Guns for n00bs..

[Scotty2Hotty]

OK, here's another question. The Blackwing site says their rifle range is 75'. Are there any ranges in the area that are longer? What if I waned to get into long range marksmanship?

If you want a long distance calling plan, expect to drop over $2K. Before some of the cheap skates here tell me it can be had for cheaper, I'm talking in the 800+ meter range. When playing out there, to do it right, you'll want a few things.

#1. Rifle - Calibers will vary, but you can run anything from a 6.5 Grendel out to a Barret .416 for the long distance sex.

#2. Optics- Granted iron sights were sweet back in WWI/WWII, you want to see the prize, not SWAG it. (Scientific Wild Ass Guess)

#3. Bench rest - I don't care if you're solid like a brick house or twitch like Mohammed Ali, the bench rest will keep your rifle on to sight in your optic. Not to mention get a good bore sight going first.

#4. Spotting scope - Where your scope is powerful, the spotting scope puts it that much closer. Going out past 1000+ every round will give off a "vapor" trail as it flies down range. Another person on the spotting scope can dial you in a little better. Not to mention check down range windage and possible elevation changes caused by weather.

#5. Ammo - the match grade goodness from say Black Hills, isn't the cheapest in the world. Meaning $45+/box of 20 depending on the caliber obviously.

 

There's a few more toys you can buy like a shooting mat, laser bore sighter, portable weather station etc... to help you accomplish this. But a working knowledge of ballistics, elevation, windage, and atmospheric conditions all come into effect when making those kinds of long distance calls to paper or flesh. That's all the more reason the long distance shooting is fun and not to mention a skill that takes time and patience. There's quite a few semi-autos and bolt guns that can fulfill the long range urge. It'll depend more on you as a shooter to what you feel comfortable with.

[copperhead]

.223 isn't a good long range caliber. And Scott is right, but he forgot to say that ideally you will want a .50BMG

[HAOLE]

Out of curiosity, why a revolver?

 

Because they are very simple to use and they don't jam.

[Draco-REX]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys.

 

For a handgun, I'm definitely going pistol. I appreciate the advice to go with a revolver, but I've handled pistols before and prefer them.

 

For a shotgun, I really liked the feel of that 12ga I fired on thanksgiving. I'll probably be looking into something similar.

 

The rifle will be a tough one though. I don't want to buy one and out grow it. But on the other hand, buying a rifle I won't outgrow is a huge investment if I don't get into it. Unfortunately, "sexy" equates to expensive when it comes to rifles.

 

Sexy:

 

Very Sexy:

http://www.tacproshootingcenter.com/pix/AE2v3.jpg

 

Fap Fap Fap:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3179229831_0a40c393f7_o.jpg

[Scotty2Hotty]

You won't "outgrow" a good bolt gun, trust me. Sticking with the .308+ calibers will be key to reaching that long distance goodness.

[Rotarded1647545491]

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vdf9t4.gif

[stangsn95gt]

I don't care if you're solid like a brick house or twitch like Mohammed Ali

 

 

rofl

[Farley]

go big... buy a glock 18.....

[smokinHawk1647545499]

1. Buy gun

2. Buy ammo

3. ????????

4. Profit

[BloodRed]

1. Buy gun

2. Buy ammo

3. ????????

4. Profit

 

3. Place Soldier of Fortune Ad

[copperhead]

go big... buy a glock 18.....

 

Let me know how that goes. Besides, Deagle is bigger and easy to find.

 

To the threadstarter: If you want to start off inexpensive and still go out pretty far, you can get into smaller, hotter rounds for far less $$$

 

A Savage in .17HMR can be had for under $300 new. I paid $100 for mine new on clearance.

 

You could also find something in 22-250

 

After that, you just need optics, which again, is where you will spend most of your money.

 

If you decide you want a larger caliber, then stick with .308

For something better out of the box, go Savage

For something with a bigger aftermarket, go Remington 700

[rch10007]

^^^What he said, and stick with bolt action.

[RedRocket1647545505]

Let me know how that goes. Besides, Deagle is bigger and easy to find.

 

To the threadstarter: If you want to start off inexpensive and still go out pretty far, you can get into smaller, hotter rounds for far less $$$

 

A Savage in .17HMR can be had for under $300 new. I paid $100 for mine new on clearance.

 

You could also find something in 22-250

 

After that, you just need optics, which again, is where you will spend most of your money.

 

If you decide you want a larger caliber, then stick with .308

For something better out of the box, go Savage

For something with a bigger aftermarket, go Remington 700

 

Winnar!

 

Srsly. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you aren't going to just buy a gun capable of hitting small things at long distances and just go out and do it. If I were in your position, I'd buy something a bit cheaper first to get the basics out of the way.

 

As was mentioned:

-Get yourself an accurized 10/22 or the like, or my personal small caliber favorite, a Savage 93R17, and work on your short game first. They're small, but I promise you'll have a blast (no pun intended) with it. My Savage 93 is fucking surgical. 22LR is cheap to shoot all day, and 17HMR isn't too bad either.

-10/22 (22LR) is good to roughly 100yd.

-93R17 (17HMR) is good to atleast 150yd., possibly 200 on a windless day.

 

-Once you've had your fill of the short game, move on to your mid game to start practicing how to adjust for distance, wind, temp., pressure, etc...

