Long Range Rifle Shooting on a budget ...

[NEMTHunter]

Experience does not make you spend more money. It helps you know whats needed and whats not. Most guys think now that I am a experienced shooter now I need High dollar guns and scopes to become even better. We are talking Hunting here. Not going out to win a match on the national level.

 

[Jack R Tishue Jr]

Thank you, It's good to remember that my goal here is to offer suggestions on this Topic and to let the reader find what works for them, your exactly right "Long Range and Budget" mean different things to different people.

 

[Jack R Tishue Jr]

On the scope vs rifle price, Jack O'Connor used to say, better to put a $300 scope on a $200 rifle than the other way around. In those days that was serious money. Some while back read a write up on scopes, or how much you get for your money, and the low end was , at 500 yds you could tell there was a deer there, at the next level, that it was a buck, at the next level, maybe even see points, but at the best level, could see it's eye lashes. These all being the same power. You can get a whole lot of rifle, for less expense than a decent scope. The long range shooting I've done, National Matches at Camp Perry , you're not even allowed to use a scope. Have to shoot off the ground, elbows and a sling. But I'm looking at F class stuff now, and will be putting a scope, already have it , on the match rifle. Note about O'Connor, he also used to say, IF it's too far away to shoot at with a 4x scope, it's too far away to shoot at period. He and Elmer could kill game out to 600 yds with a 4X scope. The lowest level Nikons today are better than the top stuff we had in those days.

 

[Canhunter35]

Over the years my collection of Firearms has become quite a variety and many of them are the results of upgrading as I was able to. For instance I have a 30-06 that has one of my early Scopes on it and it's perfect just the way it is. Ive never had a problem utilizing equipment that I started out with and in one instance I was able to help a friend to get started using one of my earlier Rifle setups with no lack of Enthusiasm followed with countless hours of Experience.

Here's the crux though really. Most of us have a 'collection' of firearms.
I have a friend who sold all his rifles, invested into rebarrelling one and bought a full custom job along with matching atacr scopes. Now only has two rifles that he can shoot to the edge of transonic with both.
Point I'm trying to make, you already have a collection of rifles as do a lot of individuals, sell some and invest in a scope for one of them because it's the weakest link in most lr setups if lr is what you're wanting to do

 

[MudRunner2005]

Why would you sell a perfectly good gun, that's already paid for, in these times when everyone is trying to take them from us involuntarily? That's like not having sex with your wife because you're not ready to have kids right now...

 

[Ndfarmer]

It's not experience that makes you want better equipment it's using better equipment. Ever since I bought my first Swarovski I have a really hard time buying a less quality scope. So never try what you can't afford haha!

 

[MudRunner2005]

It's not experience that makes you want better equipment it's using better equipment. Ever since I bought my first Swarovski I have a really hard time buying a less quality scope. So never try what you can't afford haha!

I have Kahles and Zeiss scopes, used to sell Swaro, Schmidts, NF, etc... I know what good/high-end scopes are. Used to sell and look through them everyday. I still buy Vortex HS-T scopes and SWFA SS scopes for target rifles. Could I have put myself in debt buying NF scopes for all my rigs? Sure... But why, when the HS-T scopes do just as good of a job for target shooting?

 

[JDBraddy]

Why would you sell a perfectly good gun, that's already paid for, in these times when everyone is trying to take them from us involuntarily? That's like not having sex with your wife because you're not ready to have kids right now...

Been married 28 years, and have no kids. Once had north of 40 rifles, scopes where old Weavers and Leupolds, now only have 5 rifles, one is a Rem 40X rimfire, a Bat-DS in 6ppc, a Borden BRMXD with barrels in 6-Dasher, and .284Win for F-open, a CLE built service rifle for High Power, and an LR-308 for a pig-gun. Scopes are Nightforce, and March. I'm much happier now.

 

[James L Holzhauer]

The Savage rifles offer superior accuracy out of the box and so does the Ruger precision rifle series... These will not break the bank

 

[NEMTHunter]

The lowest level Nikons today are better than the top stuff we had in those days.

That right there says a lot on why High dollar scopes that cost 2500 and more then 3 grand are not needed for the Hunter. My old 3-9x32 Bushnell sportsveiw has the glass needed for shooting deer @ 1000 yards. Now the turrets leave a lot to be desired. But my more modern 2.5-10x42 Monarch scope by Nikon has all I need to shoot deer to 1000 yards. Glass is very good and every time I look through it it surprises me for the price I paid for it. I guess it comes down to how much features you think you need (or want) I also have a SWFA 3-15x42 thats a nice scope plenty good glass to do the job. Again plenty good. My Leuplod 6.5-20x40 works great good glass and all.

 

[redleg1013]

Tiborasaurus Rex (amongst severalothers... read as "dead horse") has presented this after putting thought towards budget and availability. Savage 10 FCP in .308 (although the the 6.5CM is more able to get to 1k, the .308 will force one to learn the wind, instead of just holding edge of plate). SWFA SS 10x42 and rings, Harris 9-13 bipod and you're off to the races out to 1k for under $1k.

 

[Pete FARR]

Not everyone out there has thousands of dollars to spend on getting themselves a good Long Range Shooting Rifle Setup.
Here are some suggestions :
1. Have an idea of how much you can afford to spend on your initial setup ... Rifle, Scope , Ammunition, a rest, bags or bi-pod to start with, you can always add to it as you go.
Don't spend more for your scope than you will for your Rifle . You can always upgrade your scope later.
2. Choose a Range that you can reasonably achieve at first then move out as you get better.
3. Choose a Caliber that will suit your needs.
4. Compare prices, warranties and available accessories from the different Rifle Companies.
5. When choosing a Rifle compare the features that you get for the price your paying.
6. When you're looking at Rifles stay in your price range, . some of the more affordable Rifles out there are made by very reputable Firearms Companies that have been around for a while ... Remington, .Ruger and Savage to name a few.
7. Long Range Shooting should be challenging and fun. Don't try to base your experience on what someone else says they can do ... enjoy reaching your own goals.

Read this article:https://rifleshooter.com/2016/05/customizing-the-savage-axis-easy-upgrades-that-enhance-performance/

 

[Canhunter35]

Why would you sell a perfectly good gun, that's already paid for, in these times when everyone is trying to take them from us involuntarily? That's like not having sex with your wife because you're not ready to have kids right now...

I guarantee as long as Canadians have the right to own firearms you need not worry about someone taking your guns, they tried up here, hurt the shooting and hunting like you can't imagine.
You can only shoot one rifle at a time. Having 30 of them is redundant. It doesn't matter to me, but if you're on a budget, you can find ways to stretch said budget and that includes trimming the fat.

 

[Pmacc60]

Experience does not make you spend more money. It helps you know whats needed and whats not. Most guys think now that I am a experienced shooter now I need High dollar guns and scopes to become even better. We are talking Hunting here. Not going out to win a match on the national level.

I disagree some what respectfully , high dollar no but spend for quality! Buy it once and have it for a life time. As a young shooter I bought more economical scopes and they are long gone in some landfill! Still have many scopes that are thirty and forty years old that still go the the field every year . Old Redfields and Leupolds. Not super high dollar but good quality !