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Good Bolt Rifle and Caliber? Need Schooling.

BMAN said:
For $3K you can easily get a good 1000-yard rifle. I have taken multiple sub $1000 rifles to 1000 yards. A lot comes down to the right optic,cal, and ammo choice. I am a big fan of 6.5 CM, .308 Win, and .300 Win mag choices. Quality ammo is available, and as someone else stated, picking a good bullet with a high BC will make a big difference. I have a Riton 7 Conquer 3-24X50 on a .308 and a Riton 5 Conquer 5-25X56 on a 6.5 CM. $ for $, these scopes provide many quality features for your money. Some of my more accurate and reasonably priced rifles are multiple Bergara's, Remington 700 AAC-SD, Winchester Pre-64 Model 70, and Tikka.
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How long ago did you purchase this pre-64 model 70 that it was reasonably priced? 1958?
 
Steve300xcw said:
Everybody brings up the pre64's but when was the last time you saw a m70 being built for a long range gun?
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I have a pre 64, from my small amount of research, they are finicky to screw torque.
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308 norma magnum, the first wildcat to go commercial. I don't shoot it either :homer:
 
I went up to a guys house who was selling rifles on craigslist. Wasnt even interested in what he had for sale, but there was a lawson in the background of the pic. Fucker wouldnt sell it to me:laughing: I did leave with 2 others that I didnt know I needed:homer:
 
Old Winchesters are cool, but they’re not going to shoot like the modern rifles already listed. If you could take a Time Machine back and buy 100 model 70’s in 1963 there might be a few where all the tolerances were stacked just right that would really shoot out of the box. And that was ok, because the glass sucked and nobody really expected a 1000 yard gun.
 
How about this for a reasonable price"? My Father-In-Law (who just passed) found this at a garage sale, brand spanking new! He asked the lady selling it how much. She said $400 but said she'd take $350, he said how about $450? This Belgium Browning BLR .308 Win shoots 1 MOA! I have about 40 rounds through it, and my FIL would hunt with it whenever the opportunity presented itself. I had a fixed power optic on it, but to really help with accuracy, I jumped up to a Riton Optics 1 Primal 4-12X50 With an MOA reticle for bullet drops. It is now one of those sentimental guns I look forward to passing to my Son.

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Still have ammo in the local Walmart. I can't remember if I saw any firearms, however...
 
I finally got around to shooting this. Nice little rifle. Did my barrel break in procedure, and sighted in the scope at 50 yards. Last three rounds were all touching. Then shot two rounds at a white faced rock about 400 yards away. Two hits. Called it good. Need to work on my breathing. Was using Federal XM193 55 grain FMJ boat-tail. Seemed to be consistent for what I was doing.

I was using a 12" square 3/8" thick tempered plate with painted circles on it for a target. I've shot it a bunch of times with same ammo but with semi-autos. It dents it, but doesn't go through. Almost every round from the bolt rifle went right through the plate. Guess it's 1/2" thick AR500 time. I think I will get three 10" round targets on T-post mounts. Place them at 100, 300 and 500 yards out. If I can hit a 10" target at 500 yards, I can hit about anything worth shooting.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. The only thing I adjusted on the rifle was the trigger. I kept anticipating it breaking sooner and would flinch. I lightened the trigger one full turn and got much more consistent. It's my inexperience with bolt guns, along with the trigger weight and short travel.
 
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BDK said:
I finally got around to shooting this. Nice little rifle. Did my barrel break in procedure, and sighted in the scope at 50 yards. Last three rounds were all touching. Then shot two rounds at a white faced rock about 400 yards away. Two hits. Called it good. Need to work on my breathing. Was using Federal XM193 55 grain FMJ boat-tail. Seemed to be consistent for what I was doing.

I was using a 12" square 3/8" thick tempered plate with painted circles on it for a target. I've shot it a bunch of times with same ammo but with semi-autos. It dents it, but doesn't go through. Almost every round from the bolt rifle went right through the plate. Guess it's 1/2" thick AR500 time. I think I will get three 10" round targets on T-post mounts. Place them at 100, 300 and 500 yards out. If I can hit a 10" target at 500 yards, I can hit about anything worth shooting.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. The only thing I adjusted on the rifle was the trigger. I kept anticipating it breaking sooner and would flinch. I lightened the trigger one full turn and got much more consistent. It's my inexperience with bolt guns, along with the trigger weight and short travel.
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Lol. Barrel break in. Make sure you give it a thorough cleaning.
 
