Recommend me a long range hunter.

[overkill]

I would highly recommend the Tikka T3. There is the Superlite version as well, which sports a fluted barrel and tips the scale at 5.8 ounces. By the time I installed a Bell and Carlson stock and a Huskemaw 5-20x50 Blue diamond scope, I was glad I started with such a light rifle because the weight quickly rose.
I have two Tikka t3's and a Sako A7. Their barrels and triggers are nothing short of outstanding, and are priced quite reasonably too.
I'm sure that there are customs guns out there that shoot unbelievably well, but having said that, I would confidently pit my Tikka to a custom rig.
My superlite is a 7mm Rm, stock barrel and stock trigger set to 2.5 lbs. The first time I stretched it's legs to 1000 yards, I shot a group that measured less than 6 1/2". Your Vortex would do well sitting atop a T3.

here's a video link to the 3 shot group..


[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=smbE6A2Z0kI[/ame]

 

[delirious]

Thanks for posting. A Tikka T3 is on my list. I held a few the other day and they felt good in the hand but I'd replace the stock. My buddy has one in a 243 and it's very accurate. I am tossing ideas and have put in a few requests for quotes. I probably won't get a custom job for 6-12 months if someone builds one.....so I might get a t3 to get the ball rolling on reloads and see what one can do. I can always put it up on gunbroker if I decide not to keep it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you want a true LR hunter and shooter, look into something with a heavy barrel on it. The gun will stabilize (balance) better and help you hold steadier than a sporter barreled rifle will. The added weight also helps to reduce felt recoil and muzzle jump. Also will help reduce barrel whip (which sporter barrels are prone to).

Also, if you plan on ever modifying it or reworking it, or customizing it, I'd make sure it had a very strong aftermarket support network for it, like the Remington 700 or Savages do. You can buy anything for them aftermarket. Heck, you can even buy aftermarket 700 style actions (custom actions), that use the same footprint as the 700 and can be used with all 700 accessories, stocks, barrels, parts, etc...

That's why most of my guns are Remington 700's that have been used for custom builds. Parts and aftermarket accessorites availability for them is virtually endless. Plus, I've always had a love affair with the Remington 700, ever since I got to shoot my Uncle's old 700 .30-06 when I was a kid. He's had that rifle since before I was born, and still hunts with it to this day. There's no telling how many deer that rifle has put in the freezer over it's lifetime.

 

[snowpro440]

What's your thought on the Savage Long Range Hunter...? Best , most accurate rifle out there.

 

[MudRunner2005]

What's your thought on the Savage Long Range Hunter...? Best , most accurate rifle out there.

I won't own a Savage...Free or not. If I won one, I would trade it in for a 700.

Best, most accurate is a pretty bold statement, and hard for me to believe when I have a factory (untouched) 700 5R Milspec .308 that will put 5 Berger 210 VLD's into 1 ragged bughole... I haven't even skim bedded it or changed the trigger, yet. I do have an old-style waiting in the safe for it to replace that horrid X-Junk Pro...

 

[left handed gun]

Taking into account availability of aftermarket upgrades, re-sale demand (watch how they fly off the LRH classifieds), proven platform, I'd consider a gently used Remington Sendero. They seem to be decent guns to start with. (Fair disclosure: my first center fire was a Remington 700, though not a Sendero). Then you could add your own custom barrel if you wanted. I'd ask the barrel makers some of the questions the techs at Browning and Winchester don't want to answer.

For 700-1000 yard shots, I'd say the .300 Win would be a bare minimum for bigger game. I believe they also made the Sendero in .300 RUM, which is a bit of an oddball caliber but somewhat better performance. Think about it this way: at 400 yards, only about halfway (or less), the .308 168 gr BTHP drops to about 1400 ft lbs (Federal GMM ##).

The Howa-made Japanese Weatherbys are not bad (I own one in .300 Weatherby Mag). I don't reload so far, but I understand some reloaders don't like the Weatherby .300. In a drag race, however, it beats the .300 Win by a bit. Hits a little harder too. Some of the Weatherby factory ammo claims close to 4000 ft lbs muzzle energy. I've got no way to verify that but it seems to run pretty true to advertised velocity at 10-12' through a chrono. Mine is quite light, but that has its drawbacks. It will typically shoot a good 3 shot group. But the bbl is thin and heats up quickly.

Many but not all of the Senderos came with factory fluted bbls. I speak from no experience with fluted bbls, but I would not flute a custom bbl unless I was more weight sensitive than it sounds like you are. If I'm paying that much extra for a bbl I want all the material there.

 

[idaho elk hunter]

Most all will know me as a Weatherby person. I am 100%. You can not go wrong with a Accumark in 7mm rem. Out of the box it will shoot 1/4 all day long with a hard bullet such as a Barnes.

