Noob needs advice on where to start...

[captainjoe]

Have been shooting for many years. After shooting the garden variety 30/06 for ages (still a lot of fun), I got into big bore stuff and have had a blast with it. Now I'm interested in shooting something with a bit more reach... 600 or more yards.

Can any of the members give advice on a good rifle which will form a foundation for me to explore whether this will be a real interest or not? I don't want to spend a bank and then decide I'm not really interested in long shots. In the same token, I don't want to spend money and then find that I should have spent more to get started. That's life... we want it all our way don't we? No seriously, I just want to make a sensible first purchase in a rifle, ideally something I can build on.

Tikka and Savage seem to be a name that comes up frequently in my trolling on the internet. I'm also very interested in one of the 300 mag variants. I don't mind 'building' or modifying my rifle and adding things to it as I develop my own philosophy.

So any suggestions on where to get started, I would greatly appreciate it. Many thanks in advance for tolerating another noob on the forums. I promise to treat future noobs nicely once I know what I am doing.

EDIT: I'm looking for a gun I can carry in the field, rather than a bench gun. My primary quarry will be deek/elk in the rockies.

 

[roninflag]

a remington sendero stainless fluted for long range . for a lighter carry gun an original rem 700 ti in 7 rsaum.

 

[texan79]

I would go with a Remington or savage if your going to build up. All the smiths around here work on them, and parts are readily available. I personally prefer the selection of parts that the Remington 700 has available.

 

[liltank]

Remington's are the regular go to, but I'm a Savage fan and love'em. If you plan to build as you go, then a Savage will allow you to do so on your own. You can change barrels, rebuild your bolt to match calibers of your choosing, re-stock, and tune your gun w/o a gunsmith. If you want to spend money building your rifle as you go or don't care to be your own smith, then Remington, Winchester, and Howa are going to afford you plenty of aftermarket options.

For Savage rifles I will suggest the Mod 12 VLP in 300WSM, the Long Range Hunter 111, the new 116 Bear Hunter, and the 116 FHSAK (This one is the least expensive, but very usable). Don't let the prices scare you on the web site. You can find them cheaper. With a Savage, you could even buy a used one and give it a go. If the barrel is shot out, you can purchase an inexpensive one on Midwayusa.com, or order a McGowen, Lothar Walther, or Pac Nor in a Savage barrel pre-fit for $300 to $350. Shilen has some for under $300.

Glass is up to you as to how far you want to go with it. Nikon Buckmaster, Vortex Viper, Millet, Weaver, and Bushnell Elite 3500 are going to be the best glass for the money IMO. So have at it. Check things out and see what you can find.

Tank

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I have six Tikka T-3 Lights. Three I have shot extensively to 800 yards. They are 300 WSM, 300 winchester and 338 winchester. All I did to any of them is freefloat the (factory freefloated?) barrel. I can easily take game with any of them to the 800 yards I shoot regularly. If 800 yards is all you are going to shoot these weigh 6 3/8 pounds and are a pleasure to hunt all over the mountains with. You can find them on sale in the $500 range. For a deer/elk combo rifle to 800 yards the 300 winchester or 338 winchester would be excellent in this rifle. trigger is crisp adjustable. I am sold on them after carrying one all over Alaska last year killing stuff to 800 yards. You can spend more and get a heavier rifle but they will not outshoot my tikkas in a factory rifle at 800 yards. I am having one turned into the new 338 SIN that should be ready soon.

 

[trebark]

If you're interested in determining whether or not you're interested in 'long shots', why not make some investment in your current '06? If you reload, you have great choices in bullets and can send them at reasonable velocities. You could use the platform to shoot targets and varmints out to 1k.

Once you develop some experience, you will have a better foundation to make decisions about a new rig dedicated to longrange shooting that can take elk at 600yards (think 300mag or bigger!).

