Yet another entry long range shooter looking for a budget set up

[enefgee]

I have no direct experience with 6.5 CM, but from reports it's tough on barrels, some reporting as low as 1/3 the barrel life of a .308. As a new LR shooter, you'll need to put a fair number of rounds down range to develop your shooting skills. Something to keep in mind, at the very least you'll want either a Savage or 783 to make barrel replacement easier and cheaper. As far as glass goes, Sightron makes excellent stuff at fair prices.

 

[dbmeed]

I’ve just bought a Vortex PST 6-24x off the EE, now just waiting on a rifle. I’m leaning more towards .308 now, because in my area, 6.5 is a LOT more expensive than .308(if they even have 6.5). At least until I get a reloading setup, .308 makes more sense for now.

 

[kthomas]

But love rifles where you can change a barrel yourself with nothing more than a barrel vise, a barrel nut wrench, and a headspace gauge.
Really gives you freedom and independence from gunsmiths.
The rem783 is also set that way and hear lot's of praise also towards it, just lacking aftermarket support right now (think stocks and chassis).
Also seen Howa 1500 and ruger RPRs shoot very well, don't know what kind of barrel system they use though. But both of these will eat away some scope budget.

You can do this with shouldered barrels as well, and it requires one less piece of equipment you mentioned - no need for headspace gauge.

You can buy actions that are manufactured to such high tolerances that a gunsmith does not even need to see your action to spin you up a shouldered barrel - Impact, Bighorn, etc.

Another option is to have your gunsmith save your action measurements after he makes one barrel for it, and you are set. Some actions will require this (such as Defiance). Any replacement/new barrels for that action doesn't require the gunsmith to have your action in hand, so there is no down time on your side.

This is how I do it with my rifles, so my gunsmith can just send me a barrel in the mail. Screw it on and torque it up and you are good to go. Just as convenient as a savage nut style, but without the potential reliability issues and an ugly a** barrel nut on your gun.

 

[rugbydave]

You can do this with shouldered barrels as well, and it requires one less piece of equipment you mentioned - no need for headspace gauge.

You can buy actions that are manufactured to such high tolerances that a gunsmith does not even need to see your action to spin you up a shouldered barrel - Impact, Bighorn, etc.

Another option is to have your gunsmith save your action measurements after he makes one barrel for it, and you are set. Some actions will require this (such as Defiance). Any replacement/new barrels for that action doesn't require the gunsmith to have your action in hand, so there is no down time on your side.

This is how I do it with my rifles, so my gunsmith can just send me a barrel in the mail. Screw it on and torque it up and you are good to go. Just as convenient as a savage nut style, but without the potential reliability issues and an ugly a** barrel nut on your gun.

That's what I do as well, have 2x Rem 700s set up as switch barrels and an American Rifle Company Nucleus (Patriot Valley Armaments chamber barrels sight unseen for these as well as Mausingfields and Big Horn TL3s) and a Defiance Deviant Elite in bounds. I have a barrel vise and an action wrench and torque wrench and I swap between .223, 6 creed and .308. I can do it at home or at the range and I'm actually building a hitch mount for the barrel vise to be able to do it at my long range spot.

 

[DzNutz]

Getting mixed messages here...lol

My thinking is that, yes, I can upgrade as I go, but is there any reason I start with good glass and cheap rifle, or vise versa? Because it can go both ways. Right now, the best scope I have used is a cheap Tasco 2-7x on my .22 that my grandfather passed down. Is it the case where I dont know what Im missing, so Im fine going cheap, or is there something huge Ill be missing?

Sorry if this is hard to make sense of, Im kinda tired and cant formulate sentences well right now lol

I'm in the same boat as you. Recently purchased a Savage 10TR in .308 in MDT HS3 chassis for $1350 from a fellow CGN'er plus bipod and rings for about $300. He actually kept an eye on the EE for scope recommendations for me and I ended up with a Bushnell DMR 3.5-21×50 for $1100. PM me and I could pass you on to him. A+ GunNutz.