I'm really new to this as well. 2 years ago I was looking at the bergara match precision when I came across the howa hcr. It was 500 cheaper and honestly I thought it looked cool. Took me months to find one as they stopped making them. I spent 1000 on the gun and put a vortex viper pst Gen 2 5×25×50 on it. That was another 1000. And in 3 additional accurate mags (75$ apiece) 200$ for a pic rail from egw , 130$ for a harris bipod and you know what I got? The best 2600 I've ever spent. I'm an average shot and my groups are under an inch. Makes it fun to goto the range. My advice: listen to the people on here. This is their passion and they love to help out the new guy. You don't have to spend 5k to have fun doing this but go at least 2k -2500. Put all the extras on yourself. It's a pretty neat feeling when you do and it all works. Most important thing is to have fun and meet good people. EnjoyI know this question has been asked a million times before, and I have gone through some of the resources available, but to be honest, it's such a plethora of info that it started confusing me, so if you don't want to answer this type of question again, I don't blame you, but if you do, I appreciate your time.
I am currently looking to get into long range/precision shooting, and would like advice on what to buy. I just got a membership at a range that has targets up to 500m (about 550 yards), so let us call that my max distance I will be shooting for now. I was looking at shooting either .308, .223 or 6.5 Creedmoor, but I have now decided on .308 for a number of reasons, I could be convinced otherwise however.
I have limited experience shooting .308, 6mm, 30-06 and .375 H&H up to 300m (330 yards).
My budget is low to mid range, would love to keep it all to <1500usd, but I could stretch to 2000.
I recognize this is an expensive sport/hobby, and like any sport, especially at the beginning, the latest best gear is not as necessary as the practice, so I am ok with sacrificing some quality of product, in order to buy more ammo and shoot more. I see this as an activity I can improve and grow in as I go through life, and there will be time to upgrade later.
My main question is, for a beginner such as myself, based on the info I have provided, would you have any recommendations for the gun, scope, and whatever other gear I would need - additional gear is something I would like to know more about, in addition to the rifle and scope what are the other essential pieces of gear for a beginner?
Some additional info: I plan on mostly target shooting, but would like the ability to hunt deer (this ruled out .223 for me). As well, I will be shooting up to 550 yards for now, but the ability to shoot out to a mile would be nice for future (which is also why I eliminated .223). 6.5 isn't ideal because I find it a bit expensive and elusive right now in comparison to .308.
I will be in the Rockies of British Columbia, if that information is relevant.
Hope I didn't write too much, but I wanted to be detailed.
Thanks again if you read this far!
I have the howa hcr in .308 and it is incredible. The sub moa guarantee is legit. Wanted the 6.5 but could only find it in .308 but glad now that 6.5 is twice as much costwise. I really don't have any negatives to say about it. I went 8 months without shooting it and took me 3 shots to get it dialed in. After that I was stunned at the accuracy. Anyways hope that helps and hope you can find one for saleI have a buddy that really likes the Howas but I have no direct experience. I recommend going on the Hide PX and looking for a rifle / scope. I've gotten some pretty good deals and generally cool dudes. My dad still has guns that he owned when he was but a little tike, most guys, at least on here, don't keep guns like that anymore though so you might luck out. I just downloaded a R700 for a deal (on his end) because I was excited about moving to the next thing. While I prefer bolt guns, if you're just wanting to tap 500 you could build a gasser in something like an ARC or Grendel. I have taken my ARC to 1k, although it was hard to spot splash on steel but it's be cheaper to build, parts are available, ammo is a little iffy but it won't stay that way, and you could target shoot with it or hunt or whatever. Just a thought
You might try to locate a good used hunting rifle like a Remington 700 in a popular caliber 30 06 which will give you the advantage of loading short action calibers with long bullets and you can have barrels chambered vs buying different rifles. You can get a new premium barrel for less than $400.00 and have it chambered for $275. So let's say you find a 30 06 and then chamber a 6.5 creedmoor or 260 Rem. Etc. As far as glass goes. I wouldn't buy anything less than $500.00. I like Leupolds newer Mark 5 HD. You can get it in a demo for around $2,000.There are plenty of good used Leupold for sale but beware of Chinese knock offs. The Arken SH4 is a good scope for the money. A borescope from Teslong for $50.00 is worth it when it comes to inspecting used barrels and you'll use it for cleaning.I know this question has been asked a million times before, and I have gone through some of the resources available, but to be honest, it's such a plethora of info that it started confusing me, so if you don't want to answer this type of question again, I don't blame you, but if you do, I appreciate your time.
I am currently looking to get into long range/precision shooting, and would like advice on what to buy. I just got a membership at a range that has targets up to 500m (about 550 yards), so let us call that my max distance I will be shooting for now. I was looking at shooting either .308, .223 or 6.5 Creedmoor, but I have now decided on .308 for a number of reasons, I could be convinced otherwise however.
I have limited experience shooting .308, 6mm, 30-06 and .375 H&H up to 300m (330 yards).
My budget is low to mid range, would love to keep it all to <1500usd, but I could stretch to 2000.
I recognize this is an expensive sport/hobby, and like any sport, especially at the beginning, the latest best gear is not as necessary as the practice, so I am ok with sacrificing some quality of product, in order to buy more ammo and shoot more. I see this as an activity I can improve and grow in as I go through life, and there will be time to upgrade later.
My main question is, for a beginner such as myself, based on the info I have provided, would you have any recommendations for the gun, scope, and whatever other gear I would need - additional gear is something I would like to know more about, in addition to the rifle and scope what are the other essential pieces of gear for a beginner?
Some additional info: I plan on mostly target shooting, but would like the ability to hunt deer (this ruled out .223 for me). As well, I will be shooting up to 550 yards for now, but the ability to shoot out to a mile would be nice for future (which is also why I eliminated .223). 6.5 isn't ideal because I find it a bit expensive and elusive right now in comparison to .308.
I will be in the Rockies of British Columbia, if that information is relevant.
Hope I didn't write too much, but I wanted to be detailed.
Thanks again if you read this far!