And the winner is...

[Bushwack44]

If the objective is recreational (not competition) bench target shooting up to 600 yards, what are the three things (excluding caliber) you look for in a rifle?

-Longer barrel or short heavy barrel?
-Laminate or wood stock?
-AccuTrigger or...?

The consensus after reading so many posts on various forums is there is no definitive right answer. With that said, how do you decide which caliber/rifle set up is good for you?

Or should I ask which elements of a rifle do you avoid for recreational long distance target shooting?

[Fastattack]

Well without sounding snippy, if you are wanting 'recreational' shooting, then why don't you just shoot what gives you the best enjoyment? I shoot a Savage with accu-trigger and a long heavy fluted barrel. I would be just as happy with a WW-II 6.5mm Swedish Mouser (if I had one), for example.

[NorCalFocus]

Bench shooting means weight is not an issue. So a long heavy barrel is what I would do. Plus the more weight to the gun, the easier the recoil will be to manage.

Wood or laminate doesn't really matter. More of what matters there is the shape. The shape will depend on how you want to shoot the gun. Off bags, the a super wide flat forend woudl be what you want.

Accu-trigger is a Savage trigger. If your going that way, then yes get the accu-trigger. However, I feel the accu-trigger is no where as good as aftermarket triggers out there.

The only thing I'd avoid would be larger than a 6.5 cartridge. For what your wanting to do, I would look at the .243 round. A Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .243 shooting 80-90 grain bullets would be a super fun target gun.

[craneman]

It's not very recreational to me to miss a target. In other words "no fun".

So, I try to outfit my rifles so they are not limited by caliber, barrel length, or optics. They don't have the best of the best, but for the budget allowed, they do pretty fair.

Bigger calibers that push fast projectiles to buck the wind, long barrels, good optics, and good hand loaded ammo. I draw the line at triggers though. I have always had the belief that a good rifleman should be able to shoot lights out with a crappy trigger.

To me, that puts the fun back into the shooting. That's the whole point, right?

[NorCalFocus]

It's not very recreational to me to miss a target. In other words "no fun".

So, I try to outfit my rifles so they are not limited by caliber, barrel length, or optics. They don't have the best of the best, but for the budget allowed, they do pretty fair.

Bigger calibers that push fast projectiles to buck the wind, long barrels, good optics, and good hand loaded ammo. I draw the line at triggers though. I have always had the belief that a good rifleman should be able to shoot lights out with a crappy trigger.

To me, that puts the fun back into the shooting. That's the whole point, right?

I kinda thought the same thing abou tmy X-Mark Pro trigger. I thought is was just fine. Then I shot a buddies 700 with a Timney 510. That mistake only cost my $115, lol.

[craneman]

I kinda thought the same thing abou tmy X-Mark Pro trigger. I thought is was just fine. Then I shot a buddies 700 with a Timney 510. That mistake only cost my $115, lol.

Oh, I know what you are saying. I have some weird issues. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

OP, it would be cheaper to get a good trigger from the get go. Good ammo is expensive, and it takes a lot of ammo to be proficient with a crappy trigger.

Either stock will work, as long as it is stiff and bedded properly. The rest is personal preference to what looks good to you.

[diver160651]

And the winner is...

One thing to think about is that correct fundamentals and time with them are key to shooting.

With that I mind, I'll suggest that you consider two things, before deciding on the rifle setup.

1. Over bore rounds like the 7mm mag, 243, etc... Run barrels down fast. Consider cartridges that are better on barrels while still shooting well and recoil lightly. You will need to send a lot of rounds down range to become a good wind reader and to understand that mirage is bouncing your target to a location that appears one place on your scope, but in fact you should be centering up on the genesis of the image, not the displaced one. This stuff might not effect the short range shooter, but as you get to and past the "600" yards you are interested in, they start to effect your results and will continue to stack up into the ELR distances.

2. Consider taking "proven" training. As you can sort out from your post about REX, Scopes etc.. The Internet is filled with information, not all of it clear, or good.


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[russ69]

[SIZE="3"]If the objective is recreational (not competition) bench target shooting up to 600 yards, what are the three things (excluding caliber) you look for in a rifle? ...

Sorry, I start with the cartridge first and build the gun around that.

[TMB 1]

If the objective is recreational there is no definitive right answer.

^ This^

[desertjosh]

Man, I guess I haven't felt a good aftermarket trigger because I can't imagine my accutrigger getting any better

[JMP]

For recreational blasting to 600 yards, except for elongating the bipod block for better leverage, I use a bone stock Accuracy International with a Schmidt 5-25x56 PMII with P4F reticle. It's in good old .308, and I use 168 SMKs at 2,880 fps. 308 is cheap and easy, and it has a long barrel life. As long as you stay on a bipod, the AI rifles are heavy and well-balanced, which allow you to shoot 308 all day without fatiguing. One of the other pluses with 308 is that for hitting steel, the 308 gives good feedback at those distances. With smaller targets, I like the 6BR, which also has good barrel life.

What I do not like are the high-velocity barrel burners (as they are more expensive) and can be harder to handle at shorter distances unless you are recording the shot on paper. For 600 yards or less, I actually prefer a projectile like the 308 that isn't too fast because they are harder to spot the impacts and get on target for follow up shots. If the distance were further than 600 but less than 1,200, I'd use a 6 or 6.5mm.

[diver160651]

And the winner is...

Accuracy International with a Schmidt 5-25x56 PMII .

JMP does give good advice consistently.

Just beware, his advice centers on a slippery slope that might require direct funding from the Federal Reserve or for you to pull off an Oceans Eleven hit to play with toys like his lineup of Hensoldts; from the Spotter 60 to his 7k rifle scope, held to target with a Vectronix.. I've shot with a lot of departments, none have as nice of glass across the board as he does.

I think JMP stands for, Just a Million Plus invested in precision gear.





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[JMP]

JMP does give good advice consistently.

Just beware, his advice centers on a slippery slope that might require direct funding from the Federal Reserve or for you to pull off an Oceans Eleven hit to play with toys like his lineup of Hensoldts; from the Spotter 60 to his 7k rifle scope, held to target with a Vectronix.. I've shot with a lot of departments, none have as nice of glass across the board as he does.

You cannot hit what you cannot see. In fairness, I had the Schmidt for my Lapua. It got moved down after the new Hensoldts came out and I found them simply incomparable to anything else for ELR shooting.

[Switchbarrel]

As mentioned above, after determining the use, I determine the caliber(s) & go from there. You are correct, there is no single "right answer". There are ways, combinations that are better than others. Don't ask the guy at the bottom of the pack what he does, ask the guy(s) at the top.

I look for the bolt/port configuration I want (left bolt, right port in my case).

Any special action "features" I may be wanting. Size of the action based on the intended barrel or caliber size. Ejection port size, etc.

Having both laminated & fiberglass stocks, I'm more concerned about stock configuration vs. what it's made of.

Stopping @ 600, 26-28" heavy varmint barrel (prob. 26" as an extra 2" won't buy you anything noticeable on target). A guy named Richard Schatz (NBRSA Hall of Famer, AKA Mr. Dasher) has won a boatload of 600 & 1K matches using a 26" Dasher. Just an example, not trying to recommend a caliber.

Won't find an Accu-trigger on any BAT, Big Horn, Mausingfield, Kelbly, etc.

-Rick

[wpage]

A cool hand...