Long Range Shooting Rifle Options

I'm kicking around getting a Long range bolt gun. Anyone have experience with the Ruger Precision 6.5 or 308? How about the Savage 110BA in 300 win mag?

I like the idea that the 308 is cheap to shoot, but how far out can it go and still be effective?

I really like the savage but the reviews are mixed.

 

This could go to the Dungeon quick

 

I'd read up on the 6.5. Sounds like it's a great bullet

 

Define long range. To me long range is 500+ meters. YMMV.

 

I've always enjoyed shooting 7MM magnum rounds. They shoot so flat.

 

1000yds

 

.308 will do it, but 6.5 will do it better. 300winmag should do best.
I suggest forgetting all of those and go big- .338

 

1000 is about as long as I would go with .308. Look at ballistics- almost half of the bullet drop will be encountered in those last 100 yards (I used to shoot long range with a .308). Some obvious things that go without saying at that distance- hope you have a good reloading handbook. Use fire formed brass. Good barrel, good optics, good trigger.
Since you'll be reloading your own (I hope), you can still afford to go up to some bigger cartridges. .338 Lapua will be a nice practical one. OR, you can use a really cool cartridge like a 6mm BR- you can stretch well beyond 1k yards. Be prepared to wear out some barrels if you're shooting a lot and getting serious about it. (same goes for many other cartridges at these distances)

 

I shoot to 1K regularly, 6.5 is the better choice IMO. Better ballistics on the bullets, lower recoil. Stay away from bigger cartridges unless you plan on going to 2K, needless amount of increase in recoil though they do buck the wind better. 6.5/260 will make it to 1400 no problem. A lost of PRS shooters are moving to 6mm for more speed and less recoil. Factory match ammo for the 6.5 is available and and about the same cost as the .308. If you're shooting the 308 you'll want to shoot FMMG 175's until you reload, so the argument of using cheap ball ammo is moot as most of it isn't going to do well at distance. Even the FGGM 168's often won't make it to 1K without tumbling.
Our club held our annual long range clinic last weekend. There were at least a dozen Ruger RPR's on the line. I'd say that it is the best option right now for a starter rifle. Savage stealth is another option as well. Don't care for the buttstock on either one but that can be changed. Tikka has some options as well, they make a very nice rifle. Euro Optic has some on sale right now that could be dropped into a chassis.

Scopes are as important in this game as the rifle. Best budget option is probably the Vortex 6-24 FFP, next would be the Burris XTRII and the Bushnell Elite 3.5-21. From there the sky is the limit.

 

Going to that website is like going to hardracing.com.

 

Listen to him...this is spot on.

 

Another option for a starter is the Savage 12 LRP, put a 20 moa rail, some decent rings, scope and shoot it. That's how I got started, it still shoots 1/2 moa or better if I do my part. I have three of the LRP actions, they come with the target trigger, one is now a .223, in a Mcree chassis that I put together for my nephew to shoot long range with me, trigger is set about 8 oz and it hangs with the 6.5 creedmore to 600, and not too far behind the .308 at 1K. My 6.5 has been in a Mcree chassis and now I'm trying it out a Manners T5. The third one will be a 7 SAUM hunting rifle than may do match duty as well just for fun, still need to put the barrel on it and work up a load for it. It will be going into the original HS precision stock that came with the LRP.

 

.308, Remington 700. PSS is a nice rifle that won't break the bank. If you want to shoot from Georgia and hit in Florida, .338 Lapua.

 

Pay attention to what Newsshooter said.

 

I have a Savage 10BA.

Love it. As said, good optics are important.

1' groups @ 1500 ft. no problem.

So far. Still learning. But great rifle.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...71643/&usg=AFQjCNEvT6_iX-Qe0Sv8hKdt5f7365ua4w

 

news shooter is right on. The new Ruger allows folks to get into the sport for sub $3k which hasn't really been possible for a while (including optics). For getting into it, IMHO I would go this route:

Ruger Precision 6.5 creedmoor (140gr factory Hornady ammo, basically should be .5-.75MOA or close to it out of the box) ($1200 maybe? MSRP is $1500 but you should be able to find one a bit under that if you are willing to wait a bit)
Burris XTRII 5-25x50 FFP (first focal plane) mil dot reticle ($1400)
good set of rings ($200?) The rail on the RPR is already 20MOA rise so depending up on if you want to stretch it out a lot more (always over 1k) you could get a level base or put another 20MOA mount on top of the 20MOA rail.
couple of extra magazines (it uses most brands, one big design advantage to the Ruger vs. other brands that use proprietary or AI mags)
bipod (atlas if you have some extra $$ or just a basic Harris)
bags/rests
ammo- go ahead and pick up a few extra boxes. Save your brass so when you start to reload you'll have some good once fired brass. Yes you'll end up learning to reload if you don't do it already. It's not cheaper, you just shoot more. Most of the Rugers seem to perform well with the Hornady 140gr ELD Match ammo.

yes the optics are as much or more than the rifle. but they are as important. I have the 5-25XTRII and like it, and in the price range (sub $2k) it seemed to get the best "bang for the buck" reviews. If you can afford a Nightforce or US Optics or something like that, knock yourself out.

Friends that are doing the Precision Rifle matches have 700 actions in aftermarket chassis and a bunch of other stuff, which is nice but doesn't shoot any better than the ruger and it about 1/2 the price to get into it, and no wait for someone to do the work on the rifles if you need to have someone else put it together for you (barrel, trigger, stock, blueprint, etc).

