Which way to go?

[THESEUS]

Never owned a rifle so I'm just starting my research.
My use is going to be purely range at this point but crossover into hunting at some point.
I've been looking at Tikkas and just came across the Remington 700 5R .308 so I'm looking for thoughts on which way to go and I like the idea of long range shooting for fun.
Budget wise around $1500 for the rifle all in.
Is .308 a good way to go?

Thanks for any advice

 

[hunter-4-life]

I love tikka rifles, they shoot lights out 98% of the time, very smooth action and overall for what you pay a nice rifle. Downfall, the aftermarket accessories still arent as popular as a model 700. They are out there, but you might have to wait for them.

However for your purpose that you stated above, Remington would be my choice. Those 5r's are very solid rifles, and quite accurate for an out of the box rifle. Not to mention, the aftermarket accessories for Remingtons are endless, and most suppliers stock parts for them, should you choose to customize it down the road. There is a reason why Remington 700 actions are most common factory actions used when building a "custom" rifle.

Another perk to that 5R is it is in a HS Precision stock already, so if you really dig the long range game and want to build a rifle, you already have the stock and action. All you need would be a barrel, and maybe trigger (personal choice)

I'm not a 308 fan, for personal reasons (chevy vs dodge vs ford) but they are a great caliber to start out shooting, ammo is everywhere, easy on the wallet and shoulder as well. Not to mention the caliber itself is quite accurate and easy to load for should you start handloading. For hunting, it will be just fine for most anything in Canada (minus a grizz) and do it just fine.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[apu]

Meh, its your first rifle there will be more down the road, get whatever floats your boat and for what you want to do today. Don't try to anticipate the universal rifle/ammo combination for every application (it doesn't exist ) Either one of the rifles your mentioned in 308 would be awesome.

 

[Hitzy]

308 if a fantastic cartridge for target shooting, some people stretch it out to 1000m with plenty of success but it usually involves a little more barrel and fairly warm loads. I like to use it for 500-800m and it shines.

 

[cosmic]

Well - If you've never owned a rifle before, there is a good chance that any off the shelf centre-fire rifle will outshoot you, as far as accuracy is concerned. Literally, its easy to get too much rifle for your skills. 308 is a good choice, as you can get cheap surplus ammo, and match grade ammo when your skills warrant it. I hope you are not recoil sensitive, in which case you might consider a 22.

 

[Zacm]

As stated above any centre fire is going to outshoot you. My first rifle was a 700 in .308 and man was I disappointed my first time at the range, I sucked, I am talking 4" groups at best, sometimes not even on paper. Part of the problem was I dont even think I could get a proper group to accurately zero my scope, it was very frustrating. Since then I have no problem shooting .5-.7" groups at 100 yards. It really just took some time getting use to shooting it and I think purchasing a .17hmr to learn some basics really improved my skills 10x faster than just continuing with the .308.

I went with .308 because its a good overall round for Almost anything in Canada. Its got a lot of factory ammo options from cheap to really expensive.

Ive never shot a Tikka but the Remington 700 does a great job for the price.

 

[hometownhero]

I have a tikka. If you can get a cheap used one that is what I would go with between the choices you listed.

Here is mine