71 and crumbling body and health. Earlier I was told to be as specific as I could in this request. Here goes... I lost my sister May 9th, my younger beautiful sister, followed by my best Friend Barry May 10th. My family in Va. is poor and the costs of burial fell upon me. The stress kicked the living s__t out of me.(snot) I went into and remain in A-Fib.
Now to the rifle... I still like smooth and silky. I want a finely crafted action that speaks to craftsmanship and pride. I will shoot at Port Malabar R&PC in Port Malabar Florida. The range is up to 600 yards. I have not shot there on that range so I don't know what cal. I need. I came here for help. I'm open for all suggestions. I've got the money to go to including glass 5k. I can reload if needs be. I will provide more info. when necessary.
Condolences on all the hardship. I am glad you are able to look ahead to an activity that brings you joy. There's a lot here, but I might have saved some $$$ had I known all this when I started. Best wishes going forward.
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Factory or custom: Your comments about your depth of experience with gas guns lead me to wonder if you'd be happy in the long run with a factory rifle. The recommendations for Tikka are solid; I started off my precision bolt rifle journey with a T3X TAC A1 in 6.5CM and a T3X Varmint in .223 (which I immediately put into an MDT LSS-XL chassis). Accurate and smooth for sure. But I went to customs after a couple of years, and I think that would be your best path as well.
Tikka, Savage, and others have proprietary action and/or magazine "footprints" which may or may not be supported by a lot of aftermarket/third-party goodies. Most if not all (of which I'm aware) custom actions are designed using the Remington 700 (R700) action and AICS magazine footprints, so there is a degree of interchangeability with customs that is usually more limited with factory offerings.
Back to how to go about starting down the custom road in a minute.
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Caliber: It's definitely true that a .223 is plenty accurate for 600 and in; I regularly shoot mine to 1000 with 75gr ELDMs. Match-grade ammo is less expensive than larger calibers (especially if you handload) and barrel life is far beyond what you'd get with a 6.5CM. Some recommendations appeared above for 6BR; if you want a bit more oomph than a .223, it's a solid choice and there is some overlap with .223 wrt powder choices. I really like mine. Imo, going to a larger caliber than 6BR for 600 yards or closer is pointless - unless you simply want, literally, more bang and don't care about spending more bucks to get it.
(Hint: whatever caliber you choose, keep a log of rounds fired - when barrels wear out, their accuracy and consistency fall off in a surprisingly short window so it's good to have an idea of when barrel end of life is likely approaching).
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How to start with a custom: You're here on SH at the outset, and that will probably save you some $$ in the long run. My suggestion right up front is to call Greg or Russ at Southern Precision Rifles (SPR,
http://www.bugholes.com). They sell a variety of different actions (and barrels, triggers, brakes, etc.) at great prices, and I know through experience that their advice and follow-through are solid. I'd suggest a Zermatt Origin action ($900, appears to be in stock) or similar which can take pre-fit barrels. Additionally, the interchangeable bolt head allows you to run, say, .223 and 6BR ammo with the same bolt - way cheaper than multiple bolts (ask me how I know). They should be able to help you get into a custom rig for around $2500-3000 not including optic. This will leave you $2k for a scope and rings, which will get you a good mid-tier optic (which is a whole 'nother subject). I'll also note that I have rifles built on entry-level custom actions (Terminus Apollo in my case) and top-of the line actions (Defiance Deviant). You don't give up a thing accuracy-wise across the spectrum, all else (especially barrels) being equal.
Whether to put your barreled action into a chassis or stock is a completely personal choice, and you should get comfortable with the idea that your choice may change with experience. I prefer an all-aluminum chassis - I own both MDT ACC and MPA BA Comp, but both of these would break your budget (or leave no $$ for an optic). There are other less-expensive options but I have no experience with them other than the MDT LSS-XL. My buddy
@Rob01 prefers stocks and may weigh in with advice and pricing on Manners or others, most or all of which have built-in "mini-chassis" which mitigate the need for bedding. It's worth noting that some people will tell you to bed a chassis or anything else, but I've never found it necessary.
I don't see stocks or chassis on SPR's website, but I'm sure they could advise/assist.
Finally, there are many vendors who can help you, and other SH members may weigh in with recommendations. For example, I've also worked with James at
Northland Shooters Supply - great experience.
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I hope all this helps.
