[Dead Roman]

hey fellahs, i have found few sites that seem to have as experienced members as you seem to be so ill see if you can help me out.

Ive been involved with shooting sports in many different arenas, mostly through boy scouts. I own a few 22's and a 30-30. I think im going to get rid of my other guns to fund a much nicer rifle. I would like something that i could use for shooting long range (1000 yards max) but something that is gonna be good for all around shooting. I might do a little hunting though im not an every season hunter. Mostly this will be for personal enjoyment on a fairly serious level. I might even enter some competitions. i would appreciate any suggestions you guys can make.

 

[Jeffvn]

We have lots of .308 shooters here, but a few 300 WM and 300RUM (our european members may prefer the 6.5sx55, or 6.5x68). If 1,000 yards is your outside limits for the target stuff, then you don't really NEED (its not a question of need is it Bobby/Badshot :lol anything bigger than that.

If you are doing double duty as a hunting rifle, you may also want to take a look at the .260 &/or .270, both of which are flatter shooting than the .308 at ranges beyond 600 yards, and can serve double duty as a hunting firearm.

Then again you may choose to hunt moose out to 1,000 yards in which case a 300 RUM, 338 Lapua Mag, Cheytac, or 50 BMG is your ticket.

 

[Kiwi]

Most of my rifles are .308....from a practical point of view a great round and for you starting out, a great choice!

But my favourite round is 6.5x55 Swedish!
It's ballistics are almost identical to, but without the extended range of, the .270.

What's your budget?

 

[Dead Roman]

as far as budget goes i would like to stay reasonable. Since im really only gonna be shooting for personal enjoyment i dont see any reason to have a 4,000 custom gun or anythign like that, bu ti would like a nice vary upgradeable rifle. I was thinking about the remington 700p since it seens to be everyones first suggestion, mel also suggested a savage. I guess i could sest my budget around 1500 dolars.

 

[badshot]

HEY!!!!!!!!!!! just because I had to have an anti-aircraft rifle to shoot squirrels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff lets try to get together at the range some time soon. I need a little help doing the chronograph thing. I'm still not having any luck and I have to start looking at other problems. One of them might be the trigger puller.

 

[mele]

Dead Roman,

Good to see you on the forums.

If the budget for complete rifle/scope package is $1500, then you don't have as many choices, they might consist of the following (if you are looking for heavy barrel, long range rifle, which it sounds like you are):

Reminton 700P
Savage 10FP
Tikka T3 Varminter (review coming in a few months)
Winchester Stealth II

All but the tikka can be found in the reviews section
http://www.snipercentral.com/rifles.htm

I generally recommend the 700P as its a good base rifle with a good stock. Savages tend to be a bit more accurate out of the box, but I hate their stocks (unless you fork out the cash for the McMillan model from savage). The Stealth II is a good all around rifle, with a good stock, a little cheaper then the 700P, but not quite as accurate on average. The T3 holds a lot of promise, but I'll refrain from opinion until I get one in my hands.

MEL

 

[Dead Roman]

well from reading your reviews and stuff it seems to me that the savage or the 700p in .300 Win seem like the way to go. I guess its just deciding which one is for me. Im between dallas and houston texas, any trexas guys know where i could get my hands on these guns, maybe shoot a few rounds through em?

thank you very much for the help, ill take all of your suggestions into consideration.

 

[Jeff_850]

i have a Remington 700 Police in .308 and i have been very happy with it
the .308 Win can go 1000y but the .300 Win mag can go 1000 yards with athaurity.. its flatter shooting and drifts in the wind less.. the result of pushing a heavier bullet at faster velocities, retains more velocity that way too
since it can handle heavier bullets and keep decent ballistics making it a great bear or moose buster

the 700P is an excellent choice

 

[APK]

DeadRoman:

Just curious if you have considered the 700 VS. Seeing as how your on a budget and all the 700P may not be worth the extra money just to get an extra lug and palm swells. That extra money could be put into cleaning supplies, a better scope, etc. Just an idea from someone who is constantly on a very strict budget. Hope I could help.

 

[Dead Roman]

i feel like the 700p is within my price range. The gun cleaning accessories arent a problem either as my father is a hunter and ive got quite a bit of cleaning supplies.

 

[Dead Roman]

so as im looking through the calibers listed on www.remingtomle.com for the 700p, i notive that there is also a .300 remiongton ultra mag. What are the differences between this round and the standard winchester .300 round. Anoither question, would i be better of going with long action or sho9rt action. what are the differences between these 2 systems? adn when looking for optics, what shoul di look at to keep my budget fairly low. I have found a place online that sells the 700p for 125 including shipping, is this a decent deal or should i keep looking? I will be going to waco this weekend to check out a 700 p.

 

[morpheus]

OK, first off, if your looking for a round to shoot out to 1,000 yards (or meters) the .300 Win. Mag. would be very good. That would be the best choice (in my opinion) against the .300 RUM. Only because I think that .300 WM would be slightly cheaper to buy than the RUM.

Now on the long or short action. It comes to if you either want the .300 WM (or .300 RUM) or the .308, that is going to determin if you get a long or short action.

For a scope, Mel did a reveiw on the Bushnell Elite 3200, I believe. That looks to be a very good scope if your on a budget. I would also look into Leupold, they aren't the cheapest, but they do have some competitivly priced scopes. I think they have a VX-II Precision type scope out that is resonably priced.

And am I correct that your saying you found a Remington M700P for $125.00? To me somthing seems fishy, but I haven't bought a 700P.

I hope this helped from someone one that has limited knowledge(me).

 

[Dead Roman]

125 lol my bad that was a typo, i meant 725 pretty good typo.


everyone seems to rave about leupold. I havent looked at optics too much. perhaps a solid scope thats good for the 100-500yrd range untill i have the opportunity and funds to upgrade to a better scope.

 

[badshot]

I have a 300 RUM and factory loads will run you between $2.00 and $2.50 per shot. And there are no mass produced match loads for it (to my knowledge). Don't know about the cost of the 300 WM to compare to.

 

[Shoe]

Roman:

Care to share the info about this place that's selling the 700P with me? I'm interested in hearing more about them...

 

[mele]

At a local gun shop here, the price for a box of federal gold medal match .300 WM (190gr) is about $28. That is good MATCH ammo and its only about $1.40 per round. That quite a bit less then the RUM

MEL

 

[Scopes]

Roman,

Go to a pawn shop and buy a good, used .308. Spend about 2k with one of the top gunsmiths, i.e. GA Precision or HD Rifles, and have a tack driver that will deliver .5 MOA with tighter groups more common. A .308 with a 175 SMK will take down any animal (including a moose) up to 1000yds.
I would stay away from the .300 winmag unless your shoulder is up to the task.
The .300WSM is a great option, and the .260 is an excellent round however I would not hunt an animal larger than a whitetail with a .260. For punching paper though it is a great round.

 

[bravo_sniper]

A .308 with a 175 SMK will take down any animal (including a moose) up to 1000yds.

Just a little thought, but doesn't it say on Sierras website that you should not use the Match King bullet for hunting purpose due to the inconsistancy of the bullet expansion? :roll:

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Jeffvn]

you are correct - they recommend against using the SMK for hunting.

 

[Scatch Maroo]

At a local gun shop here, the price for a box of federal gold medal match .300 WM (190gr) is about $28. That is good MATCH ammo and its only about $1.40 per round. That quite a bit less then the RUM

Does reloading bring down the cost per round significantly, and does reloading produce a round equivalent to factory loads?

Scatch Maroo