Thoughts on a beginners long range rifle?

allarile260

allarile260

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Hello, I've been debating for a while on whether or not to get a long range rifle, but for lack of cash I have not been able to afford one as I am a college student. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions of rifles under 1000$ that would do well. Also anyone have thoughts on this gun? http://frontierfirearms.ca/index.php/mossberg-100-atr-night-train-308-win.html Any help is appreciated and I know the gun will outperform me as I am a novice shooter.
 
for less than 1000, Id go with the rem 700 sps tac in .223 with a scope. All from Frontier firearms. You'll be amazed with the .223 and ammo is alot cheaper. It all depends who you talk to but i havent read anything good about the mossburg myself. also, you can get a .223 out along way, and it will teach you to read the wind. In which, you will become a better shooter when you have more funds to move up to the .308 or bigger. just my opinion.
 
Short answer: There a couple of threads here already on this rifle and they never go well. There are reports, and IIRC personal knowledge, of people being seriously injured due to alleged design defects. A Remington 700 or equivalent Savage off the EE are probably more accurate and much better value.
 
I was looking at the rem 700 sps tactical in .223 for a while, but the power of the .308 is so enticing. Would the .223 work as a hunting round for deer? I wouldn't be attempting to set any long range kill records, just under 200 yards. Thanks for your opinion and for the ammo cost this may be a better rifle.
 
You could look at a savage 10 PC... excellent trigger, accustock means it doesnt need to be bedded... overall ive been extremely happy with mine and shoot 1 inch groups at 200 yards with hornady 55g vmax rounds.
 
pavmentsurfer said:
You could look at a savage 10 PC... excellent trigger, accustock means it doesnt need to be bedded... overall ive been extremely happy with mine and shoot 1 inch groups at 200 yards with hornady 55g vmax rounds.
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I looked at the 10 PC and it's reviews and I'm confident in that rifle, just the price is what gets me even though it may not be much to everyone else. Perhaps a model of that will show up on the EE.
 
Good thread! I'm interested in this topic too. Well not the mossberg topic but you know what i mean...Carry on Gents. :cheers:
 
Most rifles that are chambered for .308 Win you can get in .243 Win.

This will allow you to go for deer and some larger game as well as allow you to hone your shooting skills with a low recoiling centerfire.

It won't buck the wind like a .308 but it is another option and will help teach you the wind reading skills that others have stated.

A Remington 700 isn't a bad idea as it easily allows upgrades later on and can be made to shoot extremely well.A Savage entry level rifle is also an option as they have a reputation for good accuracy out of the box.An older Weatherby Vanguard(not the Vanguard 2) was also a very realistic and reliable option if you can find one, some of these were being had for under $400.00 new.

I would however stay away from the package rifles as these are basically geared towards hunters and don't have the glass you would likely want for target.

BUT remember, your rifle is only as good as the glass you mount on it, shooter skills aside.

For your budget it can be done for a starter setup.

Previously loved rifles is also an option.
 
The Weatherby rifles are excellent and you can go straight to the source if you want to buy new. Howa builds their rifles in Japan and they retail for less than the Weatherby even though its the same rifle. They also switched to a 1 in 10 twist for the .308 and the 2 stage trigger can be set down to about 3 lbs very easily. Aftermarket support is far less than rem or savage though. They sell for about $575 new, about $100 less than a rem sps tac depending where you buy it. And dont forget about glass! A cheap scope will not allow you to learn from your mistakes but rather get frustrated dealing with the issues associated with cheap optics. Probably the best buy in decent LR scopes is the Bushnell 10x40. Theyre up to about $260 new nowadays but still worth it. They have good glass and great internals with 80 MOA elevation. Surely not the best option but for the price, you wont be fighting with internals that dont track well and fuzzy, cloudy glass that gives you a headache. Add a decent base and rings and you should be able to just squeeze in under your $1000 mark. If .223 is your thing then avoid the Howa/weatherby rifles as they only come in 1 in 12 twist for light varmint bullets and will not stabalize the heavier match bullets you'll want to shoot if LR is your goal. Id go SPS tac for .223. Most provinces do not allow .223 for hunting big game. I can only speak for Alberta for sure, we have a .23 cal minimum for big game. Expanding bullets are required as well, terminal performance of the .223 with soft points especially at longer ranges is not adequate for consistent clean kills on deer sized game. There is too much chance for a long, slow death for the animal. Something I wont allow myself to do, and hope others feel the same. Another option is a good .22lr rifle to practise for far less cash than centerfire while you save for a good rifle. It will teach you the skills you will need to develop without bringing cost or flinching into the equation. 300m with .22lr is very challenging, shooter error is magnified immensely and wind drift is crazy.
 
allarile260 said:
I looked at the 10 PC and it's reviews and I'm confident in that rifle, just the price is what gets me even though it may not be much to everyone else. Perhaps a model of that will show up on the EE.
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I have an extra Savage 11 in .308 with upgraded Timney trigger and scope etc. I could sell. Where are you located? If you're close, you could test pilot it
 
if you want a cheap long range gun with cheap match grade ammo the a k31( they are awesome old guns that might be a bit rough on the outside but that doesn't mean they won't shoot well) is just wight for you they go for under 300$( +25$ delivery from tradeex)and for 350$(free delivery)for 480 bullets (gp11) that's .70$ a round for match grade ammo you can't go wrong with that. 75$ for a clamp on scope mount( free delivery with the gun) witch are very sturdy and all that for 750$ after that all you need is a good set of .22 scope rings because the mount has smaller dovetail and a scope . It may be over budget but you will have 480 match grade bullets that will last a long time.

Promise me you will look them up before you say no you won't regret it.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=WZ-Lcvyrifw&desktop_uri=/watch?v=WZ-Lcvyrifw
He is a profesional but still it looks like a stock k31 not many gun new or old can do that
 
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