true sub MOA rifles. You can add triggers, stocks, and optics yourself, building as much gun as you want, investing anywhere from $1200 to $3000 or more.

I have had good luck with these rifles but buying a factory gun with factory barrel can be a bit of a crap shoot. If you don't have a shooter right off the bat it is not the end of the world getting a 'smith to screw on a premium barrel.
 
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I can't find the receipt right now. But it was a touch over $5,000, including the bedding, and everything else. If you don't want the zero stop model scope, it'll save you 200 right off the bat.

Well truth be told, I have no idea what the zero stop is but I was figuring that if I was going to get optics that I should get everything. No other reason than that.

Is that photo done out at Olds?
 
Well truth be told, I have no idea what the zero stop is but I was figuring that if I was going to get optics that I should get everything. No other reason than that.

Is that photo done out at Olds?

I'm going to go ahead and say you should do some more research before dropping this kind of cash on a rifle.

Not trying to be a jerk.
 
Well truth be told, I have no idea what the zero stop is but I was figuring that if I was going to get optics that I should get everything. No other reason than that.

Is that photo done out at Olds?

Nope. It's at EOHC, near Ottawa.

If you have the cash, buy what you want. I could have spent considerably less, but I simply wanted this particular setup. Having some extra cash from my tour pay helped considerably. Some people drink it away - I like to shoot mine away.

It's great that some people get excellent results with basic rifles and optics. I don't tell them to spend more money - and I'll outright state that people should shut their traps when they hint that I should spend less.
 
I'm going to go ahead and say you should do some more research before dropping this kind of cash on a rifle.

Not trying to be a jerk.

This thread is part of my research. I throw out some ideas I have and have them ripped apart or supported by the CGN communit. I then take all the opinions (good and bad) and go into a shop like TSE or ATRS and handle the products that way I can make a more informed decision.

I may even change my mind again and go back to the PGW, who know. But in the end money talks and bulls**t walks.
 
I can't speak for the scope, but I'm confident that you could have a custom barrelled Rem 700 bedded into an A5 for under 3000. After that, choose your glass. Blowing the whole buget on a rifle, with no glass is a recipe for disappointment.
 
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Or you do alittle work yourself and build a custom to your own tastes.

And have a small fortune in the bank to pay for all the ammo and spare barrels you could possibly want.

No, I don't have that USO anymore. Did a test/review and it went back home.

Jerry
 
Jerry,

While I absolutely agree with you that it can be done cheaply, I ought a Savage 11 Series to begin a build on but after talking the stock rifle out during hunting season last year, I was really put off of Savage by the terrible bolt lift and accuracy. While I agree that the barrel can be replaced, I have a hard time buying into another Savage, as much as I like the look of the 10 FCP by virtue of the bolt alone. I have fired my buddies 700 and I enjoy the action much more. I want to like the Savage so I can do my own barrel swaps at home but having a gunsmith fix the bolt lift and timing issues would be the same as having a smith blueprint and true a 700. Am I out to lunch thinking that?
 
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