New to precision rifles!

Hunter709

Hunter709

CGN Regular
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Location
Newfoundland & Labrador
Hey guys, so I finally bit the bullet and traded in one of my CZ 858's on what I'm thinking is a decent starter precision rifle. I am still waiting for it to come in but once it gets here I'll be sure to post a few pics for you guys. Longest shooting I've done to date is aprox. 300 yards with a Norc M305 & Lee Enfield .303 both with iron sights, and the groups were less then fantastic lets just say :p. I'm really looking forward to trying to really reach out and touch some targets, any and all advice welcome. Now for the good bit, I ordered a Tikka T3 Varmint Stainless in .300 Win Mag with a Simmons .44 scope with mil dot and target turrets (anyone who has used this scope I'ed love to hear your opinion on it, I didn't have alot of money to throw at the optic yet, always changeable down the road. :D), muzzle break and bipod. I am super excited to get this thing in my hands, and cannot wait to learn more about the art of long range shooting. Now bring on the advice! :D

Cheers,
Mitch
 
You chose a great platform to start with, that's for sure! There are a lot of great 30 caliber match bullets too, like the 208gr Amax, 210gr Bergers also come to mind. I have no experience with the scope you mentioned though, but it will get you going for now. Post some pics and range results once you get it going. I am sure some of the more experienced shooters will chime in shortly. Good luck!
 
Yeah like the other said, welcome to the sport, now go get set up for reloading! And not the kind of reloading people do for handguns or hunting rifles, the kind of reloading that takes 3 hours to make 50 rounds!


Also, if you are looking for a good budget/starter optic, Sightron would be my recommendation. For a .300 Win Mag, something like a fixed power (20x or 36x) would be good and cheap, maybe an SII for about $500.


If you haven't checked them out yet, Mystic Precision and (closer to you) Hirsch Precision can hook you up with most of what you'll need.
 
OP - .300WM is a gutsy choice for first precision rig - not because it isn't accurate but because it can be a challenge to master and is more expensive to reload for. THat being said, congrats on the purchase.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I am seriously looking at getting into reloading soon. Can't wait to get it in my hands, although according to the guys I ordered from their supplier was sold out so it could be January before I get it. That being said, what kind of ranges can one expect out of a .300 Win Mag once use to the rifle and long distance shots?

Cheers,
Mitch
 
For a very long time the .300WM was considered the king of the 1000 yard game. The cartridge has probably lost that title but can still be an exceptional performer out to and beyond that distance.
 
Maximum range is a function of many different variables. It also depends on what you're asking of it. The .223 has been shot out to a mile, so really there is not limit.


For paper punching or gongs, once the groups open up past 1 MoA there may not be much of a point. Where that is depends on the shooter/ammo/rifle combo as well as weather. Also, good groupings with good ammo will look like sideways footballs because the wind will affect it more than elevation.

For LR hunting it's a whole new ball game. Assuming you can hit the vitals on the first shot, the required energy can be estimated using the Optimal Game Weight estimation. For sniping, the CF uses a 95% hit probability at whatever range in whatever conditions which I like. Regardless of what you've got, hitting something is all probs and stats and I'd like to use similar estimations for LR hunting (1 shot kills 19 times outta 20). Finding out at what range you're no longer assured this hit ratio is difficult, if not impossible to pin down. And even if you could get a good idea of the range, weather conditions will be the ultimate determining factor.


If you want to find out how far you can shoot, start at a few hundred meters and work your way out to a KM. Use 5 shot groups and see how they open up as you increase the range. Group size (in inches) should open up exponentially with range. An estimate can be done by using the time of flight. For example, if you can do 1/2" 5 shot groups at 100 yards and the ToF is 0.1 second at 100 yards but 1.4 seconds at 1000 yards you could expect 1/2 inch * (1.4/0.1) = 7 inch 5 shot groups at 1000 yards. So your 0.5 MoA groups at 100 yards are about 0.7 MoA at 1000 yards. If you find your long range groups are larger than this, use different ammo or recognize the rifle/ammo/shooter's limitations. Hopefully you can see now how reducing ToF should also reduce your groups (both windage and elevation).


But like I said, anyone can shoot out to a mile, but hey, you asked!
 
thanks for the referal. Welcome to a most wonderful form of shooting.

I have several article on my website (tech section) that can help you through the set up and loading.

Bedding, trigger, ammo, stock fit, rests are really the foundation that you build LR precision with. Once you want more performance, you look at barrels, optics, and all the extra parts that add $$$ to the build.

for the scope you have now, read the article and do the test. If the scope doesn't track properly, you are sunk.

As to shooting 1000yds, if you can shoot sub MOA at 200yds, 1000yds is just another 20+ mins of elevation on your scope. All the work is done at SR. Load tuning with accurate bullets will lead to excellent LR performance.

Once you get things consistent and trustworthy at 200, just turn up the dial and send them. Learning to read the conditions will be the life long challenge.

Enjoy...

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
thanks for the referal. Welcome to a most wonderful form of shooting.

I have several article on my website (tech section) that can help you through the set up and loading.

Bedding, trigger, ammo, stock fit, rests are really the foundation that you build LR precision with. Once you want more performance, you look at barrels, optics, and all the extra parts that add $$$ to the build.

for the scope you have now, read the article and do the test. If the scope doesn't track properly, you are sunk.

As to shooting 1000yds, if you can shoot sub MOA at 200yds, 1000yds is just another 20+ mins of elevation on your scope. All the work is done at SR. Load tuning with accurate bullets will lead to excellent LR performance.

Once you get things consistent and trustworthy at 200, just turn up the dial and send them. Learning to read the conditions will be the life long challenge.

Enjoy...

Jerry
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Jerry, I have a funny feeling I will have many dealings with you in the future! Especially after the trouble free transaction on the M14 stock!

Cheers,
Mitch
 
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