Best Beginners Bolt Action Rifle?

[bigbossman]

You can take .308 to 1000 yards. How far does OP realistically want to go? Everyone wants a gun that can go a mile, but don't have the money or skill to do it.

If not .308, then 6.5CM

Yeah, the Palma boys have been driving .308 to 1,000 yards since forever.

[Bopper]

Watch an hour or three a day

Lots of info

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=...BZi0vDCIcEPxUn

good stuff here

[smoothy8500]

good stuff here

Yes, 50 minutes of information packed into eleven hours of video....

[Cowboy T]

OP, did you ever decide on a rifle?

[mindbent]

In my early 20's (I'm 54 now) I out shot a guy that had a nice 30-06 with a high dollar scope at 100yrds with a Winchester 30-30 lever with just iron sights. You don't need the latest and greatest biggest badist set up there is. Do your research and get what you want, it's your money. There's an old saying "It's not the wand, it's the magician". Have fun with it.

[FishnHunt]

What did the OP get?

[DArBad]

Hi all,

I'm looking at getting into rifles soon for long range. The longer the better. I have a good eye and would really like to test it.

I currently don't own any rifles of any type.

Are there any rifles you would recommend for someone just getting into the hobby? Ideally I'm looking for something that is reasonably priced but will last awhile and that I won't have to replace for a better version within a year.

Or, if there are any great threads or websites you can recommend that I can read and research, that would be a great help, too!

Thank you,
Daniel

OP, most of the Calguns long range shooter here are seasoned shooters. Their long range is long range and therefore their advise are based on that.

I am not a long range shooter, don't have a long range rifle, but I am interested in the subject for years and have read about it a lot.

So here goes:

A) Try to limit your definition of " long range " to say between 200 to 400 yards

B) Buy a quality brand rifle: Savage 110, Tikka T3, Howa 1500 rifle, Ruger Hawkeye Predator, Weatherby Vanguard. Within reason, don't skimp too much on the rifle. After all, that is your " main system " of ammo delivery.

C) Buy a not too expensive scope, browse the brands: Burris, Nikon, Tasco, etc.

D) Stick to a round that does not kick too hard and not too expensive to buy: 223 Remington, maybe the .257 Roberts, 260 Rem, 270 Win, and finally the .308 Win.

Within those foregoing parameters, try to mix and match things so everything will fall within your budget.

Good luck.

[Scratch705]

fyi nikon is out of the riflescope market.

[five.five-six]

By your response, am I correct in assuming you'd recommend going ham on a quality scope to begin with and replace the rifle as necessary when my skill level increases, instead of the other way around?

Meaning the quality of the scope is more important than the quality of the rifle, given if I have budget issues?

The glass makes the rifle. $1.00/ yard minimum. 800 yards, you will want to spend at least $800.

[five.five-six]

In my early 20's (I'm 54 now) I out shot a guy that had a nice 30-06 with a high dollar scope at 100yrds with a Winchester 30-30 lever with just iron sights. You don't need the latest and greatest biggest badist set up there is. Do your research and get what you want, it's your money. There's an old saying "It's not the wand, it's the magician". Have fun with it.

[ar15barrels]

OP, most of the Calguns long range shooter here are seasoned shooters. Their long range is long range and therefore their advise are based on that.

I am not a long range shooter, don't have a long range rifle, but I am interested in the subject for years and have read about it a lot.

So here goes:

A) Try to limit your definition of " long range " to say between 200 to 400 yards

NRA has sorted target distances into short, mid and long range for many decades.
300yds and closer is short-range.
301yds to 600yds is mid-range.
601yds tp 1000yds is long-range.
Beyond 1000yds is extended long-range.

[sigstroker]

A) Try to limit your definition of " long range " to say between 200 to 400 yards

Don't do that.

Just about any centerfire rifle on the market makes 400 yards easily. OP wants long range, so he should get rifle and cartridge suited for long range, not 400 yards.

[DArBad]

Don't do that.

Just about any centerfire rifle on the market makes 400 yards easily. OP wants long range, so he should get rifle and cartridge suited for long range, not 400 yards.

I understand what you are saying, Sig.

