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Good Bolt Rifle and Caliber? Need Schooling.

BDK

BDK

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
143
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1,012
Loc
Kingman, San Diego
I'm interested in getting a bolt rifle. All my rifles are semi-autos, the most accurate being a "Loaded" M1a that is 90% stamped TRW NM parts. It has a 1st gen Springfield 4x14 scope. Fairly accurate but its hard to be consistent over 400 yards.

I've been shooting most of my life. I understand the basics for long range shooting. What I'm asking for are recommendations for brand, model and calibers.

Good rifle, good scope, and a standard widely used caliber with readily available commercial ammo. Would not be opposed to a custom or customized rifle if priced below $3,000 including the scope. Price isn't set, just around where I would like to be. If I'm way off base, I'm sure irate will let me know.

Would be used mostly to maintain proficiency, shooting for fun, and long distance self defense.

Not a rifle hunter. I've hunted, still enjoy bird hunting. Could be if I got hungry.

Building a house on 47 acres with a long view. I can see the approach from a long ways off, almost a mile. Dirt work dude who put in the pad is a long range hunter. He got me thinking about getting something with more distance when he was about the 5th person to remark that a good rifle would make the entire valley inaccessible. I have plans for 100, 300 and 500 yard gong targets that I can shoot at off the side patio, and a pistol range out back. 500 yards is about the max distance I will have there for a range. He recommended 7mm mag or 300 Winmag for calibers. He's a 1,000+ yard elk hunter.

With the way things are going lately, I would like to expand my reach, so to speak.

Recommendations??

Offers to build me something??

Point me in the right direction??
 
Do you reload?

Everybody needs a couple or five, 223 bolt guns. That is the rifle that will get shot the most.

Tikka CTR is the easy button. 223 with 75's can do some neat stuff.

Grab a CTR in .223 and another in a 6.5 creedmor. Then go try an wear them out:flipoff2:
 
Ruger american 7.63x39 - nowhere near your budget but amazingly fun plinkers with pretty cheap ammo and can easily still kill a deer, hog or yote

Something CZ or tikka in 6.5 or 308.

I wouldnt do 7mag or 300wm unless you are hunting something that specifically needs it. You won't shoot it as much do to ammo cost. There aren't many animals in north american that need the extra power
 
Winchester model 70 pre or post 1964 what ever caliber you care for.

Always get a caliber thats widely available.

308, 30/06 a caliber you can find readily.


Ya know a M1 Garand has a bolt, its just semi automatic.
 
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Don't reload.

Currently have semi auto center fire rifles in
.556, 7.62x39 and 7.62x51. Been looking for a decent lever gun in 30-30.

Maybe I should take baby steps and get a .556 or 7.62x39 bolt rifle. Get good at that, then move up if I outgrow it. I have 6,000+ rounds of 7.62x39 Tula and one rifle (AR) in that caliber.
 
BDK said:
Maybe I should take baby steps and get a .556 or 7.62x39 bolt rifle. Get good at that, then move up if I outgrow it.
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Hard to outgrow a .223 but you are correct. Feed it some decent ammo and just learn. You can shoot them way farther than you might think.

7mag, any of the 300's etc are badass, but you wont shoot them as often. Maybe get one of those after you get up to speed?:grinpimp:
 
I have bolt actions in 22, 223, 7.62x39, 308, 30'06

I shoot the 22, x39 and 223 the most, in that order by rounds. 308 is great, but 2x as expensive per round. 30'06 is the same, but even more expensive.
 
As everyone else has stated: 30.06 will be painful to pay for. .223, x39 will be a lot more friendly, and hence, more practice time. Or go with 300 Win Mag, if cost is no issue...
 
Gbkeith said:
You people are boring. Get a 7mm-08 or a .260 rem. If you really want to class the place up get a 6.5x55 Swede. Never shot one but always thought I’d like to.
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Not reloading and having steel hanging up out his back door means no fancy shit:flipoff2:


Swede is a nice round, have not played with mine much. Very soft shooting rifle.
 
