My apologies for retreading well-worn ground. Also for being verbose, but I hope to provide useful details that will allow those with greater knowledge to guide me. I will say upfront that I have spent the last couple of weeks reading as much as I could find in terms of individual reviews and comparisons, including here, on forums such as rokslide, LRH, and reloading, and on reddit.
I currently own a Tikka T3x Lite in 6.5CM and a Bergara B14R in 22LR; both are phenomenal rifles that I have reached .5 MOA with - I am the limiting factor. However, the T3x is my hunting rifle, and, with one of their pencil barrels, its accuracy opens up after 10 to 15 rounds. The Bergara is only good to about 300m, and that's on still days - even gentle winds send subsonic 22 match ammo sailing to the sides. My nearby range is 50-200m, but my friends and I have recently discovered multiple ranges that go out to between 600 and 1000m within driving distance. We intend to start training on longer range shooting, estimating windage from vegetation, all the fun stuff. I have begun competing at my local club in 22LR 100m bench matches, and may join the 200m high power rifle NMC matches with this new rifle. Additionally, my best friend just got an MRAD, and I got to see the difference that was firing a heavy rifle with a muzzle break compared to my Tikka, as well as a completely different trigger.
Regarding reloading: I do not currently reload. I already find reloading fascinating, and have spent hours reading other people's discussions about powders, seating depths, barrel wear, etc. If you could not tell, I am an engineer. I think I would love reloading, and once I move (projected to happen in approximately 6 months), if I find myself shooting sufficient quantities, I will invest in reloading equipment. I have already been saving all my shot Tikka brass.
What I am looking for: A high-precision, chassis-based, bolt-action rifle that won't break the bank.
A couple of wants:
The first rifle that caught my eye and sent me down this rabbithole was the Seekins Precision Havak HIT Pro M3. It checks nearly every box, except that it would need a number of modifications from stock form to get there (weights, accessory bridge, new trigger), driving the price up. Still, is Seekins the best company, and this the best rifle, here?
Then I saw the Bergara Premier Competition Rifle. $2300 at EuroOptic, uses MPA's chassis....I'm already a bit biased towards Bergara because of my current rifle. But while looking up that MPA chassis, I stumbled across the MPA Vanquish/Matrix/BA PMR Pro Rifle II: which guarantees 0.5 MOA accuracy, one of their gorgeous chasses, a variant of ARC's Coup de Grace action, although it is unclear if you can change the caliber as easily as the Seekins.
And then there is the Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro, also coming in hot with the 0.5 MOA guarantee, interchangeable 26" barrels, and fries.
Which of these is best? Or should I find a gently-used custom, something like this: https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...a-gen-1-matrix-chassis.7248865/#post-12043172
To those who have read all of this, many thanks! Please, share your wisdom with me!
I currently own a Tikka T3x Lite in 6.5CM and a Bergara B14R in 22LR; both are phenomenal rifles that I have reached .5 MOA with - I am the limiting factor. However, the T3x is my hunting rifle, and, with one of their pencil barrels, its accuracy opens up after 10 to 15 rounds. The Bergara is only good to about 300m, and that's on still days - even gentle winds send subsonic 22 match ammo sailing to the sides. My nearby range is 50-200m, but my friends and I have recently discovered multiple ranges that go out to between 600 and 1000m within driving distance. We intend to start training on longer range shooting, estimating windage from vegetation, all the fun stuff. I have begun competing at my local club in 22LR 100m bench matches, and may join the 200m high power rifle NMC matches with this new rifle. Additionally, my best friend just got an MRAD, and I got to see the difference that was firing a heavy rifle with a muzzle break compared to my Tikka, as well as a completely different trigger.
Regarding reloading: I do not currently reload. I already find reloading fascinating, and have spent hours reading other people's discussions about powders, seating depths, barrel wear, etc. If you could not tell, I am an engineer. I think I would love reloading, and once I move (projected to happen in approximately 6 months), if I find myself shooting sufficient quantities, I will invest in reloading equipment. I have already been saving all my shot Tikka brass.
What I am looking for: A high-precision, chassis-based, bolt-action rifle that won't break the bank.
A couple of wants:
- A long, two-stage trigger - I found the MRAD trigger to be more to my liking than either my Tikka or Bergara, even though both have VERY crisp triggers. I'm weird. The take up helps me prepare my shot. This looks like something I am unlikely to get in a noncustom rifle.
- While not mandatory, I really like the quick change barrel/bolt head systems that some of the rifles have, so that I could theoretically bang out a whole bunch of cheap .308 for practice, then swap to a hotter 6.5CM or even PRC for competition (depending on range). Is this silly, compared to just getting a 6.5CM and using prefits?
- A heavy rifle with a heavy barrel - something around 15 lbs.
- The chassis must have (or have as an accessory) something akin to an NV bridge - I wish to use an over the bore bipod.
The first rifle that caught my eye and sent me down this rabbithole was the Seekins Precision Havak HIT Pro M3. It checks nearly every box, except that it would need a number of modifications from stock form to get there (weights, accessory bridge, new trigger), driving the price up. Still, is Seekins the best company, and this the best rifle, here?
Then I saw the Bergara Premier Competition Rifle. $2300 at EuroOptic, uses MPA's chassis....I'm already a bit biased towards Bergara because of my current rifle. But while looking up that MPA chassis, I stumbled across the MPA Vanquish/Matrix/BA PMR Pro Rifle II: which guarantees 0.5 MOA accuracy, one of their gorgeous chasses, a variant of ARC's Coup de Grace action, although it is unclear if you can change the caliber as easily as the Seekins.
And then there is the Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro, also coming in hot with the 0.5 MOA guarantee, interchangeable 26" barrels, and fries.
Which of these is best? Or should I find a gently-used custom, something like this: https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...a-gen-1-matrix-chassis.7248865/#post-12043172
To those who have read all of this, many thanks! Please, share your wisdom with me!
