looking for rifle/cal guidance

[monkey wrench]

i'm realitivly new to shooting. i have owned guns for a while but they did not get shot that much. i recently took up pistol shooting with a new xd40. i bought a reloading set up right of the bat. lee pro 100. i shoot a few hundred rounds a week now and i'm looking into action pistol stuff.

i would like to get a rifle to mix things up a bit. i'm on the fence between an ar15 s&w mp sport or a .308 or .260 bolt gun. savage model 10 most likely. in the long run i'll likely own both but for now i'm having a hard time deciding where to start.

i like the idea of working towards hitting stuff from 1000 yrds out. but the apeal of the ar is i can reload the .223/.556 on my lee pro 1000 so i'd just have to invest in some dies and a shell plate. the .308 or .260 would require a more precision focuded set up i believe. and the shell are too long for that press i believe.

i think i could work on fundimentals with the ar and keep the ammo cost down a bit.

with a reasonable amount of attention to detail in the reloading process, will a ar15, like the sw mp sport be able to hit a sillouhet at 300 yrds? how foar out can a gun like that be exspected to keep 6" groups? i may noe be able to pull that off just yet, but if the gun can it will give me something to work with.

any long range contests/games that are ar15 friendly?

any ideas? recomendations?

 

[kraigWY]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

No law says you can't shoot 1000 yards with an AR, I do it all the time. Lots of people do in NRA HP 1000 yard matches.

If you do that, get one with at least a 1:7 twist barrel so you can shoot the heavier bullets that would be needed at 1000.

 

[monkey wrench]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

i was worried about the laws of physics.

i guess i'll check out a ballistics table. the ar15 seems like it going to be the place to start. i think the s&w m&p 15 sport only has a 1:8 twist barrel. close enough?

 

[Woodlanddude]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

As you are new to shooting, put 1000 yards on the back burner for a bit. Get a decent ar-15 or a 308 bolt gun, some decent ammo, and learn to shoot at 100yds first. You have to learn to walk before you run, and no one is worse off with a ar-15 or 308 in hand even if they decide a particular shooting genre is not for them. Learn to reload to allow more shooting. Choose optics based on what you buy. Any stock ar-15 SHOULD be able to do 300 yard silhouettes with 55gr or 62 gr ball.

 

[Unknown]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

Most people who shoot 1000 yards with AR15's have to single load the cartridges because they are too long to fit into the magazine. If they use a 1-7 twist, and shoot 75 grain (or heavier) bullets, they have to seat the bullet out pretty far, otherwise it protrudes into the powder space in the cartridge case and reduces velocity.

A well set up and scoped AR15 with a tube forend should be able to shoot just about 6 inch groups at 600 yards..but it will be tough because of wind. The mechanical accuracy of that rifle should be less than MOA with a factory barrel from one if the better rifle manufacturers. You shouldn't have to buy a custom barrel to start with.

My suggestion would be to buy one of the AR15 type rifles with a tube forend and a 1-8 or 1-9 twist and practice with bullets of 68-69 grain weight as they buck wind much better than the 55 grain bullets.

I would also recommend one of the Savage, or Remington bolt action tactical rifles and practice with that. By the time you are close to wearing out either rifle, you will know much more about what direction you want to head with your shooting, and the type of equipment you want.

You don't need to spend $3000 for rifle and scope just to start out. You could get one of the above rifles, and a Vortex Viper scope for well under that. Then you have enough money left over to set up a reloading system.

 

[monkey wrench]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

thanks for the input. i'm leaning pretty heavy towards the ar. i can get started with it for quite a bit less $. i may even go with iron sites for a few months before picking up a scope.

 

[Veer_G]

Re: looking for rifle/cal guidance

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: monkey wrench</div><div class="ubbcode-body">thanks for the input. i'm leaning pretty heavy towards the ar. i can get started with it for quite a bit less $. <span style="font-weight: bold">i may even go with iron sites for a few months before picking up a scope.</span> </div></div>

If you go with irons, you learn to shoot, and irons work as long as your eyes and the light do. Spend your time learning how to hit with irons and then, having researched the purchase a bit, invest in a telescopic sight. You may just find yourself swapping stuff out on the rifle anyway.