Gbkeith said:
You people are boring. Get a 7mm-08 or a .260 rem. If you really want to class the place up get a 6.5x55 Swede. Never shot one but always thought I’d like to.
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It shoots just like a 6.5 creedmoor or a .260 Rem.

OP any of the Mag rounds are a waste for what you want. If youre only planning on shooting 500yds, grab a ruger american or savage or tikka in .223, or .308. All are very capable rifles with a cheap buy in. Theyll all shoot sub moa. $3k on a rifle to shoot 500yds is overkill but you do you. Fwiw your M1a should be more than capable of 500yds
 
I like my 243 as my favorite but it's "old" . The 260 rem is nice as well.

I do what to get a cz trail in 7,62 that would be fun. Not sure what caliber I'd be looking at new. Hornady has some cool newer rounds in the 6mm size.
 
6.5 Carcano. If it's good enough for JFK, it's good enough for you.

Since you already have 308 in your rotation I would look at that. Not as expensive to shoot as the magnums. Will help you get your eye in and decide if long range precision is the thing for you.

Tika, Bergera, CZ, and Sako are guns I would consider. The ruger american is a great budget option, shoots better than it should at that price point.
Unless you want to start with a custom action, I wouldn't bother with a Remington.
Get a nice rifle, then spend about the same or more on glass and start practicing. You'll want to reload for just about anything that fits the bill.
Once you get things where you want them and want to reach out further then you can add something like a 338 Lapua, which costs too much to shoot regularly.
 
I have a Tikka T3 CTR in 6.5CM, (.308, .223 and some other calibers are available), and with a different trigger spring it's damn near as accurate as my match guns. You can also get a Seekins Hit in a variety of calibers for $2100, but that doesn't leave you much for optics.

As others have said, 500yds is really nothing these days. I shot my .223 AR at 980 today, took some wind calls to get impacts, but the bullet got there just fine.

You can get the Tikka and a Vortex Viper PST Gen two and rings for under $2k, and use the rest for ammo and training.
 
FrankenToy said:
As everyone else has stated: 30.06 will be painful to pay for. .223, x39 will be a lot more friendly, and hence, more practice time. Or go with 300 Win Mag, if cost is no issue...
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I shot yesterday with my FFL, and he paid $70 for a box of 20 300WM! No thanks. And even if you do handload it's going to use 3x the powder of my 6GT.
 
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Maybe something in .308 since I already have that caliber and like it. I also like the idea of fewer ammo calibers.

I understand the 6.5 Creedmoor has a slightly better trajectory and less wind drift. These two calibers are priced comparably.

.308, I have about 2,000 rounds of Great Britain surplus ball ammo that's very consistent, and a bunch of misc ammo including 200-300 rounds of match ammo left over front when I was sighting in my M1a. I like my M1a, it's very accurate for a semi auto. I prefer iron sights with it which limits distance.

Pricing 300 WM and 7mm mag, I'm thinking I won't shoot it just because it's so expensive.

I haven't shot long distance in a while because there's few places left in California to go out and shoot. Can't wait to get the Arizona house built.
 
Echoing what others have already said, pick a reputable brand name rifle in .308, put a reputable brand name scope on it, figure out what ammo it likes or develop your own load for it. It'll do what you're asking of it.

I'll say .308 since you already have .308. If you want to add another caliber, you can't really go wrong with any of the other stuff already mentioned.

Maybe a little out of left field solution, but if you already have a bunch of 7.62x39 brass, and reloading is a plan, maybe take a look at 6.5 Grendel. Even during the pandemic shortage, I didn't have any trouble finding steel case Grendel online.

MAC's $1000 1000 yard rifle shows you don't need to spend $3K. Sure there's more, nicer features if you spend more, but it's not necessary.

