Rifle and scopes for a beginner in $3000 range?

[rogerg12]

I'm truly a beginner, not a single PRS shot yet, but great interest in pursuing the hobby long-term after COVID-19 is behind us. I'm in the middle of reading, lurking, researching, and buying my initial equipment, with more enthusiasm than knowledge. I'm still looking for my first PRS rifle (in the $3000) range (without scope price included). On a slightly related note, I've already ordered both a Serbu cal .50 bolt action and Serbu .50 cal semi-auto for other reasons...but which indirectly led me to this new hobby. I realize that the .50 cal rifles are more appropriate for long-range shooting and that as a beginner I need to start out trying to master 100-1000 yards, so I'm looking for a beginning rifle for a beginner for that range. I'm not particularly tied to bolt vs. semi-auto, although perhaps the semi-auto appeals more just for less work between shots. I intended only to target shoot..whatever that means, PRS, long-range, benchrest, prone, target, steel, competition, etc. All shooting will be in daylight, I assume.

Rifle question:
What is a good cartridge for a beginner to use, 223, 308, 338, etc.?
If I'm looking to buy a $3000 used rifle will I be able to get a fairly good beginner's rifle or is that still more of a lower end pricing range? When I look in the ads for possible rifles I often come across rifles under $1000 used to shoot varmints and then everything seems to be, at least to me, at $5000 or more...with not a lot of middle ground rifles.

Scope questions:
I'm looking for a MOA, FFP, scope. Should I buy two scopes, one for under 1000 yards and one for 1000 yards+, or buy one that can do both? I assume my shooting will, at least now if not longer, be far more under 1000 yards, but I'd like to move to and experiment at 1000 yards when my experience and ability allow. If the scope price range I'm looking at is $3000, I'd like to be able to move the scope between my beginner rifle and my .50 cals when I want to go longer. Would a scope for 1000 yards and longer be a scope just for that purpose?

Thanks in advance for putting up with my newbie questions.

 

[USMC 308]

I'd start with a quality rifle with an accuracy guarantee.....like the Premier series Bergara rifles. You just never know what you are going to get with a factory rifle with no accuracy guarantee. Bergara is interchangeable with Remington parts so most smith's will be able to work on your rifle when its time to upgrade. 308 would be fine, more barrel life or pick 6.5CM for better ballistics....you'll need to rebarrel sooner.

For a scope, you won't find a better deal than an Athlon Cronus BTR from Doug at Camera Land.

This is my Bergara, 6.5CM...with Athlon Cronus BTR.....rebarreled with a 27" Hawk Hill. It did this (5 rounds Hornady ELD Match)

 

[Glassaholic]

OP, you're kind of all over the board but admittedly you say you are brand new to all this. I would highly recommend you go visit a PRS match before you start investing in gear. Talk to a number of the shooters and ask why they chose what they chose. Yes, you can get some great advice and some not so great advice through the forums, but you need to figure out what it is you want to do. What experience do you have with rifles and cartridges in general? Do you have experience shooting long range? Do you have experience shooting dynamic (transitional targets at different ranges within a set time frame?)

Keep in mind there are a thousand different options with multiple combinations. Switching scopes between rifles is generally not recommended (you have to re-zero each time). Instead of buying one $3000 scope that you will switch between rifles, I'd recommend looking at two $1500 scopes that you will keep mounted on the same rifle. Check out the Burris XTR III 5.5-30x56, you can get two of those for $3k if you shop the Hide vendors, you will appreciate the excellent glass and the forgiving FOV with great eyebox and DOF.

Also, I'd highly recommend you reconsider MOA, most everyone on the PRS circuit is going to be shooting mil. Nothing wrong with MOA but you'd be better off to learn the mil system and speak the same language with most of the other shooters.

Since this is a brand new endeavor I'm assuming you do not have ammo or reloading equipment as of yet. Two very popular cartridges are the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6 Creedmoor. Problem is finding the ammo, very hard to find 6.5 Creedmoor ammo right now but my local Sportsmans Warehouse had a bunch of 6 Creedmoor available so I'd recommend looking into what ammo you can find first, buy up a bunch of it and then get a rifle chambered for that cartridge.

 

[rogerg12]

Sorry I sent this by accident and the board won't let me delete the errantly posted message. The best I can do is edit it.

 

[beetroot]

I'd buy a 6.5C reedmoor Tikka CTR and an Athlon Cronus from Camera land.

There are a million and one options that are all the same but different in the PRS game.
Would suggest you spend a bunch on time looking through the different threads on here and slowly piece together a better idea of what you are wanting.

 

[Steel head]

I'd buy a 6.5C reedmoor Tikka CTR and an Athlon Cronus from Camera land.

There are a million and one options that are all the same but different in the PRS game.
Would suggest you spend a bunch on time looking through the different threads on here and slowly piece together a better idea of what you are wanting.

