Long range shooting beginner.

[hxc016]

I am trying to get into long range shooting and I am not the wealthiest human being. I wanted some insight on a good gun to get started with. My caliber will be .308. Any suggestions?

[WamBow]

What's your definition of long range?

[LWD]

What's your definition of long range?

This. And there's several calibers much better than the .308 for long range shooting. Also, will this be just shooting? Or hunting, too?

LWD

[hxc016]

The only reason I chose .308 is because I'm a beginner and everything .308 is readily available and there is a ton of data and ballistics on it. I will use it to hunt as well. I want to be able to work my way out to around 7-800 yards.

[WamBow]

The only reason I chose .308 is because I'm a beginner and everything .308 is readily available and there is a ton of data and ballistics on it. I will use it to hunt as well. I want to be able to work my way out to around 7-800 yards.

.308 will get there (it's a legendary sniper round) but 7-800 yds you'll have to make great elevation changes compared to some other readily available calibers. I like 7-mag for it's flat trajectory and ability to reach out and touch, but doesn't obliterate the game like a 300 win mag would.

[hxc016]

Well besides the caliber what would be a good gun to get? Remington 700, savage model 10 or what?

[150class]

The search function will supply you with a plethora of long range information

[howabouttheiris]

I shoot a Savage Model 12 ftr in .308. Their accu-trigger is a good trigger. It, or a Remington, are a good action for a future build.

Don't worry about the .308 hate you will get.





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[160class]

I would get a REM 700 and drop a new trigger in it and you should be good to go

I have the Remington 700 LR in 300 WM and put a new trigger in it and it shoots lights out, haven't really stretched it out yet but I will soon

[Kdog]

I opened this thread and I thought we were going to discuss shooting a bow past 80 yards. Carry on....

[sir shovelhands]

You can get a savage trophy hunter package for under $500, scope included. This is a fine rifle for starting long range, and you can upgrade the glass (I sold one of the scopes off a trophy hunter for $150), trigger, and stock as you get better, and down the road the barrel if need be.

As for caliber, if you don't reload, you'll have the greatest selection at any store with 308 win. While the 6.5mm and 6mm calibers will get you higher ballistic coefficients, they're not "necessary" to reach out to 800 yards. Besides...having an "inferior" caliber will make you better at doping

[rtp]

Remington 5R is the best production gun made in my opinion. $1100, so not sure what your budget is. For long range shooting, your are going to need high quality optics on top of what ever rifle you choose. It comes in .308, .300 win mag and .223.

[WamBow]

Any modern rifles are great. If you're just starting out maybe go with an affordable rifle and then graduate to a more state of the art AND maybe you decide you want a different caliber. My personal preference is Weatherby, Savage, Browning and in that order. My preference is mainly based on the action assembly and trigger pull. I always get synthetic stock and prefer stainless steel barrel.

[gumbl3]

My opinion is the .308 is a tried and true round, like you said, been in service a long time and there's a ton of data on it. I think everyone should own one. If you're set on it, get it.

As for weapons, you'll hear a lot of you can't shoot X yards without a custom multi thousand dollar rifle in the newest shoulder breaking super magnum. Gunwerks can build you a rifle, mail you the ammo, print a range card for elevation and temp but it's nothing you can't do without a little trigger time and that's where the fun is.

If you want budget, Savage's are known for being pretty accurate out of the box and I am real impressed with what the Ruger American Predators are doing. Sub moa with factory ammo has been documented many times, my .204 was the case as well. Both can be had in .308 or 6.5 Creedmore.

That being said, something to think about, the thin barrels are going to frustrate you if you plan on going and hammering out 100+ rounds a day, the heat will make those barrels start opening up groups rather quickly and you may want to shop a heavier contour barreled rifle.

Either of these can be had in the 3-400 dollar range on a good day. Take the money you save and invest in a decent scope. Can't hit em if you don't see em.

[txfireguy2003]

A few points of interest here:

Nothing wrong with 308, but it is more challenging than some other calibers. Get good with it, and the others are easier.

I started with a Remington 700 ADL Varmint, that's a heavy barrel in a cheap plastic stock. I got it at the sporting goods store that is Richard's nickname (neither my phone, nor the site swear filter will allow me to type that word) for $450. If I were to do it again, I'd go for the AAC model, as it has a faster twist barrel, but my 1-12 has worked fine. I topped it with a 20moa rail and Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50. Add a few boxes of quality match ammo to find what it liked, and I was banging steel at 750 with boring regularity, and 1000 was doable, but much more difficult. Upgraded the trigger and everything got easier. All in, I was just under a grand on the rifle. Over time, I've cut the barrel down and threaded it, replaced the stock with a chassis system, and added a suppressor, but otherwise, it's still a factory barreled action in 308, and it still tears up the plates out to 750, as long as I do my job. In fact, I can dial the dope, give my wife a wind call, and she can make regular first round hits to 750 with it. She did that on her first time shooting past 100 yards, she's a shooter, but has fired less than 50 rounds of rifle ammo..... she's more a pistol shooter.

Now, if you want to cut the learning curve down, find you a good 6.5 Creedmoor, 260, 7-08, etc, but those are more reloader cartridges, as they are hard to come by on the shelf in match grade ammo. You could also get a magnum caliber, but if you've not done a lot of shooting, with heavy kickers, I'd suggest staying with the short action, low recoil standard calibers until you develope your skills.

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