Necro'ing an old thread (apologies, Mods!).

Hate to admit it, but I am looking at possibly picking up a bolt action for target shooting.

Been watching tiburosaurus rex's vids to get some basic info, and doing my own looking into ballistic coefficients and such.

Question for you long time bolt action owners... if you could hit the "Re-Do" Button, what (if anything) would you have done differently with your bolt action purchase?

Barrel length? Caliber? Brand? Scope? Anything goes; I hope to learn from your experiences!

Thanks! 

SHould have bought a Tubb 2K when they were about $3000

Necro'ing an old thread (apologies, Mods!).

Hate to admit it, but I am looking at possibly picking up a bolt action for target shooting.

Been watching tiburosaurus rex's vids to get some basic info, and doing my own looking into ballistic coefficients and such.

Question for you long time bolt action owners... if you could hit the "Re-Do" Button, what (if anything) would you have done differently with your bolt action purchase?

Barrel length? Caliber? Brand? Scope? Anything goes; I hope to learn from your experiences!

Thanks! 

What do you want to do with the rifle?  Kokohead 100 yard small groups? Puuloa F-class? Target shooting with a little bit of hunting?  Purpose drives the needs....

SHould have bought a Tubb 2K when they were about $3000

I should have did a repeater when I built mine....  Kicking self in ass....  Lol

I should have did a repeater when I built mine....  Kicking self in ass....  Lol

what does the strap to his left wrist do?

what does the strap to his left wrist do?

It is a sling.  It goes under the hand and to the bicep area of the supporting arm to steady the rifle.  When the sling and position is correct, it is as stable as a bipod and rest.  Only your breathing disturbs the sights.  If you have the right technique and practice, you can shoot bug holes at 100 yards, with iron sights and sling, on these types of match rifles.

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The new ruger American predator is looking really promising.
But that cz is super super sweet, I love my cz

Purpose: target shooting @ KHSC, for fun and as a personal challenge.  I am hoping to learn as much as I can, and eventually get involved in the goings-on @ Puuloa.

Not absolutely dead-set on .308, either, as a few other calibers look really intriguing (flatter trajectory, energy retention, less drop, greater velocity, etc.), and as others have pointed out, not sure about bolt vs. semi-auto.

Of course, availability/reloading of ammo is a big consideration, also.

If you want to have dead on consistent accuracy go with a bolt gun.  Semis can be accurate, but IMHO not as consistently as a bolt. 

A shorter barrel 20" 24" 26" is fine for what we got here.  Caliber...  If you want to end up at puuloa, take into consideration the restrictions of cartridges for that range.  I had a 6MMBR I built at home with a 24" barrel that shot light out; that was awesome.  It shot flat, projectiles were not bad price wise, it was easy to load develop, and it was miserly on power.   I switched to .308 to get into F-TR and out of F-open, there was more people shooting in the .308 class(F-TR), hardly anyone in F-open.

Now if I could do a redo, I would have built a more tactical type bolt gun instead of the target rifle I built.  I built my target rifle specific in anticipation for 1000yds at puuloa....  that fell through so now I have a nice gun with no other practical purpose(30" barrel, can go iron sights or scope, and weight close to 18lbs)....  It still can do an outstanding job, just not practical for what is available here in Hawaii.  Maybe in the future? 

Hate to admit it, but I am looking at possibly picking up a bolt action for target shooting.

Question for you long time bolt action owners... if you could hit the "Re-Do" Button, what (if anything) would you have done differently with your bolt action purchase?

Barrel length? Caliber? Brand? Scope? Anything goes; I hope to learn from your experiences!

Thanks! 

What type of budget are you working with?  I started off with a Remington 700 thinking "budget build".  Did a bunch of mods Spent alot of cash to make it how I liked it.  It shot great, but I got it with a 20" barrel and when I really started getting into realoading my own ammo the velocity of my reloads was not where I wanted it to be.  I could have swapped out and got a longer barrel installed but...

I then moved on to Accuracy International and got a AI AE MKIII in .308 w/ 24" BBL:   http://www.eurooptic.com/accuracy-international-rifles.aspx
I would have gone this route from the start if I had to do it all over again.  Great accuracy and so far reloading (finding a load that works well) was pretty simple as majority of anything I shot produced decent results even though I don't consider myself having a great shot.  https://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=10094.20  Took it out to Puuloa a few times so far and was happy with the results.

As far as glass, I would buy exactly what you want the first time.  Save up, and find what features you like in a scope. 
I'm currently waiting for the release of this: http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-rifle-scopes/253102-new-steiner-t5xi-tactical-rifle-scopes.html

I also have a precision .308 semi, just started reloading for it so it's hard to make a fair comparison.  So far, the bolt is way more accurate and easier to shoot.

Hope this helps, good luck 

My 700p cost some scrips but it shoots tight groups.

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Thanks for the thought-provoking comments, gents.