I just did a build for a very special friend and he had to use a Browning A Bolt that was a gift. I personally was not that interested in the Abolt until I really got to work with this one to learn them. They are a well engineered impressive piece, superior to many other motioned rifles.They have a 26 in barrel right from the factory. In my mind that is the best length for this round. A simple bed and free float they are great actions. Boyds makes a great laminate stock if you want a custom look. Most all look over the A BOLT. They are second to Weatherby. NOW here is the secret to have a flat shooting bad *** 7mm that will out pace everything except the Mega 338's. Take the 7mm and put a 300 win clip in it. Modify the clip front feed ramp to seat the 175 grain Accubond LR out to 3.5 inches. This will give you a .284 hold on the bullet at the base where the boattail ends.This can also be done to the factory 7mm clip but with a little more work. Cut the lead to a 1/30 and lengthen to a .0275 freebore. Load the 175 with Ramshot Magnum with a Win Mag Primer or a Fed 215. The 215 will loose about 30fps. Vita Vouri 570 will do 50 fps faster than the Ramshot but is difficult to find. Retumbo is the 3rd choice but is accurate with it being the slowest fps out of these powders. Hex Boron coat the bullets and nitride the barrel after barrel break in, After the nitride then hex the barrel also. We are talking with the 175 Long Range accubond about 3175 fps. The 168 gr is a great option for thos to be speed fraks or think that they can not get the 175 to shoot. I just spilled my secrets and guts but am getting to old to keep them to myself. I have done this process for over 20 years and it is just now coming out in the public. We started doing the hex and nitride back before Barnes started their now defunct ugly blue crap on their bullets! It was deemed to expensive and to slow of a process to do to our factory rifles. You cant shoot enough to wear this barrel out.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Idaho, my smith hates A-Bolts, however he has mine right now going to rebarrel it back to a 7mm RM for my lightweight rig, since I tore mine down to build my .300 Ackley Sendero SF. I have always loved A-Bolt II's. Which is why I am having it rebarreled. Plus I plan on ordering a B&C Medalist stock for it soon then skim-bedding it. I have already worked the trigger...It's quite nice.

If you wanna reach out and touch something, the .300 Ackley Magnum will certaiy do it with extreme prejudice, same goes for the 7mm STW, .300 WinMag, and 7mm RemMag.

All are excellent caliber choices. You can rechamber a .300 Wby to .300 Ackley with a $140 reamer from Kiff @ PTG, and gain some velocity and much better brass life with the 40* shoulder, compared to the Weatherby radiused (venturi) shoulder. You fire-form .300 Wby brass in the chamber and out pops a fresh .300 Ackley case.

 

[WildRose]

If you want a true LR hunter and shooter, look into something with a heavy barrel on it. The gun will stabilize (balance) better and help you hold steadier than a sporter barreled rifle will. The added weight also helps to reduce felt recoil and muzzle jump. Also will help reduce barrel whip (which sporter barrels are prone to).

Also, if you plan on ever modifying it or reworking it, or customizing it, I'd make sure it had a very strong aftermarket support network for it, like the Remington 700 or Savages do. You can buy anything for them aftermarket. Heck, you can even buy aftermarket 700 style actions (custom actions), that use the same footprint as the 700 and can be used with all 700 accessories, stocks, barrels, parts, etc...

That's why most of my guns are Remington 700's that have been used for custom builds. Parts and aftermarket accessorites availability for them is virtually endless. Plus, I've always had a love affair with the Remington 700, ever since I got to shoot my Uncle's old 700 .30-06 when I was a kid. He's had that rifle since before I was born, and still hunts with it to this day. There's no telling how many deer that rifle has put in the freezer over it's lifetime.

Ditto but I have to put the Mod 70 Winchester in there as well. I have a room full of both Remingtons and Winchesters and the Winchesters are still my first love.

Just stick to the New Haven Produced models or the Coyote Outback if you want to go with one of the short magnums.

 

[WillHunt]

As for this "new" federal excise tax on firearms, it is new as of 1937 (and most recently amended in 2000) and is the backbone upon which US states manage your wildlife resources. The Pittman Robertson Act (or Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration) established an excise tax on all new firearms AND ammunition that the consumer usually never sees, as it is paid at the manufacturers' level. By the way this act was, and still is, generally supported by the industry (much to their credit). The money all goes into a pot that the Feds then divvy up annually to the States based on a formula that primarily considers the number of hunting licenses sold in each state and each state's acreage. Most hunters know that revenue from their hunting licenses goes toward managing their wildlife resources, but many are not aware that in many cases, just as much, or more of the wildlife management that they see happening in their state is funded through PR funds. It is important for hunters to know about this. More recent legislation (Dingle Johnson {yes, that's really what it's called}) did the same thing with fishing tackle to manage our nation's fisheries.

 

[WildRose]

As for this "new" federal excise tax on firearms, it is new as of 1937 (and most recently amended in 2000) and is the backbone upon which US states manage your wildlife resources. The Pittman Robertson Act (or Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration) established an excise tax on all new firearms AND ammunition that the consumer usually never sees, as it is paid at the manufacturers' level. By the way this act was, and still is, generally supported by the industry (much to their credit). The money all goes into a pot that the Feds then divvy up annually to the States based on a formula that primarily considers the number of hunting licenses sold in each state and each state's acreage. Most hunters know that revenue from their hunting licenses goes toward managing their wildlife resources, but many are not aware that in many cases, just as much, or more of the wildlife management that they see happening in their state is funded through PR funds. It is important for hunters to know about this. More recent legislation (Dingle Johnson {yes, that's really what it's called}) did the same thing with fishing tackle to manage our nation's fisheries.

I didn't see anyone saying it's a new tax. The comment was just on the fact that 406 precision makes it part of the advertised total price.

 

[WillHunt]

Wildrose,
I assume that Delerious was asking about the tax because he visited the website that 406Precision linked, where they say the following:

Bare Rifle Price: $2836.00 This price reflects the base rifle price of 2550.00 and the 11.2% fed tax that is applied to the sale. As a result the package price has also been adjusted from the original price of 3550.00 to reflect this new tax.

 

[delirious]

Wildrose,
I assume that Delerious was asking about the tax because he visited the website that 406Precision linked, where they say the following:

Bare Rifle Price: $2836.00 This price reflects the base rifle price of 2550.00 and the 11.2% fed tax that is applied to the sale. As a result the package price has also been adjusted from the original price of 3550.00 to reflect this new tax.

Yeah, it's my ignorance. Had no idea about taxes on items like this. I do understand now what the tax is for and where it goes. Makes me feel a little better that it goes for conservation. .....and is applicable to all new firearm sales. I think 406precision explained it so that you see what the rifle cost is and what the tax is. Maybe the word new threw me off.