Full disclosure: I am very new to long range. I have read the pinned posts and damn near all the wiki.

I mostly shoot at a 200 yard range with my .22LR and more recently, my .233 AR. I have access to a 600-800 yard range, but will most likely be sticking with .223 due to the availability and price of ammo, as well as the fact that I’m in New England without a whole lot of affordable options for distance shooting.

I would love to get a Tikka Super Varmint, but $1700 is pretty much my high end of budget for rifle, scope, bipod combined. This brings me to my big question…

I will most likely go with a Howa 1500/mini action chambered in .223 Rem, but a lot of the bull barrels that I see are not threaded (I would like to have the option of a suppressor or brake). The heavy barrels also seem to be 20”. I don’t know enough about this yet to know if that is optimal, or short. My AR has a 16” barrel and I still hit my 3” target at 200 yards with a Vortex 5x prism scope, but the groups open up really fast.

Are the “standard” barrels on the Howa heavy enough if I’m only shooting 5 shots before cooldown? I’ve read that heavier is better, but I don’t know if that means “just don’t use pencil barrels or super light hunting barrels”.

TLDR: Is it okay to get a standard “not heavy” barrel 22” Howa 1500 in .223 to shoot 200-700 yards, or is a heavy barrel necessary? Also, is a suppressor/brake for .223 such an improvement that I should overlook non threaded heavy barrel options?

Thank you for reading all this.

Putting together a gas gun and I can’t decide on a grip. A lot of people like the K2+ but I’m afraid that the grip will be too beercan-esc. I like the idea of a DAC VGC or VGC-L but I haven’t held one.

What are you guys running?

Looking set up my first bolt gun. I've held off on this being left handed but I am ready to get my first wrong handed action. My only concern is interference with the throw lever and a 90 degree throw.

Specifics:

I plan to use the Leupold MK5 3.6-18x44 that I already own and if I feel I'm lacking magnification invest in a higher power version down the road. In either case I'll be sticking with the Mk5 to keep the same family of scopes as my gas guns.

My question for the delegation is, will I have interference issues using a 90 degree action with my scope on lower magnification (throw lever sits between 7-10 o'clock when on the lower half of the power range)? And would it be best bet to look at an action with 75/60 throws? I was all but set on purchasing a Zermatt action but they only make 90s, so now I might look at CDG or Impact (although I was hoping to only spend the lower price point of the Zermatt Origin).

Regarding scope mounting height either something around 1.54" for future NV/thermal co-witnessing, or something a little lower around 1.3".

I don't believe the stock/chasis factors into the question but in case it does, I was looking into either a McMillan U-10 or Manners MCS-NS.

Thanks for any help given!

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to get into my first centerfire long-range setup and want some real-world feedback before buying anything.

Goals & Experience:

• Target / Distance: Mostly ringing steel with friends at 600 yards, occasionally pushing out to 1,000 yards. Not focused on shooting tiny groups on paper or competitive PRS.
• Experience: Relatively new to centerfire long range. I took a long-range class in college where I stretched a .22lr out to 175-200-250 yards, but that’s about the extent of my experience. I'm definitely not experienced with building any rifle from scratch and don't own gunsmithing tools.
• Budget: Roughly $1,000 – $1,200 total for the rifle, mount, and optic combined.
• Ergonomic Preference: I really prefer a vertical/pistol grip layout. An MDT or similar chassis for a bolt action currently pushes beyond my budget, which is why I’ve been leaning toward an AR platform.

Current Setup Under Consideration:

• Rifle: Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA) BC-15 complete rifle with 24" 416R stainless heavy barrel in 6mm ARC (~$490)
• Trigger: LaRue Tactical MBT-2S Curved 2-Stage (~$135)
• Glass Option 1: Arken EP-5 5-25x56 FFP with 34mm Rigid Precision Mount (~$500 bundle)
• Glass Option 2: Vortex Venom 5-25x56 FFP (~$500)

Questions:

1. For someone on a strict ~$1,100 total budget who wants a pistol grip layout for 600–1,000 yd steel, is this 6mm ARC AR-15 build viable, or is there a better entry route I'm missing ?
2. Between the Arken EP-5 and Vortex Venom 5-25x56, which would you recommend in this price tier for reliable tracking and clarity ?
3. If BCA is a bad idea,, what is other alternative that keeps me within the $1,000–$1,200 ceiling while keeping that pistol grip chassis style ?

