The Lightweight 1000 metre Varmint Rifle

[Riflechair]

I was contemplating the 2025 Tweedsmuir Rod & Gun Club 1000 yard shoot and then realized I didn't have a rifle that can reliably shoot that distance. All of my rifles need to be comfortable for me to field and I have never been able to do that with the HB varmint rifle. I think it will probably need to be 6mm or 6.5mm based? Can a medium taper barrel help to balance weight, recoil and repeatable performance?

Who makes the best lightweight 1000 metre varmint rifle and what is it chambered in?

I'm attaching a R700 308W in MTR LSS chassis and plastic AI style magazines. It was still too heavy and I don't think I could be competitive at 1000 yards. Do high accuracy / precision lightweight stalking rifles exist?

 

[mikeyb]

That's a difficult question to answer without a budget in mind and maybe a target weight for the platform if that is one of your major concerns.

I would usually recommend building the perfect rifle, off the shelf guns have come a long way but are still usually a compromise in one way or the other. Combine a rifle assembled with high quality components by a competent smith with a consistent handload optimized for the use case and you'll have a solid package. You could go with a carbon-wrapped barrel to keep the weight down a bit while still offering some rigidity, or knock a few ounces off a medium-heavy sporter contour stainless barrel by fluting. You could choose an adjustable hunting-style stock (or just tape a cheekrest on it) rather than a chassis. You could use one piece ringmounts instead of a steel rail and rings. You could choose a 30mm tube scope with a 50mm objective instead of a 34mm/56mm option. You just need tto ensure you have enough elevation to make a grand.

That said, Bergara B-14 HMR and Tikka T3X Varmint are both pretty affordable out-of-the-box shooters that are well-regarded by the r/longrange folks. The Tikka is about a pound lighter than the Bergara. The B-14 Ridge has a "heavy sporter" profile barrel but weighs about two pounds less than the HMR - you lose the adjustability of the HMR. You certainly don't need a 6.5 Creedmoor to hit 1000 yards, there is a lot of neat developments going on in the 6mm and .257-cal space that can do the job and then some with less recoil, but for an off-the-shelf option it's still a really good choice. Both have vast aftermarkets available.

I'm not familiar with the options from other manufacturers, I'm sure Savage has something that would do the trick. In the semi-custom space, Aero Precision maybe?

But I'd definitely start with the requirements and go from there. So far all we have is:
- 1000m capable
- not heavy
- comfortable to shoot

 

[FLHTCUI]

Remington LTR in .223....

 

[Sun_and_Steel_77]

Horizon Firearms Venatic Carbon in 22 Creedmoor with the 22" barrel option.

You never stated a budget so I gave you the best.

 

[Decker9]

The Tweedsmuir shoot has a few different classes, lots of hunting rifles show up in the hunter and sporting rifle classes (10 1/2 pounds and 3/4” muzzle or smaller)

It seems the 6mm and 6.5’s are generally ahead on the leader board, but there is a range from tiny to magnums that show up, on the windy days the larger bullets shine a bit better it seems. The 308’s definitely hold their own!! If you have a good load for your rifle, I’d run it! Depending on your weight and muzzle you might be able to shoot it in the hunter/sporter class’s. Gives you a reason to build a heavy barrel for the other class’s!

I just jumped into a 6gt to try this year, last year I shot my walnut/carbon 7saum and did alright in both heavy barrel and unlimited class, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a rifle I’m comfortable with in either of those classes even if it weren’t a big heavy barrel. But of course to be competitive, a good setup is better.

 

[EJG]

I have built myself a few lightweight rifles that are 1000yd capable or even more. I thought one can be a step above factory rifles if one puts the right components together. No reason why they shouldn't be accurate. These rifles have been well tested.

22-250 1/8 22" Bergara stainless Barrel on a T3 in a carbon stock. 75 ELDM 3150fps. rifle bare weight ~2.7kg

6.5CM rem 700 20" Hardy carbon barrel 1/8 carbon stock . 140ELDM 2712fps rifle bare weight 2.8kg. shoots well out to 1200m

300wm rem 700 24" Light Sendero proof carbon on carbon stock. 3.0 kg bare weight. 208 ELDM 2800fps. a joy to shoot. Tested to 1200m

edi

 

[Riflechair]

Thi

I have built myself a few lightweight rifles that are 1000yd capable or even more. I thought one can be a step above factory rifles if one puts the right components together. No reason why they shouldn't be accurate. These rifles have been well tested.

22-250 1/8 22" Bergara stainless Barrel on a T3 in a carbon stock. 75 ELDM 3150fps. rifle bare weight ~2.7kg

6.5CM rem 700 20" Hardy carbon barrel 1/8 carbon stock . 140ELDM 2712fps rifle bare weight 2.8kg. shoots well out to 1200m

300wm rem 700 24" Light Sendero proof carbon on carbon stock. 3.0 kg bare weight. 208 ELDM 2800fps. a joy to shoot. Tested to 1200m

edi

You definitely have my attention - thank you. I definitely need to research that PSE stock - if it's lightweight then that looks perfect. Combined with the CF wrap barrel - amazing. Your weights are phenomenal.

 

[William Watt]

Tweedsmuir Park Rod&Gun
Annual 1000 Yard shoot.
This is the 50th year of the shoot.
View their web site for all info on the shoot.
If your rifle meets the rules of the Hunter Class, you can use it for all 4 events.
Sporter stock requires a slight round contour on forend of stock not a flat bottom. This only applies in Hunter class.
I use 2 different stocks for the barreled action.
Calibers, everything from 6BR to heavy mags are used.
At end of the day it's usually the smaller calibers at the top, 6mm, 6.5 up to 7mm.
Enjoy
Bill