$2500 for a new rifle

[SMS2884]

Trying to get advice on what direction to go. Looking to spend at most $2500 for the lightest 6.5 creedmoor bolt rifle. If I can go much cheaper then that by all means let me know my options. I've been looking at 2 directions. Buying a Tikka T3X Superlite and then putting it in a better stock. Changing parts to fix the weak points. Pretty sure I'd have to thread that barrel as well as i don't believe it's threaded from the factory for a brake. Or having one built. If I go that route I really am not even sure where to start. I'm in Phoenix. If i go that route does anyone know who to see to chat about it. Builders in the area. I'd love to be around 6lbs or less

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Here's a couple factory options for you:

Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rifle. Weighs 7.4lbs and retails for $2295

Kimber Adirondack. Weighs 4.75lbs and retails for $1560

Kimber Montana. Weighs 5.1lbs and retails for $1258.80


These are all great options and are already threaded for you. If the additional weight of the Christensen is a deal breaker I'd buy the Montana and not look back. I've had several and each one has been extremely accurate, smooth actions, and great triggers. My only complaint would be lack of a detachable mag which the Christensen will get you as well as a pretty nice chassis while still be very light.

 

[Dai Bando]

Barrett Fieldcraft.

 

[lennyo3034]

I don't think the superlite barrel is thick enough to thread. Certainly not 5/8-24. I took my T3x lite in for threading once and the smith told me he'd have to cut the barrel back to where it was thick enough. You don't have that options with the superlite being fluted.

 

[SMS2884]

Well that's good to know. I was also looking at the Tikka CTR in 20inch and then getting the barrel fluted and changing to a carbon fiber stock maybe from Stockys.

 

[Basher]

Shout out from Chandler here! Call up the guys at Phoenix Custom Rifles. I've never used them for anything yet, but I've chatted with them a few times and they're good people, from what I can tell. I'm sure they can go over various options and give you some thoughts on how to proceed.

If you're not married to the idea of buying everything new and building it yourself, you can often find excellent deals on some very nice actions or barreled actions to get you started.

 

[SMS2884]

Hey I'm in Chandler as well. And I was actually looking into them. I was thinking about starting with a CTR 20inch and seeing where I can go from there with time. Tikka makes incredible actions from what I've gathered on here. This is my first bolt action gun so I want to get it right with this much $ investing. I always was good with pistols but I always find myself shooting 5 shot groups at 50 yards into a 3inch circle with my carry gun. I guess I have my grandfather's skills. He was a Sniper in the military.

 

[tree man]

I just went through this same thing as I wanted a compact lightweight hunting rifle I bought the 20” tikka CTR and love it spent 19 $ on a trigger spring and it’s close to a few of my jewels in my 700’s it feeds so smooth that I catch myself looking up to make sure it picked up the round out of the mag! My gun is shooting in the .400s right now but I know it can do better, I will mention that if you still want lighter look at the new Barrett in 6.5 Creedmoor it comes with a threaded barrel as well but it’s gonna kick like a 300 it’s so light

 

[tree man]

I will say that the barrel on the Barret is only 16.5 inches long if I recall correctly you may want to verify that though and the gun cost prolly 600 more than my SS CTR good luck hope this helps a little

 

[SMS2884]

And Timney is coming out with a trigger for the Tikkas. So that'll be a plus. Hope there is a flat blade option. I love my SSAE on my AR. Too bad geissele started with the 700 this year.

 

[SMS2884]

I was looking into the Barrett more. Does anyone have one? From what I read the barrel heats up way too fast and the accuracy isn't that great because of it. Over 1moa.

 

[patriot07]

Well that's good to know. I was also looking at the Tikka CTR in 20inch and then getting the barrel fluted and changing to a carbon fiber stock maybe from Stockys.

Exactly what I was going to suggest. Here is the load development on my Tikka CTR 6.5 CM 24" from this weekend. First run at loading for it. All are 3-shot groups. The "sight" group is loaded exactly to the recipe Hornady used to put on the box for their 140 Amax match ammo (41.5 gr H-4350, 2.810" OAL, but I did use a CCI 200 instead of a Federal 210M). 42.0 an 42.4 were both sub-.5". I think 42.8 was a barrel heat issue. I'm going to check it again next time out at the range just for my own sanity, but I really don't have a good reason to do anything other than the Hornady load.

The dots are all 1" diameter.

 

[Crews]

I was looking into the Barrett more. Does anyone have one? From what I read the barrel heats up way too fast and the accuracy isn't that great because of it. Over 1moa.

