High Powered Rifle Shopping

[playerpro153]

So I've been shopping for a good high powered rifle for about 4 months now and I've been narrowing down my decision to 2 options. I know some of you long range shooters have experience with different calibers and possible some different rifles. I'm just looking for feedback.

The first rifle is the Sako TRG 42. The rifle is chambered with a .338 Lupau round. The rifle itself is selling for $2700, then I pay $500 for a bipod made just for it and about $1300 for the Leupold Mk 4 extended range 6.5-20 X 50 scope.

http://www.sako.fi/sakotrgmodels.php?trg42

The other rifle is the Blaser tactical 2. It is a brand recently affiliated with Sigsauer. The rifle is chambered in the .308 win for $3500. The ammo is about $50-70 for a box of 20. I expect it to cost maybe $350 for a good bipod and the same leupold scope, possibly the 4.5-14 X 50 since the .308 has a shorter range. The muzzle break should be a few hundred too.

http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=31&productid=246

I've been shooting for almost 18 years, but I will be new to the high powered rifle scene. I know both of these are a lot gun, but I only want to buy once and do it right. Any suggestions?

Edited April 2, 2009 by playerpro153

[V4junkie]

Wow that's some $$$. When the zombie infestation hits can I stay at your place?

[playerpro153]

ha ha, I was thinking about making some sport with it. All my searching for a good HP rifle taught me one thing, shit's not gonna be cheap. I would suggest staying at schmuckingham's place for the zombies. The AR's crank out more rounds than I can count. I'll just snipe the wandering ones from home.

[speedytriple]

I would have to say check with Flounder? He posts up some stuff for long shoots, bench shooting. Out of my neck of the woods as I have only a meager mini 14 target model to play with.

[blacktalon606]

I have read many very good things about the sako... but if it were me... for the money I would go with one of the 50's. You can have an ultramag for less than the sako and have extended range and a punch. Barrett's new .416 is really where the cake is at though. I have seen the 99 chambered in .416 for about 3k and the projectile is supersonic beyond 2500 yards giving it greatly increased stability to 7500 feet.

[playerpro153]

hard part with the .50 is it's still $5 a shot and nobody makes a match grade round for it. The .50 was intended for anti-artillery whereas the .308 and .338 are intended for anti-personnel. There may be more momentum carried by the .50, but it is not as consistently accurate as the others at long range. It sounds fun, but also way too much gun.

My other problem is the availability of this type of firearm. Most have been back-ordered 12 or more months. The to I listed are immediately available for me to take home. I looked at a kimber 8400 tactical previously, but it's no longer available.

[EagleCock]

flounder knows his shit with long range shooting...I'm sure he'll see this and make up for my worthless post

[playerpro153]

flounder speak up

[Goldie]

I don't know shit about guns, but the Sig looks bad ass.

[flounder]

Just saw this.. for the kind of money your looking to invest, for a few pennies more, you could get something custom built or for about the same price you could get a used custom gun.. I would stay away from the .338 just for the cost of reloading and personally would not get either of the rifles or scopes your looking at.. I can run through some things with you that would really help you but it would be way easier to do on the phone.

For example.

What distances are you looking to shoot?

Are you looking to hunt with it eventually and if so what type of game at what distance.

Are you looking to compete with it? (Benchrest or F-class, (heavy gun, light gun, 600yd, 1000 yard?) All things to keep in mind..

You need to be realistic with yourself about how often you will be able to shoot past 100 or 300 yards. Very few ranges have anything past that and even then, 500,600 yards isnt that much of a challenge once you get into it. (Unless your going for groupings)

Your budget should also include reloading supplies as off the shelf ammo will not meet your needs at long distances and is about 3x as expensive to buy vs reload yourself.

How often do you think you will shoot it past 300 yards each year? (I say 300 because big darby is 20 min from columbus and has a 300 yard range.

I am using a .308 and hitting targets at 1165 yards without too much trouble. Wind is usually the culprit for the miss. When shooting long range, the wind from your shooting position is usually different from the target location. I had my barrel threaded for a muzzle brake as well. Remember 1000 yards is .56 mile away.

I currently shoot with the world record holder for best 5 shot group at 1000 yards (1.4 inches) The guys I shoot with have everything from .308, 300WSM, 300Winmag, 300Hulk (Only 4 in existence), 7mm mag, 338 Lapua, .50BMG, and 408 Cheytac. All of them have their + and -.

