getting into the precision bolt game. UPDATE: Pics

General Firearms Precision Rifle - Bolt Gun
1

Sirs,

Over the past few years, I’ve been filling in the gaps in my gear and training. Just about the only gap left is a .308 bolt gun (with the eventual adoption of a .300WM or 6.5 Creedmoor) with good glass to start learning how to call the wind, dope a rifle, and shoot groups out beyond 600m. I am settled on the .308 cartridge to start with for a number of reasons: availability of factory ammo, ease of reloading, the cross-over into .mil/LE usage, and that the .308 round provides a great training platform with fewer cheats. If I can shoot the .308 out to 800+ meters, a 6.5 CM will be a breeze.

Currently, I am looking at the Savage 10 FCP-SR. The aftermarket for these appears to be very robust. A fully bedded receiver, free floated barrel, the accutrigger, threaded muzzle, pic-rail for scopes… It seems to do everything that I need it to do, and more.

The only variations on this theme that I’ve been considering are a Tikka T3x, especially in the Lite configuration, and the good old fashioned Remington 700 series. Ideally, this rifle would be light enough to carry over hill and dale for hunting, in addition to shooting groups. I know, across purposes, but a man has only so much money and a need for only so many rifles.

For glass, I’ve been looking at Leupold and SWA, mostly in the 4x16ish range. Nightforce and Steiner are great, but again, a man has only so much money.

What should I be looking out for / what are the problems with what I’ve laid out above.

The Savage 10 FCP-SR is on sale right now for $579, and Savage is running at $100 mail-in-rebate… So that’s precipitating a move on this particular issue. Ideally, the overall budget for this project will be at or around $1000, all in, being able to shoot out to 800m+.

2

Of the three rifles you mention, I would choose the Tikka over the other two.

Before you consider aftermarket upgrades to any boltgun you decide to purchase for this project, I would suggest putting as much $ as you can into glass. You will learn more from quality glass on any of the 3 rifles you mention than you can imagine. Once you get comfortable then you can start looking into upgrades. Check the classifieds here and on other precision shooting oriented sites, you can find very good glass at fair prices.

Good luck!

3

Agree spend $$ on glass, and I’d go minimum for a Vortex PST over the tier 1 SWFAs. Everyone who looks through the 4-16X PST is impressed and I would have to go to a $1K to $1200 Sightron or Nightforce to get better glass.

Nothing wrong w/ a Savage, as I got the m10V heavy barrel, accu-stock & accu-trigger for $350 after rebates & sale price, in 308. But I’d now say go right for the 6.5 Creedmore. Using reloads duplicating 168-grn FGM match loads, she’s a consistent 1/2 MOA arm to 200-yds, as haven’t stretched her further - yet. I plan on trying the 175s for lomger distances.

Recommmend you read up on and shoot the Optimal Charge Weight method by Dan Newbury.

I got lucky on this 308 though, as it’ll print cheap Fed Power Shok 150-grn hunting softpoints into groups 5/8"-3/4" all day long, and luckily I bought a ton whilst WallyWorld had if at $12/box.

4

I would say at the very bare minimum what you spent on the rifle should go into glass. Usually double for some depending on what you consider precision shooting and rifle cost. Spending $2k on glass even sitting on a $1k rifle is even common.

5

While I am not against having good glass on the rifle, and will be spending easily more on the optic than on the rifle itself, there is a point of diminishing returns / cost over-run, at least for me. The very highest tier of cost that I can justify on this first go-around is something in the $1200 range for the optic, and even then, that will put off actually finishing the gear portion of the project for quite a while (perhaps indefinitely), and will eat into money/time that would be better spent actually going shooting. This is a training project, not a competitive rifle, nor a rifle that I’ll be carrying into a fight.

A Primary Arms Platinum / Nightforce is about the cap for what I can reasonably justify on this project.

Currently, the Vortex HS-T 6-24 looks like the best cost::quality ratio going. I do have a soft spot for Leupold scopes, though, and they have a variable in a similar range that looks good.

I’ll try and find a Tikka at a nearby store to handle. Finding Savages isn’t too hard.

6

Absolutely Correct on diminishing returns. I’d definitely only buy glass for it’s intended purpose and how far you intend shooting. Nightforce makes a excellent choice and nothing wrong with Leupold they make quality stuff too. Everyone has a budget and good shooters can make a NCStar perform at 1000 yards. [emoji16]

Have you looked into IOR Valdada?

