NoSoup

Heya folks -

Earlier today I went shooting, and although I have done extensive trap and pistol shooting in the past, I have had nominal (read:no) experience with rifles.

I went with a friend who brough along his.... rifle. (30-6... accumark?) and as it turns out, I'm a bit of a crackshot. I guess all those FPS games payed off.

Although I've never fired a scoped rifle before (pretty much only .22 plinking) I helped him get his scope calibrated, and pretty soon it was dead on. I was consistantly hitting a bulleye from 100 yards with my grouping less than 1/4 of an inch a part, which is very good, from my understanding.

Not all that surprisingly, I'm now in the market for a rifle, but know very little about them. I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive, but can be flexible - but it needs to be accurate. It was quite the feeling to see how accurate it was, and I want my own

Additionally, I'm likely going to need a pretty decent scope, the one we used at 9x zoom on it, but I want something more powerful for longer shots.

For what it's worth, I don't hunt, just target practice....

Thanks for your help!

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Just in case you were wondering...

Jaegyr

start off considering the caliber u want and the uses for it. jsut shooting i recommend light calibers but any real hunting application comes with alot of different variables. second off start thinking of brands and models for pure accuracy think savage,winchester,weatherby i do NOT recommend any of the newer cheaper remingtons out there. my preferred all around caliber is .270 win 130 gr its fun to shoot will take most american big game and is extremely accurate.

NoSoup

As far as caliber is concerned, I was leaning towards the .308, but of course, I'm open to suggestions

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Just in case you were wondering...

Crompsin

BOLT ACTION: Savage makes excellent budget bolt rifles that are extremely durable and reasonably accurate. The Savage accu-trigger is sweet, too. Calibers range from .223 to as big as you need. .30-06, .308, or .270 (as mentioned) will pretty much bag anything useful in the US.

I have a Savage Scout (10FCM). 18" bbl in .308. Handy little piece.

I've always been partial to Swift optics. Perhaps more so than optics... getting a good strong scope mount and rings is crucial to good accuracy.

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Jaegyr

hes right alot of fine guns/shooters are held back by subpar optics. 308 is also a fine fine gun well rounded and accurate as all hell in the hands of a master. and i cant say a bad thing about a savage.

TodMaschinen

Remington 700s make awesome target/sniper rifles, I have a 700 Sendero SF in .308, free-floated, fluted barrel with a Leupold VXIII 6.5-20x40mm. Highly accurate 500-1000 yard rifle, .300 ultra mag would be better if you want serious power at 1,000yds but .308 works. The Leupold is an expensive scope, $600-900 and higher, depending on what you want but absolutely worth every penny. If you want a rifle that you know you can shoot accurately at serious distance, even if you normally don't (like me...hehe) Remington makes some very fine rifles, and like mentioned before, there are so many good rifles that are undercut by poor optics, so spring for a good scope at least.

sjb

I'm going to have to agree with a couple of the other guys here... Savage is definitely my suggestion. I think they have the highest accuracy for the $$. I've got the 10FP-LE2A. I don't think it qualifies as inexpensive, but it's a hell of a rifle.
To get a good rifle/scope match, expect to spend as much on the optics as you do on the rifle.

Jaegyr

model 12 BVSS or FVSS my personal suggestion theres a couple choate stocked ones that are pretty finethe only gun i do not recommend is a remington. sorry todmaschinen, most of the remingtons i deal with anymore are pieces of crap compared to what it was 15 years ago. unless ur goin for one of the higher end ones. and also since we are on the subject of extreme accuracy are you willing to reload?

Bear Cub

Another vote for something Remington 700 based.

longbough

Make that one more.
solid rifle

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Fire

I admit to having a huge soft spot for the .303 SMLE rifle- have handled a few and it is just a sweeeet piece of shooting history- i will one day soon add one to my arsenal- surplus rifles are available and cheap still though the ammo price is about the same now as any deer rifle.......

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Crompsin

Oh, yes! The Enfield.

I've got two of those monsters laying around somewhere.

Yes, once again... the ammo issue was what first came to mind.

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MSD

Ruger 77/44 Silent Destroyer ... but seriously, Remington 700 is the way to go.

Crompsin

"Phased plasma rifle in 40 watt range."

Okay, seriously...

Savage, Winchester, and Remington for new pieces.

Nagant, Enfield, and Mauser for surplus pieces.

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C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

Jaegyr

mauser action, remington stock, savage barrel, savage trigger.

DuneHunter

How'd you make out NoSoup? The other thing you haven't mentioned is what you plan to use the rifle for? If just targeting, a lighter caliber would work fine. If you like to target, then you'll most likely get into longer ranges as the level of difficulty goes up with distance. Anything from a .17HMR to a .243 would be fun for that. Basically your "varmit" calibers. I lean towards the .223 myself being ex-military (M-16 caliber). But a 30-06 isn't bad for an all around rifle either. They used them for snipers in Nam so you know they have the ability to be accurate. It really all depends on what you want to use it for. Let us know...

P.S. If you want to have fun on the target range, a new in-line muzzleloader isn't a bad way to go either. ;-)

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NoSoup

Still hunting around for my next purchase...

I'll be using it exclusively for target practice, I don't much get into hunting...

Too much work. Instead of stalking my prey for hours on end, killling it, dragging it miles out of the forest, gutting/skinning it, and then somehow making it into edible chunks, I'd rather just go to the local grocery store

Dune - I was looking at the .223 as well, but I'm concerned about accuracy at long distances (300 yardsish, possibly longer) How does the .223 fare at that range?

Thanks for all the reply's folks, I't definately helping me narrow down my choices

__________________
I have an aura of reliability and good judgement.

Just in case you were wondering...

Crompsin

.223 is good for target practice.

__________________
C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

Bear Cub

A good .223 is routinely used for cross the course matches, i.e, they're still very competitive from 200-600 yards.

Anxst

.223 Is plenty good out to 500 yards, from my experience. I'd prefer a .308 myself, but I'm a big guy and tend towards heavier rifles just as personal preference. Beyond 500 yards, I'd switch to a .30-06, but again, that's just me.

Are you a member of a range somewhere? Ask around, see if someone has a .223 you can take a few shots with just to see how you like the caliber.

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Jaegyr

.223 is fine for most target longer range stuff, at around 300 yards it should shine. and the ammo is cheap (comparatively) shot a target 22mag the other day and was picking off groundsquirrels out to 200 yards (got a new fav over the 17hmr now) that thing was freakin accurate as all hell. it was a marlin 22mag with stainless bull timmy trigger (sp) and a nikon prostaff scope.

DEI37

I don't know much about guns, but what are y'all's thoughts on the 7mm-08? I have a Savage, and haven't shot it yet.

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MSD

Very undderrated. The rifle was really tailored to the cartridge rather than simply being built to shoot it. You get comparable velocity to a 30-06 with a nice, flat trajectory in a lightweight package.

flstf

I have the most fun plinking with my Colt AR-15 (223). If I had some extra money I would get one of the 50 cal rifles like Barret or Grizzly before they are banned.

Jaegyr

love the 7mm-08 great rifle underappreciated...

DEI37

Well, then...I'll just have to get out and put some rounds through it. I'm irritated that I haven't yet.

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Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

desal75

You will love the Savage and you will love the 7mm-08

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Crompsin

Get yourself a nice AK. .223 is a good choice if you don't like buying 7.62x39.

__________________
C19H28O2 = C6H2(NO2)3CH3

All your base are belong to us.

DEI37

I've got a Savage .22, and I love that thing. Never had any issues related to the gun. Cartridges, yes, but not the gun.

__________________
Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.