Hey there guys, so I’m a newbie to precision shooting but long time milsurp collector and casual Saturday bench rest 100 yard shooter. I’m looking to switch my gun hobby from collecting to long range shooting though. To me, long range is like hitting a torso size target at 1000 yards.
So, I have been doing some shopping around and the Christensen BA Tactical caught my eye. Thing is I’ve deiscovered the company has a mixed reputation and from what I’ve read maybe overpriced for the quality they deliver. What are your guys’ thoughts on those? Or is there a good alternate? I am looking for something tactical-ish, detachable mag, threaded muzzle, and to be straight honest, good-looking. I’m open to alternate rifles. I don’t want to build a rifle at this point, and especially since this is my first rifle and who knows I may end up not liking long distance for some reason and not want to go too far down the rabbit hole.
The next thing is caliber. I do not have a reloading setup, and am a few years away from having one, so I would like to stick to factory load ammunition (this availability and price are big factors). I wanted a 338 lapua until I realized they’re $4-$6 per shot. Then I leaned towards 308 win until I came to understand that while very available, it is essentially outdated and there are more flat-shooting rounds available like 6.5 creedmor (my current leaning). I would also like to use the rifle for occasional hunting so definitely no 22 caliber rounds. But what do you guys think?
Lastly, I have some questions on optics, but should I post that on another sub-forum/section? Not sure how stringent the rules are with multiple topics in one thread are here.
Any input and advice is greatly appreciated. I don’t have friends into serious shooting nor did I grow up in an area with many rifle enthusiasts or even family that shot. So thank you thank you!