Recommendation for beginner

[leoffensive]

I got a ruger American ranch with leupold vx-3i 3.5-10x40. Thing rocks and shoots a 3/4" group at 100 yards. Probably could do better with a better shooter.

Cost is well under your budget. If you wanna shoot to your 500 yard mark it will do the job

[TMB 1]

And the reason i chose .223 is due to nearby ranges only limited to 100-300 yards

You should get a 10/22 too if you don't already have a 22lr rifle.

[ar15barrels]

You can as easily learn the fundamentals on a medium weight 308 as you can a low weight 223.

I disagree.

A 308 is a BETTER teacher of fundamentals than a 223.
This is because the 223 does not recoil enough to let bad shooting form throw the bullet off of your aiming point as much on target.
The same applies to 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges for new shooters.

People who start with and really learn a 308 BEFORE going to lighter recoiling cartridges will generally turn out to be better shooters because of it.

The 308 is by no means a heavy recoiling cartridge in a medium weight target rifle, but it recoils enough that if you are not driving the rifle properly, you don't hit where you expect to.

The bigger bullet holes are also easier to spot on target and the heavier bullets give a better dirt splash for spotting misses on steel plates.

[diver160651]

I disagree.

A 308 is a BETTER teacher of fundamentals than a 223.
This is because the 223 does not recoil enough to let bad shooting form throw the bullet off of your aiming point as much on target.
The same applies to 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges for new shooters.

People who start with and really learn a 308 BEFORE going to lighter recoiling cartridges will generally turn out to be better shooters because of it.

The 308 is by no means a heavy recoiling cartridge in a medium weight target rifle, but it recoils enough that if you are not driving the rifle properly, you don't hit where you expect to.

The bigger bullet holes are also easier to spot on target and the heavier bullets give a better dirt splash for spotting misses on steel plates.

+1
Easier to load for and is far more round friendly than just about any other chambering. Also the bolt face in the action provide an amazing amount of cartridge options down the road.

[sigstroker]

Get a Savage 12FV, on sale at Cabela's for $319, chambered in .223. Put a $300 SWFA Super Sniper 10x on it.

Get another Savage 12FV, on sale at Cabela's for $319, chambered in .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor. Put a $699 SWFA Super Sniper 3-15x (or a fixed power 12x, 16x, or 20x for $300) on it. At some point you'll reach a point where the stock is holding you back. Spend $200 on a Boyd's stock or $600 on an MDT chassis.

After learning on the .223 it should be an easier transition to the bigger caliber.

[sigstroker]

BTW, wrt the cheap Remington 700 ADL .223 at the big box stores, it's a crappy long range rifle. It comes with a 1 in 12" twist, so it won't shoot long bullets well.

[naeco81]

Before you do any shopping, I'd recommend you educate yourself for free by watching the excellent Sniper 101 video guide by TiborasaurusRex. It's long & detailed, but if you watch it all you will have more knowledge than most guys with $3k+ 'long range rifles', and it will cover everything from caliber/cartridge selection to scopes, rifles, accessories, and most importantly how to properly calculate a firing solution for cold bore hits >1000m.

As far as equipment goes, TC Compass is offering a deal right now that is very attractive. Given your budget I think this would be a good fit as you'd be getting a sub-MOA rifle for around/under $200. That leaves a healthy $1k for you to spend on a quality optic. Ignore variable power and stick with fixed zoom; you don't really have the budget for a quality variable scope. Good options would be the IOR 10x42 or the US Optic ST-10, which will be a bit outside your budget range but possible to find used perhaps.

Seriously though, before you plunk down your hard earned cash take the time to watch the videos first. Good luck!

[diver160651]

Recommendation for beginner

Before you do any shopping, I'd recommend you educate yourself for free by watching the excellent Sniper 101 video guide by TiborasaurusRex. It's long & detailed, but if you watch it all you will have more knowledge than most guys with $3k+ 'long range rifles', and it will cover everything from caliber/cartridge selection to scopes, rifles, accessories, and most importantly how to properly calculate a firing solution for cold bore hits >1000m.

