1000 yard 6.5 under $1000

You need to seriously step up your budget for optics for consistent and constant 1000 yard shooting. $1000 is a good price range and will net you my favorite factory rifle brand, Tikka. A Tikka T3x CTR in 6.5 Creed is what I shoot but mine is topped with a Burris Veracity 5-25x50 FFP. Your chosen scope will make hits at 1000, but optical clarity will be lacking compared to higher end scopes, and not sure the repeatability of the adjustments will be as accurate or consistent as on a better scope. I learned this the hard way over many years and it wound up costing me a lot more money in the long run. I started with cheap optics, then always upgrading, sell, upgrade, sell upgrade, instead of just saving for a good scope to begin with. Fought a lot of frustration and uncertainty on if the bad hits were optical or rifle related...
 
The Savage Model12 FV at Cabela's sounds like it would be a great fit for you. Price is under $450. Many have a $100 rebate as well. It would allow you to be able to upgrade to a better stock. Or just spend the surplus on a nicer mount, scope rings, and scope. For the scope at long range I would advise being ready to spend the $400 or more.

I own the RPR and the Savage 12 FV. Both in 6.5 Creedmoor. The savage is every bit as accurate as the Ruger is. The thing is I spent as more on the scope, rings, and mount than I did on the rifle itself. I went with the Cabela's scope that was around $399 it is very good scope. Though I will admit it is not nearly as good a scope as the Night Force on my Ruger. Granted I spent bout $1300 on that scope.
 
Brando congrats on your new rifle, hope it does what you want it to! Was going to mention the Weatherby Vanguard 6.5 CM with a bull barrel and good glass. I purchased mine (with so-so decent scope) for less than a grand this spring. Have only shot it at 100 yards so far though, but from what I read that rifle will do what you want with good ammo.
 
Also I feel like it is worth mentioning I dont intend on topping out at the $1000 budget as time goes I am willing to invest in it to improve my equipment, its just a good starting number and goal. lol I will eventually upgrade my glass to something a bit nicer and the scope i just ordered will likely go on my 223 bolt gun at that point.

Thank you everyone for your input!
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That was pretty much my approach. I did buy the 12FV as I did not have a target rifle at that point. As noted, I did not care at all for the stock but in 6.5 is likely ok (308 and a bit harder shooting)

I have two used Cablella Alaskan scopes (made in Japan). Pretty nice glass, one 12x and the other 20x.

I found a Savage 110 BTH in 30-06 (Thumbhole Stock) got that, it had a rail so no need to add that and eventuality the Night-force Scope.

I sold other guns to pay for it. Now I have my stable of 3 I like (12FV in 308, BTH in 06 and a 7.5 Swiss I built on a low cost Savage 114 action )

With the nut system I did the barrels myself.

The Boyds stocks fit so good they needed just a bit of relief on the rear tang. I like TH but the Super Grip Target type (Prairie Hunter?) works very good as well.

The Nightforce is a lone Dot in the middle, I like that type, Ok with Cross hairs but the dot is nice.

Scopes have all moved around until kind of settled in, but you can shift and move as you want with scopes (all mine are railed and I have a QD for the 20x Alaskan)
 
Brando, let me mirror what others are saying. For distance, you need to up your scope. Can be it done for cheap? Possibly, but as good as rifles are these days, I'd recommend you spend at least half of your budget on the scope. It's a very common mistake for people to not budget enough for the scope and spend more than necessary on the rifle. (At least in my opinion that is a mistake.)

If my goal was 1,000 yards for $1,000 the obvious choice of rifle would be the 12FV from Cabelas https://www.cabelas.com/product/SAVAGE-FV-VARMINT-RIFLE/1994604.uts?slotId=0. Spend about $125 on rings and mounts and then the remaining $450 on the scope.

I do think the 6.5 is the obvious choice over the .308.
 
Sorry I haven't been very responsive. But I wanted to thank everyone for their contributions and explain my decisions some more.

With the budget I had I really ended up narrowing my rifle choices down to a savage (cabelas or dicks sporting goods specials), a Ruger american predator or the Howa 1500.

The price points where along the lines of:

RAP:$400
Savage: $450-550 (there where a few other models i considered within a close pricepoint)
Howa: $675

The most common thing I found with the rifles listed was that EVENTUALLY I would want to upgrade the stocks. Boyds has some good stocks that sell for $150-200 and I found myself wanting the boyd at one stock system for whatever gun I decided on. Even if it meant buying it way down the road. So in the long game the stock brought the Ruger to to about $600, brought the savages up to $650-700.

