Accurate Shooting or Accurate Cost?

[Snuggie]

I started shooting F class ( tr and open ) about five years ago. It didn’t take long to realize that this is not an inexpensive sport. If you want to move up the ladder you will be competing with folks who have the better equipment. I’ve been through three different sets of dies, and upgraded my reloading equipment several times. Three different front rests, etc, etc. You better believe that better equipment equates to much better accuracy. Reloading has become an anal experience, LOL! Unfortunate as it may be
, for lack of a better word, you are competing with the folks that have the best toys. If you want to play, you gotta pay. This is the reality of the game folks! Some may disagree... I made HM with a .223 ( rem 700 action, but not a factory bbl or trigger, NF 15-55 scope ) last November. But...it ain’t only the best equipment but the person driving the bus! I sincerely wish the new shooters the best, it’s a great sport with awesome people!

 

[Richard Coody]

I know why I can't always shoot .25 groups with centerfire actually... In large part I need better equipment as you mention. I will agree I think some people focus on things that should be lower in priority though. That is kind of related to the OPs point in my mind. As a newcomer I have/had a hard time learning what activities/costs produce the best gains. The priorities to accuracy. I'll say that for the probably 3-5 months I've been into shooting, of which I have devoted almost all day everyday to learning, I have been able to sort through a TON of information and learn as much or more then many people I know who've spent a lot more time. This is possible because of the info on this forum (lots of good threads to dig up), books (shout out Brian Litz), which is why all these people PM'ing each other upsets me a bit. I don't know if I should blame those who argue their point and add clutter or those who keep good info/experience to PMs over posts, probably the former. My solution to some of this, which I might one day embark on, would be an article or running post. I see 3 tiers of bolt action accuracy nuts: BR, F-class (and f-recreation), and hunting. There are certainly cheapest/easiest paths to each but then there are sub categories of each. From what I can tell on this forum and another, most newcomers would want the cheapest up front gun to learn with but scalable for future expenditures/modifications, so f-class recreation (if a thing). One thread now seems like that regarding a savage fv. I wanted to learn about cheapest path to BR and still am kinda at a loss there but every time I post questions I get answers. I'm rambling, I need more specifics OP...

cheapest path to benchrest. now do you want a rifle that can shoot benchrest groups or do you plan to compete? short range 100 and 200 or long range 600 and 1000

 

[270WinDude]

cheapest path to benchrest. now do you want a rifle that can shoot benchrest groups or do you plan to compete? short range 100 and 200 or long range 600 and 1000

600 tops and local match stuff so on target. Although lots of good shooters at TCGC, including Alinwa. A lot of 100-300 practice. Right now I have no expectations but to learn this sport of precision. I know what to look for I think, just specifics are tough because of all the websites I'd have to visit to learn. I have a hard time learning what specific actions and models are made for what. I'm thankful for this forum though and I read a lot of random threads, new and old, and learn a lot. Heck I learned relevant information last night on a thread started by the moderator asking for info on 7 and 300wsm … in passing he mentioned a trend of RL17 having less ES and SD the higher the case capacity. So 95% might reasonably be tighter spread then 80%, everything helps when thinking about load development methods.

 

[Richard Coody]

600 tops and local match stuff so on target. Although lots of good shooters at TCGC, including Alinwa. A lot of 100-300 practice. Right now I have no expectations but to learn this sport of precision. I know what to look for I think, just specifics are tough because of all the websites I'd have to visit to learn. I have a hard time learning what specific actions and models are made for what. I'm thankful for this forum though and I read a lot of random threads, new and old, and learn a lot. Heck I learned relevant information last night on a thread started by the moderator asking for info on 7 and 300wsm … in passing he mentioned a trend of RL17 having less ES and SD the higher the case capacity. So 95% might reasonably be tighter spread then 80%, everything helps when thinking about load development methods.

well if you are really interested in benchrest competition i recommend visiting a few matches. see what everyone is using and how they are shooting. most are eager to talk guns. you can learn a lot. might even find someone with a rifle they are willing to part with.

you can build a savage that will shoot lights out but in benchrest it won't be competitive. you need a rifle that tracks and cycles easily where you don't disturb it on the bags. these guys shoot fast trying to avoid a wind shift. the setup on the rest needs to be where all they have to do is push the rifle back to the forearm stop and they are back on target ready to fire.

used rifle is where i would start. once you have done your research and decided what you want there are classifieds here, benchrest central and the shooters corner http://theshooterscorner.com/benchrest-rifles/

when you buy used best plan to rebarrel soon. 6br is a great 600 yd cartridge, the 6br improved is the newest hot item. there are lots of 6br variants to play with. all you need is a new barrel and you can try them all. a barrel vice and rear entry action wrench and you can change a barrel in just a few minutes.

if you decide short range is your game whether group or score the guns and cartridges are quite different than long rangs