Best Beginners Bolt Action Rifle?

[RNE228]

Good points.

The OP should consider hitting the ranges where he might shoot "long range" and see what people are doing and using.

In my area, Sac Valley has a number of different opportunities for shooting longer ranges on paper and on the steel silhouette. They have monthly shoots by a number of clubs.

Check the local ranges and clubs. Go to a few shoots. That would be a good start point for the OP

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.

[Preston-CLB]

I wonder what the OP wound up getting, assuming he did make the leap.

He has only 9 posts, so hasn't been active here.

So, OP: How about an update?
-P

[DArBad]

I wonder what the OP wound up getting, assuming he did make the leap.

He has only 9 posts, so hasn't been active here.

So, OP: How about an update?
-P

Damn, I failed to notice that. After all the things I posted.... I am embarassed to admit I must have wasted my effort thinking of a good advise or at least, I think was a good advise

[BigBoyPinoy]

Damn, I failed to notice that. After all the things I posted.... I am embarassed to admit I must have wasted my effort thinking of a good advise or at least, I think was a good advise

Maybe OP no longer needs the advise, someone new to LD shooting may benefit from this thread 😁

[Cowboy T]

^^ Yeah, possibly. So, for those who come along looking for this kind of information, the biggest thing is to improve your marksmanship skills. Virtually any decently made rifle will outshoot you. First, learn good marksmanship, which means you don't have to spend a lot of money on gear. Get your good habits in place. You can get a fine setup for this purpose for about US $700, easily. I know, 'cause I've done it several times. My $700 rifle setup rings the 18"x24" gong at 1,000 yards with satisfying consistency.

It does not take a lot of money to get proficient at marksmanship!

[divingin]

Your gear HAS to be better than you, or you can not improve to match it.

Very good.

A shooter can very rarely shoot a firearm to it's full potential. A shooter can never shoot a firearm better than it's potential.

I will make one other observation: Having something that you know shoots really well means you don't need to worry about IDing where the problem lies: it's you. Makes it easier to figure out what you need to work on.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Since everybody's got an opinion on what is best, I'll give you mine.

Since you know nothing about Rifles you need to learn about them before you go down the road of the most complicated shooting discipline there is.

First I would recommend going with a Bolt Action Rifle in .308 caliber. There are many to choose from and Lynn suggested a Rem 700 which would be a good choice I'd suggest a Ruger American just because they are inexpensive and work very well.

As far as an Optic, Vortex, or Leupold are good options that won't break the bank, and yet still deliver excellent images..

A Ruger American and a Vortex scope will get you in the door. < $800

But there is something else you will need to learn how to do. Reload your own Ammo!!! Shooting factory ammo is only good for amassing a stash of Brass to reload.

Every gun is different and each one has preferences as to what it likes to shoot best. Usually that is NOT Factory Loaded Ammunition!.

Since you probably don't want to set up an entire Reloading facility at your house, I Highly Recommend a Buchanan Precision Machine Portable Hand Reloading Press. available here www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

The gun will get you started so you can figure out what you really want down the road if you decide to continue in the Discipline. If you don't you can easily resell it for what you've got in it. The Reloading Press will load any Brass Cartridge below .50 BMG, so if you keep shooting it will work for you for the rest of your life. I have never seen a used one for sale yet.

My .02 on this subject.

Randy.

[Dvrjon]

What did the OP get?

Bored? Stunned? Buried in detail? Paralysis by Analysis? I'm late to the party, but let's review....

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.

This is a novice who may think that long range with open sights is "long range". A "good eye" seems irrelevant with a $4k scope. Regardless of the scope, if you can't dope wind, heat risers and mirage, your scope won't help.

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.

IMLTHO, any novice getting into a sport with a limited understanding of the prospects of their enjoyment will either wind up with an initial purchase sitting in the safe or upgrades every year to meet the hunger to improve when they outshoot their equipment. I have 2 athlete daughters, and 5 grandkids. I know about sport escalation...and I don't want to contemplate what I've got lying around in diving equipment after over 50 years in that "sport".

Randy's pretty close to my opinion on this, except reloading comes last. If you can't shoot, perfect ammo won't help.

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!

Kudos to the folks who suggested joining them or referred them to clubs or shooting programs where the OP could possibly try things out before handing over the credit card.

In this regard, Lynn Jr. comes forward and offers to let the OP shoot his guns with his ammo at ~2 miles. That kind of openness makes me want to grab my Dad's 40-yr old Rem .308 and factory ammo and join up in NORCAL with his crew. I'm 70 and won't hit much other than the ground (gravity helps), but that's a guy, and by extension a group of guys, I wouldn't mind knowing before I'm dead.

Best.

