I got bit by the precision bug! Looking for some guidance.

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Artilery92

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Well, I have the urge to purchase myself a bolt action rifle, but I know diddly squat about precision rifles. I will not be hunting with it, it will strictly be for target shooting. I believe my range stretches out to around 600 meters and I would like to be able to shoot that far with accuracy. I get my tax return in about two months and plan on buying a rifle with it. Now, I would prefer not to spend the entire thing on the rifle but I don't want to end up with a crummy entry level rifle that I would want to replace in a short time either.

Right now $800 is what I am thinking of spending. Is this an unrealistic price to get set up for precision shooting? I'm guessing I will need to purchase a rifle, a decent scope and... a spotting scope? Is there anything else I am missing?

As far as the rifles go, what are some good options in my price range? Are there any specific companies I should lean towards or stay away from? I ask this because two of my local gun shops refuse to sell Remingtons because of their quality record in the past few years. Do you suggest I move up in price to get a better rifle? Now that I think of it, after purchasing a spotting scope and an optic, it doesn't leave me with much left for a rifle.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
If you're thinking new then a Remington 700 or a Savage is probably a good place to start looking. Personally I bought a Remington SPS-V when they were on sale at LeB**** and for casual long range shooting it was great. Getting set up with a decent scope might be a bit of a challenge if you're looking to buy new and keep the entire thing under $800 but you might be able to find a deal on the EE.

What range do you shoot at?

Scott
 
Well ... if you're gonna like it, you're gonna like it alot. I was in the same boat as you, only with a slightly bigger budget when I first started out. You're gonna read up on a huge volume of advise but these would be my top two:

1) Buy once, cry once (you will almost never get all you money back if you try to sell something so by the time you buy and sell a couple of crappy things, the money you would have lost could have bought you something top of the line)

2) Buy good glass (for the same reason above ... you need to see what you're going to hit and if you get yourself a great scope it can sit on an infinite number of rifles that you buy, sell or upgrade)
 
Remington with a 5R barrel, 308 use Fed. Premium 167grn or 223 Fed Premium in the 52 grn. but that will run you 1-1200.00 used, never heard of a bad one, but to gain the best accuracy with any gun, handloading works best
as far as optics, good glass costs good money
 
Artilery92 said:
<snip>
Right now $800 is what I am thinking of spending. Is this an unrealistic price to get set up for precision shooting? I'm guessing I will need to purchase a rifle, a decent scope and... a spotting scope? Is there anything else I am missing?

<snip>

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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I think $800 is unrealistic, considering a good scope is going to be in that neighbourhood, but seriously- the absolute best advice I can give you is to haunt this forum, read as much as you can, learn to use the crappy search function, and dive in.
Good planning- you've got time to do your research before tax refund time.

Tell you what though, if I was doing a build now, I'd base it on a Savage in .223 and put a big Sightron on it.
 
I would forget the spotting scope idea. Put the money for your spotting scope into your rifle scope.

$800 for a rifle and scope is very unrealistic. If your lucky you can find a good rifle to start out with for $800. (last winter I picked up a Savage M12 LRPV for $900 on Cabelas)

For a cheap Scope I tried a Vortex Viper 6.5-20-50. I've been shooting it for about a year now on my 204 ruger. So far its worked great. It tracks and holds its zero with out any issues. The glass is just fine until you look threw something better. I didn't realize how foggy most scopes are until I got my Sightron.

If you think you really want to get into this then I would save and buy quality gear.
 
Just starting out, almost any rifle you buy will shoot better than you.

$800.00 can work for ya, at least enough to learn and know where and what you want to improve on.If you spend $500 or $5000 a point will come where you want to make changes.

A Remington SPS new, or any type of used Remington 700 is a practical start.The action on this can be used as a great start for a custom precision rig down the road.

A $300 scope these days is still a pretty damn good scope, companies have to be competitive in today's market and prices,options and quality does show.Check out Sightron, Bushnell, Weaver , brands along those lines.

The spotting scope can come later, also reloading gear will be something in your future.

$800.00 ?? I think you can get something respectable and likely be accurate enough to learn on.The thing about big dollar items.............."Ego, costs money!!!".Guys like to say then spent "X" amount of dollars on item "A".;)

Not sure if you are looking at ammunition costs at this point but a .223 IMO would be an excellent choice for costs and usable range and to learn on a light recoiling rig.

You can also sell to recover some funds down the road when upgrades look good.