I was kind of looking at something along the lines of:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/mobile/product/43532/redirect

Or,

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/mobile/product/411540367/savage_308_24_5r_thread_bl

Am I totally off-the-mark, here?

I'd say Savage is a good rifle to start with.  The floating bolt on Savage is said to be great for accuracy. The barrel nut will allow you to purchase screw on barrels if you want to change caliber (you'll need go/no go gauges and the barrel nut wrench). If you choose Savage get the stock with the aluminum bedding block.  Some like the accu-trigger. It was ok for me, but I ended up changing it out for the Sharp Shooters Supply trigger.  It was a traditional style trigger which I liked better, and since it was a target gun the safety bar thing wasn't really needed, since it was only loaded when the rifle was pointing down range and on target.The bolt on savages are kind of sloppy when working it.

My old Savage in 6mmBR.

Some of the typical groups I got from this savage (single shot Target Action).  Granted I bedded the action and put a McGowen barrel on it.   

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Thanks for the responses, heavies, kahuna, rob, and imku!

@ imku - nice, your AI! wish an AI was within my price range. 

@ heavies - is that a Bells and Carlson on your old 6mmBR?  Was looking at this, and was wondering if anyone had firsthand experiences with it. It goes against every fiber of my usual K.I.S.S. thought processes, but it looks really.... adjustable.

No, the stock was from Sharp Shooter Suppy (a Savage gunsmith specialist) I ordered the target action and stock from them.  It took forever and a day for it to come in... I almost was going to do a credit card dispute on them.  I would NOT do business with these folks directly ever again, which is a shame because they do some awesome work.  Their customer service sucks.  Their competition trigger is stocked by Brownells, that is where I purchased that from.

My brother had that Bells & Carlson stock on his Rem 700P.  It is a awesome stock! It is beefy, solid, ridgid, and comfortable.  All adjustments lock securly in place, which is a must for less fustration.  The stock is real heavy, might wear you down if you ever took it hunting, but for target it is fine.

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Damnit, I was hoping you would say that the B&C stock sucks.... then I could cross it off my To Buy List.

Also been reading good things about the SWFA Super Sniper, as far as a cheap, relatively good scope. Confirm/deny? Thanks!

I will say that the B&C stock that I had was on the heavy side.  I had the A5 medalist tac model.  I liked it due to the price and that it had an adjustable butt assembly (length of pull, cant, and height) and check piece.  I put a stock pack on and it was very comfortable to shoot.  Not going to lie, I wish I didn't sell it (my last .308 bolt) in hindsight.  There are many choices in stocks and chassis systems that are on the lighter side, but they also make your wallet light...

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Purpose: target shooting @ KHSC, for fun and as a personal challenge.  I am hoping to learn as much as I can, and eventually get involved in the goings-on @ Puuloa.

Not absolutely dead-set on .308, either, as a few other calibers look really intriguing (flatter trajectory, energy retention, less drop, greater velocity, etc.), and as others have pointed out, not sure about bolt vs. semi-auto.

Of course, availability/reloading of ammo is a big consideration, also.

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Sorry, kinda late for advice but I'll throw this out anyway.
If you seriously want to learn target rifle shooting, I would suggest a moderate weight 22 target rifle.
Then learn 4 position rifle shooting with that. It's not as macho as a 308, but neither is the cost of the ammo....
and to become a good rifleman you WILL need a lot of ammo.

Understand that I'm NOT talking about shooting from a bipod or bench now.
Just a mat, jacket, sling, and a scope.
Prone, sit , kneel, stand.
IMHO, This is the best way to learn serious rifle shooting.

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Sorry, kinda late for advice but I'll throw this out anyway.
If you seriously want to learn target rifle shooting, I would suggest a moderate weight 22 target rifle.
Then learn 4 position rifle shooting with that. It's not as macho as a 308, but neither is the cost of the ammo....
and to become a good rifleman you WILL need a lot of ammo.

Understand that I'm NOT talking about shooting from a bipod or bench now.
Just a mat, jacket, sling, and a scope.
Prone, sit , kneel, stand.
IMHO, This is the best way to learn serious rifle shooting.

I agree and I may be a bit biased as I started shooting highpower and use smallbore to further practice.
The reality of finding mistakes and learning to correct them is frustrating but it is a good learning process. I still get frustrated. As Nakas said, you need to be truthful to yourself.
It is not as gratifying as shooting at steel plate - well, depending on how big those plates are.
If shooting fast and learning how to do speed reloads then I think you need to take a step back and fall on the fundamentals whcih creates another argument altogether. i.e. we don't shoot like that with a sling in combat etc.
There's a lot of talented and experienced shooters at Puuloa. Just ask around and everyone so far have been pretty helpful.

But in retrospect I would get this .308 as well as the TUBB
http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=7&f=93&t=1310566

I have an older Savage 110 that I bedded into a Choate stock with a Douglas barrel. Bedded the scope base and set headspace myself. Good shooter but the bolt lift is stiff. Thinking about selling it and getting the FN as it is based on a Winchester 70 action.