Need advice on choosing a bolt action rifle

[Salty Possum]

Help on choosing a precision/sniper rifle

I've asked here about AK's and AR's but after thinking it over I want a modern made precision rifle, I own a Mosin Nagant but I want something more modern. What I want basically is a "civilian sniper rifle" (even though I hate that term since a "sniper" is a title for someone with a high skill level and training, but you get the idea). Here are some of the criteria for my search, but feel free to offer other suggestions.

Price: Less than $800

Caliber: .223, 30-06, or .308

Purpose: Tactical

Action: Bolt preferred, but I will consider a semi auto.

Effective range: 500-800 yards max

Magazine: Internal or detachable, if detachable then the magazines must
be reasonably easy to acquire.

Customization level: Decent to high (new stocks, muzzle breaks, bolt handles, etc.)

 

[Leo]

Sounds like a Varmint weight barrel in .308 from Savage or Remington is just what you need. I am personally a WInchester Model 70 man, but I do not think you can find one under $800 anymore. Good Luck

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

Remington 700!! More options than you can shake a stick at. Should be able to pick one up and get good glass for around $800. Check the classifieds, you may be able to get one already decked out, unless of course you want to do all the customization your self.

 

[jackadew]

Does the $800.00 include scope also? If so i would suggest you save another $800.00 for a decent scope. And the most important question is what size target do you want to hit with it at 500 to 800 yards?

 

[teddy12b]

I own a Mosin Nagant but I want something more modern. Sell your mosin with ammo to help fund this rifle. Once you get the new one you'll never go back.

Price: Less than $800

Caliber: .223, 30-06, or .308 What do you intend to shoot? I have a 223 bolt action that is incredibly accurate out to 700 yards, but it's not going to knock down a deer at that range. I have a heavy barreled 30-06 that I bought for long range just to have something different and I wouldn't recommend anybody doing that because the factory match ammo selection is extremely limited, but my handloads should be accurate to around 1300yards using a heavier bullet. The 308 is a great choice if you want a common caliber with all the selection you can shake a stick at.

Purpose: Tactical No it's not. You're going to use this at the range and feel like a bad @$$ when you show your friends. You're not going out for weeks on end for a sniper mission. Just be honest with yourself.

Action: Bolt preferred, but I will consider a semi auto. Semi auto precision costs more than your $800 budget. I know that sucks and I really wish it wasn't true myself, but life is what it is.

Effective range: 500-800 yards max This can be done with a 223, but you need to ask yourself what you want done when the bullet hits at 800 yards. Do you want to punch paper, ring steel, take wild game?

Magazine: Internal or detachable, if detachable then the magazines must
be reasonably easy to acquire. You're not going to have reliable detachable 10rd mags in this price range. It's a costly feature to add another 4 or 5 rounds to the capacity of a bolt gun.

Customization level: Decent to high (new stocks, muzzle breaks, bolt handles, etc.)

If you want to customize the rifle then I'd lean towards remington because they have way more options out there for stocks. If you can live with a Bell and Carlson "Medalist" or "Duramaxx" stock then I think you'd be far better off buying a heavy barreled savage, because I think they are consistantly more accurate out of the box than a remington.

In the less than $800 price range for the package you're going to be looking at a $150 (ebay) bushnell 3200 10X scope because that's the cheapest reliably tracking scope on the market. That's going to leave you $650 for the rifle, rings, and scope base. Rings are going to be around $50, and the base will be around another $50 which leaves you with $550 for the rifle give or take. In that price range you're going to be able to buy a new rifle if you find a great deal, but you're not going to have any $$ left over to change a stock or buy any ammo.

Hopefully this helps some. Don't be discouraged because I have built several great precision packages in that price range. You can do it, you're just going to have to plan it out very well.

 

[lucky4034]

I love how everyone suggests people new to long range shooting to get a $800 scope.... I understand that if you are going to get serious and get the most out of your gun, than a nightforce is what you will want... but how about you save the money and get a decent $150 - $250 scope and see if you want to go further?

I just got a Remington 700 in .243 for NIB from Wally World on sale for $350 (it was a 2006 model they wanted off the shelf). Next stop a $350 Vortex Viper.

Total $700....

Once I get the vortex I'll start shooting at 200yds... then once I get decent, consistent groups, I'll go out to 300yds and so on and so forth. If I find that the scope is holding me back and not my trigger skills and IF I still love long range shooting, then I will think about throwing down for a $1000 scope.

My guess is that I the Vortex will out perform me for a long time...

 

[jayhawk]

Does the $800.00 include scope also? If so i would suggest you save another $800.00 for a decent scope. And the most important question is what size target do you want to hit with it at 500 to 800 yards?

Just know up front that glass is most likely going to be your biggest single expense, and may end up costing more than the rifle. An FFP scope with a MIL or MOA reticle allows for easy holdover at any magnification, which directly translates into lots of fun. If you don't have a ton of money for an optic, I'd go with a quality 10x fixed scope.

As for the rifle itself, I like both the Remington 700 and Savage in your price range. I built my current "sniper rifle" with a Savage 10 PC .308 and a Vortex 6-24 optic...really fun combo to shoot. Granted, I have well over $2k in it, but the base rifle was $800. The accu-stock on the Savage leaves a little to be desired (as with most rifles in this price range), but the trigger is quite nice. With a short (heavy contour) barrel, you lose a little velocity, but you save some weight and don't give up anything in the way of accuracy. It's a nice compromise.

The Remington action is supposedly a little faster, but I personally can't detect the difference, while the Savage has (what I think is) a nicer stock trigger. Remington has a bit better aftermarket support, but there are more and more options for Savage available all the time.

