Target Rifle for 100 - 300 yards -- suggestions?

Winchester-1897 said:
my .223 tactical, Magpul Hunter stock and Magazine, Weaver Tactical3-15X30MM side focus scope, Harris bi-pod, tactical bolt knob, timney trigger.

IMG_3062_zpsvus7chjl.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
Click to expand...


You copied my rifle I had the same rig,

Remington 700 ACC-SD .223 16.5" barrel with magpul sniper grey stock, MDT acis mag, leupold VXIII 4.5-14 tactical scope. Harris bipod, oversed bolt knob.& surefire pro-comp .556 muzzle brake
 
Last edited:
Spend your money on a tikka, I can whole heartedly recommend the 223 "tactical".
$20 spring gets you the equivelant of a $200 trigger on a rem 700. The action is stiffer, smoother, and held to higher tolerances. The barrel looks closer to a high quality aftermarket blank than a rem or savage, when viewed with a borescope.
Anything you have left should go to reloading equipment. There is no such thing as a really accurate target rifle without reloading...
 
When buying a centerfire for target shooting one of the most critical components is the barrel. It is worthwhile reading up on and learning about the different ways of making a barrel. Here is a good article on The Making of a Rifled Barrel by Geoffery Kolbe. He is the former owner of Border Barrels in the UK. You can form your own opinion, but mine is that a drilled and cut rifled barrel is the best quality you can get for target shooting. Time to make is measured in days. I am not aware of any manufacturer who is supplying them on an off the shelf gun, but there may be some that are semi-custom. The second choice is a drilled and button rifled barrel that is hand lapped. Time to make is measured in hours. Last choice would be a hammer forged barrel, that is banged out in a few seconds. Hammer forging is a process used to manufacture military barrels where you sacrifice quality for speed of production. They would be my very last choice. So when you are selecting a gun, consider how the barrel is made.
 
ntm said:
Spend your money on a tikka, I can whole heartedly recommend the 223 "tactical".
$20 spring gets you the equivelant of a $200 trigger on a rem 700. The action is stiffer, smoother, and held to higher tolerances. The barrel looks closer to a high quality aftermarket blank than a rem or savage, when viewed with a borescope.
Anything you have left should go to reloading equipment. There is no such thing as a really accurate target rifle without reloading...
Click to expand...

^^^ This is the way to go, My Tikka "Varmint" is less bucks than the tactical but actually the same thing except for finish and slightly different stock. I fitted it out with a clamp on muzzle brake, YoDave spring,Talley 20 moa rail, Burris signiture Zee rings and a 2.5x10 Vortex PST.
With 75gr A-Maxes this combo will one hole 5 shots at 100m, rattle cans at 500m are no problem and on a very calm day hit the gong at 1000 yards.
 
grauhanen said:
Thanks for the replies. I don't shoot competitively and this is for shooting off a rest or bipod.

The Remington 700 seems to be getting a few nods. Where is the 700 5R available in .223? Which other Remington 700 models are worth considering?

Are there any other makes/models that deserve attention? Savage?

Anschutz makes a .223, the 1771 http://www.nordicmarksman.com/1771-D-Walnut-German-223-REM.html
and the 1771 GRS h t t p:/ /jga.anschuetz-sport.com/index.php5?produktID=1193&menu=262&sprache=1&produktShow=detail
Thoughts on these?
Click to expand...

Savage 12BTC SS thumb hole stock here very accurate
 
marcoman said:
Having seen your preference toward high end rimfires and air rifles in other threads I dont think you will be very impressed with most of what is being recommended. If you wait and watch the EE a Sako TRG, Sauer SSG 3000, T3 Sporter etc with turn up for a fair price.
Click to expand...

I agree with the above and would add the H-S Precision HTR 2000. I own one and a Sig 3000. Theses are rifles that perform wonderfully well out of the box, new or used and there is no gamble involved, as in "will it be a shooter?".
They can be found within or close to your budget.
 
