Which caliber to get 308 or 338 Lapua

[orkan]

I have $2000 for a rifle. What are your recommendations?
I already have a Leupold MK 4 scope

Your budget is good. Much better than what most noobs start out with. Most want to get a rifle and glass for $1000. Good on you for that.

Here's what you do:
Sell the Mark 4.
Use that money to buy a Vortex Viper PST 4-16 FFP (mil/mil)
Buy a Remington 5R 308
Buy a 20MOA pic rail for it (seekins/badger/nightforce)
Buy a Timney 510 for it, and set it to 2.5lbs
Buy a set of Badger rings for it
Buy an Atlas bipod for it
Buy a TAB Gear rear bag

Have a gunsmith install a rail up front for the Atlas. While they are at it, have them bed the action, and install a couple flush cups on the left side.

If you have no smith you work with, I have a guy locally that does all my work whom can do a good bed job quickly, and only charges $150. He can also do any of the other work. He usually turns bed jobs around in a couple weeks. They aren't as good as a Chad Dixon (long rifles inc) bed job, but they get the job done!

Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot some more. The rest will come in time.

If you want a more personalized recommendation, PM me your phone number and a good time to call and I'll try to answer any question you may have. If I don't have the answer, I'll say so, and I'll send you to someone who does.

[Fidalgoman]

Did you forgo the .300 Win Mag because they weren't available? You need to know what you want it to do and buy accordingly, not just what a dealer has in stock.

[HappyPuppy]

I would go .308. Much cheaper to shoot and a really good round I can make good hits to 800 yards, and I am not that good anymore


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[alvincullumyork]

Your budget is good. Much better than what most noobs start out with. Most want to get a rifle and glass for $1000. Good on you for that.

Here's what you do:
Sell the Mark 4.
Use that money to buy a Vortex Viper PST 4-16 FFP (mil/mil)
Buy a Remington 5R 308
Buy a 20MOA pic rail for it (seekins/badger/nightforce)
Buy a Timney 510 for it, and set it to 2.5lbs
Buy a set of Badger rings for it
Buy an Atlas bipod for it
Buy a TAB Gear rear bag

Have a gunsmith install a rail up front for the Atlas. While they are at it, have them bed the action, and install a couple flush cups on the left side.

If you have no smith you work with, I have a guy locally that does all my work whom can do a good bed job quickly, and only charges $150. He can also do any of the other work. He usually turns bed jobs around in a couple weeks. They aren't as good as a Chad Dixon (long rifles inc) bed job, but they get the job done!

Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot some more. The rest will come in time.

If you want a more personalized recommendation, PM me your phone number and a good time to call and I'll try to answer any question you may have. If I don't have the answer, I'll say so, and I'll send you to someone who does.

You could really do that with 2k? (without the glass)

[orkan]

You could really do that with 2k? (without the glass)

Sell the Mark 4.
Use that money to buy a Vortex Viper PST 4-16 FFP (mil/mil)
This is a wash. They will cancel each other out. Might even be money ahead if you can find some sucker that thinks leupold is still king.

Buy a Remington 5R 308 $1100
Buy a 20MOA pic rail for it (seekins/badger/nightforce) $120
Buy a Timney 510 for it, and set it to 2.5lbs $125
Buy a set of Badger rings for it $170
Buy an Atlas bipod for it $300
Buy a TAB Gear rear bag $30

Have a gunsmith install a rail up front for the Atlas. While they are at it, have them bed the action, and install a couple flush cups on the left side. $300 tops

Total = $2145

Granted this is just going off the top of my head. If you shop around you can get it down to $2000 or damn close. Even if you couldn't, if $145 is a deal breaker, you are in the wrong damn sport. Try underwater basket weaving.

[TehLlama]

My initial response to the thread title was basically 'if you have to ask, the .308 is the right choice'.

Orkan's recommendations are dead on - for the cost spent, that will work pretty well.

[m1ajunkie]

Something that I have picked up on in my time shooting long range is to buy used.

Surf the want to sell ads here on m4 carbine, and also check out the sections on the snipershide. I can't even begin to figure the amount of money I have saved buying used on all my shooting gear.

[Deputyrpa]

I agree with Orkin. The Rem 700 5R is the gun to get. Out of the box, it cannot be beat. Spend the real money on optics and trigger.

I've shot long range (not competition) for 35 years or so, mostly with 30 cal and below. Those calibers have been most suitable for east coast critters, steel and paper. Recently, I bought a Weatherby Mark V in .340 for elk hunting at longer ranges. For the purposes of this discussion, it's akin to the 338 Lapua. It kicks. For me, long range practice is limited to around 20 rounds/episode, every day or two, due to the pounding. Sure, I've done more working up loads, but it was for the chronograph. Brass is expensive (and probably rarer than Lapua), and it eats lots of powder. The point is, that should it not be for elk hunting, I would not have such a gun. My 03A3 and Model 700 in the 30 cal series are fun and adequate up to 1K yards, and allows one to focus on technique. If you want to get good first, remove as many impediment as you can.

[turbo38gn]

This has been an excellent thread, thanks to all that participated. I especially appreciate ORKAN'S INFO. I already have purchased the 338 Savage HS, haven't shot it yet, but have pretty much got it ready to go. After reading this, I want a 308... so I did some looking around and found this one for sale, Savage FCP-K .308, think I can get it for under $700. I would first like to know what ORKAN thinks about this model, I may not shoot a real lot, but want to play out to 300yds for now. Any info would be appreciated for setting this up.

Thanks again, Merry Christmas

[orkan]

I'm the wrong guy to ask about a savage. ... especially if you are already pre-programmed to like them.



The only exception is their rimfires. They have a great rimfire for the money, so long as you can overlook the shitty magazine hanger.