Advice needed.

[Lakie]

I bought a 700P about a year ago and have spent the past year getting started learning about the different aspects of precision rifle, reloading and practical/tactical shooting. I knew getting started that this was going to be a REAL learning experience, but looking back now I had no idea. I chose the 700P because it was a decent factory rifle that is known to shoot factory Fed GMM well. This meant that I could buy ammunition to get started until I got the hang of reloading and finding what my rifle likes. I have only been to local shooting ranges and have never been to a match.

I am starting to think about upgrading my equipment and start getting more serious. I am sure that there are many quality rifles from numerous builders. I am not really asking for opinions of which one is the "best", however I would like to limit the amount of money that I spend by getting a new rifle only to realize next year that I would have been better suited with another choice. I also don't want to neglect the option of truing and re-barreling the rifle that I have.

I have been lurking around here for a while and I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge flowing around by this group. I would like to hear what advice you would give to a guy like me; with the knowledge you have now.

Thanks in advance!

 

[308Shooter1911]

What is your budget? You can get a GREAT deal on an Accuracy International right now with the new models being introduced in January. Also rebarreling and truing is not a bad option either. If done by a qualified gunsmith you can easily get a consistent half MOA rifle out of it.

 

[Smooth73]

I think alot depends on what you're looking to do. I'm thinking bang for the buck here, so it hear me out. If you want to spend the money investing in the rifle you have, you can get a really good rifle but it will cost some money. You could spend possibly a little more money and start with a different caliber/platform that will give you better results down the road depending on how far you want to take it. For example, you could spend $1400 and get a complete custom build (without optics) that would be pretty amazing out of the gate. Or you could invest 3/4 of that into the one you have and have a rifle that would get you close. I hope that makes sense. It all starts with the caliber and build from there, keeping your personal goals in mind.

 

[Equus]

If you are wanting to get a new rifle, just as an excuse to get another, then there is nothing wrong with that. If you are like me, (not a lot of unaccounted for money lying around) then you could continue to keep sharpining your skills with what you have and learn to do the accurizing work youself. Most of it isn't real hard if you possess any mechanical skills at all. I just bought a Rem 700 SPS Varmint, sometime in the future I will do the upgrades that will make it outstanding, if it isn't already. I will be going to zero and give it's first trial tomorrow, if it runs good I'll do all the stock work first, if it needs some accuracy improvement I'll save up for the action and barrel work first. Either way I'll have fun as I love working on guns and shooting them.

 

[SuburbanHick]

first you have to figure out EXACTLY what you want out of this rifle..... then you see where you are (sitting on a 700P)... and will that 700P fill that roll???? if not what do you have to do to the 700P to get it to do what you want... I started with a sps varmint in 308.... now its blueprinted and rebarreled with a bartlein sitting in a xlr with a nightforce and a timney... I wanted a 1k rifle that I could hunt with... I ended up with a 16lb deer rifle that bangs steel at 1k...

find out your budget..... exceed it by 10-15% per part.... build it once.. cry once... in the end... you will have a tailor build rifle for what YOU want/ need...

just my .02

 

[Lakie]

What is your budget? You can get a GREAT deal on an Accuracy International right now with the new models being introduced in January. Also rebarreling and truing is not a bad option either. If done by a qualified gunsmith you can easily get a consistent half MOA rifle out of it.

I have thought about this myself. Every rifle that I have used has had a traditional stock, I have never shot a "chassis" rifle before. What are some the pros and cons of the chassis rifle? I really like what I have read about their functionality and the fact that I can work on them myself. If I choose to go this route should it be in .308, .260 or 6.5CM? I guess all I would need to do is change barrels to change caliber with this set-up?

 

[308Shooter1911]

I have thought about this myself. Every rifle that I have used has had a traditional stock, I have never shot a "chassis" rifle before. What are some the pros and cons of the chassis rifle? I really like what I have read about their functionality and the fact that I can work on them myself. If I choose to go this route should it be in .308, .260 or 6.5CM? I guess all I would need to do is change barrels to change caliber with this set-up?

Like you I started out with a Remington 700. I pour lots of money, everything short of having it trued and rebarrelled, in an attempt to get her to shoot like the mall ninjas said she would out of box. Now, when I look back at the money I put into that 700, I could have bought a high end rifle and been done. I don't regret it, because it made me value my AI more when I got it. As far as "Chassis" rifles. The AI's, Sako's, DTA's etc are purpose built around their respective chassis, so there are no Con's per say. With the AI's the only complaint I have heard is people don't like the thumbhole. This can be resolved with after market skins. I haven't done much research on the Sako's so I don't know much about their drawbacks. Some have claimed to have problems out of the box with DTA's, but nothing that wasn't resolved by the company.

As far as caliber, do you reload? If so I would go 6.5 Creedmoor. If you don't, I would go .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, then 260 in that order, because of the availability of factory ammunition. If your 700 shoots decent, I would go with a 6.5/260 Caliber. One needs to have a decent 308 in their arsenal, just my opinion. Barrel swapping with any AI is simple and does not require a gunsmith, which was one of my reasons for going with the platform. I am actually considering a second AI in 6.5 Creedmore rather that swapping barrels because the local matches in which I would use a 308 and 6.5 are too close together in the months for me to swap barrels, re-zero, etc.

 

[308Shooter1911]

Now that I think about it, just go 6.5 Creedmoor. You won't regret it.

 

[Lakie]

"I pour lots of money, everything short of having it trued and rebarrelled, in an attempt to get her to shoot like the mall ninjas said she would out of box. Now, when I look back at the money I put into that 700, I could have bought a high end rifle and been done."

That is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks to everyone for your help. Who has the best deal on an AE MKIII? Would you consider .243?

 

[308Shooter1911]

"I pour lots of money, everything short of having it trued and rebarrelled, in an attempt to get her to shoot like the mall ninjas said she would out of box. Now, when I look back at the money I put into that 700, I could have bought a high end rifle and been done."

That is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks to everyone for your help. Who has the best deal on an AE MKIII? Would you consider .243?

I would make a few calls, to different distributors, and get some quotes. I bought from Mile High and have nothing but good things to say about them.

243 is an excellent caliber, but you will sacrifice barrel life. I am choosing 6.5 Creedmoor because of barrel life, and factory ammo with load data printed on the box. I thought about 6mm Creedmoor but with little or no factory ammo available I'll pass.

 

[mckenzie]

i bought from Mile High Shooting , no problems smooth , AIAW .308 from santa

 

[PatrickChewing]

Give Mile High a call. You will be surprised when you hear the final price. I called on Friday and somehow ended up with an AX in 6.5 Creedmoor.