After considering the at one stock vs the chassis style stock a $75 difference became a no brainer.

Aside from the stock/chassis, howa has a reputation for quality rifles, incredible barrels and a great trigger. The trigger is a 2 stage trigger which is great for me, I am a glock shooter and the staging and then release is very familiar to me and will(hopefully) make for a smooth transition over to long range precision shooting.

I know this used up a lot of my overall budget for the gun not leaving much to be spent on a scope.

The scope I decided on is a great "filler" it has great reviews and has been tested out to 1000 yards from multiple trustworthy sources. I have had amazing luck with primary arms products so I am very excited to put their $200 scope to the test. I would love to be able to spend $700 on a scope but unfortunately thats just not an option right now. With any luck the PA scope will let me get my feet wet in precision shooting and maybe i can upgrade in the near future.

Once again thank you all for the help in deciding which to purchase! Also the howa AB arms 6.5 is still on sale for $675 it will be a hard price to beat! jump on it if you are interested in a 6.5 chassis gun for the cost of most chassis!
 
You will never truly tap your barrel potential until you embark into handloading. You will probably find some excellent factory match ammo as Hornady makes 120, 140, and 147 ELD match but there is even more accuracy to be had by precision handloading so think about investing in handloading prior to adding future expensive add-ons.
 
Road_Clam- OP mentioned he will reload for his rifle. I agree 100% that to unleash full accuracy that handloads are a must. Invest in good brass might be a good idea

6mm Creedmoor is indeed a great round to get to 1000. I also feel that there might be more room for growth with the 6.5 Creedmoor if longer ranges become desired. I have both and up to 1000 the 6mm is easily every bit as capable and in some ways easier to repeat shots quickly with it's reduced recoil. But once I go past 1k I find 6.5 to be the tool for the job and while 6 would no doubt get me there it's big brother is my go to.
 
Brando1992, can you provide a link where you purchased yours? I am interested in a 6.5. I had started a thread for recommended heavy barrel... received many great options some were the RPR, Tikka, Bergara, Savage... although nice... I decided not to spend a lot in a rifle alone. My budget is $1200 (rifle, scope, rings), which I was going to spend $1200 on a rifle and was really eyeing the RPR.

After much thought.... I am not going with that Rifle. Maybe one day, but not this year. But am interested in a similar chasis as the RPR and if I spend on a chasis alone... then I will end up spending more.
 
And after reading your decision and reason, i'm still left wondering which rifle you picked. ??
:confused:

Am i reading you right, in that your looking favorably at the Howa because it has a trigger like a Glock???
You really need to shoot some good guns!! Shoot a 1911, then tell me how the Glock trigger feels.
 
If his muscle memory is attuned to a Glock and the Howa is similar then I would chance that his fundamentals will come easier as he is getting some range time with his new rifle? Just a thought. I am not too much I to pistols as my arthritis keeps my grip strength and confidence in that grip good enough to shoot pistols properly for more then a few rounds. Lucky I prefer the rifle anyway
 
Point is, do you prefer a 6 lb trigger pull with no feel, or a light crisp trigger, especially for long range work?
 
Y’all people wear me out!
Q: What kind of 18” barrel should I buy?
TFL A: Buy a 16” barrel, Buy a 20” barrel...

Q: I plan to buy either a Remington or Savage. Between the two, which would you pick and why?
TFL A: Id look for a Browning, cuz I had one 30 years ago and it was great...

You know what they say about opinions...
Not saying I’m not guilty of this, but I at least usually acknowledge the original question before giving an answer/opinion that wasn’t asked.
 
I purchased two Ruger American Predators which were on sale, one in 6mm and one in 6.5 mm Creedmoore. Ordered two MDT LSS Chassis Systems for them. Ordered two Athlon Argos 6-34x56. finished them off with two Luth AR MBA 4 Carbine stocks. Works for me. :) The Ruger Predators as is are no slouches. Bought a MagPul for the chassis. It didn't fit at first. A little file work and it fit. There was a little ridge/hump at the top of the lip the MDT Chassis did not like.
 
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the howa game king comes to mind
pic it up with a ok scope [nikko sterling]

I have one in 308 and they are a very accurate rifle out of the box, most new ones also come with the magazine system

610$ usd out the door is hard to beat for its performance/cost
 
The RAPs are a very solid gem once you ditch the stock. They can shoot decent as is but once you put it into a solid base it shines.
 
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