First precision rifle

[nickrdz]

I want something that can be accurate and fairly affordable. I do reload and have been looking at the 6.5 creedmoor and 300 win mag. The Ruger American Predator, Ruger Precision Rifle, and How 1500 all come in 6.5 cm. The predator is more of an entry lever/Hunter that probably won't perform as well as the other two, but again I'd keep it as entry level. The Remington 700 Long Range on the other hand is a 300 win mag with lots of power. All it needs is a good scope and compensator to be ready to shoot. Both rounds have similar ballistics. What is your take on a good rifle? These would mainly be for paper, but I just may take the ruger American hunting for small-medium game. Any choices out there for less than 1k? I can buy a good chassis or scope later right now I just want the platform

[TMB 1]

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_57_981/products_id/79957/Remington+700+M40+Long+Range+Bolt+7mm+Rem+Mag+26%22+4+1+Syn+Stk+BlkGray+Blued

[nickrdz]

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...+BlkGray+Blued

Good call. I knew I wasn't far off

[Newsshooter]

If you're only going to 1K get the 6.5. Gets there no problem, less recoil, less cost to reload. Ruger Precision, Savage LRP, or Stealth, Rem 700. All can be upgraded later. I have two LRP's, both will shoot 1/2 MOA with factory hornady ammo. A little better with reloads.

[nickrdz]

If you're only going to 1K get the 6.5. Gets there no problem, less recoil, less cost to reload. Ruger Precision, Savage LRP, or Stealth, Rem 700. All can be upgraded later. I have two LRP's, both will shoot 1/2 MOA with factory hornady ammo. A little better with reloads.

Which 6.5?

[MongooseV8]

Which 6.5?

None of the ones listed above.

Build a 700/Tikka
Buy a heavy barreled Savage

"Precision" and "Ruger" dont really belong together.

[Newsshooter]

Which 6.5?

6.5 creedmoor, if you don't reload there is good quality factory ammo available.

[MongooseV8]

6.5 creedmoor, if you don't reload there is good quality factory ammo available.

I think he meant what rifle, not chamber.

[ar15barrels]

I want something that can be accurate and fairly affordable. I do reload and have been looking at the 6.5 creedmoor and 300 win mag. The Ruger American Predator, Ruger Precision Rifle, and How 1500 all come in 6.5 cm. The predator is more of an entry lever/Hunter that probably won't perform as well as the other two, but again I'd keep it as entry level. The Remington 700 Long Range on the other hand is a 300 win mag with lots of power. All it needs is a good scope and compensator to be ready to shoot. Both rounds have similar ballistics. What is your take on a good rifle? These would mainly be for paper, but I just may take the ruger American hunting for small-medium game. Any choices out there for less than 1k? I can buy a good chassis or scope later right now I just want the platform

A braked 6.5 creedmoor or a braked 308 will allow you to shoot all day without being bothered by recoil.
You will be done shooting a braked 300 mag by the first line break.

Start with a 700 in 308.
Learn with it.
Once you know what you are doing and can understand why a 6.5 would help, then rebarrel it to 6.5 creedmoor.
There is nothing to be gained by starting g with a 6.5 as you will have shot out the barrel before you even fully grasp the basics.

[Newsshooter]

A braked 6.5 creedmoor or a braked 308 will allow you to shoot all day without being bothered by recoil.
You will be done shooting a braked 300 mag by the first line break.

Start with a 700 in 308.
Learn with it.
Once you know what you are doing and can understand why a 6.5 would help, then rebarrel it to 6.5 creedmoor.
There is nothing to be gained by starting g with a 6.5 as you will have shot out the barrel before you even fully grasp the basics.

I don't agree with that, I started with the 6.5, never shot past 200 yards before I started shooting with NCPPRC. 3-4 months and a 1000 rounds later I think I had the basics down pretty good and I still had the better ballistics on the 6.5 and my barrel is still in good shape for a couple thousand more rounds. I also like that even though I might have made the wrong call on the wind I was able to stay on paper where I might not have shooting the .308. I was also able to buy 140 AMAX on sale cheaper than FGGM 175 when I first started too. Now that I'm reloading it's a wash on that cost.

