Prs rifle choice for new guy

[FrozenMinnesotan]

I'm looking to get into prs probably next spring. I have a few rifle choices in front of me.

1) howa aba precision in 6.5cm $700

2) savage stealth in 6.5 $1000

3) bergara hmr in 6.5. $1000

Or a savage 12fv for 419 then drop in a mdt lss-xl chassis. So figure 1100.

They only reason I considered the 12fv is I can get it sooner and practice quicker or develop loads sooner rather than waiting for taxes next year and hoping the bank (wife) will allow any of the others.

Thoughts?

 

[spife7980]

 

[DannC]

Ruger PR's are under $1000.00 now and no waiting. Mine and everyone that has posted here are getting sub .5 MOA and better with handloads.

 

[FrozenMinnesotan]

I have to wait till taxes next year. But I'll have to check them out

 

[ThePretzel]

If it's a choice between the Savage now and the others next year, I would get the Savage now and still take it out to shoot.

I have a 12FV I picked up for about $250 around Black Friday after the rebate and it shoots well. Shoots .6 MOA at 400 yards using American Gunner ammo, about .4 MOA with better SD's with my handloads, and the action is no different than the Savage Stealth. You can even drop it into an MPA if you want to be one of the cool kids at matches, since MPA does Savage short action inlets and you can usually find the BA or BA Competition chassis for around $700-800 if you look hard enough, or even a BA Lite for around $600.

If you shoot and practice with it this year (just top load after 5 rounds, I've seen people do it at national matches even) then you'll be in a good place when you order up your chassis and a Criterion pre-fit barrel for next year!

 

[FrozenMinnesotan]

I could but it might be a while and I have other guns I can use. Right now I have a 18" 223 AR that I just bought a 6-18x vortex for. I was shooting .73" at 100 doing load development. That scope that was on that is going back on the savage 111 3006 I have for hunting and range use. It sucks to wait but I'd rather spend the $ later when I have it. I was looking at the mdt lss-xl chassis with a luth ar stock. Still a option of funds run low

 

[danatkins]

I 2nd the mpa chassis haven't shot with mine yet but man it's comfy during dry fire practice

 

[MakeSawdust]

I think you could pick any number of options and do well. Tikka actions are very nice and most speak highly of Howa, although I haven't been behind one. The Savage will do okay with some work and the RPR doesn't seem like a bad entry level gun either. I personally love Criterion prefit barrels. For under $400 you can buy a barrel for any of those actions ( except maybe the RPR is over $400) that will likely shoot 1/3 moa.

I would personally try to steer you away from the Savage. I run a Savage in matches, and I did a ton of work to it to feel like it isn't holding me back. Since Criterion does Tikka barrels now you could rebarrel a Tikka and drop it in a KRG Bravo for close to the same price as the Savage. My Savage started as a 12fv from Cabela's for $249 (on sale and after rebate) and I put a criterion barrel and ptg bolt head on it as well as an HSP stock with CDI bottom metal that I bought from the px here. I also paid a gunsmith to add a second ejector to the bolthead. With dual ejectors it is reliable now. I also added a bolt lift kit and did a lot of polishing and adjusting. It is a pretty nice rifle to shoot now. However, most Tikkas I have handled are as smooth and reliable out of the box as my Savage is after a lot of dinking around. Now that Criterion makes prefit barrels for them I would definitely go that route and save all of the messing around to make the Savage work.

 

[patriot07]

I think you could pick any number of options and do well. Tikka actions are very nice and most speak highly of Howa, although I haven't been behind one. The Savage will do okay with some work and the RPR doesn't seem like a bad entry level gun either. I personally love Criterion prefit barrels. For under $400 you can buy a barrel for any of those actions ( except maybe the RPR is over $400) that will likely shoot 1/3 moa.

I would personally try to steer you away from the Savage. I run a Savage in matches, and I did a ton of work to it to feel like it isn't holding me back. Since Criterion does Tikka barrels now you could rebarrel a Tikka and drop it in a KRG Bravo for close to the same price as the Savage. My Savage started as a 12fv from Cabela's for $249 (on sale and after rebate) and I put a criterion barrel and ptg bolt head on it as well as an HSP stock with CDI bottom metal that I bought from the px here. I also paid a gunsmith to add a second ejector to the bolthead. With dual ejectors it is reliable now. I also added a bolt lift kit and did a lot of polishing and adjusting. It is a pretty nice rifle to shoot now. However, most Tikkas I have handled are as smooth and reliable out of the box as my Savage is after a lot of dinking around. Now that Criterion makes prefit barrels for them I would definitely go that route and save all of the messing around to make the Savage work.

I agree with everything in this post.

 

[Lesco Brandon]

I'm looking to get into prs probably next spring. I have a few rifle choices in front of me.

1) howa aba precision in 6.5cm $700

2) savage stealth in 6.5 $1000

3) bergara hmr in 6.5. $1000

Or a savage 12fv for 419 then drop in a mdt lss-xl chassis. So figure 1100.

They only reason I considered the 12fv is I can get it sooner and practice quicker or develop loads sooner rather than waiting for taxes next year and hoping the bank (wife) will allow any of the others.

Thoughts?

I have savage and could not possibly ask for anything better. It’s a 6.5CM stealth with a luthAR stock, new grip with a palm shelf and a ZROdelta gen 2 brake. I had realistic expectations when I picked it up and thought I’d shoot it for a year then upgrade to something “better.”

I don’t necessarily think more expensive equals better. I shot a 6 inch 5 round group at 1000 yards and two rounds were almost touching with a third only 1.5 inches away. This was using a leupold vx3i 25x. Sure I could spend 6 times as much and what.... shoot a 5 inch group at 1000 yards.

Don’t let people talk you into believing you have to spend a ton to play. I have a lot to learn and I’m sure this rifle is more accurate then I am but it does everything I could hope for. Good luck.

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

Exactly. I have a Savage 10 FCP-SR in 6.5CM with a $250 Vortex Stikefire II 6-24X50 scope and an Atlas bipod that's shooting *way* sub MOA out to 200 yards right out of the box. Less than $1000 invested and I'm thinking this gun will shoot sub MOA at 600 - 1000 by the end of the Summer.

I plan on upgrading to a Chassis after I proof the stock arrangement but my point is that you don't have to spend $4000 out of the gate to get a great precision shooting gun.

VooDoo