I'm talking around 400-600yd. Distances won't be so far that you'd have to be exact with your math, but you can atleast start getting the feel for what adjustments do what.

.223 would be a great round for this. Ammo price is on the rise, but still isn't too bad, especially since you won't be blowing through mag after mag since you're doing precision work. I'd personally pick a Remmy 700 or comparable Savage for this type of stuff (though I'd pick a bolt gun for any precision work) over say, an AR-15.

 

-After you've got the hang of that, I'd move onto a .308 for your 600-1000yd. stuff. Again, ammo is getting expensive but you really don't burn through a whole lot with a bolt gun. I've got a Savage 10FCP in .308, but a Remmy 700 or similar would do the job just as well.

Your math calculations as well as your technique will need to be pretty damn good at this point as a minor fuck-up will turn into a big fuck-up by the time the bullet has traveled 1000yd.

 

-.300WinMag would be my choice for 1000-1,250ish yard.

-.338Lapua would be my choice for 1500ish yard.

-.408CheyTac or .50BMG would be my choice for anything past that.

 

You'd better bring your A-game for shots like that, though.

 

Rule of thumb for precision guns: Expect to spend around as much for an optics setup as you spent on your gun itself. Shit ain't cheap.

 

Ammo isn't cheap either. Unless you're a prodigy or some shit like that, you're probably going to have to shoot A LOT to get good. Hence, why I recommend starting out with the smaller calibers and working your way up. Unless you're baller (and you might be), you'll shoot yourself broke trying to learn the Kung Fu of distance and precision shooting. Once you get into the .308+ realm, you'll be spending about $2-6 everytime you pull the trigger...

[Draco-REX]

^^^What he said, and stick with bolt action.

Bolt-action is a no brainer for me. 1. It's more consistent than semi, and 2. REAL men fire bolt-action.

 

Winnar!

 

Srsly. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you aren't going to just buy a gun capable of hitting small things at long distances and just go out and do it. If I were in your position, I'd buy something a bit cheaper first to get the basics out of the way.

 

As was mentioned:

-Get yourself an accurized 10/22 or the like, or my personal small caliber favorite, a Savage 93R17, and work on your short game first. They're small, but I promise you'll have a blast (no pun intended) with it. My Savage 93 is fucking surgical. 22LR is cheap to shoot all day, and 17HMR isn't too bad either.

-10/22 (22LR) is good to roughly 100yd.

-93R17 (17HMR) is good to atleast 150yd., possibly 200 on a windless day.

 

-Once you've had your fill of the short game, move on to your mid game to start practicing how to adjust for distance, wind, temp., pressure, etc...

I'm talking around 400-600yd. Distances won't be so far that you'd have to be exact with your math, but you can atleast start getting the feel for what adjustments do what.

.223 would be a great round for this. Ammo price is on the rise, but still isn't too bad, especially since you won't be blowing through mag after mag since you're doing precision work. I'd personally pick a Remmy 700 or comparable Savage for this type of stuff (though I'd pick a bolt gun for any precision work) over say, an AR-15.

 

-After you've got the hang of that, I'd move onto a .308 for your 600-1000yd. stuff. Again, ammo is getting expensive but you really don't burn through a whole lot with a bolt gun. I've got a Savage 10FCP in .308, but a Remmy 700 or similar would do the job just as well.

Your math calculations as well as your technique will need to be pretty damn good at this point as a minor fuck-up will turn into a big fuck-up by the time the bullet has traveled 1000yd.

 

-.300WinMag would be my choice for 1000-1,250ish yard.

-.338Lapua would be my choice for 1500ish yard.

-.408CheyTac or .50BMG would be my choice for anything past that.

 

You'd better bring your A-game for shots like that, though.

 

Rule of thumb for precision guns: Expect to spend around as much for an optics setup as you spent on your gun itself. Shit ain't cheap.

 

Ammo isn't cheap either. Unless you're a prodigy or some shit like that, you're probably going to have to shoot A LOT to get good. Hence, why I recommend starting out with the smaller calibers and working your way up. Unless you're baller (and you might be), you'll shoot yourself broke trying to learn the Kung Fu of distance and precision shooting. Once you get into the .308+ realm, you'll be spending about $2-6 everytime you pull the trigger...

Oh, I have no illusions about the gun making me an ace. Same as a Ferrari won't make me dominate at the track. That's not why I'm looking at the expensive rifles. I looking at the big stuff because I don't want to re-buy my rifle. As you pointed out above, I can shoot small with a big rifle, but I can't shoot big with a small rifle.

 

From what I've read, and the advice you guys have offered so far, I think the sweet spot is the .308. It seems to come in a HUGE variety of types, including factory matched. Kind of like the Ford 5.0 or 350SB of ammo. It also can reach out to 400+ yards reliably so I can take full advantage of Briar Rabbit when I move up that far.

 

So a .308 bolt-action is what I'm shoot for, if you'll exscuse the pun. At this point, it's a decision of what particular rifle to get. I like the fact that the 700 has a large aftermarket. My only worry is that they are know to throw the occaisional lemon. But unless I'm really unlucky, I could modify the gun as I go (adjustable stock being first mod).

 

But, when the 700 is "finished" would I end up having paid as much as an AI-AE or a SAKO TRG? So that's the thinking I have to do first..