Above is the setup that I plan to put together after I get my AR10 308 set up (have it all put together, just need to find a day or two to actually go to a range and start working on a load or dial in the scope). Savage makes some great rifles in the entry level price as well and I think that the Ruger will/has opened the floodgates for less expensive precision rifles. Being a Ruger guy for a long time (a few M77's) it's nice to see Ruger being used in the same sentence as precision and rifle.

 

I have shot long range and Palma 800/900/1000 yards with .308 for years.

For Palma you use a .308 with a 155 grain bullet going approx 3,000 fps velocity and iron sights. Great way to learn the wind and barrels last a loooooong time.

If you are shooting 600 yards and in just go with a .223 using an 80 grain bullet and you can knock the shit out of the x ring for years.

Don't expect some store bought factory rig to shoot like a custom built rifle and believe about half of what you read on the internet at best.

If you are looking at the Ruger precision rifle like somebody mentioned, take a look at what Chad Dixon at Long Rifles Inc has done with them. He builds some incredible stuff.

Brian

 

The RPR is a good rig to start with. 6.5 creedmor is the route I would go especially if you plan on getting into handloading the the future, but there are good factory options from prime and hornady. That said 308 is plenty capable in the right hands with the right loads and prep. There are a few guys shooting out to a mile (1760 yards) effectively with 185 juggs and other heavies on SH with the 308. But if you look at PRS as a benchmark most guys are running a 6.5 variant, basically less recoil, better ballistics, similar costs if handloading. If I could offer up one piece of advice it would be to not skimp on glass. Spend as much as you can on getting a quality optic. Also, you could look at other options such as the old faithful Remington 700 action and build from there. Plenty of excellent rifles built off that platform or clones of it. Tikka is another option worth looking at in the T3x especially. I personally went the route of building my own 700 ground up with the components I always wanted. It cost me a bundle of money but I am happy with it as it's what I always wanted and it's a decent shooter too. On most days I am half to three quarter MOA with it. Check out Snipers Hide It's a great resource for everything related to long range precision shooting.

 

The only thing is for a newbie they're probably not reloading and you aren't going to run to the store and pick up a box of 155's going 3000 fps. A good set of palma sights will run you as much as a decent scope, I know because I just picked up a used Tikka palma rifle and was looking for sights, I think I'm going to just thread the barrel and put a scope on it since I'm already shooting PRS type stuff.

You can get 6.5 CM ammo from prime, shooting 130's or Hornady ELD 140's for about $25/box, and Winchester has 140 HPBT too, I've gotten them as cheap as $18/box. All of it will shoot sub moa in my Savage and Stiller actions, and the two guys I coached this past weekend were doing really well considering the conditions, one shooting prime ammo the other shooting Hornady ELD-m. Even if I was starting out shooting a 308 I'd buy FGGM 175's and save the brass for reloading instead of buying brass/primers/powder/ bullets to get started. If you're already set up to load precision ammo you're probably not here asking questions and you already spent more than a dollar per single case of Lapua brass.

We had a lot of RPR's on the line for our recent clinic. They seemed to shoot pretty well for a 1000 dollar rifle with newbies driving them, most were 6.5 but there were a couple 308's. We were also shooting in a 20+ mph wind in the afternoon and most stayed on target out to 900, and most got on target at 1k which considering the wind was pretty good. Though every shooter had a coach on the line helping them. Our target is 18x36 with a 2x3 inch oval x ring and a 10 ring that is slightly smaller than a 4x6 inch oval. The difference in POI between the 308 and the 6.5 with a 20 mph wind is 32 inches, with the 6.5 it's just a little easier with the wind call. You still have to make a decent wind call to hit the target at distance. And yes I'll be putting on a new barrel next week as I'll be getting close to 3000 rounds though it before I head to a match in Arizona in December, but if you shoot a lot, it's like tires for the race bike, consumables.....

I prefer the SCR reticle in the Burris, they can be had for less than 1400, and the bushnell I mentioned above can be found around that price. I think the glass and the G2 reticle in the bushnell is nicer. CS tactical is a good place to shop, he's a friend and fellow shooter. I think he quoted 1100+- to someone at the clinic for the burris. I like Seekins rings, well made and no nut to snag things, for more money I like the ARC and Farrell rings. Get the harris bipod, 6-9 BRS, I like my atlas for some of the barricade work but just shooting prone I like the Harris as well or better. LRI does have some nice parts for the RPR, certainly worth a look.

And if you want a custom the sky is the limit, 4-5 K for the rifle, another 3-4 K for the scope...... And just like the guy with the superbike getting beaten by the guy stock bike, the nut in control makes a big difference.

I'll be taking a buddies newish RPR out tomorrow to get it set up for him, he's working like crazy and doesn't have time to shoot it much before heading out to Montana for a deer hunt. Why he wants to take the RPR hunting I have no idea. I'll be shooting a few different factory rounds of hunting ammo to see what it likes and get some dope at distance for him. And I'm getting paid for it. I'll let you know what I think of it later.

 

I'll pass on a little scope secret that guys in the competition world know. The brand SWFA is the best bang for your buck scope out there. They are priced very reasonably but have high quality glass and features that normally cost a LOT more. They are similar to Vortex where you get a lot for your money but SWFA is priced even better.

http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-HD-5-20x50-Tactical-30mm-Riflescope-P51642.aspx

I have this scope and it's awesome. I can say with confidence that it holds its own with other scopes that cost 2x more, because I've compared them.