You can't have your cake and eat it too..... if you're looking for a lightweight rifle, you are going to be saving weight at the expense of barrel contour. So a lightweight barrel is going to be thinner; therefore it heats up faster. You can still get a lightweight barrel that is accurate, but don't expect it to shoot consecutive 5-shot groups and not see some thermal drift.

You mentioned this will be your first rifle, what makes you think you think you need one that weighs 6 pounds? It might help you get some better suggestions if you share what you plan to do with this rifle. It sounds like you might be suffering from a bit of misdirection, and don't know what you don't know. From my past experiences, a 6 pound rifle will be very easy to carry, but not very fun to do anything else with. Ultralights are harder to shoot accurately, and the weight savings are going to come at the expense of heavier recoil and not very much fun at the range. Ultralights make sense if you're backpack hunting in the mountains, and you carry a lot and shoot a little.

For everything else, a medium weight rifle make a whole lot more sense. Get a Tikka CTR with a 20" barrel. It's a really great starting point. Save the other $1500 in your budget, and go shoot the shit out of that CTR and get some experience. Once you know how it all works, you can make an informed decision on what you need and don't need. Right now, I get the impression you are going to waste quite a bit of money on something you may or may not need.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I'm down in Cochise County (Pearce/Sunsites). I have had one build done (a range queen) and love the rifle, but for a field rifle, I'd go with an upscale factory offering, simply because they make many and the bugs are already out of them, and if they aren't up to your expectations, they would probably resell quicker and easier. The Kimber Montana linked above would be my pick.

If you aren't acquainted with Ben Avery Range, you have a great pleasure awaiting your attendance.

I would also caution about getting wound up with specialized firearms at the outset of your shooting career. I'd suggest a leisurely wander through the Savage Rifles site before finalizing on any more expensive choices. I do a lot of shooting, and even though the 6.5CM is on the gentler side, a 50-100rd range session is going to get tedious, even with a brake.

I'd recommend the 10/110 Predator Hunter Max I as an excellent all around first pick with good reliability in an upscale hunter. I gave mine to my Daughter, and her husband harvested 3 whitetails with it this season in Upstate NY. I'd also consider it a good pick for walk-around competitive shooting.

At 8.5 lb it's no featherweight, but I think it's very manageable; just right for a variety of serious applications, and it has no brake, which I gave some consideration to before gifting it to my Daughter. Once you get your rifle scoped up, the differences between 6lb and 8.5lb will not be as noticeably great. Brakes are louder, and can be a hassle when doing repetitive range work.

Greg

 

[Barney88PDC]

In that price range I'd take a look at the new Seekins Havak. http://www.seekinsprecision.com/havak-bolt-action-rifle-3.html

 

[SMS2884]

You can't have your cake and eat it too..... if you're looking for a lightweight rifle, you are going to be saving weight at the expense of barrel contour. So a lightweight barrel is going to be thinner; therefore it heats up faster. You can still get a lightweight barrel that is accurate, but don't expect it to shoot consecutive 5-shot groups and not see some thermal drift.

You mentioned this will be your first rifle, what makes you think you think you need one that weighs 6 pounds? It might help you get some better suggestions if you share what you plan to do with this rifle. It sounds like you might be suffering from a bit of misdirection, and don't know what you don't know. From my past experiences, a 6 pound rifle will be very easy to carry, but not very fun to do anything else with. Ultralights are harder to shoot accurately, and the weight savings are going to come at the expense of heavier recoil and not very much fun at the range. Ultralights make sense if you're backpack hunting in the mountains, and you carry a lot and shoot a little.

For everything else, a medium weight rifle make a whole lot more sense. Get a Tikka CTR with a 20" barrel. It's a really great starting point. Save the other $1500 in your budget, and go shoot the shit out of that CTR and get some experience. Once you know how it all works, you can make an informed decision on what you need and don't need. Right now, I get the impression you are going to waste quite a bit of money on something you may or may not need.

Ya I've decided on a CTR. Experience is definitely something I do not lack. I should have stated that this is my first rifle as a civilian. I have shot many rounds through many different platforms from a 22 all the way to a 50. I've shot at paper and at targets of the human kind. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Just not within the price range that I'm looking for. If I do lack anything it is knowing what is available out there. I will start with a CTR. And probably upgrade it in time. And then someday go full custom.

 

[Dai Bando]

You can't have your cake and eat it too..... if you're looking for a lightweight rifle, you are going to be saving weight at the expense of barrel contour. So a lightweight barrel is going to be thinner; therefore it heats up faster. You can still get a lightweight barrel that is accurate, but don't expect it to shoot consecutive 5-shot groups and not see some thermal drift.