Get into a better quality ammo and you will be even more impressed. Look for 69, 75 or 77g BTHP match ammo. XM193 is cheap and good for blasting, but it's not exactly precision ammo
 
Aisin said:
Lol. Barrel break in. Make sure you give it a thorough cleaning.
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I don't buy rifles very often, but I always break in new barrels. I'm sure most think it's unnecessary, but it's something I like to do. Fire one round, clean barrel x 10. Fire three rounds, clean barrel x 3. Fire five rounds, clean barrel x 1. If groupings are tight after any of the three round sets, I stop. I stopped the break in after the first set of three because the grouping was tight with cheap ammo. Break in does a few things for me; It gets me to slow down, and it gets me and the rifle used to each other.
Roc Doc said:
Get into a better quality ammo and you will be even more impressed. Look for 69, 75 or 77g BTHP match ammo. XM193 is cheap and good for blasting, but it's not exactly precision ammo
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I know. You are into long distance and tight groupings. I'm more into consistently hitting a 10" target at 500 yards. I'm sure I'll progress as I have more time to spend. I'll pick up a few boxes of match ammo soon. As is, I'm focusing on building my house, then I can really start enjoying country living.
 
BDK said:
I don't buy rifles very often, but I always break in new barrels. I'm sure most think it's unnecessary, but it's something I like to do. Fire one round, clean barrel x 10. Fire three rounds, clean barrel x 3. Fire five rounds, clean barrel x 1. If groupings are tight after any of the three round sets, I stop. I stopped the break in after the first set of three because the grouping was tight with cheap ammo. Break in does a few things for me; It gets me to slow down, and it gets me and the rifle used to each other.

I know. You are into long distance and tight groupings. I'm more into consistently hitting a 10" target at 500 yards. I'm sure I'll progress as I have more time to spend. I'll pick up a few boxes of match ammo soon. As is, I'm focusing on building my house, then I can really start enjoying country living.
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The conventional thinking on XM193 is that it is 2-3 MOA ammo, so unless you got luck and are shooting 2MOA, you are not going to hit that 10" plate at 500yds consistently. You can get Privi Partisan 69g or 75g match ammo for $0.75 or maybe even a bit less. I use that exact ammo in my 24" AR and can shoot under 2MOA NP, so your bolt gun should be able to do that or even better.
 
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I read Roc Docs last post and ordered 200 rounds of Hornady Black 75g BTHP Match. See if the rifle likes that. I also ordered 1500 rounds of Lake City SS109 green tip ammo, some .308, .357 and .45ACP. I have an address in Arizona so I can ship ammo here and leave it here before the house gets built. I get a little freedom and "invest" in stuff I can't easily get in Kalifornia. I can't be trusted, obviously.
 
BDK said:
I read Roc Docs last post and ordered 200 rounds of Hornady Black 75g BTHP Match. See if the rifle likes that. I also ordered 1500 rounds of Lake City SS109 green tip ammo, some .308, .357 and .45ACP. I have an address in Arizona so I can ship ammo here and leave it here before the house gets built. I get a little freedom and "invest" in stuff I can't easily get in Kalifornia. I can't be trusted, obviously.
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Welcome to the rabbit hole!
 
Roc Doc said:
Welcome to the rabbit hole!
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Yeah, no shit. I just dropped twice what the rifle and scope costs in ammo purchases. It will last me a long time.

When I get down to about 1,000 rounds of any rifle caliber, or .45 ACP, or if there is deal, or if I'm finally able to purchase without government intervention, or if I'm worried about the state of things, I start looking to add to the stock.

All of the above
 
BDK said:
Yeah, no shit. I just dropped twice what the rifle and scope costs in ammo purchases. It will last me a long time.

When I get down to about 1,000 rounds of any rifle caliber, or .45 ACP, or if there is deal, or if I'm finally able to purchase without government intervention, or if I'm worried about the state of things, I start looking to add to the stock.

All of the above
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Save your brass and start buying powder, primers and bullets as you can. I still buy loaded ammo, mostly 9mm, but I've got enough components to load 50,000 rounds (a combo of) .223, 6GT, 6ARC and 6.5CM, which could last me the rest of my life unless things go really sideways.

If you're looking for long term storage, PMC and some others sell ammo sealed in Tyvek type bags, they call 'em battle packs.
 
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