Practice rig?

[shortpants]

What do you think would make the perfect practice rifle? Something that can teach me how to shoot in the wind and has little recoil as I would like it to be the same rifle I will teach my kids with. It has to have long barrel life and be cheap to shoot cuz itwill be used a lot. Would a .22 work or .17cal or would that not be enough to try learning the winds? Perhaps a .243 cuz that would make for a great cal. for the kids to hunt with. I'm currently shooting a 300wsm. and it gets expensive and by the time I learn with it I'll have to rebarrel it.

Any thoughts?

 

[backwoods83]

Savage, Tikka, or Vanguard in 223 with 40-55grn rounds is great to learn with and almost no recoil. Bulk ammo can be had dirt cheap.

 

[rscott5028]

Everyone needs to own a 22 Long Rifle. They provide great fun and practice for shooters of all ages and skill levels whilst being affordable to shoot. They also provide an excellent platform to teach and reinforce gun safety.

A 223 or even a 243 is great for youth hunters. You will need to asses the shooter's limits and avoid placing them in a situation that exceeds their abilities.

Either of these cartridges or even larger calibers can be rapidly tamed with a decent muzzle brake.

For the type of practice you describe, I would think that you're not necessarily trying to minimize the effects of wind with the ultimate long range rifle. Rather, you're looking for an opportunity to learn to read wind and correct appropriately and measure your progress over time.

As such, these small cartridges are often very accurate which will allow you to attribute changes in POI to specific conditions such as wind while comparing to your ballistics software.

As you gain confidence, your 300 wsm has the potential to be an effective LRH rifle. With a good muzzle brake, you might be surprised how soon your kids would be able to shoot it accurately. Nonetheless, starting slow and working up will pay dividends down the road.

Good luck and hope this helps.
Richard

 

[cfvickers]

6.8 SPC. Better for kids, unbelievably deadly on game with 110 grain TSX. Very low recoil, less powder than a .243, cheap to load, not overly fast but sound none the less.

 

[shortpants]

Thanks guys keep em coming I'd love to hear more!

Richard I am a big fan of breaks and my 300wsm has one on it now. It kicks less than a .243. I was thinking a .243 braked would be the perfect youth rifle but would love to hear some more ideas.

I agree about the .22LR and do own one. It is an ancient bolt action I inherited from my grandfather, can't remember the make off hand. I was thinking a newer model would be good.

 

[Broz]

I have said many times before, the 6mm br is the perfect long range practice rifle. Cheap to load for, Little recoil if any, superb accuracy, great selection of bullets (don't over look the 107 smk's) and will make you proud to 1000 yards. Plus it is a pretty darn good hunting rig for small deer or antelope and an awesome varmint toaster.

Jeff gun)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[rscott5028]

Broz,

I agree about the 6br.

The only downside is that you can't just walk into Walmart and grab a box. ...same for 6.8SPC.

But, I'm pretty sure that you can with 223 and 243.

And, shortpants, I even put a brake on my son's AR-15 (223) for 3 gun. It's loud. But, no recoil.

-- richard

 

[cfvickers]

All of our local Wal-Marts are carrying 6.8 ammo lately. as well as most sporting goods stores and bait shops. but I can't speak for your area. I have a 6.8 on a contender frame with a Bell & Carlson youth thumbhole stock It shoots half inch groups at 100 yards and a buddies kids have killed deer with it at way over 300 yards with ease. all fell DRT. But I don;t know if I would do a lot of target shooting with it beyond 300 yards.