[sigstroker]

Here's the thing - you can get a cartridge and rifle capable of shooting well at long range, but you don't HAVE to shoot it at long range. You can shoot it at short range while you learn. When you're ready to shoot at long range, voila! You already have the gun and cartridge for it.

[LynnJr]

Bored? Stunned? Buried in detail? Paralysis by Analysis? I'm late to the party, but let's review....

This is a novice who may think that long range with open sights is "long range". A "good eye" seems irrelevant with a $4k scope. Regardless of the scope, if you can't dope wind, heat risers and mirage, your scope won't help.
IMLTHO, any novice getting into a sport with a limited understanding of the prospects of their enjoyment will either wind up with an initial purchase sitting in the safe or upgrades every year to meet the hunger to improve when they outshoot their equipment. I have 2 athlete daughters, and 5 grandkids. I know about sport escalation...and I don't want to contemplate what I've got lying around in diving equipment after over 50 years in that "sport".

Randy's pretty close to my opinion on this, except reloading comes last. If you can't shoot, perfect ammo won't help.
Kudos to the folks who suggested joining them or referred them to clubs or shooting programs where the OP could possibly try things out before handing over the credit card.

In this regard, Lynn Jr. comes forward and offers to let the OP shoot his guns with his ammo at ~2 miles. That kind of openness makes me want to grab my Dad's 40-yr old Rem .308 and factory ammo and join up in NORCAL with his crew. I'm 70 and won't hit much other than the ground (gravity helps), but that's a guy, and by extension a group of guys, I wouldn't mind knowing before I'm dead.

Best.

We are holding our first start up match the 3rd Sunday in October and you are welcome to shoot my rifle chambered in 338 Lapua Ackley Improved at that match with plenty of high quality ammunition free of charge and no pit duty.
The idea is to promote the shooting sports and not to keep everything a big secret.
The rifle in question will be a Remington 700 because it is the best base rifle you can build from and the tolerances on this rifle are tighter than most custom actions.
If you join us you will be shooting a true up 700 with an aftermarket bolt put together by Billy Goat Machine in a Manners folder topped with a 7-35 atacr shooting 256 warner flatline bullets in Virgin 338 Lapua brass. The rifle has around 20 rounds downrange and has taken one pig at 110 yards and will be deer hunting until this Sunday.

The advantage to a new shooter is the 700 can be used to shoot any cartridge under the cheytac class and do it cheaply.
If you decide shooting isn't your cup of tea selling a 700 is simple and you don't lose a pile of money. Due to the 700 having a round receiver most competent gunsmiths can true one up and add modifications as money allows so a new shooter isn't forking out $1500 on a custom at one time.
For Joe average shooter there isn't a better place to start even if out of the box brand xyz costs $100 less.

My contact # is 707-791-8147 for anyone who is interested in actually shooting or just to observe.

[Dvrjon]

Your quoting is all screwed up in the post above.
You are attributing the OP's text to fishnhunt.

Thanks...fixed...that was interesting.

[Flouncer]

91/30 Mosin Nagant

I was going to say the same thing. Learn iron sights.

[ilaw]

Maybe OP no longer needs the advise, someone new to LD shooting may benefit from this thread 😁

Very true. I have found it quite informative.

[bigbossman]

Man, what a generous offer. Sure wish I was close enough to participate!

We are holding our first start up match the 3rd Sunday in October and you are welcome to shoot my rifle chambered in 338 Lapua Ackley Improved at that match with plenty of high quality ammunition free of charge and no pit duty.
The idea is to promote the shooting sports and not to keep everything a big secret.
The rifle in question will be a Remington 700 because it is the best base rifle you can build from and the tolerances on this rifle are tighter than most custom actions.
If you join us you will be shooting a true up 700 with an aftermarket bolt put together by Billy Goat Machine in a Manners folder topped with a 7-35 atacr shooting 256 warner flatline bullets in Virgin 338 Lapua brass. The rifle has around 20 rounds downrange and has taken one pig at 110 yards and will be deer hunting until this Sunday.

The advantage to a new shooter is the 700 can be used to shoot any cartridge under the cheytac class and do it cheaply.
If you decide shooting isn't your cup of tea selling a 700 is simple and you don't lose a pile of money. Due to the 700 having a round receiver most competent gunsmiths can true one up and add modifications as money allows so a new shooter isn't forking out $1500 on a custom at one time.
For Joe average shooter there isn't a better place to start even if out of the box brand xyz costs $100 less.

My contact # is 707-791-8147 for anyone who is interested in actually shooting or just to observe.

[LynnJr]

Bigbossman
I think we are holding the 2022 3K match in Southern California if that is closer?
You are welcome to join us and the offer is the same as above.