So tell us about your current rifle, then we can give you some advice on upgrades to it. To give you some ideas of inexpesive upgrades you can make, check out my nephew's rifle...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/nephews-transformed-rifle-53634/

 

[captainjoe]

Remington's are the regular go to, but I'm a Savage fan and love'em. If you plan to build as you go, then a Savage will allow you to do so on your own. You can change barrels, rebuild your bolt to match calibers of your choosing, re-stock, and tune your gun w/o a gunsmith. If you want to spend money building your rifle as you go or don't care to be your own smith, then Remington, Winchester, and Howa are going to afford you plenty of aftermarket options.

Starting out, I would prefer to do my own work, so one of the advantages of Remington and Savage is that there tends to be so much aftermarket stuff for them. While I have always been a Remington man, reading these forums has also tempted me to look at Savage. Thanks for the suggested models.

Question: I was thinking about using the 300 Win Mag for my little project. Is this a good place to start, or should I be looking at the likes of something like the 300 RUM so that I have upgrade options to something like the .338 Edge, should I want to go there?

Glass is up to you as to how far you want to go with it. Nikon Buckmaster, Vortex Viper, Millet, Weaver, and Bushnell Elite 3500 are going to be the best glass for the money IMO. So have at it. Check things out and see what you can find.

Any views on Leupold's offerings?

Thanks for your time. Deeply appreciated.

 

[captainjoe]

I have six Tikka T-3 Lights. Three I have shot extensively to 800 yards.

I have read tons and tons of good things about Tikkas being exceptionally good value for money out of the box. How hard is it to get aftermarket stuff for Tikkas being an import?

 

[liltank]

I have read tons and tons of good things about Tikkas being exceptionally good value for money out of the box. How hard is it to get aftermarket stuff for Tikkas being an import?

Mechanically there are upgrades and things you can do to them, however it is limited. There are a couple of manufacturers for stocks. They are hard to re-stock w/o paying a premium. I found some stocks on 6mmbr.com and accurateshooter.com. You could probably go there and do a search as well as google it.

Tank

 

[captainjoe]

If you're interested in determining whether or not you're interested in 'long shots', why not make some investment in your current '06? If you reload, you have great choices in bullets and can send them at reasonable velocities. You could use the platform to shoot targets and varmints out to 1k.

Once you develop some experience, you will have a better foundation to make decisions about a new rig dedicated to longrange shooting that can take elk at 600yards (think 300mag or bigger!).

So tell us about your current rifle, then we can give you some advice on upgrades to it. To give you some ideas of inexpesive upgrades you can make, check out my nephew's rifle...

I like this kind of thinking... start with what you got and work up. Glad I found these forums. I have a Remington 721 and a Winchester which I don't want to modify due to sentimental reasons. The Remington has had extractor problems which have now been corrected for now.

On the note of calibers, I was thinking of starting out with 300 Win Mag. If I wanted upgrade options from there, what would you recommend if someone might want to eventually consider the .388 Edge?

Your nephew's rife is beautiful. Very inspiring!

 

[WyoElk2Hunt]

In the glass area I have a Leupold (Greybullprecision.com) scope and really like it. I like Leupold but there are a lot of good scopes. Just get the best scope you can afford or save up you will be glad.

 

[ken snyder]

The ole 06 is a good choice for 600yds. While your thinking about which brand name you want, also think of parent cartridge capabilities. ( Base diameters and cartridge length ) your 30-06 can easily be rebarelled for very good cartridges from 6.5-284 Norma to 375 Scoville. I flute barrels and would very much prefer to see people use a light weight sporting contour when weight is an issue such as in a mountain rifle. Don't overlook what you already have or under estimate what your gunsmith might be able to do with it.

 

[Buffalobob]

A 30-06 handloaded and tuned up enough to shoot 1 MOA will serve you very well for quite a while. Once you believe you have the ability to kill animals beyond the range of the 30-06 you will know enough about longrange hunting and what you really need to make a good decision on the next rifle.

So I think the best investment of your time and money will be in reloading equipment and minor modifications to your existing rifles such as getting the triggers set properly or swapped out and getting the action bedded.

 

[captainjoe]

So I think the best investment of your time and money will be in reloading equipment and minor modifications to your existing rifles such as getting the triggers set properly or swapped out and getting the action bedded.

Agreed. Just installed a Timney trigger and am experimenting with various loads.