BCBRAD said:
^^^ This is the way to go, My Tikka "Varmint" is less bucks than the tactical but actually the same thing except for finish and slightly different stock. I fitted it out with a clamp on muzzle brake, YoDave spring,Talley 20 moa rail, Burris signiture Zee rings and a 2.5x10 Vortex PST.
With 75gr A-Maxes this combo will one hole 5 shots at 100m, rattle cans at 500m are no problem and on a very calm day hit the gong at 1000 yards.
Click to expand...
Another for the T3 varmint in 223. I love mine, only mod is a limbsaver. I haven't shot to 500 but like you said soda cans at 400 yds are effortless. So slick and accurate and stays accurate even with a hot barrel. I have a PST 6-24×50 and Warne steel rings. It's my first Tikka and I have been very impressed.
 
One more tip. It makes no sense to shoot factory ammo if you are going to target shoot. Yes, some do it with very expensive Lapua factory loads or the like, but they are typically sponsored to do it. You may have heard of using a tuner on your rimfire to get maximum accuracy. The purpose of a tuner is to get your barrel to be on a vibration upward cycle when the bullet exits the barrel. Slower bullets exit later and the barrel is pointed more up to compensate for the lower velocity. Faster bullets exit sooner and the barrel is pointed lower and that compensates for the extra velocity. Some call it a "node" or a "sweet spot". In centerfire it is not common to use a tuner to get this last little bit of accuracy. However, with handloading you can adjust your velocity instead of adjusting the vibration of the barrel, to put the bullet in the sweet spot. It is called a "Ladder Test". To do it, you need to reload your own ammo and control the velocity.

My point is that if you are target shooting for maximum accuracy, a good place to start is with your brass. If you do not have good brass you don't have a good basis for reloading. In my opinion, Lapua makes the best brass. Yes there is more expensive stuff out there like Nosler/Norma, but not better. So before you select your cartridge, have a look at the Lapua line of brass. They only make brass for a select range of cartridges. Ideally you want to have a cartridge that you can feed Lapua brass.

The notable brass that they make is the .220 Russian. It is necked up to 6 mm to make the 6PPC cartridge which dominates the 100 meter competition distance. The 6BR Norma potentially when optimized for 100 meters could be quite competitive, but it is more often used for intermediate ranges like 300 meters with heavier bullets. For long range of 500 meters, one popular cartridge is the 6.5x284. You may not recognize any of these cartridges because they are target cartridges, not common hunting, varmint, military, or plinking cartridges. A good target quality gun will be chambered in these cartridges except for the 6PPC which remains a wildcat. In any of these cartridges you will have no trouble finding quality reloading dies suitable for target shooting. If you go off the beaten path of target ammo, then you are stuck with lower hunting quality components and reloading tools.
 
Thanks, Ron. It can be a sobering reminder that reloading is not as simple as it sometimes is made out to be.

One of the things that I've found important in shooting for accuracy -- in addition to ammo, of course -- is the trigger. I know the Tikka trigger can be easily lightened by a simple spring change. How adjustable is the trigger on the Remington 700? What about the Savage triggers? I had a Savage Mark II rimfire with an Accutrigger, which I lightened but not without difficulty. Am I correct that some Savage triggers can be adjusted down to less than half-a-pound?

Any thoughts on the Savage F/TR in .223?
 
The Savage target trigger can go down to 6oz and I think the regular accutrigger can go down to 1.5 lbs. I have a couple of the target accutrigers and they are a way better trigger than the regular accutrigger.
Have you considered the 30BR I here they are doing very well in the short range bench rest game
 
grauhanen said:
One of the things that I've found important in shooting for accuracy -- in addition to ammo, of course -- is the trigger. I know the Tikka trigger can be easily lightened by a simple spring change. How adjustable is the trigger on the Remington 700? What about the Savage triggers? I had a Savage Mark II rimfire with an Accutrigger, which I lightened but not without difficulty. Am I correct that some Savage triggers can be adjusted down to less than half-a-pound?

Any thoughts on the Savage F/TR in .223?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that despite the rave reviews of some internet posters that the Tikka is a hunting gun, not a target rifle. The Remington 700 action is frequently used to build target rifles and gets a good reputation. HOWEVER, the bare action is typically all that is used. The action will be trued, and the bolt may be replaced, and the recoil lug replaced, and the barrel replaced, and of course the stock replaced. They kind of remind me of the Ruger 10/22's that owners try to modify to shoot accurately. They replace everything but the name on the box that they bought it in. I have a Remington 700 and I like the crispness of the trigger, but it is not real light to pull. You can adjust it, but you face the wrath of all the Remington lawyers if they find out you broke the seal on the screws. The trigger has gotten a reputation for firing on bolt closing and there are lawsuits taking place. The newer Remington 700 triggers need a 600 lb Remington Lawyer to pull them. Short story? Most replace the trigger on a 700 when they are used for target shooting.