As far as equipment goes, TC Compass is offering a deal right now that is very attractive. Given your budget I think this would be a good fit as you'd be getting a sub-MOA rifle for around/under $200. That leaves a healthy $1k for you to spend on a quality optic. Ignore variable power and stick with fixed zoom; you don't really have the budget for a quality variable scope. Good options would be the IOR 10x42 or the US Optic ST-10, which will be a bit outside your budget range but possible to find used perhaps.

Seriously though, before you plunk down your hard earned cash take the time to watch the videos first. Good luck!

You do know some of what he is reading is directly from old outdated texts etc.. some of his information could be better.

Also note that he has positioned his videos completely slanted towards field-craft. If that's what you do, then that's not the worst thing to review.... but with all things the viewer should know better info does exist.

So if the new shooter is going to find Shooting on paper, BR/F class more his cup of tee, then the scopes in his reviews would be worthless.

All that said, I enjoyed the videos even when I cringed with some of the dated and frankly suspect approaches as there is enough entertainment and good shooting to be enjoyable..

Really, recommending high $ glass weather it is this glass or that glass, makes no sense until the shooter knows what they plan on doing.


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[naeco81]

Really, recommending high $ glass weather it is this glass or that glass, makes no sense until the shooter knows what they plan on doing.

Good point, figuring out what you want to shoot is definitely an ideal first step.

[diver160651]

Recommendation for beginner

I disagree.



A 308 is a BETTER teacher of fundamentals than a 223.

This is because the 223 does not recoil enough to let bad shooting form throw the bullet off of your aiming point as much on target.

The same applies to 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges for new shooters.



People who start with and really learn a 308 BEFORE going to lighter recoiling cartridges will generally turn out to be better shooters because of it.



The 308 is by no means a heavy recoiling cartridge in a medium weight target rifle, but it recoils enough that if you are not driving the rifle properly, you don't hit where you expect to.



The bigger bullet holes are also easier to spot on target and the heavier bullets give a better dirt splash for spotting misses on steel plates.

Randell, how can you disagree when we are both suggesting something like a SPS with the 26" varmint barrel (i.e. Medium weight) is a good gun to learn on?

Basically I was the first one or at least that I saw, that suggests the 223 isn't better for the beginner


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[MissiontoMars]

Oh, my gosh...the OP wants a .223....and here you-all are argueing over who "set him straight" best in suggesting a .308...

OP: Hey guys, i'm looking at economy cars... Something like a honda civic, really like the cost, availability, ability to make repairs...

Calguns non-listen'y people: "Get a Crown Victoria...civic= bad idea"

LoL...hilarious.

OP - "there's no wrong way to eat a reese's." None of these choices are wrong, one will be the best choice, and the others will be learning experiences... Happy hunting.

[leoffensive]

Oh, my gosh...the OP wants a .223....and here you-all are argueing over who "set him straight" best in suggesting a .308...

OP: Hey guys, i'm looking at economy cars... Something like a honda civic, really like the cost, availability, ability to make repairs...

Calguns non-listen'y people: "Get a Crown Victoria...civic= bad idea"

LoL...hilarious.

OP - "there's no wrong way to eat a reese's." None of these choices are wrong, one will be the best choice, and the others will be learning experiences... Happy hunting.

+1

Like said the American or the mossberg MVP that others have suggested are both good choices within his budget to still afford decent glass for the ranges he wants to shoot

[ar15barrels]

Basically I was the first one or at least that I saw, that suggests the 223 isn't better for the beginner.

You said the 308 was as good as the 223.

You can as easily learn the fundamentals on a medium weight 308 as you can a low weight 223.

To be "as easily" means equal.

You did not say that the 308 is a better teacher than the 223.
That's what I said.

[diver160651]

Ok fair enough.. I never say things correctly anyway..




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[Pardini]

For your stated goals, the .223 is a mistake. You don't realize it but your setting yourself up to spend more, not less.