Need advice to give advice

R

RoscoeP

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
Location
Comox, BC
Well my son wants to buy a tactical style precision rifle. He also wants to go hunting(for the 1st.time) with it. He does not have another hunting rifle. He has champagne taste and beer money, like me and probably some of you. Models he has mentioned are the Sako TRG-22. A savage model ? $1300and a Remington model that runs around $2000 I have talked him out of the larger calibers so I think he will buy the 308. Some of these models are pretty heavy and I think the Savage is single shot.
I was looking at the Tika T3 with 24" barrel at 8 pounds in 308 at around $1700. What do you think would be best if thats the only type of gun he will buy? I don't think he will ever get into serious precision shooting, reloading etc. I welcome your comments or suggestions. Cheers Roscoe
 
I think you are bang on with the .308.
Chances are that his tastes will change quickly with age, and being that you are most likely footing most of the bill I would try and keep it reasonable.
I second the Remington 700p or maybe an R5.
There are lots of supporting dealers with VTR's on for $599, not my choice really for many reasons but hey maybe he will like it
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=490680&highlight=.308
 
I think the "tacticool" factor will wear thin quite quickly if he does much real hunting with it, but you are likely fighting a big wind by suggesting he ignore the tactical fad and get himself a real hunting rifle.

That said, I agree the .308 is the best round for him to start. I think the Rem 700 LTR would make the better hunting rifle than the P because of the shorter barrel. I really dislike hunting with anything longer than 24 inches, and prefer no longer than 22 inches if the cartridge functions well in shorter barrels, which the .308 certainly does.
 
Go with one of the savage rifles like the 10 fp. This way a bbl swap later on is a cheap and effective way of getting more serious with his rifle. I took a bone stock stevens action and put a reworked Galliard bbl on it to get a consistent .25 moa shooter. Total time for the bbl swap was 5 minutes and it cost 0$ in smithing fee's.

The other option is a remington for his first tac rifle but make sure he counts on extra cash to spend accurizing it.


JV
 
Last edited:
Get him a used Rem 700 for 5 hundred or so and let him feel it out. A reasonably priced 700 can always be resold with little or no loss if he decides he wants to step up later.
 
If he must have tacky cool, another vote for the Savage prec carbines.

Small enough and light enough to hunt with yet, can be tuned up for some nice precision shooting.

308 is nice, if small deer 243 is another option. Not sure if you will find any, but a 7-08 would be a nice overall chambering.

You should be able to get the entire rifle with decent optics set up for around $1200.

Do have the action bedded as the accustock has issues but better then the average factory stock.

Jerry
 
Me and my brother got caught up similarly.

I bought a Rem700P and he bought a Tikka Tactical, both in .308. Both have done their time on the line and in the bush going for moose.

Yeah, they're long and heavy; but that will provide some of the motivation to get a purpose built hunting gun (it did for us).
 
compare these two

GSoD said:
Me and my brother got caught up similarly.

I bought a Rem700P and he bought a Tikka Tactical, both in .308. Both have done their time on the line and in the bush going for moose.

Yeah, they're long and heavy; but that will provide some of the motivation to get a purpose built hunting gun (it did for us).
Click to expand...

How did these two guns measure up against each other?
 
In terms of accuracy I found no real appreciable difference. They're both factory receivers and actions.

It was totally personal preference, we each disliked the feel of each other's stocks. I also disliked his muzzle brake. His detachable mag was a nice novelty, but ultimately useless when loading to the lands in search of accuracy.

I liked that my Rem700 had a plethora of aftermarket options for potential upgrades.
 
Stage one: I would seriously recomend that he gets a Remington 700 in 308 win to start - what model? I would avoid stainless steel due to the bolt face gauling issue of stainless - just get a blued or parkerized model.

Stage 2: Upgrade the stock with either an AICS http://www.ketmer.com/ai/aics/index.htm
or a MAK tube kit http://www.tubegun.net/
either stock will cost about a thousand bucks - but he will get some serious coolness points

As for scope base - one piece picatinny/weaver style and JB weld it to the action - dont rely on the puny little screws standard to remmeys

Scope rings - burris signature only - cause you cant bend the scope

Scope - standard issue Leupold mark 4 stuff is fine - but better long term and most versatile is March scopes from Kelby's in USA - they offer the only 2.5 to 25x zoom - that gives you some good versatility and they are as good a scope as you can find anywhere.

Later on if he shoot a lot - change out the barrel for something better.

Its best to buy the best you can get at the start or something you can upgrade in stages - that way you dont loose money on the junk ya gotta dump later.
 
