new rifle purchase

[pigdog]

hi guys thought id run this past the forum here before I pull the trigger. Looking at dropping approx 3-3.5k on a new set up and thought id ask the forums thoughts before I do, will be used for hunting as well as target shooting (not competitively) just on the farm and outback.

Set on the 6.5x55 swede due to combination of good barrel life and good ballistics (I know its not comparable to a 6.5-284 or 7 saum etc) but will have a decent barrel life, looking at a tikka stainless varmint 23.7inch, harris bi pod, and possibly one of these new burris xtrii scopes pending further research. Will be reloading and needing equipment which needs to be included in budget. I think I can get this done for the budget can anyone offer a better alternative for all this for the budget?

[plumbs7]

Have a look at 6.5 x47 lap or .260 rem ? Vortex viper Pst great scope for money! My Son in law recently bought a bushnell tack elite 1 st nd focal plane ( mil rads of course lol!). And I was quite impressed with it !

I've no experience with the 6.5 x 55 and it does have a good reputation for hunting. Rare to see it in f open ! Nearly as rare as 7-08 Ai lol! But they the swede does seem accurate!
But look into a more recent cartridge such as the lap or credemore or .260 rem ! ( I personally don't like the shoulder angle of the .260)

As for the rifle , tikka offer a great rifle for the money that can be quite competitive at club level in f open !

Regards Graham.

[SunnyCoast 5r]

Wow...thanks for letting us in on this (always easy to solve someone else's problems)!
1. Hard to find a rifle to do double duty
2. I keep coming back to 308 for this purpose (can run FTR or FStandard or FOpen; components not too dear; can shoot up to buff-sized game but a bit harsh on rabbit for the pot; factory Ammo cheap compared to most other cals if you just need a few hunting rounds a year or want to try something different; seems forgiving to reload for most rifles; etc). Ballistics not great on paper but keeps doing the job...pigs fall over when I go bang up to reasonable ranges...if they are too far away just walk closer!
3. Tikka seems to be the go but I am keen on the Aussie made Lithgow LA102 (have the LA101 in 22 and I love it)
4. I haven't settled on a scope for the same purpose yet but like the look of the NF SHV range and the new Leupold VX3i range. Have looked through most under $1600 and still no idea...had a cheaper Bushnell and loved it until my first NF...sold it after that...
5. Refer to point 1. over and over again.

Sorry; haven't helped but please let us know which way you go!! Great problem to have!
Happy hunting.

[plumbs7]

Yep the Lithgow rifle looks the goods too ! Looks like a strong 3 lug action . In the Ssaa mag review it was quite accurate even with just factory ammo!
.308 is a very capable cal and with 155's to 168's very easy to tune and competitive with "24 barrel out to 800 yds . You can also compete in the feeder class f standard b against other factory rifles . Yep I agree with Sunnycoast !

[pigdog]

Thanks guys will go through a few of the responses as I have already considered a lot of the points raised. I like the 6.5x55 in the tikka compared to the 260rem for 2 reasons one is that the tikka is a long action only so the benefits of the true short action are not all there I believe they just put a block in the action for the short action. The 6.5x55 being long action can have bullets seated for full length the second reason was the 6.5x55 has slightly more case capacity then the 260 and 6.5x47 so if wanted it can be run slightly harder.

I had originally considered the 308 as I wasn't going to reload and already have access to 270, and 243 for hunting I intend to use this for more long range target shooting in the field with some possible prone hunting with the bipod. Because I have decided to reload for it the 6.5x55 came up when loaded to modern standards as superior to a lot of the common hunting rounds to long range ballisticslly for targets.

I looked at the Lithgow I sent them an email to see if they will be bringing out a stainless model then said no I'm only interested in stainless rifles

I had looked at the viper pst scope however there are a few less than good reviews on some of the other forums about these so not too sure yet gotta look into it more. Another I was looking at was a fixed 10 power IOR valdada which has excellent reviews by a few although it is quite expensive. It must be a mil mil or moa Moa scope as I want to use it to range targets with in the field.

