someone recommend me a hunting/long range plinking rifle?

Regarding rifles standing up to hundreds....

Winchester and Remington based rifles have been shot over 350 times a day in competition with four people shooting 88 rounds each. Each person shot 44 rounds about one minute apart in two 22-shot strings and four 10-shot strings of rapid fire in 60 seconds each after 4 sighters. The rifle lost about 10% of its barrel life but no other issues.
 
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308 is fine, if that's a final decision on the OP's part, but let me suggest 260 or 6.5 Creedmore. The recoil is minimal and accuracy (with the right rifle) is excellent. Bullet BC is high on the 6.5 cal long range bullets. Probably best for those calibers though, if the OP is a reloader.

I bought a Tikka and had a #4 contour barrel in 260 put on it and I am very pleased. I hunt with it, plink with it, and punch paper with it. Admittedly, I'm not into long distance shooting, but did tap a hog at 500 a while back.

I keep telling myself that I should grab the 270 for deer, or the 220 for coyotes, or the 223 for coyotes, but that 260 (stainless T3 Lite) just keeps sticking to my hand.
 
Do you handload? One rifle, three purposes really calls for it; outright beckons...

Why .308? Bore or .308win ctg?


For plinking, shooting "distance", and even hunting with handloads on game up to white tail deer; might consider the Tikka T3 in .223rem with the 1:8 twist barrel.

Not a likely choice if your gonna hunt dense woods or heavy animals, but with Premium bullets like Nosler partition in 60gr or others up to 70gr you can take game animals; IF legal to hunt with a centerfire .22 in your state or hunt zone.

Want real long-distance accuracy? Go with a Tikka varmint again with the 1:8 twist barrel. Very fine weapon for hunter or shooter who can place their shots, and won't force a shot they don't have in a woodsy setting.


Really, if you handload you can make almost any cartridge work for you in the arenas you identified. .308win is a great one. The .260rem has greater distance potential and a bit less recoil, while the .223rem will really perform with right barrel twist and heavier bullets out to 500/700yds for targets. The .308 is reliable out to maybe 800yds, and the .260rem will surpass that.

Not really gonna see the greatest results from a hunting barreled gun unless you get lucky. The T-3 is a great value for its performance.

If you can use the .223 in the field, worth looking into...
 
edward hogan said:
might consider the Tikka T3 in .223rem with the 1:8 twist barrel.
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The OP indicated .223 is out because it's not legal for deer in their state.

I do agree about Tikka T3s, though. Though I'd recommend any of the T3s, I recently bought a Tikka T3 CTR, and I'm very impressed with it. Dead nuts accurate right out of the box, good trigger, a bolt that's slicker'n snot, a 10-round detachable mag, and a muzzle that's threaded for a suppressor. I bought it for mid-range tactical precision matches, but it'd be a great hunting rifle as well.

This particular model (the CTR) is available in .308 and .260. I bought the .260, and think I'd still choose that chambering over .308 for when I stretch my legs to 1000 yards. Its a dandy deer cartridge to boot.
 
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You want a gun good for 1000 yards thats being shot 200 times a day plus is light and costs less than $800? You're not going to find the rifle you're looking for I'd say. Although I've never owned one, how about a Ruger No 1? They made them in about every caliber known to man. I've always wanted one in .270 weatherbee for extreme long range if I had the opportunity. They aren't the lightest of guns but they are lighter than some since they are a single shot.
 
I'm pretty happy with my Browning X-bolt. She'll do .3" @ 100 with Nosler CC HPBT 168s. Bone stock with a Nikon Monarch. Shoulders nice in the field and has a decent trigger.

Savage also deserves a look. Known for out of the box accuracy, reasonable price and a good trigger. Same goes for Tikka and Howa.
 
this is a link to a Weatherby Vanguard for about 560.00. Its chambered in 6.5 Creedmore. I think this may be exactly what you're looking for...

That also leaves room in your budget for a Nikon scope and some ammo!

Sorry, just saw that you wanted it chambered in 308. Regardless, I still think you should consider the 6.5.
 
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hey guys thanks for all the responses, learned a lot and i might look at some of the other calibers you guys recommended (again, has to be bigger than 23 caliber, but the 6.5 and the 260 are interesting).

Just to clarify a bit, im not looking to try and shoot deer at distances like that....i just want a rifle that i could use to learn to shoot at long distances (there are a couple of long distance shooting schools near by), that could also serve double duty as a hunting rifle as well if need be.


again, thanks for the responses so far.
 
IMO .270 Winchester is a better long range cartridge than the .308 as far as ballistics. .308 would likely be cheaper for plinking though.



A .277cal 130 grain VLD @ 3100-3200FPS or a 150 grain VLD @ 2800-3000FPS is nothing to turn up your nose at. Easily good to, and past 1000 yards, if you do your part, and in most cases, will be outpacing .308 win loads.

150 grain VLD BC= .625
130 grain VLD anywhere from .497 up to .540 G1

.308 168 grain VLD BC ~.52 and only launched at ~2700FPS versus ~2850+ FPS from a .270
 
IMO .270 Winchester is a better long range cartridge than the .308 as far as ballistics. .308 would likely be cheaper for plinking though.
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Agreed, for the most part. I've killed bear and elk with .270. Very flat shooting round and one of my favorites. I personally haven't taken it past 200-300 yds though. A lot of "long range" guys really like the 6.5 stuff and the .260 Rem, and the .338...and so on.

But this isn't a caliber debate...the OP asked for "rifle" recommendations.
 
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the OP asked for "rifle" recommendations.
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I was basically implying that his current rifle would likely be up to the task. Especially since I've heard a lot of the Ruger American rifles can shoot sub-Moa out of the box with decent ammo.


The new RAR 'Predator' comes in 6.5creedmoor and a 1:8'' twist which should be decent for a long range rifle. The 6.5mm is quite popular for long range due to the relatively high ballistic coefficients of the projectiles, I just think the .277 doesn't get enough love, in the long range department.

My second recommendation would be one of those Weatherby vanguard rifles, simply because they have a factory sub-MOA accuracy guarantee, but they cost more than the RAR.
 
with an 800$ budget you can get the Savage 16 Weather Warrior for under $700. 22" stainless steel barrel, Accustock, and Accutrigger. very nice rifle & great shooter
 
200 shots fired a minute apart in one day causes the same wear on the firearm as shooting it once a day for 6.6 months.
 
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