But the OP has not given any qualifier when he mentioned " Long range ". He has not indicated whether he has done any shooting at all. And so, I have no clue how knowledgeable or not the OP is with regards to actual distance perception. Reading his initial OP, it is indicative that he is a newbie at this.

I am advising the OP from this vantage point, so to speak. Your knowledge and Randall's about the subject matter of " Long Range " is solid, encyclopedic even.

Since there was no qualifier of yardage or range from the OP, I said what I said. It is like saying " I want to get into car racing, and I want to get a FAST car ". So, how fast are we talking here??? NASCAR fast? Formula 1 car fast? Street fast? Nurburgring fast? etc.

Many a times, a new person to long range shooting or who wants to delve into long range shooting would speak of " long range " but would be surprise at the actual distance perception--------this happened to me because I was new then.

[SharedShots]

It is is the person has never shot more than a pistol at 25 yards or so.

This happens with kinds of things, get a real motorcycle, only real cars have V8s, you aren't this or that if you do this or that, didn't climb Everest? Then you aren't a climber. Haven't run a marathon? Then you aren't a runner. What do you mean you don't wear spandex? You aren't a bike rider.

Tribalism.

[SharedShots]

OP stated right from the start: "I currently don't own any rifles of any type."


OP, you got a lot of good advice so far but something to consider is this:

Over spending when you just start out in a new activity regardless of what it is can be a mistake. Selling things later on becomes a PITA so why put a lot of money into it from the jump?

You do not need a $1500 scope to shoot long range anymore than you need a Hellcat to try out a drag strip. You also don't need a 6.5 trendy cartridge of the times anymore than you need a 10 pound constant variable shifting bicycle to give bike riding a try.

You made it clear to most that you haven't done this before so take it slow and you don't have to go all in with the buy once cry once cliche you hear about all the time. You can get entry level equipment and as you get better move up as your skills and passion take hold but if not you aren't sitting there with a bunch of expensive stuff you don't want.

It's far easier to sell entry level equipment than expensive items because if you don't get into it then you won't really mix with the people that are but with starter equipment the majority of shooters will be interested.

I'd say stay away from buying actions and then having a barrel put on, forget for the moment the made up rule that your scope needs to cost such and such or it isn't going to work, that has never been proven absolute.

Leave the fun in it so that you might actually enjoy the time shooting instead of making it a chore and reaching too high right from the start.

You can get something like the Ruger Precision Rifle - used in the very common chamberings and mount a decent but cost friendly scope on it. Then buy a few boxes of high quality ammo and just head to the range. You say you have access to 600 yards of distance to shoot. Great. So go shoot and just have some fun at first. Real fun without worrying too much about the curvature of the earth and trying to hit something a mile away, you have access to 600 yards right so who cares about a mile or even 1000 yards?

Just start with zeroing the rifle, you specifically stated you haven't had a rifle before so all this stuff about a mile distance, some super duper this and that isn't even in the cards yet. What good is all that stuff if you are just starting out shooting a rifle?

Zero your rifle and have someone who knows how give you a hand. Let them spot for you. Don't worry about the wind and all the bullet drop stuff, that comes later.

Before you shoot long distance you should learn how to shoot period. There is no magic and you don't need to start with clinics and schools and all that. Find someone willing to help bring you along and begin like a beginner, nothing wrong with that.

So you learn the very basics, trigger control, breathing, vision (as in not looking through a scope for hours on end) body positioning and so on. This is done at shorter ranges not trying to hit some gong a mile or even a 1000 yards away. Someone who can help as coach is worth more than some fancy brand scope.

If you invest perhaps less than $1000 total plus ammo you can test the water and if you like it, well then, its a hobby and hobbies cost money. If buying a starter set of equipment and then growing into better stuff is a bank buster stop now because shooting isn't a cheap hobby. You might not end up eating, breathing and living only for some chance to shoot LD so why start that way?

There are scopes in the $300 range that will do nicely to find out if rifle shooting is even something you want to do. No one will ever convince someone with a $3500 scope than everything that cost less isn't a POS, same goes with the rifle and choice of cartridges. Read the forums, the answer to everything is an AR or 6.5 flavor of the day.

With a $500 rifle and $300 scope you can shoot 600 yards. You can shoot much farther than that. You will know when your skills get better than your equipment and then you can manage expenses to match expectations.