[Tim N]

Take a look at the tikka F class by CRM on the suppliers page.

[pigdog]

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[Tim N]

If you pay a few bucks more at CRM you will more than make up for it with some good advice from them!

[plumbs7]

That may have been our legendary Captain Dave Mac ! What he doesn't know about LR guns isn't worth knowing about ! A Genius and a gentleman! I have a lot of respect for him !

[ShaneG]

Thanks for the referral Tim
Most of us remember the old saying ? - you can lead a horse to water??!!
If we could only charge for advice??
I have had 10 goes at this post and just keep deleting what I really would
Ike to say?!

[pigdog]

.

[Tim N]

Hey Pig dog
No ones having a shot here, a lot of people have bought "dual purpose" rifles at the start of an interest in F class shooting(myself included)and been disappointed in the long run.
The gun I started with was a 284 in a McMillan A5 which was too heavy for bush shooting and the wrong shape for open.
You might want to spend some time at a range near you and see what people are using etc
It's a fair investment, so a good decision might take a while.

[macguru]

Not sure F class should be your priority if you are mainly going to use it for hunting and casual target anyways. I dont own a gun shop so I dont care where you buy from.... Tikka have a good rep and so does the 6.5 swede, it will handle anything in Australia except Buffalo so why not ? Lots of good bullets... I have had a 6.5-284 and 260 AI and honestly you dont want the hassle. Go the swede (or a 270win for that matter ) But true the swede has the accuracy rep... One thing, if you have that much coin for a rifle you could go a Sako instead for the classic look (no plastic magazines), or spend a bit on getting the Tikka turned into a Tac rig... its your call. And make sure its not too heavy to carry around... I assume you handload ? all the best from the world of f class

[ShaneG]

Get out from under that rock - don't want to be the cause of that ! and go learn!
There are too many thin skins around so don't be one of them! OK?!
Go to Wangetti on a Sunday morning early and you will meet a generous bunch of people willing to share their hard earned experience.
It will save you time and $.
Genuine experience beats the internet
The Cairns Rifle club currently has 4 members in the Australian F Class team for the World Championship in Ottawa this year.
It is a pretty unique club considering our small membership base and yet creates a very high level of competition
Yep, I am part of CRM and after you attend the range, I expect you will want to proceed.
Hopefully you will wish to go ahead and maybe support local business.
Shane

[Razer]

Quote: . Maybe the "f class club" is a little bit exclusive that's cool I will crawl back under my hole and continue hunting.

Not so, you came to the forum looking for advice and were willingly given lots.
You want to buy a rifle to a budget, but the rifle is the least expensive outlay that you will make as running costs such as barrel life, ammunition, bought or reloaded, will ultimately make your budget purchase look small as will the cost of missed shots when you have spent hundreds of dollars on your shooting trips.
I am now to old to hunt, but a conservatively loaded .234W will handle most game using various projectile weights out to the same distance any of the calibres you mentioned.
Hunting often entails choosing losing brass, or another feral, so that is your most expensive replacement item. 6.5 x 55, 6.5 x47 are all a bit pricey.
You mentioned that you had a .243W? If I needed a second Calibre rifle, my choice would also be a .308W , not only for knock down performance, but also running costs.
If you do some elevation tests, then all you have to do is estimate the distance (one of most hunters weak points, but a range finder will fix that, even for a cheap rifle) then have a target knob for elevation and you can dial in exactly what is needed to take game out to my ethical limit of 600 yds. You can even take that distance out to 800 yds if there is no wind and you have a non moving target and are a good enough shot.(range shooting/trigger time is sorely underestimated) .
If you want to save costs on your initial purchase, then buy a second hand rifle. Plenty of good buys on SSAA used guns, or, usedguns.com .
A 3-9 power scope will do all that you want and one that is ideal for long shots is the Leupold V series 6-18 as it has target knobs and is fairly light, compact and from my experience, rugged.
Don't skimp on optics, they are responsible for more missed shots than any other reason other than misjudging the distance.