Howdy folks. I'm looking to rebarrel by Savage Model 10 from 300 WSM to something milder. I'm thinking about going to to varmint contoured Shilen barrel. I already know I'll need to order a large shank barrel, a new bolt face, and tweak the magazine lips. The use of the finished gun will primarily something fun to take to the range and maybe try F-class (if available locally). We also go on a deer hunt every 1-2 years, so I would like something with enough punch to take medium game cleanly. However, I think I'll have access to a loaner deer rifle so this would be a just-in-case capability and most of our hunting is from a stand anyway.
I was originally leaning toward .308 Winchester, but a recent visit to Cabela's and through the internet let me know everything 'tactical' is out of stock and will be for many, many months, maybe years. So would it be be a good idea to switch to the something smaller and lighter? I think a 7mm-08 or .260 Remington will work pretty good at range, and have less recoil than the .308 Win. The biggest problem is this would move the gun from F-TR class to F open class. I would also like to keep the reloading supplies realitivly easy to find/inexpensive
So backstory aside, my questions are:
Would a Savage with a Shilen barrel, amateur glass bedding job, a Bell and Carson stock, a decent $300-$400 scope and Timney trigger be decently competitive in either F-TR or F-open class competition?
How would you expect a gun setup as such to shoot? Accuracy, recoil, heat walking, etc.
Does anyone know of long range competitions in the North TX area? A fellow shooter mentioned something about long range rifle at TacPro in Stephenville. Does anyone have experiences or other locations?
Is their any harm with using a faster than normal twist barrel? I'm thinking 1-10” for 308, 1-9” for 7mm-08 and .260. I will be using long Seirra Matchkings for targets, and medium weight SSTs or Ballistic Tips for deer/pigs.
I was originally leaning toward .308 Winchester, but a recent visit to Cabela's and through the internet let me know everything 'tactical' is out of stock and will be for many, many months, maybe years. So would it be be a good idea to switch to the something smaller and lighter? I think a 7mm-08 or .260 Remington will work pretty good at range, and have less recoil than the .308 Win. The biggest problem is this would move the gun from F-TR class to F open class. I would also like to keep the reloading supplies realitivly easy to find/inexpensive
So backstory aside, my questions are:
Would a Savage with a Shilen barrel, amateur glass bedding job, a Bell and Carson stock, a decent $300-$400 scope and Timney trigger be decently competitive in either F-TR or F-open class competition?
How would you expect a gun setup as such to shoot? Accuracy, recoil, heat walking, etc.
Does anyone know of long range competitions in the North TX area? A fellow shooter mentioned something about long range rifle at TacPro in Stephenville. Does anyone have experiences or other locations?
Is their any harm with using a faster than normal twist barrel? I'm thinking 1-10” for 308, 1-9” for 7mm-08 and .260. I will be using long Seirra Matchkings for targets, and medium weight SSTs or Ballistic Tips for deer/pigs.