First rifle
- Thread starter cruckstuhl
- Start date
paperslayer
Regular
- Location
- Chilliwack
If you are looking for a gun to target shoot with, I'd recommend you look for a heavy barrel like a varmint gun. Hunting rifles are not ideal for spending lots of time at the range; they heat up pretty good and they are not ergonomically designed for bench shooting. As to caliber, both your choices are fine. If this is something you enjoy doing, it will not be your last gun so jump in and have fun. Also, remember what you paid for this advice.
Good choice of caliber. Both .223 and 6.5 CM are easy to shoot and ammo is plentiful. The type of rifle would depend largely upon its primary use. A Remington 700 would be a better choice than a 600, more modern and more easily modified should you want to go down that route. I prefer a varmint contour barrel as it will do the job both at the range and in the field.
There’s a rem 783 in .223 on the EE for less than $500.
The stock sucks though so you’ll need to change that out for something like the cheaper MDT chassis.
Should be able to set it up for less than $1000.
There’s also a tikka 6.5 CM on the EE for less than a $1000 but it’s primarily a hunting rifle so if target shooting is your thing you’ll need to spend at least another $1000 for a chassis and a heavier barrel
The stock sucks though so you’ll need to change that out for something like the cheaper MDT chassis.
Should be able to set it up for less than $1000.
There’s also a tikka 6.5 CM on the EE for less than a $1000 but it’s primarily a hunting rifle so if target shooting is your thing you’ll need to spend at least another $1000 for a chassis and a heavier barrel
Firearms Outlet has a 10% off till March 21.
Do consider a Tikka T3x Blue or SS in 223. I have the CTR version in 223 and it's very accurate. My 308 Tikka T3x Compact and Battue are very accurate rifles out of the box as well. The Tikka factory trigger are great and install a Yo Dave trigger spring and its even better. I've found no need or desire to replace the trigger at all. 223 ammo is cheap considering and easy to reload especially if you get a Lee Classic Loader. 8lbs of pounder goes a long way.... over 2000 rounds. Small Rifle Primers are readily available now from your LGS without having to pay the high prices off EE or GB.
I'm considering getting the T3x Lite version, reduce the barrel down to just a tad over 18" and swap the stock for the compact stock I have lying around.
Good Luck
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Have you considered a 22lr as your first rifle, as then you can shoot volume to build fundamentals before having to pay the cost of centrefire ammunition? Otherwise if you want a centrefire for the range I would go with the 6.5 creedmoor such as in the Tikka T3x UPR. What type of shooting do you want to do?
If one wants to learn properly, recoil and concussion are detriments.
If one wants to simply blast away, a 6 pound 3006 will suffice for both recoil and concussion!
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