Need some guidance on a rifle choice

B

Brown_Guy

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I am new to this forum and would like to extend my greetings to everyone...

I have a question, I have been target shooting now for about 15 years most of my experience is 100 to 200 yard shots which I have always been very accurate with. I have decided to step into the long range tournament scene (600yds-1000yds). After doing some research I am considering two rifles that fit my budget ($400-$700) one is the 7mm Remington Mag and another is the .300 Winchester Short Mag. Both rifles have great ballistics and match my current price range. However there are many manufactures who make these paticular calibers. My plan is to modify as much of the gun as much as possible on my own and over time, but I want a good base to start with. I looked at the Tikka, Savage, and the Remington models. Is there much difference? or perhaps another model that would suit me better? Also if there is a paticular scope that would suit me? I have looked into Leupold and SWF scopes one dicounts the other as saying they are the best. I have owned leupold and never had any problems and have always consider them very high quality but again taking shots at a long range distance is there a paticular model that I should consider that allow accurate adjustments when needed? I appreciate any knowledge that you can pass my way. Also if there is any tournament advice you may be able to give me would also help. Thanks again
 
ok, i would recommend shying away from magnum calibers if you plan on doing any extended shooting.

Also, if you want to go with 7mm Rem mag then get a 700pss or 700P and go shooting!

If you plan on getting your feet wet in the f class matches then I would recommend a custom built rig. You can build a nice custom rig for under 3k including optics that will get you on your way (will will need to upgrade if you want to be very competitive though).

if you want to go with a factory rig then the 12FV from savage is ok and then top it off iwth a zeiss or S&B scope and get it in 308. Also, handloading is a must for repeatable accuracy and also for finding the perfect load for your rifle.

JOE
 
I agree with Uni Frost on a couple of points. First before jumping in on a caliber, see what others are shooting for long range competition. I will gar-in-tee you won't invent anything new. Going out and buying a rifle and scope and saying here I am could be a waste of resoures and lead to hair loss.

I know a guy who bought a AR for High Power Competition with the best intentions. He did so without seeking advice from a High Power shooter. He ended up with an expensive boat anchor which would not shoot the bullet weights he needed to shoot. A 52 gr 22 bullet is just not going to be fun at 600 yards. He also found if he had found a HP shooter to ask he would have spent just a few more $ and had a rifle which would do what he wanted it to do.

And yeah, if you are going to be serious, you will need to reload.
 
I myself am learning to shoot at 600+ yards with my Savage 12FV (hard to believe I'm a Savage fan, I know). I have no hopes of doing it competitively though.

I could be wrong but any rifle that is going to shoot accurately enough to be remotely competitive at those ranges is going to cost more than your $700 limit. That doesn't include the (at least) $350 you'll need to spend on a good scope.

My guess is it'd cost you well over $1000 on a rifle before you got one that could shoot competitively.

I definitely suggest getting some advice from shooters who are already established in the sport. Any information from them could save you tons of money!

Best of luck.
 
My guess is it'd cost you well over $1000 on a rifle before you got one that could shoot competitively.
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you can say that again!

Just the actions on some benchrest rigs run over 1k and then add in a super long and heavy barrel from krieger, hart, or the other custom barrel makers and you are already in the 2k range without a stock and optics.

if you just want ot go shoot long distances a nice 12FV or 700PSS or P will do you good, but make sure to spend on the glass. Most 600-1000 yard shots are impossible without quality optics. Unertl, Zeiss, S&B are where you need to be and most of these scopes are in the 1500 to 3000 grand range just for the scope. Sure you can start cheap with a zeiss conquest of leupold mark 4, but you will want to upgrade later and that 500-1000 you already spent will be wasted unless you can sell the scope.

my advice is spend on the scope and chince on the rifle at first. and make sure to get a caliber like 308 that is easy to reload for and offers a wide variety of bullet selection. Also, single stage reloading is a must!
 
I have decided to step into the long range tournament scene (600yds-1000yds).
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After doing some research I am considering two rifles that fit my budget ($400-$700) one is the 7mm Remington Mag and another is the .300 Winchester Short Mag. B
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Before you do anything, if you are serious about "long range tournament" shooting, you need to look at the rules of the various types of matches you want to shoot. Often the rules will dictate what equipment you may use.

As for caliber choice, 7RM has it all over the 300WSM. In F-Class, the dominant cartridge is 6.5-284. Many of the "practical" or "field" matches have seen .260 Remington take over in the last 3-4 years. If you are shooting F/TR, you need to use 223 or 308. For NRA High Power "Match Rifle", 6XC and other 6mm wildcats seem to dominate. All have different equipment rules.

Read this for an introduction to long-range calibers:

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article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part I - Rifle & Equipment
 
Thanks for all the good advice. After posting I did a lot more research and have came to some of the conclusions that you have suggested. You guys just hammered them home. I appreciate your time. I look forward to picking your guys brian in the future. Thanks again
 
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