quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
138 pages and about 8 yrs of comments,

take your time and read thru it,


also look for some posts by Offgrid, Nikonuser and a few others I am sure I am forgetting

8yrs, man time flies! Thanks for the mention.

I can help with the 2nd price.

Have lots of rounds at and beyond 1000yds. At that distance we're going to see a difference between a built rifle and off the shelf. A custom action, barrel, match chamber is going to highly likely out shoot most factory rilfes at 1000. A 100yd group is really not a indicator it'll shoot at 1000. Better that it does obviously. Rounds on paper at 1000yds is the best way to judge. By a match chamber not meaning it's overly tight. Match chamber is often misunderstood. Freebore is set up better, not jumping the bullet a mile. I've shot matches in rain, mud, dirty dusty conditions, dropped rounds in the mud chamber them... Talcum powder like dust in Albuquerque is something else in 30mph winds. No problems with my chambers.

Caliber. Really no reason to shoot a 308 today, especially for a new to long range at 1000yds. Non reloader 6.5CM is the way to go. I chambered a 6.5CM 11 years ago! Going from a 308 to it, easy to see the the difference in performance on target. I barely knew what I was doing back then, my match scores immediately went up.

So many great options today for a custom build. Can be overwhelming for sure especially if you're looking at Youtube U!! A good bang for the buck is the action is the Bighorn Origin. Going up in price two best actions I've shot that cycle very well is a Lone Peak Fusion and Kelbly Black Bear. I've had Bighorn actions for 10+yrs. 40K+ rds on them. Big part of going with Bighorn is the founder was local to me, shot matches with him, respect him as a fellow human being. If brand X action was local to me, could walk in their shop, probably have that action. Barrels. Bartlien, Kreiger, HawkHill, Brux, RockCreek....are all great cut rifle barrels. Some have their favorite and only use a certain brand. I'll use any of them, get what contour, twist I want that's available. Chassis offer the best adjust-ability. XLR, MPA, MDT.... With these chassis it's a simple drop in. Drop the barreled action in and torque. Triggers. Two stage or single stage. I've been shooting two stage triggers since day one, what I know. CG Extreme for bolt rifle, Geiselle two stage in my AR's. Just like the action and barrel choices, hard to buy a a bad trigger today. Two stage or single stage don't adjust your trigger to its lowest pull weight, on the edge of working. Seen so many trigger problems at matches because of that, then that trigger gets a bad rap. One of the advantages of shooting matches, see stuff fail. Fellow sigforum member jelrod1 has chambered over a dozen barrels for me, all shoot great. Good guy and an excellent machinist.

Food for thought. Over the years I've seen so many guys at ranges shooting their repeater bolt rifles on benches only at paper and steel. Which is cool, they're doing their thing. Carry their stuff from their vehicle to the bench. I helped a guy who I commonly see at my local range put a rifle together. Reloader who shoots from a bench only at 600yds and 1000yds. Put together 28" 6.5x47 on a single shot, perfect for him.

6.5 CM as Fritz/Sig stated.

Price point is going to be $1.5k for gun.
Tikka T3x TactA1

1000 yard range--Granby Mass??

quote:

Originally posted by Nickelsig229:
...it looks like 6.5 cm will be the choice...

...and its pretty much aics or go fish...

Going with 6.5 Creedmoor is likely the easiest part of your decision process. There are many factory ammo loads that shoot well. I went with Hornady from the beginning, due to both availability and price. Your rifle will tell you which ammo choices work best. I do recommend staying with bullets in the 130 to 140 grain ballpark.

I'm uncertain if your AICS comment means Accuracy International rifles or AICS bottom metal & magazines. I don't own AI rifles, but my rifles do use the AICS pattern for bottom metal & mags.

For your lower price range, Tikka should be on the short list. If you decide to go with the $3k rifle budget, options may seem to be overwhelming at first.

You should determine if you want a rifle in the chassis style or the traditional stock style. Review offgrid's comments above on chassis options, as he is more familiar with them than I. A chassis rifle is definitely more adjustable, and the barrel/action drop in is nice. I've shot a fair number of chassis rifles -- they are quite nice when adjusted properly to the shooter.

I prefer traditional fiberglass stocks -- McMillan, Manners, Grayboe. My body mechanics work with such stocks, generally with only a slight cheek riser. Not everyone is so fortunate on the fit. I also find that fiberglass stocks soak up bit more recoil and transmit a bit less noise to me. The first picture is of my 6 Creedmoor, the second is of my 223. The core of these rifles are Defiance action, Grayboe stock & bottom metal, Triggertech trigger, good barrel, good glass, chambered & assembled by a competent gunsmith.





I agree with offgrid's suggestion on a custom build. You determine & buy the components, take them to a good gunsmith. If you don't have a good local 'smith, consider giving SF user "jelrod1" a call. He does outstanding work, and he started the SF thread on Long Range Rifle Discussion.

My first precision rifle was a GA Precision. It's a great gun -- fits me well, shoots well, holding up over time. But using the experience from SF members offgrid & Alpine, and other talented shooters in my neck of the woods, I realized there's nothing magical about GAP and some of the other nationally-known rifle assemblers. They're just using quality components and putting them together properly. With a little time, effort, and research on your part, you can source the components you want. And at the budget you want. You won't have a rifle in your hands next week, but years from now you'll still be shooting the rifle you want.

Great feedback thanks so much guys.

Beautiful guns too.

I definitely like the tikka tac1, all the reviews are nothing other than high praise.

The bergara seem nice as well but I am leaning away from traditional stock.

I'm going to look at customs a bit before I choose anything.

Just wish there was more long range events near me so I could touch and feel before buying.