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What caliber would you recommend?

22-250 Ackley Improved or 22 Creedmoor with a 7.5 to 8 twist barrel. Prefit barrel from Northland Shooters Supply, Criterion, or Urbanrifleman. 7.5 twist will stabilize the 88 gr ELDM great or the 8 twist will do fine with the 80 gr class bullets. Low recoil, great accuracy and 1000 yard capable.
 
A .308 would work. More barrel life than the 6.5 Creed but a little more recoil and wind drift. When there’s no 6,6.5, or 7mm bullets on the shelf there is always .308 Berger and/or Sierra Palma 155’s.
A 6br hit is hard to hear with plugs and muffs at 600 yards off on a full size IPSC (18x24) 1/2 inch thick.
I just bought Lapua 6.5 Creed and .308 to replace both my 6br’s when there done.
Only 30 grains of powder does make life easier. No doubt I’ll miss them.
 
Get a prefit Creed 6.5 barrel and install yourself. At that time grind out the stock enough to bed it, esp the recoil lug, and install lighter target trigger spring. It should shoot well, but you will still have a clunky action. As a minimal investment you can get much better performance, and save the cash for a smoother action in the future.
 
I screwed a Shilen 6cm on my 12VLP and it shoots factory ELDM ammo in the .4's . At 1000yds, with a bit of swirling wind, the 6.5cm will give you more hits. Sell the original barrel on Ebay and pay for 1/3 of your custom barrel.
 
Tikka Varmint Model, 24" heavy barrel in any caliber they offer in this model. Expect sub 1/2 moa group with tailored reloads. Mine, in a 223 Rem, is one of the most accurate out of the box rifles I've ever owned. The trigger is great, the extractor is superior, the stock is stiff enough, the vertical pistol group and raised cheek piece promote good shooting. I give it a 5-star highest rating.

The 243 and 22 250, while great cartridges for hunting, are not the best options for high volume target shooting because of acerated barrel wear unless you are willing to replace barrels more frequently than other less over bore cartridges.
 
With availability of bullets these days, I would seriously look at a 6mm of some type. 6 x 47L, 6 Creed or a 6SLR. The SLR brass can be easily formed from 243.
 

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