New Shooter to long ranger, what should i be looking for?

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Skinnyk

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Hey guys,

Im just getting into some long range shooting and having trouble finding out what I should be looking for. I've been doing some research on a few rifles but I figured i'd ask guys who ACTUALLY shoot. Price really is not a problem but i'm looking around 1000 to 1500 dollar range. Anyways any help will be greatly appreciated, Cheers,

Kugan
 
Skinnyk said:
Hey guys,

Im just getting into some long range shooting and having trouble finding out what I should be looking for. I've been doing some research on a few rifles but I figured i'd ask guys who ACTUALLY shoot. Price really is not a problem but i'm looking around 1000 to 1500 dollar range. Anyways any help will be greatly appreciated, Cheers,

Kugan
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If that is just the gun, good, but optics will cost money. An SPS Tactical .223and a Sightron 36x Target scope should leave enough for cheap reloading equipment. The Sightron you can get from Jerry (mysticplayer) for about $550and the Tactical at WSS for about $650. Get some used reloading stuff from our fine boys at the EE and your off to the races. If your price is just the gun, get a Savage 12 F/TR .223 somewhere and start reloading some Bergers and maybe a NF. Sorry about my relay of .223 love here...lol.:p
 
My choice for the first rifle was to buy a good factory build rifle.

I got me a Savage 10FP in .308 (other calibers are optional :cool:)

this way you can get into the best part of it, SHOOTING, faster. If you like to experiment and make it more involving then you can look into many, many, many posts on building a Budget Target Rifle some using Stevens 200 and others a Remi with 700 action. Then a barrel, then rings + base, bipod, optics (Bushnell 10xTactical seems to be a good one for about $200 new)

load 'em and let 'em fly :dancingbanana:
 
Skinnyk said:
Hey guys,

Im just getting into some long range shooting and having trouble finding out what I should be looking for. I've been doing some research on a few rifles but I figured i'd ask guys who ACTUALLY shoot. Price really is not a problem but i'm looking around 1000 to 1500 dollar range. Anyways any help will be greatly appreciated, Cheers,

Kugan
Click to expand...

Hi Kugan, Welcome to CGN!

I am a long distance competitive (F-Class) shooter and am involved with both the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association and the BCRA. I'm assuming from your question that you are thinking of a rifle that you would use with a scope and a bipod/pedestal rest, as opposed to someting off your elbows, and I'm also assuming you're thinking of targets, not mountain goats?

The best advice I can give you is to be very careful about accepting advice off the internet:) That may sound silly, but there is a modicum of truth as well. I say that because there are those that reccommend what they themselves bought, under the "I thought about buying the same thing" logic, and there are those that have commercial interests behind their recommendations as well. There are also those who have posted here in this thread that don't even own a rifle yet - no kidding, yet they are dishing out advice.

What i woud suggest is you go poking around on CGN here and look for Mike P. His handle is "Ice-Pick". He is a member of the Ontario Rifle Association and that excellent organization meets fairly regularly at this time of year at the ranges in Ontario. The are completely focused on introducing new long-distance shooters to the fold, and helping you make prudent choices without bias or prejudice. Many of the shooters in these organizations are more than happy to let you try what they use too.

If you can make arrangements to drop in on one of their informal matches (they have introductory days too) I think you will find that speaking face to face with guys that actually shoot long distance, and looking at the equipment they ACTUALLY use will be far more beneficial than reading posts from people whose credentials are sometimes hard to verify. There ARE some very credible experts on CGN, it's just that knowing who they are takes time.

This is not to say you need to look at spending money on a full-on custom target shooting rifle, in fact, quite the opposite. It will help you see where you SHOULD put your money, and it will also help you appreciate that the gap between shooting-curious consumer and long-distance shooter is paved with little steps that must be mastered along the way, where big bucks and big bullets aren't necessary.

Cheers,

Ian
 
My buddy and I have been playing with long range for a few years now. A couple years ago I plastered forums with the same questions. 3 rifles later.... I'm no superstar but we found its like buying a cell phone. The phone is cheap. Feeding the pig is where the money is. Buy the best damn rifle and glass you can afford! it will be the cheapest part of the whole bit. Its going to take one hell of alot of practice to get to where you want to be. That being said who knows whats best for you? NO ONE! We got identical Sako TRG's with S&B glass now. haha this way we know that we suck... its not the cannon. I have spent way more money on reloading equpment, bullets, brass, palmpilot, software, wind anemometer, targets for god sake.. blah blah not to mention the gas it takes to get north where I can be frustrated at 1000yards. At the end of the day I clean my badass rifle, take pride in my toy and know that I'll never be able to shoot as well as it can. Most important is having the buddy to get drunk with after you blast $300 downrange. Most people spend the money, suck like everyone else and pack it in before long without someone to make fun of when they suck as bad as u.

