LONGER RANGE SHOOTING Dave Anderson The Tikka T3 Varmint Stainless .308 Win is a good choice to begin target shooting. It is accurate, and in .308, factory ammunition is superb. This one is topped with a scope costing much more than the rifle. It is a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 on a Nightforce 20 MOA base, and in Nightforce rings. Gear Dave uses (and some variety of which you should also have or plan to get) include Stoney Point muffs, Black Hills ammo, Leica 1600 rangefinder, Kestrel 4000 and Alpen spotting scope. repeatable adjustments. With scopes as in most things in life you get what you pay for. The difference is primarily in strength and durability. An inexpensive scope may have accurate adjustments and decent optics. It will provide adequate service on a rifle of moderate recoil and usage, say a couple of hundred shots a year. For heavy usage and/or hard-recoiling rifles the best money can buy is none too good. You can go with less to begin, you’ll just learn why you need better within a few years. You need a good trigger. On a hunting rifle I like a 3-pound trigger break. For range and competitive use I consider 2 pounds about maximum and actually prefer lighter. Heck, even my IPSC competition .38 Super pistol has a 1-1/2-pound pull. You need high ballistic coefficient bullets, and ideally a cartridge of medium capacity (for longer barrel life and reduced recoil). It helps if the cartridge is widely distributed, readily available and not too expensive. Currently the broadest range of choices in high BC bullets is found in calibers .224, 6mm (.243), 6.5mm (.264), 7mm (.284), .308 and .338. My cartridge choices don’t have to be yours, but I like the .223 Rem, .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Rem and .308 Win. When I do want magnum performance I like the 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, and .338 Lapua. A .223 Rem with 1:8-inch twist shooting 75- or 80-grain bullets offers long barrel life, minimal recoil, and widely available and inexpensive brass (or at least it used to be). For learning at 600 to maybe 800 yards it is superb, though a .223 at 1,000 yards will separate the sheep from the goats. The medium case 6.5’s such as 6.5x47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .260 Rem are currently popular as they give very high BC bullets adequate velocity with moderate recoil and long barrel life. I really like the Creedmoor and think it is only going to increase in popularity. With its compact size and 30-degree shoulder it is very well designed. For non-reloaders, Hornady match ammo is absolutely superb, and not too expensive. The .308 Win is excellent as well. Most ammo companies make superb .308 match ammo. And the .308 is one of two cartridges (along with .223 Rem) allowed in F/TR competition. You need access to a chronograph, and some sort of ballistic calculator for elevation come-ups and wind drift. Personally I use the JBM app on my iPad and recommend it highly. Rifle 1: Weatherby Vanguard synthetic, 6.5 Creedmoor. Bushnell Elite Tactical LRS 4.5-30x50mm scope, Warne 20 MOA base, Warne 30mm rings. Ammunition: Handloads with 130-grain Berger VLD bullets at 2,800 fps, and 139-grain Scenar bullets at 2,700 fps. Hornady brass, W-W primers, Alliant Reloder 17 powder complete the loads. Rifle 2: Tikka T3 Stainless HB Varmint, .308 Win, Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42mm scope, Nightforce 20 MOA rail, Nightforce rings. Ammunition, Black Hills factory match loads with 168-grain bullets at 2,650 fps. I disassembled and cleaned the rifles, adjusted trigger pulls to 2 pounds, and reassembled using a torque wrench to tighten action screws to factory specs. Next I fitted the 20-MOA rails and positioned the scopes, again using the torque wrench on base and ring screws. I zeroed both dead on at 100 yards, then zeroed the turret caps. 2 GUNS, 2 SCOPES Savage builds some exceptional long-range rifles including specialized benchrest and F-Class models. If and when you decide you just must have a .338 Lapua, the Savage 110 BA should be on your short list. It is big, heavy, and not inexpensive, but does it shoot! Scope is Weaver 4-20x50. 56 FEBRUARY 2016
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