Now I am gonna prices stuff out just for s**ts and giggles.
 
im building my rig(s) using the stevens 200 .. i am cheap, but in this case cheap isnt necessarily a bad thing.. for a NZD$500 rifle, i can have it rebarrelled with a match type barrel and keep it under the price of a factory remington/savage/howa varmint rifle.. infact about $300 under the price of the factory rifles

bed up a boyds laminate and you're done with the rifle, just need glass

everything in NZ is expensive though.. so its about $2000 for a more than adequate rifle for long range..

im going with the XLR chassis so its going to be around $3000 for my build
 
Artilery92 said:
Right now $800 is what I am thinking of spending. Is this an unrealistic price to get set up for precision shooting? I'm guessing I will need to purchase a rifle, a decent scope and... a spotting scope? Is there anything else I am missing?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...

With that budget, this is my suggestion.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/models/

Mark II FV. yes, this is a rimfire. EGW MOA base and/or Burris Sig ZEE rings w/inserts. Tacpro adj checkpiece.

Get a bit of work done to tune it up like a trigger job and bedding. Or do it yourself.

With the remaining funds, Sightron SII Big Sky 6.5-20X50 or a quality used scope (older Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24X44 AO w/ mildots, or Bausch & Lomb variants).

You might still have some money left over to buy quality ammo. Then go shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot.

What you learn at 200yds with a quality rimfire is every bit as good as far more expensive centerfire. Feeling cocky, go 300yds and that will be a huge learning curve.

With your budget, you haven't included the costs of shooting and reloading and without quality ammo, your budget precision rig is a waste of time.

IMG_3234.jpg


I have this rimfire and it will be my off season F TR trainer so I am taking my advice very seriously.

200yds with my FV will be close to shooting my 223 F TR at 500m.

I shoot SK Rifle match (your rifle may like something else). At $7/50, this is not cheap rimfire ammo but compare that to centerfire and it is great value.

IMG_3276.jpg


IMG_3275.jpg


On a calm day, 5 rds into 5/8" at 100yds or 1.5" at 200yds is not out of the question.

Learning how to drive this combo well will make the transition to centerfire much easier. And you will be a better shot when you do

Jerry
 
800 is doable for a starter kit.. buy used . i just bought a sightron 6-24 with rings for 500 and a stevens for 350.. the sightron is going on my remington and i am taking the scope off my remington to go on the stevens..i also have a tasco 6-24 that might go on the stevens and do some load tuning to see how precise the cheapest gun and scope combo can be.. pretty pumped
 
I'm in the same boat as you and have been able to find a half decent range of rifles under the $800 mark. I'm pretty much set on the Remington 700 SPS Tactical .308 (or .223), available at several of CGN's sponsor around $690 new.

The place where it bumps it way above the $800 mark is the glass you are going to want to put on it. You are looking at a good $600+ for the glass and another $200 for everything to mount the scope to it. If you are patient buy it in pieces and build it the way you want. If you would like it right away, there is always lots of items in the Exchange section.
 
For that money go the 22 route... You can get a good rifle and decent glass.

Everything adds up, rifle, bipod or bags... Glass, bases, mounts, cases and bags... Often the rifle itself is one of the cheaper parts.

Think about the cost of ammunition if you don't reload. I just bought 400 rounds of 308 gold medal match and after taxes and all it's almost your entire budget.

Unless you go used a $3000 budget is much more reasonable for a complete rig that is ready to shoot. Again, buy once.
 
A 22 rimfire is great to start with but let's be honest here. You'll want something to ring that 600 M target with eventually. That's when you really get hooked into this game. I'd suggest a 223 at minimum. You could do a rifle and scope for 800 but you'll have to watch the EE and be patient for the right deal to come along. If you're anything like the rest of us you aren't patient and you'll blow your budget in no time....
 
Artilery92 said:
Oh wow, I didn't realize a good scope is $500+. Do I really need to spend this?
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You are going to have to shop around, but I'm looking at a 25x right now and its coming in around the $600 and they can go way up from there, but if you are just looking to get out and enjoy some shooting to start with, forget ringing the 600 yard gong. The 22 is the way to start. I love my .22 and shot it more than any of my other guns. It's also a great gun to hand to people i bring out as it will not scare them in the least, and even better they can shoot it all day and it costs next to nothing.

When looking at a gun look at the cost of the ammo and ask yourself, are you willing to spend that much each time you pull that trigger?
 
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