Thinking of my first bolt gun!

[Rogue556]

I'm needing some help deciding on a precision gun from those of you with some knowledge on the subject. I've been mainly shooting rifle (My Colt AR15 for the most part), handgun, and shotgun the past couple years. I've had a little bit of time behind a buddy of mines Remington 700 SPS .308 and generally enjoy shooting it. I've shot his out to about 400-500 meters accurately and find myself wanting one of my own.

My question is this; What caliber do you think is best for a first bolt gun meeting my requirements? I'd like to be able to push out to 1k yards eventually, but understand it will take time acquiring the skill to do so. Average range would be around 500-800 Yards or so. I have a range near by that goes to about 600 yards and my buddy's land can go out to about 1200 yards so space to practice isn't a problem.

The gun I'm looking at is the Remington 700 5r. I've read it's a nice gun out of the box with plenty of room to grow. Now I'm just not sure what caliber would serve me best. I know it's offered in .223, .308, and .300 WinMag. A local shop nearby has one in .300 WinMag with 26" barrel for $1100. Between .308 and .300 WinMag, which would you recommend me for the info I've given?

(BTW Not sure if it matters, but I don't plan on hunting with it.)

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

[SGTMAJ]

.308 If your going to put in the time to learn to shoot 1K but the majority of your time is between 500-800m your going to need a lot of ammo and a lot of time behind the gun. .308 is cheaper than 300WM more available and less abusive on both the shooter and the weapon over time.

[taliv]

300wm would be just about the worst thing you could do.

308win is not the best choice but it is the "easy button" because it's easy to find rifles in that caliber and it's easy to find match ammo. So it's cheaper and you can plink a bit without learning to and investing in reloading.

if you know you're going to get serious, i'd look for a 260rem, 6.5 creedmoor similar (several factory guns available and a couple of commercial reloaders.) or a fast-twist 243win and learn to reload.

good luck!

[Rogue556]

.308 is cheaper than 300WM more available and less abusive on both the shooter and the weapon over time.

This is one of the reasons why I'm leaning toward the .308. My understanding is for a gun to learn on the .300WinMag's barrel life was also much shorter than the .308 and the recoil may cause bad habits with the .300. Not sure, could be wrong but I think I remember hearing that.

.308win is not the best choice but it is the "easy button" because it's easy to find rifles in that caliber and it's easy to find match ammo. So it's cheaper and you can plink a bit without learning to and investing in reloading.

This is a valid point I think I may have overlooked. I know the best groups with my friends gun were with Federal Gold Medal Match so that's what I was thinking of trying (along with some others to find which works best as I know all guns vary with what ammo they like).

Since I'm going to be shooting from mostly 300 meters and up I was thinking of going with a NF NXS 5.5-22x56 with Badger 20 MOA base and Badger rings. Figure with nice glass on it, if I ever did want to step up to a bigger and/or more precise round I could transfer that optic over and buy a lower power for the .308 if I decided to keep both for different roles/distances.

On a side note, does anyone know of any good reading material over reloading for someone new to it? I'd like to read up on it a bit.

[Rockfish Dave]

Of the calibers to choose from I'd say the 308 is best for what describe as what you plan on using it for. That said, have you given any thought to a quality 22lr trainer? The ballistics at 100 closely match a 308 at 300 yards shooting 168gr projectiles (if memory serves). Point being you can learn allot and at lower cost.

[7.62WildBill]

.308 is the better of the two. F-TR class shooters make some tight groups at 1000 yards with .308.

[Rogue556]

That said, have you given any thought to a quality 22lr trainer? The ballistics at 100 closely match a 308 at 300 yards shooting 168gr projectiles (if memory serves). Point being you can learn allot and at lower cost.

I'd actually never heard that, thanks!...I wouldn't mind having a .22 for a practice rifle actually. I've thought about .22 trainers for my other guns but never thought about one for precision. If I did go that route I'd probably build both. I'll have to look into a good .22 gun for the task!

.308 is the better of the two. F-TR class shooters make some tight groups at 1000 yards with .308.

Yeah, I had heard of a few people getting good groupings even at that distance with .308 so figured if I ever wanted to, I could push it that far. Figured I'd get opinions first though. Of course I'm sure anyone doing that with a .308 has built the skills to do so with tons of practice!

[Red falcon]

.308, cheaper, more available, can shoot 7.62 NATO, and makes less wear on your rifle.

[HD1911]

You CANNOT go wrong with getting into .308 as your first Bolt Gun/Precision Rifle.

Barrel life is insanely good. Extremely easy to handload for. Plenty of good brands of Factory Match widely available (well, minus these last few months due to the panic buying). Awesome Hunting round as well.

Yes, out past 600 yards other Match LR Calibers shine more brightly, but it's plenty good to learn on and have at the ready.

[Rogue556]

Thanks for the responses guys, I'm definitely going to go with the .308. Seems like it's the most well rounded as far as cost, accuracy, and availability!