Be prepared to budget a bit of money for some set up and cleaning supplies if you don't already have them:
- a bore guide is critical - I recommend the Lucas bore guide
- a GOOD cleaning rod - I use Bore Tech and am very happy with the quality
- scope level
- torque wrench

 

[teddy12b]

Lucky brings up a great point and it's the same reason I mentioned the $150 scope off of ebay.

My 223 bolt action is capable of 1/2" or less and hits steel out to 700 yards.
It's a savage 10FP-SR I bought new off gunbroker for $450 shipped & FFL'd. I put a DNZ gamereaper one piece mount on it for $65 or so and then a $150 Bushnell. Totaled up it's less than $800. That was almost a year ago. Recently I just added a B&C medalist to it and I haven't even gotten to shoot it with that stock yet.

If you were going to be buying another precision rifle, then sure spend the big bucks and get the best you can, but the impression I get is that this is your first precision rifle and quite frankly you need to learn the game a little more before you dump all kinds of money into a pit that you may not like.

 

[jayhawk]

Lucky brings up a great point and it's the same reason I mentioned the $150 scope off of ebay.

My 223 bolt action is capable of 1/2" or less and hits steel out to 700 yards.
It's a savage 10FP-SR I bought new off gunbroker for $450 shipped & FFL'd. I put a DNZ gamereaper one piece mount on it for $65 or so and then a $150 Bushnell. Totaled up it's less than $800. That was almost a year ago. Recently I just added a B&C medalist to it and I haven't even gotten to shoot it with that stock yet.

If you were going to be buying another precision rifle, then sure spend the big bucks and get the best you can, but the impression I get is that this is your first precision rifle and quite frankly you need to learn the game a little more before you dump all kinds of money into a pit that you may not like.

I think this is good advice, esp if your total budget is in the $800 range. The Savage platform is cost effective and worthy of some upgrades if you want to go that route later on, and the previously mentioned Bushnell 3200 seems very cost effective as well.

I'll just add that if you go with a Savage .308 with a detachable magazine, Darkeagle custom makes 10rd mags for about $90 each. Not exactly dirt cheap, but that's about as inexpensive as you'll find a 10rd detachable magazine. Probably more tacticool than practical (how many rounds of .308 do you really need to send down range at a time), but it's worth considering if you're looking at the various Savage models.

 

[Titanium Man]

You can get a good model Savage with the Accu-Trigger, and I'd suggest DNZ mounts for you scope, and you'll be all set.


http://www.dnzproducts.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=4

 

[kawtech87]

Savage Arms

Here you go. Ready to go out of the box available in .308 includes scope $795 MSRP.

Everything you really need.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Love my Savage 10FP. It's .223 its the basic model 10fp synthetic stock (the cheap one). You can get the 10FP in .223 or .308 and one of three options on the stock--the standard syn, choat, McMillon. All's you'll need is some good glass.

 

[Kenny87ky]

was going to suggest one of the new Winchester model 70s till I read tactical, in that case savage or Remington.

 

[cartmanfan15]

I would recommend Remington 700 in .308. I have one and I love it.

 

[headleyj]

Browning a-bolt II medallion. Detachable mag from floorplate, adj, clean and crisp trigger, got mine for 650 new. Have one in 308 and 22-250, love, em! CZ and Savage was my next choice.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Savage Arms

Here you go. Ready to go out of the box available in .308 includes scope $795 MSRP.

Everything you really need.

What's this mean though?

"Available only outside of United States Market"

 

[kawtech87]

What's this mean though?

"Available only outside of United States Market"

Oops I must have copied the wrong link without noticing

Try this one

Savage Arms

They are the same rifle IDK why one is only avaiable outside the USA. I didnt even realize.

Sorry.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Oops I must have copied the wrong link without noticing

Try this one

Savage Arms

They are the same rifle IDK why one is only avaiable outside the USA. I didnt even realize.

Sorry.

That's weird... looks the same to me too!

 

[avboiler11]

A shooter will never, EVER regret spending money on quality optics.

NEVER.

That said, there's absolutely no need to spend Schmidt & Bender money, or Nightforce money, or even Viper PST money to get a good quality riflescope. There are plenty of sub-$500 scopes that are very good "entry level" long range optics, including the Vortex Viper mentioned multiple times upthread.

My first "precision" rifle was a cobbled-together Savage 110 wearing a 260 Remington prefit; my scope was a Nikon Buckmaster 5-20x44 I bought off eBay for $350. And that was a great scope, better than the best scope most gun owners will ever own.

But when I sold it to finance a Bushnell Elite 4200 Tactical 6-24x50, I knew I'd never miss the Nikon the first time I shot the Bushy. I've slowly started shifting all my optics to mil/mil, and found I absolutely love first focal plane optics.

My standing recommendation for an "entry level precision/tactical rifle" is this:

Remington 700 AAC-SD or Tactical in 223/308, or Savage 10FP-SR in the same calibers.
Weaver or EGW 20MOA scope base
Burris XTR rings
Bushnell 3200 Tactical 10x40 mil/mil (alternately, Weaver GS Tactical 3-10x40 mil/mil or SWFA SS 12/16x)

Fact of the matter is a 223 can easily do <600yd shooting, and do it very accurately and much cheaper than any 308 by using Hornady 75gr Steel Match ammo.

 

[ngroark]

remington 700 with varmint contour barrel and chambered in .308 win.
look at it this way if you don't like it...
you can always sell it for less than you paid for it.