First Target Rifle

Ice-Pick said:
X2 on what Maynard said.
.223, fast twist barrell (heavy barrell) look at a used one, Ruger makes some decent heavy barrelled laminate stocked rifles.
Start reloading, you,re not likely to get the accuracy (slim chance) from factory ammo that your asking for, you,ll have to reload to do it and you,ll learn what's needed to get the accuracy.
$400 won't get you anything decent for a scope, you,re closer to $700 + so look for a USED Rifle in decent shape. Someone local to you from gun nuts could probably point you at a local store that might have what you need.
Start at 100 Yds and learn to use a trigger properly, then move to 200.

M.
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I agree with everything Ice Pick said EXCEPT the part about Ruger.
If you want to do upgrades in the future (Stock, Trigger, Barrel etc.) then I would look for a Heavy Barreled Rem 700 or better yet an XR-100 action if you can find one.

Most stock companies build stocks already inletted for these actions, there are many trigger options such as Timney, Canjar and my personal fav, Jewell. They are easy to get trued when you get a match grade barrel and will shoot just as well as a custom action.

My trued Rem XR-100 action in it's original stock (not bedded) with a Krieger barrel and Jewell trigger is doing phenomenally well in competition right now and I have only been shooting for 1.5yrs. We (my gun and I) won the Lower Mainland Regional Championship 3 weeks ago and came 3rd overall in the BC Championships 2 weeks ago shooting from 300m-600m.

Less than $2000 spent (not including the scope) on the rifle which started out originally with a $200 used match barrel that I wore out.....twice :D.

Lots of good advice here, think ahead to the future as to what you may or may not want to do, and buy accordingly.
 
I appreciate the suggestions and you guys have me considering a .223. Since I won't be hunting, caliber is not a huge issue. I don't imagine I'll buy another bolt action rifle for quite some time which is why I was opting .308.

I guess I'll try to get a used rifle and upgrade the barrel and trigger. What about getting a remington 700 SPS and upgrading the barrel? That should cost about the same as the remington 700 5r milspec. Which would be the more accurate gun?
 
Upgrading an SPS is a great option. The barrel is everything and if you use a good match grade barrel properly installed, it will outperform any factory barrel.

Heck, go even less and upgrade a Stevens 200. There is an outstanding shooter from Mission (Frank Oblak) that wins matches using $80 old Turkish Mauser actions, he does tinker with them, but spend your money on the improvements that make the difference: Barrels & Bedding.
 
Obtunded: thanks for the reassurance in the "buy cheap and upgrade" plan. I'm new to shooting and this concept is new. Normally, it's never better to do it this way. You don't buy a cheap computer and upgrade. Or a cheap car and upgrade. It's always better to do it the other way around.

The reason I suggested remington 700 is cause of it's aftermarket ability. Although a stevens 200 is very tempting. At first glance, I ruled out the stevens purely based on the fact that its too cheap. But after the advice on this thread. I may be inclined to buy the cheapest used remington 700 i can find and upgrading it as much as I can afford.

I guess the barrel is the most important part for precision then? I plan to improve the trigger on any rifle I purchase. But how much does a good stock/action affect accuracy?

To be honest, I always thought stock was 99.9% cosmetic but I think I may be wrong on that one.

As for a scope, like I previously said, I am looking for a scope around 400 dollars. Is it really necessary to spend 700 dollars on a scope? Can someone recommend a few scopes in different price ranges? Is it mainly clarity that separates them? Or will a 400 dollar scope break on a .308 after a number of rounds? or does it have to do with keeping zero?
 
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Ratzilla said:
But how much does a good stock/action affect accuracy?

To be honest, I always thought stock was 99.9% cosmetic but I think I may be wrong on that one.
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The stock will at some point become a limiting factor in accuracy. It all depends on how good or bad it is initially, and how extreme you are going for accuracy. Aside from a stock that allows the barrel to float, having a solid, properly bedded action will affect accuracy. Also, a target stock will have better shape for the task, riding the bags better than one that is rounded foreend, and sloping at the back. It may also better fit you if its custom and position your eye better for a larger diameter scope.
 
okay, you guys got me thinking. And guess what, I'll probably end up buying more firearms...

I'm thinking of picking up the stevens 200 in .223 with a bushnell 4200 6-24x50 tactical and shooting it until I am proficient at 200 yards. What kind of groups should I expect out of the rifle, out of the box? 2" groups?

In any case, when I get to the rifle or my limits, I'll move up to a Remington 700 in .308 and I'll deck it out with new stock, kreiger barrel and trigger job. Move the scope from the stevens 200 to this one and sell the stevens or buy a new scope altogether depending on how i like the stevens.

what do you guys think?
 
Here's the bushnell

Bushnelltacticalscope.jpg


Mike
 
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