This!

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Guys, while our supply lasts, if you call and mention SH, we will still honor the $1,143.99 sale price on the Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56

 

[TRPrecision]

This

MPA BA PMR Pro Rifle - MasterPiece Arms, Inc.

masterpiecearms.com

in 6.5 creedmoor or 308 topped off with that Cronus from ^^^Doug^^^ Would do anything you want.
Start off with 308 or 6.5cm with good factory ammo. You can switch to a hotrod 6mm (6br, 6brx, 6gt, dasher etc) at some point down the road with a prefit barrel when you are ready to up your game and start reloading.

 

[teddyw19]

For a prs caliber most of those guys shoot a 6.5 caliber. MPA makes already built rifles that are really nice for that price range. For scopes I personally like the nightforce ATACR series. For PRS the 5-25 should be perfect unless you think you want to bump up to the 7-35. I would just buy one scope and learn your rifle from 1000 yards and in. Figure out your dopes in different conditions keep a nice log. Dont worry about shooting really long or anything as a beginner. Learn the fundamentals and get out and shoot. Realistically you could buy a Remington 700 in 308 with a 20 in barrel with a 700 dollar vortex pst gen 2 on it and learn the wind. After you shoot that buy yourself a 6.5 creedmoor with a nightforce atacr and see how much better off you. Having a 308 trainer made me a much better shooter. Moral of the story. Get out and shoot

 

[celltech]

Since the PRS Production class has a rifle price limit of $2500 you will find a lot of pre-built options at that point. Each and every one of them will way outshoot you at this point. I would suggest the American Rifle Company Nucleus 2.0 rifle as a choice. Pair that with the previously mentioned Cronus scope and call it a day. Other than building your skills, the hardest part might be finding ammo to feed it...

 

[rogerg12]

Since the PRS Production class has a rifle price limit of $2500 you will find a lot of pre-built options at that point. Each and every one of them will way outshoot you at this point. I would suggest the American Rifle Company Nucleus 2.0 rifle as a choice. Pair that with the previously mentioned Cronus scope and call it a day. Other than building your skills, the hardest part might be finding ammo to feed it...

I can't find the American Rifle Company Nuclear 2.0 rifle under $2500, by itself, without a scope. See https://www.americanrifle.com/shop/...-6-5cm-nucleus-gen-2-0-rifle-1200?category=26.

 

[celltech]

I can't find the American Rifle Company Nuclear 2.0 rifle under $2500, by itself, without a scope. See https://www.americanrifle.com/shop/...-6-5cm-nucleus-gen-2-0-rifle-1200?category=26.

If you were to get one ask for the 16lb firing pin spring...or at least add one on the order for $10 and try it out. Also pick up some magazines.

 

[stello1001]

There are many pre-built production class rifles to pick and choose from under your budget of $3,000. While all these will be amazing rifles that shoot really straight, I'm going to steer you into a different direction.

There is nothing wrong with those production class rifles. However, being that you're trying to enter the game at this point, you're going to spend a lot of money on ammo given its high pricing. For that reason, I would look for a Tikka CTR, or a heavy barreled Howa 1500. I'm also going to suggest getting a bravo stock if it does not already come with it. This will get you a great shooting rifle with lots of money to spare. Trust me, ammo prices are high right now that if you do find ammo, you're gonna need to bring some money along. I forgot to mention, look for 6.5 creedmoor as that is a bit softer shooting and flatter shooting than 308. If you really enjoy the challenge, look for 308 as that one is blown around by wind more than 6.5 and it's going to force you to learn wind. The 6 creedmoor is another good choice.

Good luck...

 

[rogerg12]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and recommendations. I did learn and change what I was planning to buy based on what was said in this thread. So, again, thank you.

 

[HeavyAssault]

I took a used barreled action, dropped into a carbon fiber stock, topped it with a Leupold scope (bought new on the cheap).

Why spend $3k on just the rifle??????

 

[rogerg12]

I took a used barreled action, dropped into a carbon fiber stock, topped it with a Leupold scope (bought new on the cheap).

Why spend $3k on just the rifle??????

Just my price range in my head. If often buy in the "middle range" when pursuing a new hobby. In the end though, after learning about the "Production Class" of competition, I decided to keep my first buy under $2500 in total (for rifle and scope), figuring I can re-evaluate again after I've gained more experience.

 

[lonestar1845]

As others have suggested, and something I did myself last year. Go with the Tikka CTR in 6.5 creed. Drop it in a KRG bravo chassis, spend whatever you want on an optic, money in optics goes further than money in rifles IMO. I went with a viper PST for $800 and it does the job pretty well. Use the rest of that money on shit like a good bipod, rear bag, a ton of ammo and some precision rifle training. Then go shoot the barrel out of that thing and screw another one on.