Simply not true.

 

[Crews]

Simply not true.

Well that’s profound!

Care to contribute to this thread with your own thoughts, ideas, or experiences?


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[Dai Bando]

Sure. It's an old rifle myth spoken as fact by old guys and repeated by young guys who just assume it's true but it's not.

 

[Crews]

Whatever man. Good job continuing to be vague and contribute absolutely zero to the conversation. I will contribute my experiences: I have had exactly 2 semi custom rifles built as “lightweights.” A 308 and a 280AI, both 7# rifles with #3 barrels. One Brux, one Benchmark, cut and assembled by reputable gunsmiths. Both were fine rifles capable of 1/2 moa accuracy with a variety of ammo. Neither could hold that kind of accuracy after sustained fire in a range type setting. After a prolonged break for cool down time, they were back to 1/2 moa.

I’m just an average guy somewhere between young and old, relating his own hands on experience. Take it for what it’s worth.


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[SMS2884]

To say that you can't have a very lightweight rifle that stays accurate is silly. Barrett just didn't focus on both when building the Fieldcraft obviously. And yes it's pretty impossible to find anything production under $2500 that fits both those criteria. Off the top of my head there is the Christensen Arms Summit TI but that's more then double my budget.

 

[Dai Bando]

Light contours may shoot good free floated, yet can walk when heated up. There is a reason that Barrett Fieldcrafts and NULA's are full length bedded.

 

[IanHusaberg]

Here's a couple factory options for you:

Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rifle. Weighs 7.4lbs and retails for $2295

Kimber Adirondack. Weighs 4.75lbs and retails for $1560

Kimber Montana. Weighs 5.1lbs and retails for $1258.80


These are all great options and are already threaded for you. If the additional weight of the Christensen is a deal breaker I'd buy the Montana and not look back. I've had several and each one has been extremely accurate, smooth actions, and great triggers. My only complaint would be lack of a detachable mag which the Christensen will get you as well as a pretty nice chassis while still be very light.

I'd go with the CA MPR.

Or the 6.5 PRC in Seekins Havoc, if you want a little more poop, with the weight penalty. What are your intentions with said rifle?

 

[SMS2884]

I've definitely settled on just getting a Tikka CTR 20in 6.5. I posted a question in the optics forum however maybe i can get a reply here. What base and mount should i use for a vortex razor gen 2 4.5-27? Specifically. Want to make sure I get the clearance and height right. I'm sure more then one person has this setup.

 

[Tnshoot]

So you want the lightest rifle possible and you’re going to put the heaviest scope out there on top of it. OK. Makes sense to me

 

[SMS2884]

Sure it cancels the light rifle out lol. No sadly light and accurate is something that can't be done within my price range. So I'll settle for something good well within my budget instead.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

No sadly light and accurate is something that can't be done within my price range. So I'll settle for something good well within my budget instead.

Sure it can. You buy this stuff from me for $1600:

Tikka T3X Build Package

Then you buy a Proof Research carbon fiber blank from Stockys for $800 and you've got a lightweight custom build for $2400 total.

Or you buy the Christensen Arms MPR for $2295.

Either get you lightweight and accurate.

 

[Mute]

I'd take a look at the Seekins Havak also

 

[alfack]

I'd look at the Seekins, as well. I've seen them listed at Cabelas for about $2K.

 

[Crews]

Light contours may shoot good free floated, yet can walk when heated up. There is a reason that Barrett Fieldcrafts and NULA's are full length bedded.

Thanks for the clarification. At least we both agree that a traditional free floated light contour barrel can shoot great, but the weight savings comes at the expense of thermal drift. So the full length bedding on a Barrett Fieldcraft negates thermal drift, or at least minimizes it to a certain extent. It certainly makes it a very good option for the guy that is primarily a hunter but still likes to do some work at the range on occasion.

 

[Fenix Mike]

Low light did a good write up on the ability of the CTR, and then put it in a Cadex chassis and retested... Although I have a 20 lb AXMC rifle so I obviously went completely the opposite direction Im also in phoenix and one of my coworkers has the Tikka T3 Tac-A1, its a laser and not extremely heavy by standards. Cabelas also stocks Proof rifles now if you find one in your budget (as well as Sako, Barrett and many others if you want to just hold them), they are inside the Gun Library.

 

[SMS2884]

Ah Cabelas lol. I'm glad I live far from one. Last time I went in there I bought ammo in a caliber I didn't even own a gun in. Obviously had to buy a gun for all that ammo.