I say let him buy what HE wants and can afford. :)

None shoots better than another. Remington and Savage produce identcal results. This brand loyalty nonesense is nothing more than validation of consumer choices.

I have owned many Reminton and Tikka rifles, including the T3 Tactical in 308. The Tikkas were consistently more accurate, and definitly had a more tactcool look, but I only extracted that type of accuracy with meticulous hand loading. Factory ammo levels the playing field and I guarantee one gun is not significantly better than another. The TRG is functionally very similar to the Tikka... Savage produces a gun that is every bit as good as the others as well.

For his stated purposes, any and all would produce big smiles and small enough groups. I say go cheaper on the gun and go richer on the glass, but then my needs and biases are different.

It aint about the pait brush, it's about the painter.
 
Obtunded said:
None shoots better than another. Remington and Savage produce identcal results.

It aint about the pait brush, it's about the painter.
Click to expand...

No...they don't.

Savage did not become renowned for "Out of Box Accuracy" because it shoots as good as a remington. If it did...guess what it be renowned for....being ugly but shooting ok. It has very little for aftermarket stocks and triggers, it is no where near as sleak looking as a remington action. It comes with the cheapest crappy plastic stock money could buy, every year or so they change the mag and action screw configuration around, fit and finish leave lots to be desired. Do a search for the most accurate out of box rifles and the names that come up are:


Savage
Steyer
Sako

It (rem 700) is definately an excellent platform to build on but where is the team shooting remington factory rifles? Here is the Savage team below shooting out of box rifles

images
 
Last edited:
Bull$hit.......

I am acquainted with the guys on team Savage and in fact I shot with them just this last weekend; Stan Pate and I were shooting partners; Darrel, Monte and I chatted all weekend long; (I have to bug them about the fact that we beat them too :D) I appreciated their input as Canadian F-Class Team Captain; we will be shooting at the World F-Class Championships together. They are the best FTR shooters in the world and the rifles they use are excellent. You must also appreciate that they are FANATICAL, anal, ultra-picky reloaders too. They are in a class by themselves.

They are also using single-shot rifles manufactured specifically for the purpose of being Palma, TR and F-Class rifles. They are the only factory manufacturer doing that and good on them! Remington would be wise to take a page out of thier play book. If the OP wanted an F-Class or TR rifle off the shelf, there IS only one choice: Savage.

Remington made the XR100 rangemaster in 223 and it was every bit as accurate. They discovered it was such a good product, they doubled the price and called it a 40X. Wapitiwhacker has a Remington in 223 that is so accurate, he was beating custom rifles in the Mission BC shoots. I have owned Savage myself; I have nothing against them - they are as good and bad as any other rifle out there for their intended purpose.

I stand by my original comments.
 
Lots of this comes down to a couple of things. Does he want to buy off the self, or put a rifle together? Do you guys have access to a good gunsmith? Driving distance is good, but the mail does a fine job of delivering affordable work from one coast to the other these days.

There are quite a few factory options. My vote would be a 700 LTR in .308, if he wants off the shelf, but there are plenty of others that will work as well.

If he's willing to be a bit patient, collecting ther parts and having a rifle put together is entirly viable. In the end, he'll probably have a better rifle, for about the same money. If I was building from the ground up, I'd get a 700 short action, Remington Boone and Crockett laminated stock- these were a factory option and can be had from Numrich. If he's got a bit more cash, Email Robertson Composites for some pics of some of thier different options. Thread on a 22" heavy sporter/ light varmint 7mm barrel chambered in 7mm-08. Throat it for 162 amax seated to mag length.

Glass is going to cost$$. Buy the very best you can afford. It really sucks to have a rifle that shoots, but glass that fails you, either in repeatability, or optical quality. This doesn't mean buy as much magnification as you can. A really good quality 3.5-10x 40mm, or 4.5-14x 40mm w/ target turrets would be my first choice. A used scope w/ a forever warranty is the affordable way to do this.

just my $0.02.
 
When does the Savage/Remmy BS end.

FFS, they both offer both good and bad rifles. Its the frikkin accuracy lottery buying any factory rifle.
 
If the rifle is to be used for hunting, you really might want to consider how useful some of the high end tactikewl (tacky cool - I like that, mysticplayer) stocks are for anything but shooting prone with a bipod or rest.
Stop and think for a moment what a "sniper" rifle is.....
It is basically a really accurate hunting rifle, with a sighting system and calbre that allows it to reach out.....
And it has to be useful in the field, being shot from a variety of positions, not just on a range, sitting on its bipod.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom