Well, I'm sure you (or anyone in this subforum) would out-shoot me, no matter the rifle or caliber. I don't get to practice nearly as much as I'd like. And I do understand the Pandora's Box I've opened up. Not that anyone here is opinionated.

Offgrid, from the pic you posted in the Long Range Rifle Discussion - is that up 285? Looks familiar.

Range covered in snow? Chaffee county DOW range. 12-13 miles south of Buena Vista. Haven’t shot there much in the last few years. Range previously went out to 1020yds. DOW now only allows to 610. Also I now have access to a private ranch, lots of steel, max 2650. After gaining access to the ranch, I considered building a big gun, 338LM Ackley Improved. Cost per shot kept me away, not practical! And a 7saum gets me out far enough. A friend built a 338AI on a single shot Barnard action, very nice action. He’s launching 300gr Berger Hybrids at 3000fps. It shoots very well, it’s a handful even for an experienced shooter. 338AI is about 250-300 faster then a standard 338LM with the 300gr Bergers. 338LM I believe is one of those outdated calibers, doesn’t have the boiler room to take advantage of bullets like the 300gr Berger. Step down to a 250gr bullet, 300 Norma Mag better ballistics by a fair margin.

I.T. It's good to ask around in case there is something you've missed ... but it seems to me, like you want, or at least what you think you want ... it sounds like you've done some research, and you've been saving up to make the purchase.
Maybe you are seeking validation or confirmation that you're making the right decision.

A lot of the suggestions you're getting are from people that have been down the road you're looking at, and they are giving you sound advise based on their experience ... a lot of that is substantial.

Personally I wouldn't buy a large caliber rifle intended to shoot 1000 yards, only to shoot mostly at 100 to 300 yards. I still do most of my 100 to 300 yard shooting with 223, or if I'm shooting 25 - 50 a 22, on in the basement with a BB gun as these allow me to shoot all day, and they allow me to work on my fundamentals.

But I'm not you.

My advise is to get what you want, and shop around, make sure you're getting a good deal.

If you don't get what you want, you may not be satisfied and you'll be wondering "What if?" Or you'll try making it into what you want; neither of which are satisfying if you still have the itch for what you wanted in the first place.

Buy quality, but dont over pay.
That way when you get into it and if you find its not all that you hoped for, Or if 5 to 10 rounds a day is all you want to shoot a day, Or if the cost per round ends up preventing you from shooting it as much as you'd like ... Or ... Or ... Or
(there are lots of "OR's", some you may not even be aware of yet)

But if you buy quality, and you buy a factory gun*, you wont loose too much (if anything) if you decide to get out of it for something that is a refined idea of what you want.

I've found the best experience comes from making a decision, follow through with it and evaluate. If necessary, start over, make another decision ...

(Edit to add; WoW, this is longer than I intended)

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
...But if you buy quality, and you buy a factory gun*, you wont loose too much (if anything) if you decide to get out of it for something that is a refined idea of what you want. ...

This is actually something I thought abut but didn't put in my criteria here.

Just a couple personal opinions that may be relevant here:

I found that I MUCH prefer a std stock pattern for shooting off a front rest and rear bag than either the older AI pattern stock or the new AIX pattern. I have a 4 Accuracy International stocks and have replaced a couple of them with Manners MCS-PRS and MCS-PRS2 stocks. I find the Manners stocks to be much more comfortable to shoot off the bags. On the other hand if I were shooting mainly from prone and rough field positions the AIX stocks might prove superior. Since most of my shooting is done from the bench and/or off of rests I generally prefer the Manners stocks. I'm not saying one is definitely superior to the other in all situations, it depends on how you shoot. If possible try shooting both types of stocks the way you shoot to see which fits your preferences better.

If you are going to want to shoot a lot a 6.5 CreedMoor will do everything the OP mentioned with far less muss and fuss. I enjoy shooting the 338Lapua and have a few of them, but they aren't a rifle I want to spend shooting a couple hundred rounds through in an afternoon. Even if you can afford the extra ammo cost and you have a great muzzle brake for the recoil the muzzle blast can wear on you. The 300 mags fall into the same issues to a lesser degree.

Another NICE thing about the 6.5 CreedMoor is that it's a more mature round with LOTS of great brass for it. I was disappointed with the Brass Quality with the first lots of 300PRC and 65PRC brass I had (Hornady). I hope to lay in supplies of better brass for both as it becomes available but for me crappy brass is a real limitation for Accuracy rifles.

That 6BR mentioned earlier looks pretty sexy! :-)

I think Kimberkid made an important point about buying a quality factory rifle. You could buy say a Tikka Tac A1 in 6.5 CreedMoor, shoot it for as much as a couple thousand rounds and still sell it for near what you bought it for. You could pay $5000 for a full blown Custom rifle shoot it 10 rounds and unless you find someone that wants the EXACT same custom you want you are not going to be able to resell your rifle for NEAR what you paid unless you are damn lucky. Custom rifles are for you to get exactly what YOU want you can't expect somebody else to pay as much for the same thing. I've had a LOT of experience with this.

Practical advice is to buy a nice factory gun and shoot it until you know EXACTLY what you want and enjoy shooting it until your custom gun get built. Then keep or sell your factory gun.

I can recommend an EXCELLENT Custom rifle maker if you just want to go ahead and pull the trigger on an all out rig. :-)

I liked the G.A. Precision recommendation myself. Can get a great custom rifle for a very good price. Something like their AR-10 or a M40 clone or sorts.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I liked the G.A. Precision recommendation myself. Can get a great custom rifle for a very good price. Something like their AR-10 or a M40 clone or sorts.

A Name Brand Custom Like G.A. Precision, especially if it's one of their standard models will also hold its value more than a pure Custom built by a lesser known Smith.......

Well, I finally "pulled the trigger" and got my rifle. I went with a Tikka T3x TAC AI in 6.5 Creedmoor with a 24" barrel. I put a Vortex Razor Gen II 4.5-27x56 optic with a Spuhr mount on it. Atlas bipod.

I got it out to the range on Saturday. Once it was on paper and zeroed, I was shooting 1/2 MOA groups. To say I went home with a smile on my face would be an understatement!

Ammo is a little hard to find (like everything). Powder and primers are impossible. But I'm patient.

I mounted the scope and zeroed all by myself. That was satisfying, and I really enjoyed it.