wow Thanks for all the replies. That’s a wealth of information to digest. I know a good amount about hunting, night vision, thermal and guns in general, but this long range precision stuff is in a class of its own. Thanks for all the responses.
I originally was leaning towards the savage bc it seems to work well and shoot accurately out of the box. However, I am the type that will likely start upgrading as I learn and time goes on.
I’ll start trying to dumb down these replies more to my level and any other tips/suggestions that come in for something else that does well out of the box and is more customizable/upgradable.
Yes, the long-range stuff is indeed a rabbit hole that, if it pulls you in, will give you immense pleasure - or pain - and leave a red-hot smoking hole where your wallet used to to be.
Like you, I'm the type that upgrades and tinkers as I learn more. I've been shooting for 59 of my 66 years. I reached AAA classification in all four "guns" of American skeet 20+ years ago, and bought/sold three expensive over/under shotguns before I finally spent the big bucks on the tournament gun I would have bought the first time around had I kown where the competition bug would lead.
But I didn't learn. I went through the same thing with rifles - and optics. I bought three different scopes just for the AR-15 I started with. I bought a second-focal-plane scope for my CZ-455 .22 that I convinced myself would work for competition (and it was $100 cheaper than the very popular first-focal-plane variant) - and discovered in my first out-to-300-yards match that I screwed up, and now I have a very nice scope that isn't worth half what I paid for it.
Learning more and buying more equipment is part and parcel of the pain/pleasure cycle. Even if you spend $5000-6000 or even more for a top-rung rifle, at this point in your visit to wonderland you don't know what's out there and what you'll like as you gain experience. My first precision bolt gun, as I said earlier, was a Tikka T3X TAC A1. The rifle was superbly accurate with factory ammo, and I liked the factory 2-stage trigger and chassis. But then I shot a buddy's MPA-chassis'ed rifle with a very light single-stage trigger and heavier-profile barrel. I loved it, and within a month I had bought essentially that same rifle slightly used from a friend who was similarly moving to something new. I sold my Tikka for $500 less than I paid for it. Taking into account the barrel was half-used-up, I spent about $200-300 to use that rifle for almost a year and a half.
About barrels. You'll get into "what caliber." You're looking at a .308, which has a tremendous amount going for it, not the least of which is a long (5000+ rounds) barrel life. But it's ballistically inferior to the 6mm and 6.5mm rounds out at 700 yards and beyond at the expense of barrel life.
Optics. Whatever you do with the rifle, the scope is portable. Do Not skimp on glass like I did early on. All the $1200-2500 and up scopes are pretty doggone good (these words might get me flamed), so it's a reasonable approach to buy a scope based on the reticle reticle you like, not on a specific vendor. The major players - read about them! - all have lifetime warranties even on used scopes, so buying used is a good way to save $$. In this game, first-focal-plane is king for good reason. Also, if you check out the vendors section of the forum home page, you'll learn about sales and such.
Please Note: It is to your financial benefit to CALL - on the telephone - the Hide's sponsoring vendors for best price! Anyway. If yu buy good equipment, you should be able to sell it without too much loss - especially if you buy used to start with. There's a mountain of great info here on the Hide, and lots of strongly-worded opinion. You're here to learn for YOUR benefit. Try not to get swayed by what the cool kids use or the loud kids squall about.
Welcome to wonderland.