 
Lee said:
Echoing what others have already said, pick a reputable brand name rifle in .308, put a reputable brand name scope on it, figure out what ammo it likes or develop your own load for it. It'll do what you're asking of it.

I'll say .308 since you already have .308. If you want to add another caliber, you can't really go wrong with any of the other stuff already mentioned.

Maybe a little out of left field solution, but if you already have a bunch of 7.62x39 brass, and reloading is a plan, maybe take a look at 6.5 Grendel. Even during the pandemic shortage, I didn't have any trouble finding steel case Grendel online.

MAC's $1000 1000 yard rifle shows you don't need to spend $3K. Sure there's more, nicer features if you spend more, but it's not necessary.

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6ARC is another option from 6.5G brass with more bullet options and some better (arguable) features. Especially out of AR length mags
 
Surplus ammo, steel case etc etc doesnt scream long range accuracy to me.

Played with the grendel a lil bit. Fun round, would probly do the 6arc if I did it again.

That said, after the new wore off, I went back to shooting the .223's and 243 the most.

Another thought is to grab a Howa barreled action of brownells, a krg bravo chassis and a 10x swfa. While I prefer the tikka, that would also be a solid platform to learn with.
 
Thanks for the info.

I've started bleeding money with my house build. The dirt work just got finished. After I get the approved build permit, an Arizona address, and power to the property, I'll probably be moving there and staying in my RV. Maybe not the best time to order a new rifle, but what the hell.

Maybe a Tikka T3 CTR in .308 and a Vortex Viper PST Gen two scope like Roc Dock mentioned. That would be well under my budget.

Any other suggestions for rifle and scope would be appreciated.
 
Hard to go wrong with the Tikka.

I'm pretty fond of the swfa 6x and 10x scopes. Far from high end stuff but they just work. And you dont need as much magnification as most folks think. A good reticle makes a big difference


If a guy did want more magnification or better glass this is alot of scope for the money. Otherwise I would be going Nightforce
SWFA 5-20x50 SS HD 30mm Riflescope
 
Steve300xcw said:
Surplus ammo, steel case etc etc doesnt scream long range accuracy to me.

Played with the grendel a lil bit. Fun round, would probly do the 6arc if I did it again.

That said, after the new wore off, I went back to shooting the .223's and 243 the most.

Another thought is to grab a Howa barreled action of brownells, a krg bravo chassis and a 10x swfa. While I prefer the tikka, that would also be a solid platform to learn with.
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My Tikka. :grinpimp:
P1070121.JPG
 
BDK said:
Thanks for the info.

I've started bleeding money with my house build. The dirt work just got finished. After I get the approved build permit, an Arizona address, and power to the property, I'll probably be moving there and staying in my RV. Maybe not the best time to order a new rifle, but what the hell.

Maybe a Tikka T3 CTR in .308 and a Vortex Viper PST Gen two scope like Roc Dock mentioned. That would be well under my budget.

Any other suggestions for rifle and scope would be appreciated.
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I hear good things about the Athalon scopes...for the money. They're not Night Force, or Zeiss, or Steiner, but they're 1/3 or less money, but I'm not familiar with the various models. That Vortex scope is on sale at Midway for $660, I think I paid $900 for mine.

Also if you do go Tikka CTR, LMK, I've got two 10 round mags I'm not using as the Bravo chassis uses AICS pattern mags.
 
10x swfa with rings is on sale for $220:flipoff2:

The glass goes downhill fast with any of the 12x-20x fixed scopes. But the 6x and 10x ones are legit
 
Steve300xcw said:
10x swfa with rings is on sale for $220:flipoff2:

The glass goes downhill fast with any of the 12x-20x fixed scopes. But the 6x and 10x ones are legit
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I have two of the 10x side focus mil-quad scopes, so they were more like $400, but yeah they're a good option for the money. I don't use them anymore, and sold one to my FFL, just have gotten used to the variable power scopes.
 
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