I have shot almost all of the above rifles and have shot at ranges out to 1 mile (1760 yards) and I can tell you what kind of rifle/shooter it takes to do it.

I will send you a pm with my number if you want to discuss.

Some other things you will surely want once your in it are

Hardigg Storm case for storing the rifle. (200

Cleaning supplies are not cheap.. We tend to use more quality tools.

bi pod (100)

Cronograh (100-300)

handheld weather station (about 200 for a decent one but not the most expensive version)

Spotting scope (estimate 400+ for a low end model easily up to 2K + for a nice one. )

Laser range finder capable of at least 800 yards. $500 (Ideally you want one that will do 1000+ yards

etc etc.

I see your profile says Florida but if your in columbus, you really should come to the next tactical shoot with me and actually get a chance to shoot some of the guns I mentioned and talk to everyone. Its just that there are so many things to consider. If you come, I will load up some extra rounds and let you shoot mine and show you what its like to shoot at 500-1000 yards. Hell even if you want to drop by one day, I could go through some things with you. You mentioned that ammo was 50-70 for 20 so something to keep in mind is that at the matches, we easily shoot 60-100 rounds per match. Reloading yourself is a MUST in this sport. For scopes, I would recomend a Nightforce. Specifically the 8-32x56 NXS or the 5.5-22x56 NXS (http://www.nightforceoptics.com) For the reticle, I would suggest the NP-R1, NP-R2 or the MLR

If memory serves me correctly, we met up at mid ohio last year during one of the first track days when you were looking for lizard?

Edited April 2, 2009 by flounder

[wrillo]

I <3 learning about guns.. and since I know nothing, I learn every time I read about them!

[blacktalon606]

hard part with the .50 is it's still $5 a shot and nobody makes a match grade round for it. The .50 was intended for anti-artillery whereas the .308 and .338 are intended for anti-personnel. There may be more momentum carried by the .50, but it is not as consistently accurate as the others at long range. It sounds fun, but also way too much gun.

My other problem is the availability of this type of firearm. Most have been back-ordered 12 or more months. The to I listed are immediately available for me to take home. I looked at a kimber 8400 tactical previously, but it's no longer available.

There is a Barrett 99 on gunbroker in .416 right now. And... match grade become cheaper with a reloading press. .338 isn't cheap to shoot either but Barrett does make a match grade slug.

Edited April 3, 2009 by blacktalon606

[jermattak]

whaat? what happened to you getting the kimber?

[AXL]

if and when the need arise my AK will serve the purpose. scoped and custom stock and forarm for weight and comfort. semi-auto for most accuracy, 7.62x39 for saving on cost of ammo and options in rounds available. I wish no harm on anyone but will protect and defend my property and family. With the current social situation self protection may be the only way to survive. home invasions, grocery store robberys and abductions, small business robberys and car jackings and robbery are on the rise. City budget cuts causing police and fire dept. layoff give citizens no other option but to protect themselves in certain situations. my wife will be taking the ccw class very soon. she saw for herself a situation where my carry kept us out of harms way at a local gas station one late Sat. night where I stoppen for gas and cigs. I had paid the attendent for the cigs and went to the pump for my gas. 3 young men/white men, approached me insisting my jacket belonged to one of them. it of course did not. my wife was in the car, I was pumping gas. I overheard their conversation, each one trying to boost the others resolve to confront me, take the jacket and car with my wife inside. I stopped pumping gas and faced them at about 10-12" away, opening my jacket to reveal my Dan Wesson 357mag in the sholder holster which I put my hand on and said, "guys this is NOT a very good idea." They all stopped in their tracks, looked at each other, muttered a few words, I heard this is not a good idea and they all 3 ran off. The station attendent got my attention and told me she had called the police. They arrived very shortly after I finished pumping my gas. I explained what happened, showed my liscence and made a statement for their report. I never heard any more from the cops. My suggestion to ALL is this, "watch your back."

[flounder]

if and when the need arise my AK will serve the purpose. scoped and custom stock and forarm for weight and comfort. semi-auto for most accuracy, 7.62x39 for saving on cost of ammo and options in rounds available.

