Thanks for all of the input Wildrose, it's amazing to me how much research goes into finding the right rifle to meet my needs and nice to have input from all of the good folks here!
You mentioned/suggested buying a 7mm and rechamber it to the STW. Do you think that a Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless would be a suitable barrel to have rechambered? I would then swap out their stock and replace it with a McMillan Weatherby stock. The barrel will be glass bedded and free floating.
In terms of scopes, there are a ton of them out there and the price ranges are all over the map. When I researched scopes a few years ago the two finalists were Nightforce and Huskemaw. My final choice was the Huskemaw Blue Diamond 5-20x50 for three reasons: #1. Its weight #2. Ease of use (their turret system) and 3. The price point, I bought mine new for $1,499.00 Canadian dollars. I am very happy with it. I use Talley ring mounts.
I am not a bench or competition shooter, all I do is hunt after making sure the rifle is sighted in each fall typically I do not shoot more then 20 shots a year with my rifle and usually kill a moose and 4 deer a year, not all with my rifle some with my bow as well. So the scope does not get punished much compared to many people that shoot all year long.
Would you happen to know how much more velocity and energy I would gain by rechambering to STW, and what do you think would be the maximum range of this type of barrel set up? Thanks!
My hands on experience with TIkka's is nil so I can't tell you from experience. I do know from what others here say about their Tikkas they are very happy with them as a rule.
My advice would be to talk to the GS about it and see what he thinks.
Your velocity gain will probably be in the neighborhood of 100-150fps depending on what bullet and powder/load prove most accurate in your rifle. Some barrels run faster than others even with everything else identical. There's about 10-12% more powder in the STW but with the 26" barrel you won't quite get as much out of it as you would with the longer because there will be more powder that isn't burned before the bullet exits the barrel.
The scope you have should be more than adequate to get to 1000yds probably even without getting a canted base. Read the user manual that came with it and set up accordingly.
If you want to get out there any further though, you may need to reconfigure a bit.
To get to a thousand hitting with consistency the most important thing will be to have your marksmanship fundamentals pretty well flawless. A slight torque when squeezing the trigger, a slight cant left or right off of exact level, your scope not being mounted true and level to your action etc and your groups can open up to several feet very quickly so take it easy on yourself and work out slow.
If you haven't yet really mastered the fundamentals buy something to plink and practice with that's cheap to shoot. Even a .22lr will do the job! When I was a kid we would literally practice trying to light wooden Strke Anywhere Matches out to fifty feet with a .22lr and even try to split a playing card sideways. That's the kind of marksmanship mechanics you need to hit sub MOA at that range. Anyone can do it occasionally with the right rig and someone setting it up for them but to do it with consistency is a lot of work.
While you're working on the basics read everything you can on mastering the wind.
Bryan Litz books on LR shooting will be a big help if you're more of a bookworm than internet fact grabber, (no insult in the latter, most people don't have the patience to read a book anymore LOL)
This website if you use it right can be the most valuable resource you ever find. Ask any of us "Old Guys" what we'd have given to have access to this much information at out fingertips when we were getting started 2,3,4 decades ago!