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I hate to throw in another option for you to look at, but I would take a serious look at the Bergara B-14 HMR.

Oops nvm, saw the budget haha.

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If it was me I would save longer and get one of the turnkey rifles.

RPR
Tikka TAC A1
Stealth (meh)

Or for sure one of the Bergara rifles.

As far as scope you can get away with a lot of different options. My first optic was a Vortex PST 6X24. I sold that and moved up to a Razor 4.5X27.

Well the Razor got out on a full custom build :slight_smile:

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9

Advice to spend more than my total budget on just a rifle is a kind of a no-go. Unless you want to start a go-fund-me for this project, spending that kind of dough on just the rifle won’t happen. I am not expecting to get into and win competitions. Just learn how to get reliable hits at extreme ranges.

The PST seems to get a lot of play.

10

Glad to know that my head is in the right spot re: what I am trying to accomplish and what budget that I need to be thinking about.

I haven’t checked out Valdada optics at all. They appear to be pricey, and on par cost-wise with Nightforce offerings. What’s the short-sheet on considering them?

11

Coming from owning a Savage Varmint action and doing a full build on it I would not do it again.

I tried and tried to get the Savage to run and plain and simple it’s extraction design is terrible.

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12

Yes they are but IOR makes some extremely quality glass for the money and can be found at a nice price on lower models (still very nice glass) or used. I have a IOR Eliminator 1-10x DFP which is discontinued and it was worth every penny.

13

Have you tried replacing the SS bearing under the extractor to a larger size? Plenty of info about this on the Savage rifle forums.

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T3X CTR is where it is at. Pair with a PST gen II or swfa.

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The Tikka T3 is a real shooter, or a good used Remington 700 heavy barrel 308, either of these should fit in your budget well. The Remington would probably be the best choice because of the aftermarket support. Once you go down the rabbit hole of long range shooting, you’ll appreciate that fact.

As far as glass goes the Vortex PST gen II 5-25 Mil/Mil has really impressed me so far. A good Bushnell 3.5-21 or Burris XTR 5-25 would also fit the bill. Shop the optics here and on Snipers hide and you should be able to find a good one used. Make sure you get matching turrets and reticle Mil/Mil or MOA/MOA.

Invest the rest in a good kestrel to help you learn wind and weather, and a truck load of ammo. The 168gr American Eagle match is really good stuff for training ammo if your working 600m and in. The good news on a 308 is barrel life, you’ll be able to put thousands down range before you need a new one.

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16

Yes it had a complete upgraded extractor, bearing and spring from NSS.

It failed with the upgraded kit and then I replaced it back with stock parts. It worked for a bit and then began to fail again. So it had two different kits put in under 400 rounds and they both broke.

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17

Another option would be to pick up a Rem 700 Varmint model and put it in a new stock. Thats what I did on my last precision build. The stock they come with is pure garbage and made the groups very inconsistent. Once I dropped it into a B&C stock it was a consistent .75-.9 MOA rifle with factory match ammo and .6-.75 MOA rifle with handloads.

My total cost of that rifle (factory rifle, stock, BDL bottom metal) was under 800 bucks. I shot a 6.5 inch 5 round group at 900 yards with that rifle using 178 grain AMAX handloads.

That rifle started out with a 6-24 PST on it and a traded that out for a Nightforce NXS that my friend sold to me for a ridiculous price.

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optics option… steiner t5xi they are really great scopes excellent glass and sometime you can pick them up for a steal on the HIDE or on sale from places like scope list.

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I am in the same boat. Sort of. I’m about to put together my first bolt gun as well but my budget is a bit higher. In your case to get close to your 1K limit I would recommend the TiKka T3x every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I have very limited bolt gun experience but the few that I have handled (RPR, Rem700 and Tikka T3) the Tikka had the smoothest action.

I think the non HD SWFA 3-15 seems to be a great scope based on what owners have said on SnipersHide.

My plan is to order a Tikka T3x Tac A1 in early August. I already have a Steiner Military 4-16 that I picked up used on SnipersHide.

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Go Tikka for sure, strong and smooth action.

Save up for good glass. It does matter. I prefer my Night Force over my T5 Steiner , shop around on the Hide. Guys there are always off loading glass.

I would 6.5 Creedmoor. About the same price on ammo, but the benefits of the 6.5 out weigh the difference in costs

my wife thinks I only have 3 guns