New And Need Some Help

[cnorm129]

Im Pretty New To The Long Range Shooting And Im Wanting To Build A Rifle To Do It. Im Wanting To Build A .308. I Have Done Some Looking Into It And I Have Come Up With Thats The Best For Me To Start With. Maybe The Next One Will Be A 6.5-.284 (After I Get Use To Handloading, And Good At It). I Know Savage Makes A Good Out Of The Box Rifle In A .308. But I Was Wondering If I Would Come Out Better (Or Cheaper) Building One. And Info Would Be Help Full

 

[brxbrad]

This will give you an idea on cost of a savage model 12 FTR

I Dont think you can build one for this......

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=100207

 

[RonAKA]

Here is an article that you may find of interest.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek036.html

 

[cnorm129]

I Was Looking At Buying The Savage Model 10FP. Its There Law Enforcment Rifle, It Has The HS Percision Stock On It (They Have One With A McMillen Stock). The Only Thing Is That It Has A 24" Barrel I Didnt Know If That Would Work Or If I Would Need A Longer Barrel

 

[nirish]

If you are shooting prone out to 1000yds get a 30or32ins barrel with a12 twitch

 

[TerryPohl]

I will more than likely catch some flack for this, but this is my 2cents worth.
I have shot and worked with several Savages, and most shoot pretty good, but I have not had any shoot to what I would expect them to are to what I get from my 700’s. If money allows, I would build off of a 700 action in a 308, get good at reloading, do a lot of practice and then get a 6.5-284 barrel to screw on to it, if that is what you want to shoot later on. Keep the 308 barrel and have two guns in one. Be sure to use a good gun smith with a good track record, a good barrel ect. And never quit learning in all aspect of shooting and loading. I am by far no pro at either but have been at it for more years than I care to say, and I am always reading, listening and learning. Have fun and good shooting.
Terry Pohl

 

[Kenny474]

The 10FP is a decent rifle, but the 24" barrel is going to be a severe limiting factor as you start to try and reall reach out there. Not to mention you will lose a lot of velocity as compared to a 30" barrel. The 10FP is more of a tactical rifle than a serious long range rig, as is evidenced by the 24" barrel it is equipped with.
I had a friend who lives across the country from me who bought a 10FP to start to learn to shoot long. He did OK out to 400yds, and even out to 600yds. But as he started to reach 800yds he started to notice it was starting to lack a bit and had some real trouble out at 1000yds as the longer barreled rifles retained a lot more velocity than he did, which resulted in more wind drift as well as significantly more drop as well. He would even have issues with bullets going sub-sonic in certain conditions and just couldn't push the bullets hard enough to overcome it due to pressure issues.

I would seriously consider looking into the FT/R or just planning to rebarrel the 10FP with a pre-fit barrel from a reputable maker right from the start. Unless you plan to stay inside 800yds, which the 10FP will do quite well according to my friend.

You could also talk to Jim Briggs at Northland Shooter Supply and see about getting the components to build the rifle the way you want so you don't have any limitations and still have the rifle you want.

There are other options as well, and Savage does have a custom shop program and may very well be willing to set you up with a 10FP with a longer barrel in the 28" to 30" range, which will be far better suited to long range shooting than the 24" barrel will.

And don't worry about the Savage nay-sayers. Savage rifles are some of the most accurate rifles going out of the box, and are much easier to swap barrels and do other smithing duties than the Remington's are. You can do a barrel swap yourself with a Savage, where as a Remington will require a lathe, unless you go with a Savage style barrel nut on the Remington. Not to mention Remington actions usually require a large investment in truing work to be competitive with the better machined actions, where as Savage's will often be good to go right from the start.

Good luck.

Kenny

 

[deadlyswift]

If you want a extrmely accurate Savage FTR rig! This is where you need to go http://www.precisionriflesales.com/

If you go with the Savage target action and get your choice of Stock from the Savage Doctor with the aluminum V block, have Ray Bowman of Precision Rifles and tools build it. You will not go wrong! Now you will be looking at about $2400 for the build not including clear coat on the stock. Yes that is expensive, However there are some extremly accurate Savage rifles coming out of this shop!! I'm not talking about just a great shooting rifle. I'm talking about "Yes" a Savage Action being Competive at a National level!! Because of a great design from the Savage Doctor, and a AWESOME GUNSMITH like Ray Bowman!

