A new gun

[Hang-Man]

I’m in the market for a new firearm, something .308+ as I will be shooting target (snaps and movers) at between 600-1000 yards (I know .223 wont take me back that far, but I am also in the market for one of these if you know of a great one) if you own a firearm that you have had luck shooting distance with, I would absolutely love to hear about it.

[DeviantSaint]

Fn-Fal for semi-Auto. It's a bit heavy though, but relatively inexpensive, plenty of parts and accessories for it, and it's rugged as hell. It's also about as accurate as is pragmatically possible before you start wondering into match grade territory etc etc etc. Though DSArms does make some real tack driver Fals. A few other companies and gunsmiths do too.

as for bolts.. well that depends on how much you want to spend. On the cheap end you can always grab yourself a .308 israeli Mauser.

If you are willing to wonder into 8mm territory then you can get a very nice quality yugo mauser for not much more than $50.00 USD.

If you have a Curio and relic license they can even be mailed to your house.

[mikey]

I was in your situation about 12 months ago. So i got myself one of these.

http://www.remington.com/firearms/centerfire/700VS.HTM[/URL]

Mine is in .233 and easily shoots under 1-inch groups at 100 yards. It is a tad on the heavy side and i would recommend a bipod and at least a 24mag scope with a mil dot reticule. Plus if you don’t want to go for the .233 my mate has been having great success picking off foxes at long range with the 308 model. Both models would benefit from a trigger job as the factory trigger is a bit heavy, I’ve had mine done, but it's up to you. This is a damn fine rifle, but don’t take my word for it.

www.snipercountry.com/rem-700.htm[/URL]

[Nevermore]

well if you go to 1000y i can suggest you to give a look at 6.5mm cartdrige, 6mmPPC, but most of everything the newest 6.5mm are one of the best available for that range if you don't want to go up to lapua 338. 308 is a good ammo, but is toooo much parabolic, so doing the result won't be optimal, for long range target you need a fast bullet insensitive to the wind and with a fair weight.
6, 6.5, 7mm would be good
a .300 mag would be ok too, a short mag would be my choice if i should go on 7.65mm
but, if you are shooting for fun, what about a .52 .72 muzzleloading rifle? you will be surprised how precise are the new design bullets, and definitely, a .72 is a monster i always wanted to try..

You are shooting target, don't even look at semiauto, go for bolt.
semiauto can be good for ranges up to 200mt, more is a waste, since the recoil will bring you out of sight anyway, so where is the convenience of having a fast reloading rifle if you can't shoot fast enuf?

[xyz]

If you are willing to spend a lot of money for a good rifle then I can give you a link to an Australian company that makes bolt action precision rifles in calibres from 7.62 NATO (.308 Win.) to .50BMG.
IIRC The 7.62 version will reportedly shoot .2 MOA groups, the .338 Lapua version can shoot .35 MOA, and the .50 BMG version can shoot .52 MOA. They also make rifles in .308 Norma Mag, 7.62x54 Russian, and .300 Win Mag.

Getting it imported from Australia would be a bitch though (getting it into the US should be fairly easy, it is getting it out of Australia that would be difficult with lots of paperwork and safety checks and other stupid red tape).

[aikon]

if you have enough time for practicing a .308 is ok.
i personally prefer the "old" steyr ssg sport PI in .308.
if you are willing to spend more money i'd buy a G22 .300WinMag or a G24 .50BMG from Accuracy International.

check their websites:

www.steyr-mannlicher.com/

http://www.accuracyinternational.com/

[grandyOse]

How bad is the kick on the 50BMG? .300WM? I'm a small guy and 100 rounds with an M-14 makes me sore.

[DBSP]

Don't you know what Elmer Kieth used to say?

Recoil, relaxe and enjoy it!

Personally I love recoil, the hardest kickin things I have right now is the 52g 12 shells. Not the worst thing but it can mess you up if you don't hold the weapon correctly. Which shooting newbies usually doesn't:p

Therefore I allways tell them the 52 grammers are practice ammunition and give them the loaded gun. I sometimes laugh so much from their reaction when they pull the trigger that I get a stomacache of it.

It's cruel thing to do but the good thing is that it can't get any worse after they have tried it.

[xyz]

Giving newbie shooters oversize guns is cruel:) , I heard a story once about someone who was too afraid to fire a gun for the rest of their life after (they were a very small person) someone gave them a .300 Win Mag and told them it wouldn't kick. Have you see the video on KaZaA of the arabic guy firing a .577 tyrannosaur? It is funny as hell, he is knocked back into a window by the recoil and the butt of the rifle breaks the window.

Seriously though, I also like recoil. I am used to sore shoulders as I go to the gym 3 times a week (high intensity weight training can make your shoulders as sore as hell the next day). I am also not affected by recoil as much as other people are due to the fact that I am 6'2" and all the gym work.

Grandy0se, most rifles in .50BMG are fitted with muzzle brakes that reduce the recoil to that of a 12 gauge shotgun, unfortunately the brakes greatly increase noise and muzzle blast. The weight of most .50 BMGs also helps to cut the recoil down tho this level

3.5" 12 gauge magnum shells kick worse than a .50BMG due to the light weight of the shotgun compared to the .50, a .50BMG rifle produces about 45 ft. lbs of recoil, a 3.5" 12 gauge magnum load produces around 65 ft. lbs of recoil.

[mikey]

Hang man, it would be easier to help you if you could provide us with some more info like,

-How much money you want to spend on it.

-are you gunna relaoded you own ammo (because factory 50.bmg cost a fortune for good ammo)

-are you guuna customise it after you have bought it or do you want it to shoot straight from the box.

etc

another website you might want to look at:

http://www.armalon.com

these rifles have been winning competions for years, also see sniper country for advice and reveiws. They specialise in very long range shooting.

http://www.snipercountry.com

[Hang-Man]

You guys are great. Really. Fantastic info. To answer your questions:

How much will I spend: as much as I have to :D I'm not against buying a cheep gun, but usually you get what you pay for
Do I load my own ammo: yes. I load all my own ammo, (even .223 if I’m shooting >300yrds) I increase the quality, and decrease the cost at the same time. (and I get to use my fancy scale)
Will I shoot it out of the box: Generally no. odds are I would replace the barrel, shave down the trigger, etc. I've never bought a gun that came in a box, so I suppose if I spent enough I may not have to tinker. I have a habit of buying old military surplus (Mauser/ Garand/ Enfield etc) from gun shows, fixing them up, shooting them for a while, and selling them again.

But don’t just limit this thread to me; if you have a gun you love, post it (you know the one, the one you bring with you to a shoot even though you know you won’t need it)

[A-BOMB]

I love my SSG82 in .215rws(5.45x39mm) but the odds are that you will never find one in your life time I saw one at a gun show going with the whole kit tipod, oringanal match ammo, clips, scopes, case, range finder, and the german manuals for $9000 USD and that was in 1996, But if you want a good cheap gun get a yugo sks, nice range for a nice price.

[TreverSlyFox]

Ahhhhh .. Long Range Tactical

You'ed really have a hard time beating a Savage 10FP in .308 or a 110FP in .300 Win Mag unless you found a Savage 10FP in .260 Remington (they pulled them off the market for lack of intrest).

It's hard to beat a Savage any way you look at it. They give the Remington 700 PSS and Winchester M-70 Stealth a run for the money every day and about $200 - $300 cheaper. Savage fixed the trigger issue so the only thing left is a new stock and you'ed slap an A3, A4, A5 on it even if it was a Remmy or Winny anyway.

Now if your talking cost is no object then I'ed look at the FN-SPR, that chrome lined .308 barrel is getting 40,000 rounds threw them and still delivering 1/2 MOA and you can buy one decked out just about any way you want it from stock to glass. They start at $1500 and go up to $5000+ depending on what you choose.

Or you could go with a George Gardner "Rock" for about $2500 + glass, rings, bases and bi-pod. Or go all out and have a 6.5 X 284 built but your looking at a barrel that only goes 1400-1600 rounds if you load them hot (over 3000 fps).

There's many ways to go, it just depends on the depth of your pocket. Though .308 will go to 1000 yds it best to keep it under 800 yds. If your looking for a hard 1000 yarder then your looking at the .260 Remington, 6.5 X 284 or the .300 Win Mag if you going to be competative.

[12Gauge]

get yourself a Remington 700 or Browning A-Bolt (with B.O.S.S.) in either 300 Win Mag or 7MM Magnum, slap a good quality recoil pad on it and go to work. The US Military now uses the 300 Mag in a Rem 700 action as a long range sniper system (50 Cal for long, long range). You are then using a combat and time proven, reliable, relatively inexpensive and uncomplicated weapon.
If you must go gee whiz, high tech, whiz bang rifle- get an AR-10T in either 308 or the new 300 Ultra Short Magnum- while not proven yet- these should be good weapons.

[Jacks Complete]

Hi there.

The wait is over! 1st post...

I think it is really hard to say which rifle you would be best getting. If you have done time with various firearms (which it would seem you have), you will already have some preferences, and so you will be looking for someone to give you an idea as regards a very specific thing.

You will probably want a bolt-action rifle for accurate long-range target work, but if you want the higher RoF (and you can (legally) get one) a semi-auto is very nice. Note that basic semi-auto firearms are not as accurate as bolt guns, and they tend to be more highly restricted. If you don't care about the RoF much, then go for a bolt gun without a magazine (true single shot) as the stiffness of the action improves accuracy by a noticable amount at 1000+ yards.

Calibre wise, 6mm has been getting really good reviews from the extreme accuracy benchrest types in the UK, but the majority of target rifles are still .308/7.62mm rifles. In the silly section, you can go to .338 Lapua Magnum, which has the same sort of accuracy as 7.62, but greater power and greater range (about 1400 yards, where most 7.62 gets to 1200 while still supersonic. You could get a .50 BMG, but that gets very expensive! You can also download the .338 (or almost any cartridge you load yourself), so it is fun to shoot. This tends not to work with semi's as they won't cycle, and with .50 and full-house .338, you might have problems finding anywhere to shoot it safely.

A good piece of glass will be as important as the rifle.

In other news, .300 whisper might be a nice one if you can get a little closer to your target...


I just got myself a .44 Marlin u/l! Finally got it all set up, and got 100 rounds for it. Absolutely brilliant! Expensive, but worth it. Feeding it is expensive, too, but I will be geting the dies after next paycheck. Holds 10, possibly it is capped at that due to US magazine restrictions (which don't affect the UK) so I might be able to up it a little. If anyone knows for sure, let me know!

Shot it for the first time on Thursday. Absolute joy! Had a go with a rather nice long barrelled revolver in .22 as well.