I have a Ruger American Predator chambered in .400 Legend that I originally bought with the intent of using strictly for deer hunting. However, I recently inherited a family gun in .30-30, and I plan to use that rifle exclusively for deer going forward (and this rifle once or twice).That’s what led me here. I’m considering selling the Ruger and replacing it with something that I can gradually build into a long-range precision rifle. I keep coming back to a Tikka, specifically the T3x Lite with the 22.4" barrel in 6.5 PRC. I plan to shoot 500 yard or less, but may go to a 1,000 yard range every once in a while. I am not looking to compete but just something that can go a little farther. Would it be worthwhile to start with that rifle and slowly upgrade it over time for precision shooting, or would I be better off taking a different approach from the beginning? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Saw this on facebook and thought you guys might find it interesting. I have two solus rifles so hopefully this is good news

Working on a load for my 6.5CM using a 140 Berger VLD Target. I measure my lands using a Horandy OAL gauge and get 2.263 CTBO at a COAL of 2.970.

Mag limit is 2.870 (ACIS Magpul).

I would like to ideally be .20-.40 of the lands to try it, but that would put me over mag length and idk if I can load a 6.5CM that long to begin with (safely).

Disregarding mag length for a second. Has anybody ever loaded a 6.5CM at 2.900 for example? Apex Loadpro says it’s longer than the allowed COL, which I think it has listed at 2.825. (Massive jump to the lands)

Should I look at a different type of bullet if I want to get closer to the lands?

Helping a buddy build a rifle for a few matches we shoot a year. The Howa 1500 barreled action is about 550 at Brownell's, stock, and trigger I can build it for around a grand. I just don't see any talk about Howa's anymore so wondering what happened to that.

I know I can go Zermatt + Proof + stock/trigger for around 2 grand but wondering if I'm getting him twice as good of a rifle.

The matches we shoot are field/team sniper/rucking style matches inside 1000 yards.

I’ve been thinking about a Tikka Ace Target model but I was curious whether the MPA guns were worth the extra money and which model would be best for a beginning long range shooter.

After reading the pinned posts and doing some digging I could not find an answer regarding USED actions specifically.

Got 7-8k to build myself something decent and I was looking at the impact precision 737r. Mostly 700-1000yard range sessions with eventual PRS.

Someone local is selling one for 500 less than it is new but it is used and has 1000 rounds through it.

In regard to saving some money to use for other things like maybe a cykepod or can or even a nicer MDT chassis, would it be worth looking at a used action only if everything else is going to be new?

NOT LOOKING TO BUY ANYTHING HERE OR SELL ANYTHING HERE! Just looking for advice on if a used action is worth the monetary savings.

Why do none of the factory built bolt guns coming with the superior stainless steel barrel? I’ve only found 3 or 4 that do. Do they just expect us to change the barrel anyway or am I missing something.

Historically have ran Arca direct mounted to my tripod but been seeing a lot of guys throw a bag on an tac table for a quicker and easier tripod setup.

Anyone found any cheap Tac Tables that do the job? Rather not spend damn near $200 for an ABEL, albeit they are sweet looking. TIA

I have a bergera 6.5 creed with their core carbon fiber 22" barrel in a krg chassis. Which suppressor would be best fit a ptr vent 1 or a thunder beast.

Tia

Buddy offered me his pre-14 rem 700 300win for 400 bucks and I’m probably gonna buy it. It’s got the pencil hunting barrel and original stock. I’m wondering what’s the best options now-a-days for building this out. Will be planning on changing out the barrel and stock probably go mdt for the stock but if you were in my shoes would you just rebarrel it in a heavy 300win or go with something else?
(This is not my first rifle I have multiple creeds, Grendel’s, and 308’s and this will be used for long range)

EDIT: forgot to add that it’s a 300win