Help me guys.

Alright time to step into the void of a quality long range rifle. I have a good amount of 400 yrd time on ARs and Varmint rifles.

I now have the urge to reach out farther.
So, I would value opinions on a type of system to buy. Budget is up there. No 20,000$ ones though. haha. 5000$?

This is what I want to do with it and some ideas.
- 800 to 1000 yards
- Versatile - Comfortable in closer ranges 200 yard ish.
- Caliber does not matter, But I prefer to stay away from "boutique" calibers like the .408 etc
- Semi or Bolt
- 50 cal is a thought
- Just a fun time

Ideas? Experiences?

THANKS

No need to go big caliber for those ranges. In fact it might be overkill to go too big to shoot 1k with a big bore as the ammo cost will suck your wallet dry.

Big question, do you reload and do you have a solid background in reloading? If not, stay with the calibers that are offering high quality factory ammo for long distance shooting, primarily .308 Win. If you have reloading mo-jo and the equipment, .260 Rem. If you are going to get really fancy, 6.5-248.

There are plenty of reputable custom rifle makers out there in the 3 to 4k amount; check out sniper's hide a bit and you will find info on them all. savage and Rem are the two factory rifles that seem to work pretty damn well for a cheaper avenue. There are a few local guys building some nice rifles too.

Don't skimp on optics. Anything less than $800 is not going to be a fun time at 800 yds. Cry once and be happy. Get a good scope from the higher end manufacturer with a distance ranging reticle, adjustable knobs, solidly built and repeatable and above all excellent glass and be happy (ya, I know it's a run-on, and I'm not changing it...). Nightforce is a damn good scope for the middle of the ground price. There are a few others that do well too, once again Snipers hide has this area all but covered too.

stepping off into long distance rifle shooting looks like a basic step, but it can be expensive to do right. It takes an ass load of ammo and practice to get it right too. Just learning how to dope the wind is enough to make you crawl up into the fetal position and cry at times.

Highly precise long distance shooting is one of those things where the equipment is just as important as the shooting skill IMO. Then add to it, the reloading skill. You really have to reload for it with the mind set of absolute anal retentiveness to get the ammo consistent.

Agreed that nothing exotic is necessary to get to a grand. A .308 with the right load gets you there accurately and cheaply. The cooler stuff mentioned by SAF (.260 Rem, etc.) will get you there with less influence from the wind.

If I had $5k to spend on a rifle, I'd probably start with a better action like a Surgeon, pick a barrel you can actually get in 6 months or less, and have at it.

Stock selection can make a huge difference in how well you shoot a particular rifle, so I'd recommend you get behind as many different types as you can before making any decisions.

Go over to the Hide and read for a couple of days and you'll get yourself all up to speed on what those guys think is working.

Come on down to the next Prairie Dog match at Pueblo West (third sat of the month starting at 9am). Fondle and shoot as many rifles as you can. That will give you a good idea of caliber, stock and scope setups.

I personally shoot a .243 Win with a 115gr DTAC bullet, gets out to 1000 just fine if I do my job. I tried a couple stocks and settled on an AICS that I really like. For scopes I'd recommend at the very least a Nightforce, if you want to spend more then S&B or Premier.

I agree with most, if not all, of the above. Here's the route I took...

Started with a 700 in .308. I shot about 1400 rounds through it (all hand/reloads). Durring that time I attended an outstanding course where I was able to see the limits of the rifle and caliber, and a few of the Prarie Dog matches mentioned. At every opportunity, I got behind other rifles and scopes and tried them out. Most of the long range community is very friendly and will be glad to help you out.

After trying plently of combinations I determined what would work best for my requirements. Since then, I've moved up to a Nightforce Scope, had a Manners stock built to my specs, ordered a match grade barrel, and a custom action. I'm still waiting on the action and barrel. Eventually, it will all make its way to TJs gunsmithing in Aurora. It'll be a 260 Rem.

Here's my advice (which may be a bit redundant)
1) Further identify your requirements - What do I want the rilfe to do? What do I not need? What would be nice? - Think about, distance, target vs hunting, size, weight, etc...
2) Choose a caliber based on the bullets you want to shoot. If you are a reloader, then you have a lot more flexibility in caliber choice.
3) Try as much as possible before buying anything
4) Get a good scope the first time. Nightforce is a good starting point, and used NXS' can be had for around $1200.
5) If you are unsure of your requirements, start with a relatively cheap 700 in .308. You can always sell it and move up. Or build a custom gun on the action...
6) Don't forget about suppressors. Once you shoot one, or shoot next to one, you'll be hooked. They are simply amazing on bolt guns.

Good luck.

The Rem 700 is a good place to start with the factory SPS in a upgraded stock you can easily reach out to those distances. Then when you shoot out the barrel and decide you want to continue you can build a custom gun out of the action.

I am currently having one built on an old 700 action I had laying around. With any luck it should be done this weekend or next week. Not including the cost of the gun and the McM A5 stock I already had it cost me about $500.00 in parts to build it up. Havent got the bill from the smith yet so I will report back on that.

saw a dpms .308 for about $1000 at sport mans werehouse.
but i have a mosin that dose good at about 600yd

also there this tread

.50 bmg upper for ar plattform