Since I've posted this I've done some thinking and came back to throw up this ps. While I was writing this mess Obtunded posted some of the best damn advise out there! I know you want an instant answer by a super guru with rock solid proof but you will never find that. Try to shoot long range with something you all ready have better yet buddy up and spend a day with someone who does it on a regular basis. In my experience the best help I've found has been from guys that will tell you he sucks snap off a 4" group at 1000 yards and still be pissed the last round went 1" right. Its a perfectionist game and takes a special kind of moron. I have found that anyone with instant answers that "knows exactly what you NEED!!" is not your guy. It takes countless hours of dickin around, you have good and bad days, put a bullet through the same hole one day, the next get pissed off and bolt your rifle to picnic tables to make sure your not loosin it, or you "bumped" your gun. We spent a day questioning our guns, computers, and range finders to find that they worked just fine on flat land. We were trying to shoot over a river that day and the river is apparently a whole new ball game. Have fun dude. Just start shooting and for god sake write stuff down.. I cant stress how important the buddy is. I was sober at the start of this post, better go eat now haha guess you struck a cord.
 
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Haha thanks guys! I appreiciate the insight from all of you. Can really tell you guys are as passionate about this as I want to be. I'll be in touch with a few of you soon I'm sure of it. Better get back to work so I can afford the new toys I want!,

Cheers,

Kugan
 
One thing I know for certain: Accuracy will suffer if you have a big belly that causes you to gasp for air while you lay behind the rig. Heart beating like a steam engine piston dosen't help either.
 
Kugan,
Before going out and spending $$$ ,my
first suggestion is to locate a "mentor" to assist you in your efforts.
Bob Raymond and the boys at the ORA do an excellent job of this. Try contacting him through the ORA. Help from people are active in the sport can ensure a successful effort.
Good Luck
Gord O
 
ONT0001 said:
Kugan,
Before going out and spending $$$ ,my
first suggestion is to locate a "mentor" to assist you in your efforts.
Bob Raymond and the boys at the ORA do an excellent job of this. Try contacting him through the ORA. Help from people are active in the sport can ensure a successful effort.
Good Luck
Gord O
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This is an exellent bit of advice... get out and try some other peoples equiptment and find out what you like... you may really prefer something like a 223 shooting heavy bullets, over the recoil of the 308 etc.

Just because a rifle is cheap dosen't mean you can't have alot of fun with it I got a 700 sps tactical 20" not what you would ideally see as a good long range rifle...for about $700 you can pick on of these up in either 233 or 308 and get a good scope my scope costs 2x what the rifle did but its worth it. Ill have it for life. This weekend I am going to try and push it out to 800 yards first time shooting that far worked great at 400 and 600 along the way I add a part here and there an work on my load but its. its fun to see how well you can get a budget rifle shooting... dont get me wrong I do enjoy these 2500-5000 dollar rifles but I dont have the buget for one of those yet. Id really like a blaser tactical but I'll have to keep saving up my pennies to get one.

If you want to swich barrels easy i'd look at guns other then remingtons...being a hardcore remington customer I might go savage on my next one because they are really making stuff for long range guys and barrel swaping. If remington doesnt come out with a 1-7" twist 223 shortly savage is going to get my business next purchase.
 
I am fairly new to this and for me 300m is long range. That being said...

I'd recommend asking older experienced guys at your gun club if you can go shoot with them for an afternoon. There was an older guy who got me started who was retired. He had tried everything and knew lots of stuff. Really helped with reloading and getting off the ground.

Since then, experience really seems to help as I'm slowly improving and gaining confidence as I go. Also, I have a shooting partner who is similar in skill and interest level as myself. This makes life a lot easier. If nothing else, you get to try double the amount/types of gear and lots of stuff (chrono?) you only need to buy one of.

It is also an extremely rewarding hobby. I can hit the 3" gong at 300m almost all the time now - I can tell you what a rush it was the first time I did that! Do to the nature of shooting, you tend to hit milestones that are really memorable.

Best of luck.
 
ONT0001 said:
Kugan,
Before going out and spending $$$ ,my
first suggestion is to locate a "mentor" to assist you in your efforts.
Bob Raymond and the boys at the ORA do an excellent job of this. Try contacting him through the ORA. Help from people are active in the sport can ensure a successful effort.
Good Luck
Gord O
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vote of confidence Gord.

Kugan, there is an Intro day shoot scheduled for July 24 and space is available, 300 yards, club supplied rifle and ammo plus the best shooters in the ORA as coaches, best fun you can have in a day.

If you are interested drop me a note off the ORA website.

Bob
 
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