Konrad.INc
Silver $$ Contributor
I might reccomend a slightly different road to start down since you are are a new shooter. Start simple. F-TR or F-open is a lot of fun, but it gets to be really expensive really quick. High power (also know as service rifle) can be a cheaper way to go to start, but it’s a very different game from F class. I would reccomend a little more “Universal” rifle to start with. Something that you can shoot many different disciplines with and still be sucsessful. This allows you to get a better taste of what kind of competitions or fun shooting is out there and you can decide what you really want to do. I’ve been a shooter all my life but when I started teaching my girlfriend at the time (now wife)how to shoot we found she liked some different versions of long range shooting than what we expected. She thinks Fclass and high power are both fairly boring (hasn’t shot on e-targets yet) but she has loved long range steel plate shooting from the first match we went to.
I’ll start with a little bit of a gear list, just to give you an idea then explain a little as to why.
rifle: 223 bolt rifle with a 1:7 or 1:8 twist. I highly reccomend a Tikka T3x sporter
www.eurooptic.com
Scope: Leupold, Vortex, Nightforce, Zeiss. All in a variable power, 6 to 20x or 8-25x somewhere in that range. Lots of places to find these, new or used.
bipod, If you can afford an Atlas bipod then start there (230$) if you can’t, then any of the Harris type bipos will work fine.
Shooting Mat: Midway Pro series on sale for Black Friday for 36$
www.midwayusa.com
Ammo: Buy whatever shoots well in your rifle and buy as much as you can afford. If you reload, then Lapua brass, Varget or Shooters World Precision powder and good bullets (77gr SMKs, 80 or 88 ELD Match).
Now, as to why and I am biased on some of these. I bought a Tikka T3 sporter in 260 rem about 10 years ago to try out the whole 6.5mm bullet thing. It’s a really great rifle, very well built and very capable. They look great too. I started my wife shooting this rifle when we first met and she LOVED that rifle and competing with it. Low recoil, adjustable cheekpiece which I view as an absolute must and easy to operate. Scopes are important, equally as important as the rifle. You’ll appreciate a really good rifle later, stick with fairly common and simple to start. Vortex makes some decent stuff, personally I like leupold more and especially the 6.5-20 or 8.5-25 VX-3 LRP. I think a variable scope is important if you want to try several different disciplines. The fixed 36x or 42x scopes are great for Fclass but they suck everywhere else. You don’t need a big fancy bipod to get started or even to do well. You can easily shoot fclass Expert scores and even master scores with a normal bipod. Shooting mats are easy to come by but needed. I shoot with one of those midway shooting mats, they work great and they are cheap. Really cheap at the moment. Ammo is just as important as the rifle and scope. 223 is a great caliber to start with because good factory ammo is cheap if you have to buy it. 223 has great barrel life (3000-5000 rounds depending on many factors). You don’t need anything bigger out to 600yds and it is capable out to 1000yds. It’s also cheap to load for if you are hand loading. I’ve been having good luck with the 88eldms and SWP powder in my service rifle and several multi purpose rifle. The 88eldms can be bought today for .22$ each which makes for cheap shooting. A good friend once told me “when you fill a dump truck full of used brass you’ll be a good shooter”…….so shoot often, shoot a lot and keep em in the 10 ring
I’ll start with a little bit of a gear list, just to give you an idea then explain a little as to why.
rifle: 223 bolt rifle with a 1:7 or 1:8 twist. I highly reccomend a Tikka T3x sporter
Tikka T3x Sporter .223 Rem 8" Twist 20" Threaded Rifle JRTXN412
Tikka T3x Sporter .223 Rem Rifle JRTXN412 | Only at EuroOptic.com!
Scope: Leupold, Vortex, Nightforce, Zeiss. All in a variable power, 6 to 20x or 8-25x somewhere in that range. Lots of places to find these, new or used.
bipod, If you can afford an Atlas bipod then start there (230$) if you can’t, then any of the Harris type bipos will work fine.
Shooting Mat: Midway Pro series on sale for Black Friday for 36$
MidwayUSA Pro Series Competition Shooting Mat Coyote
When MidwayUSA set out to develop our original competition shooting mat, we relied on our highly experienced staff for research and development. Some of...
www.midwayusa.com
Ammo: Buy whatever shoots well in your rifle and buy as much as you can afford. If you reload, then Lapua brass, Varget or Shooters World Precision powder and good bullets (77gr SMKs, 80 or 88 ELD Match).
Now, as to why and I am biased on some of these. I bought a Tikka T3 sporter in 260 rem about 10 years ago to try out the whole 6.5mm bullet thing. It’s a really great rifle, very well built and very capable. They look great too. I started my wife shooting this rifle when we first met and she LOVED that rifle and competing with it. Low recoil, adjustable cheekpiece which I view as an absolute must and easy to operate. Scopes are important, equally as important as the rifle. You’ll appreciate a really good rifle later, stick with fairly common and simple to start. Vortex makes some decent stuff, personally I like leupold more and especially the 6.5-20 or 8.5-25 VX-3 LRP. I think a variable scope is important if you want to try several different disciplines. The fixed 36x or 42x scopes are great for Fclass but they suck everywhere else. You don’t need a big fancy bipod to get started or even to do well. You can easily shoot fclass Expert scores and even master scores with a normal bipod. Shooting mats are easy to come by but needed. I shoot with one of those midway shooting mats, they work great and they are cheap. Really cheap at the moment. Ammo is just as important as the rifle and scope. 223 is a great caliber to start with because good factory ammo is cheap if you have to buy it. 223 has great barrel life (3000-5000 rounds depending on many factors). You don’t need anything bigger out to 600yds and it is capable out to 1000yds. It’s also cheap to load for if you are hand loading. I’ve been having good luck with the 88eldms and SWP powder in my service rifle and several multi purpose rifle. The 88eldms can be bought today for .22$ each which makes for cheap shooting. A good friend once told me “when you fill a dump truck full of used brass you’ll be a good shooter”…….so shoot often, shoot a lot and keep em in the 10 ring
