Best Small Bore 1,000yd Bolt Gun?

[Thorbeast]

Get a 6mm arc or 22 arc. I would go 6mm personally. My brother has This Savage and it’s a shooter!

This savage.

That or get a MPR From CA.

I was just going to suggest 6ARC. I'm not sure what the options are for .243 ammo, but historically it's been geared toward hunting. 6ARC has plenty of factory ammo loaded with bullets geared for LR shooting.

If factory ammo isn't a consideration, any of the BR family of cartridges would be ideal. 243 would be fine. 223 and 224 would also work, but not as well as a 6mm.

 

[Cfshooter]

Wanting a small bore bolt rifle for my fiancé and will only be used for fun poking holes in paper and will never be used for competition. I was thinking a 223 because it’s cheap to shoot and low recoil, but then started reading about the 224 Valkyrie - really liked loved everything I heard about it, but seems like it’s not very popular for some reason and I can’t find hardly any factory rifles? i read about a savage 110 in the 224 and was ready to buy one…but I guess they don’t make it anymore so that’s a little harder to do…

I’d like something that is in the $1000 or $1500 with a chassis (not including glass) and would be great if it could reach out to 1,000yd or so at its limits. This is purely something I want to be low maintenance and really reliable and fun for her to shoot.

what caliber would you guys recommend?

She’s not super scared of recoil, but I want something with low recoil so she will shoot the heck out of it and have fun.

Thoughts?

I will say it also, just forget about 224, save the headaches. I highly recommend any 6mm BR variety if you reload, or 6 arc for factory ammo in bolt gun, and even 22 arc, but would probably wait out 22 arc for a bit.

The Howa barreled action dropped in a Bravo is a good choice, Savage (not axis) would be another good one and drop into Bravo.

 

[308pirate]

Remember when shooting your hodgepodge 243 rounds you’ll need new dope for each bullet weight or brand of ammo.

There's something about the OP that doesn't add up

 

[jbuck88]

There's something about the OP that doesn't add up

Well he is from Seattle.

 

[NSKYLINE34]

Yeah, that’s somewhat true, but remember, a lot things you read or hear are second-hand, some is personal bias, and the rest is bullshit…And somewhere in the middle is the truth. The internet should fall under the “believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see” advice.

They have recently completely rebuilt the entire company, customer service, manufacturing, etc… They’re not the same company they used to be. All 5 of my CA rifles shoot really well… Sub-1/2 MOA with handloads.

@christensenarms Jimmy can give you some more insight on how much of the company they revamped.

Yea I went into Cabelas a couple months ago to mess with one and almost took one home, but got nervous. I was going to get one in 6.5 CM and ended up buying my Badrock South Fork in 6.5 CM instead.

But if they’re back to how they used to be when they first started and really good quality, I’d probably just save up a little longer and try to get one in 243 or 6mm ARC

 

[NSKYLINE34]

Well he is from Seattle.

Definitely not from that shit hole. About 1.5h away.

 

[NSKYLINE34]

i totally forgot about the whole dope thing and different ammo requiring different numbers…

Still figuring all this stuff out and learning!

Idk what isn’t adding up with me? I’ve got thick skin, what am I doing wrong? Lol

 

[NSKYLINE34]

Yea, I missed that he has a hellfire break on it now and by what he says, it sounds like it still has too much recoil. Which I am surprised about since my Rem 20" 308 with a Hellfire in a KRG Bravo has almost no recoil.

@NSKYLINE34 Can you post a pick of your 6.5 rifle? Can you also weigh it? I am curious as to what kind of stock it is in.

It’s basically a box stock Badrock South Fork in 6.5 CM + Vortex PST on it.

I absolutely LOVE that rifle and my goal is to shoot the barrel out of it, it’s just a little much for my fiancé is all. I’m not changing my Badrock at all - I love that dang thing! lol

 

[NSKYLINE34]

Maybe it’s the noise with a brake and not the recoil at all. I can’t stand brakes even with double ear pro. That concussion can cause as many problems as recoil for some.

I’ve never thought about this but it makes a ton of sense! Next time we go out I’ll grab it and throw a can on it and see what she thinks. Never thought about the noise and perceived recoil - makes total sense to me.