I think your confused... Semi auto is definitely not the most accurate and the AK is notorious for being a very inaccurate rifle. The op of this thread was looking for opinions on a precision rifle to shoot out to 1000 yards.

If you think that AK is accurate, feel free to come and play on Sat..

http://www.ohio-riders.net/showthread.php?t=24765

Edited April 15, 2009 by flounder

[speedytriple]

Can I bring down my 91/30 and try it out? Finally got a bolt gun maybe not the most precise one but it has a bolt! LOL What kind of range would a 7.62x54r have? With iron sights. I need to find a outdoor range to shoot this thing, and test my target mini-14.

[flounder]

Can I bring down my 91/30 and try it out? Finally got a bolt gun maybe not the most precise one but it has a bolt! LOL What kind of range would a 7.62x54r have? With iron sights. I need to find a outdoor range to shoot this thing, and test my target mini-14.

By 91/30, are you referring to a Mosin-Nagant? If so, those have the ability to reach out there a good distance. With the open sites that are stock, you will have some problems but put some optics on it and you will be surprised how far you can shoot out to.

The 7.62x54R is a bigger case then a regular .308win which is 7.62x51

[speedytriple]

Yeah I just got a 1942 mosin-nagant. The problem is the mount and scope would cost twice what I paid for the rifle. There is a gun show coming up on the 25-26 in berea by my house I will look if there are any mounts there at a fair price. I read the 7.62x54r is between the 30-06 and .308 for the most part in ballistics. I might head out to the range on Friday to shoot a bit with the new rifle and my mini14.

[obesityrules]

if you are looking for high power check out the anzio 20mm

[blacktalon606]

if you are looking for high power check out the anzio 20mm

That's pretty groovy and all... but it has the added pain in the ass of being a NFA firearm... with months of paperwork, background enemas etc. Not to mention the fact that you can only buy ammo from a few places in the country. You can pick up a BMG today if you have the $$ and you can currently get ammo at most gun shows, or via the internet.

[obesityrules]

^but it is all worth it when you pull up to the range and make king dick with a bmg feel like an 8 year old shooting a pellet rifle.

[blacktalon606]

Spend $10k to make someone else jealous? I'm all right.

[Ryan_c_F]

Yeah I just got a 1942 mosin-nagant. The problem is the mount and scope would cost twice what I paid for the rifle. There is a gun show coming up on the 25-26 in berea by my house I will look if there are any mounts there at a fair price. I read the 7.62x54r is between the 30-06 and .308 for the most part in ballistics. I might head out to the range on Friday to shoot a bit with the new rifle and my mini14.

Looks like it's in great condition!

Yeah, as far as I can tell from what Papa Google learn't me, the MN is just hanging around the .30-'06. At close range it might hit a little harder, being a slightly larger round, but the ballistics make it die off around 250-300 yards or so. It's still lethal of course but your more modern rounds start to compensate with superior trajectories at that range.

I'm thinking about whether to just keep my eyes open for a really, really nice-condition Mosin, or whether I want to go with one of those Dragunov replicas that seem to hit the markets in the 500-600 range from time to time.

Aimsurplus has this one going for $700, so I figure I can snag a used one in the $550.00 range or equivalent at a Fun Show.

[speedytriple]

I almost traded my mini 14 for one of those at the last gun show a week ago. The only problem with the psl is the scope is way week and it is a bitch to get one to fit with out modding the gun some. Also it uses the same round as the mn which is a good round but most of the cheap ammo on the market is corrosive, and the other stuff is almost $30 for 20 rounds. I have 600 rounds of 7.62x54r and paid about $169 for all of it. but most of it is the mil surp stuff.

[Ryan_c_F]

I almost traded my mini 14 for one of those at the last gun show a week ago. The only problem with the psl is the scope is way week and it is a bitch to get one to fit with out modding the gun some. Also it uses the same round as the mn which is a good round but most of the cheap ammo on the market is corrosive, and the other stuff is almost $30 for 20 rounds. I have 600 rounds of 7.62x54r and paid about $169 for all of it. but most of it is the mil surp stuff.

Eh, quick cleaning with copper solvents immediately after use isn't a problem for me; I'm brought up never to put a gun away dirty.

Sucks about the scope, though; I've only ever looked through one in a gun shop and it was obviously not a true test of strength. I'll have to pay attention to that.