As for the Savage AccuTrigger I have a rimfire and was able to tune it down to 12 oz pull, and it has had several thousands of rounds through it now, with it working perfectly. It cost me nothing but a bit of labour to do it.

The centerfire Target AccuTrigger Action guns that we are talking about are much higher quality and sophistication than the rimfire. They will adjust down to 6oz out of the box, and I have done it. There were a few initial issues, but I worked through it. It is a great action and trigger. It is way way better than my Remington 700 trigger. And my 700 trigger is from before the lawyers got their fingers in design.

The Savage F/TR I'm sure is a good gun for the intended purpose. F/TR is a restricted class of target shooting intended to somewhat replicate the military use of rifles.

""TR", standing for "Target Rifle", is a subcategory of F-Class competition, limited to .223- and .308-caliber rifles. At many matches, F-TR competitors are restricted to bipod, ruck or sandbags, though at the Nationals a front rest was allowed."

So a gun made for F/TR has restrictions that you as a non competitive shooter may not want to live with, such as being restricted to a miliary cartridge. The higher level F-Class has less restrictions, and Open Benchrest even less. If your interest is in maximum accuracy rather than playing a specific military based game, I would go for the gun that potentially is going to be most accurate.

So long story, but in the Savage Target Rifle Category without considering any rules restrictions, the straight Benchrest model or the F Class model make more sense to me. I like the straight rear stock on the F Class better than the Benchrest which has a slight taper. But they are pretty much the same gun. When you shoot a heavy gun like this on a benchrest, you typically let the gun free recoil on the rests, and you want it to go straight back. The trigger is not really pulled but pinched between the trigger and the back of the trigger guard. Or at least that is how I do it.

The issue I have with the F/TR is that it is set up to be shot off a bipod rather than a rest. At my age, I have absolutely zero interest in laying on my belly and shooting off a bipod, especially in the winter! Your interests may vary. I only shoot for accuracy, fun, and comfort. I really like the 6BR cartridge because it has good range, and minimal recoil, which makes it fun to shoot.
 
If you do not mind a discontinued rifle, it's a great day when you can locate a Model 1375 Wichita target rifle, in the caliber you desire. ;)
In the past it's been high jacked for very decent bench rest actions.
A Barnard action rifle from NZ would suffice in it's place. Maybe a Swing rifle too??
 
OP , you did not mention what type of short range target shooting you were interested in . If it's short range benchrest group then do yourself a favour and get a proper used or new lv/hv rifle and chamber it in 6ppc ,nothing else will even come close to the accuracy of a bench gun , Find someone near you that shoots bench ( there are lots in Ontario ) and get some help with the learning curve . Most bench shooters are more than happy to help some one new get going .Check out the Canadian benchrest forum , its where the short range group people are .if your not looking to shoot the best groups possible disregard this reply . Good luck With what ever direction you decide to go and happy shooting
 
Last edited:
If you have 2500$ to spend on a rifle, you could be disappointed with Remington or Savage. I would get a tikka varmint in a standard caliber, reload and learn the basic. When you need to rebarrel, you get a caliber as stated above depending on what you prefer to do!

Getting a second hand custom in 6br or 6,5 caliber would be my first choice but could be a little more expensive. You won't loose any time asking yourself if it's you or the rifle and there is a lot of info on how to get easily precise with those caliber.
 
If you have 2500$ to spend on a rifle, you could be disappointed with Remington or Savage. I would get a tikka varmint in a standard caliber, reload and learn the basic. When you need to rebarrel, you get a caliber as stated above depending on what you prefer to do!

Getting a second hand custom in 6br or 6,5 caliber would be my first choice but could be a little more expensive. You won't loose any time asking yourself if it's you or the rifle and there is a lot of info on how to get easily precise with those caliber.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom