So... The wife and I are seriously debating making marksmanship shooting and even possibly competition shooting a hobby. Yeah yeah... we're not big on hunting. Sorry. I don't mind dropping the occasional wild hog from my mothers place or using my 22 to clean turtles out of the pond but I'm not a big hunter per-se.
Anyways.
I've only EVER used my family weapons.
Remington 22 LR my grandfather bought in 1937 is my turtle / bird / snake gun.
My fathers 30-06 and my grandfathers 30-30 are my pig killers.
However I've never bought a rifle myself.
Suddenly the wife enjoys shooting what we have so much that she wants to make it into a hobby and I can't really disagree with her on any reason to or not to do it.
I love shooting and I consider myself a fair marksman.
What I'm looking for is this.
Something that will travel with great accuracy up to and including 1000 Yards.
First Question: Caliber. We've looked at the 223 due to having light rounds and high velocity but maybe it's too light for those distances in any wind.
The 7MM has sprung to mind but if we're doing that large of a round might as well go to the 30-06 but the wife is concerned with the recoil being an issue over time and also causing more maintenance.
Second Question: Rifle Make / Model. We both are wanting a 26" barrel but may settle for a 24". We've pretty much settled on the Rem 700 SPS Varmint due to it's ability to find it used somewhat easily, low cost, numerous easily obtained accessories and high resale value if we ever drop the hobby.
So... "Experts"... Talk to me here. What are some pro's and con's I / We aren't considering?
Thanks all in advance.
Anyways.
I've only EVER used my family weapons.
Remington 22 LR my grandfather bought in 1937 is my turtle / bird / snake gun.
My fathers 30-06 and my grandfathers 30-30 are my pig killers.
However I've never bought a rifle myself.
Suddenly the wife enjoys shooting what we have so much that she wants to make it into a hobby and I can't really disagree with her on any reason to or not to do it.
I love shooting and I consider myself a fair marksman.
What I'm looking for is this.
Something that will travel with great accuracy up to and including 1000 Yards.
First Question: Caliber. We've looked at the 223 due to having light rounds and high velocity but maybe it's too light for those distances in any wind.
The 7MM has sprung to mind but if we're doing that large of a round might as well go to the 30-06 but the wife is concerned with the recoil being an issue over time and also causing more maintenance.
Second Question: Rifle Make / Model. We both are wanting a 26" barrel but may settle for a 24". We've pretty much settled on the Rem 700 SPS Varmint due to it's ability to find it used somewhat easily, low cost, numerous easily obtained accessories and high resale value if we ever drop the hobby.
So... "Experts"... Talk to me here. What are some pro's and con's I / We aren't considering?
Thanks all in advance.