As far as which rifle, I started out with a Savage LRP which is a decent choice, the new savage stealth and the Ruger precision would be good too and of course a Rem 700. 24-26 inch barrel, 8 or 8.5 twist and Prime 130's or Hornady 140's and you should be good to go.... Then reload the brass.....

[Stumpfenhammer]

I've heard the argument that since .308 is more susceptible to drift versus 6.5 it's better for new shooters because they have less margin of error on wind calls. But it's not like 6.5 is impervious to wind either, just less so. Certainly at 1K with some wind you are still going to have to make correct calls to center punch a torso plate. And if you are shooting paper I would guess you can learn more from a round that misses but still lands on the paper than one that does not hit paper.

Having started long-distance on .308 myself and then switching to 6.5 shortly after Hornady released it, I wonder if it wouldn't have been more useful to have all my dope and wind-calling intuition built on one projectile.

What's the thinking behind starting with .308, Randall?

[ar15barrels]

I don't agree with that, I started with the 6.5, never shot past 200 yards before I started shooting with NCPPRC.
3-4 months and a 1000 rounds later I think I had the basics down pretty good and I still had the better ballistics on the 6.5 and my barrel is still in good shape for a couple thousand more rounds.

In Europe, if you want to ride a motorcycle, you have to start out on a smaller one for quite some time before you prove yourself capable of a more powerful motorcycle.
This breeds more capable and safer motorcycle riders.
In the USA, squids buy a liter bike and sometimes don't even get it home before laying it down.

A 308 recoils a little more than your 6.5 does.
That extra recoil will FORCE you to have a proper position behind the gun.
There is also more wind reading SKILL learned by shooting a 308 than a 6.5mm or 6mm.
You actually cheated yourself in learning the wind by using the higher performance cartridge.
Your softer shooting 6.5 also allows you to get away with bad habits in position that you might not even know you have until you spend some time behind a 308.
If you watch closely, you will see that some of the best shooters will shoot a 308 in club matches just for it's training properties.

At 1000 rounds, you are about half way through the useful life of your 6.5 barrel.
With a 308, you would only have been about 1/3 of the way through the useful barrel life at 1000 rounds.

[bsumoba]

In Europe, if you want to ride a motorcycle, you have to start out on a smaller one for quite some time before you prove yourself capable of a more powerful motorcycle.
This breeds more capable and safer motorcycle riders.
In the USA, squids buy a liter bike and sometimes don't even get it home before laying it down.

A 308 recoils a little more than your 6.5 does.
That extra recoil will FORCE you to have a proper position behind the gun.
There is also more wind reading SKILL learned by shooting a 308 than a 6.5mm or 6mm.
You actually cheated yourself in learning the wind by using the higher performance cartridge.
Your softer shooting 6.5 also allows you to get away with bad habits in position that you might not even know you have until you spend some time behind a 308.
If you watch closely, you will see that some of the best shooters will shoot a 308 in club matches just for it's training properties.

At 1000 rounds, you are about half way through the useful life of your 6.5 barrel.
With a 308, you would only have been about 1/3 of the way through the useful barrel life at 1000 rounds.

That's why we should start would be precision shooters on these:

I bought one so my niece can use it. now I use it more than she does. LOL

[JMP]

I have both a .308 and 6.5CD, and I still shoot the .308 more. Right now the Creedmoor cases are very popular. It's a better target shooting case than the 308, but along that line of thinking, some would then argue for the 6 Dasher instead of the Creedmoor now. I think .308 is the way go. Shoot out your factory barrel in 308, then get a nice barrel and have it chambered it to your choice 6 or 6.5mm cartridge.

I think that part of the perception that the 6.5 Creedmoor is the holiest of bullets come from the fact that over the last decade it's been shot with mostly custom barrels while most shoot 308 with factory barrels. Then, the guys that are shooting factory 308 ammo are doing so with extremely sluggish FGMM or bulk stuff.

[Sir Toast]

Take a hard look at the Tikka. The action doesn't need to be trued. Aftermarket products are scarce. Ruger Precision is nice. Savage is nice too.