If this is not what you are looking for, and that can be easy to understand if funds limit you. Looking for a entry FTR rifle? Then the best bang for your bucks may very well be to go with the Factory Savage FTR rifle. Even tho it's a Factory rifle they do shoot very well, and can give you a lot of fun shooting experience with long range shooting. Trust me even if you have a $5000 rig.if you don't have the tirgger time at long range (800+ yards) it want do you any good! The wind and Mirage will kick your butt everyday of the week and twice on SUN!!

Either way you go! I wish you the best of luck!! As well I hope you enjoy the sport as much as I have, and do!!
Mark

 

[Klayton83]

i was where you are about 4 years ago. i bought a stevens 200 in 22-250. i did not anticipate it shooting as good as it did. i started handloading for it and it shot even better. i took that rifle and put a 6mmbr barrel on it from sharp shooters supply. it took all of about 15 mins for me to put the barrel on the action. then i took that stock and hogged it out for a varmint tapper. i added lots of fiberglass and tryed to make it look like a tactical stock. it turned out awesome and i can make a 5 shot groop under a dime. total cost on rifle was 685. i also put on a sharp shooter supply trigger.

 

[ChuckMiller]

Opinions being what they are it seems you've decided that the 308 is what your going to start with. I'm making an assumption you'll be wanting to use it in some kind of local longrange comp's, most will be in the 4-600 range. If your thinking 1000yd stuff everything about your equipment and caliber choices change. If you go Savage I would stay away from their factory barrels. You can build a LRPV/Shilen or McGowen barreled rifle for just a little more money. Spend your first year learning what the guys that are competitive are using and how to reload for your rifle. Biggest mistake I see guys make when getting into longrange shooting is spending a bundle, getting to the line, and go "oh crap". The 308 is a good cartridge to learn on and the Savage system is economical but in any well attended 4-600yd shoot your going to be severely undergunned, use it to learn on.

 

[artbosco]

Im Pretty New To The Long Range Shooting And Im Wanting To Build A Rifle To Do It.

If you're as new to this as you say you are, and want to shoot long range, you'd be remiss in not considering this Long Range champ, that's impressive from 100 yards to 1000 yards, and much more comfortable to shoot. I'd like to introduce this caliber for your review: http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/6mmbr/ It has set some impressive records.

"I have to say that shooting and loading the 6BR is so rewarding that I can barely get motivated to shoot anything else. After all these years of .308 shooting in NRA Match Rifle, ISSF 300 Meter, NRA/CMP Service Rifle and Palma, discovering the accuracy, mildness and ease of loading of the 6BR is like striking gold. I feel like the William Hurt character in that now old movie The Big Chill who puts on a pair of sneakers for the first time in his life and is so overwhelmd by their comfort that he wears them 24/7." — German Salazar, ShootersJournal.com

 

[1000yardstare]

Have to agree with a previous statement in this thread that some beginners in the sport expect too much out of a new rig. I have been shooting Palma and F Class for 30 years and have seen over and over again a new shooter become frustrated and angry when he couldn`t get on the 1000 yd target the very first time he tried it. The heck of it is that the rest of the guys on the line could care less whether you are hitting the target or not. The new guy is just putting pressure on himself. That type of individual tends to disappear.

The newbies that went in with "I am here to learn" attitude and put their egos in park while enjoying themselves are the ones that hang around and after a few years start winning some competitons.

As for the Savage F12 Target rifles, I would say they have doubled attendance at our local F Class practises. A great way to get started right out of the box if you have the attitude that you are not going to be National Champion your very first try.

The .308 is a great starter cartridge. Lots of good brass and bullets available. In F/TR everyone is shooting the same cartridge which tends to level the playing field somewhat.

The kicker in competitions is that the whole world now is using a 1/2 minute inner ring for F Class. This pretty well means that you have to go to a custom 30 inch barrel if you want to start placing high in competition.

If you are just out for the enjoyment and want to gain experience with a short barreled rig shooting 600 yd matches then go for it and have some fun. After a few years you will have the personal experience to decide on a custom rig.