Service Rifles

[No_style]

G'day,

I'm finally in a position where I have enough spare cash to get a high quality factory rifle (well by my standards anyway

).

My budget isn't huge but it's hopefully enough to give me some options (~$3.5K to 4K USD for a rifle). Given that I'm not in the US (Australia) it also makes life harder on this front as things can cost a lot more here (AI AW's are often 10K upwards, Blaser's and Sakos your normally looking at around 7K or upwards) so I'm considering importing from overseas despite the hassle.

It seems to me that 'modular' factory rifles might now be a good proposition (if not exactly exceptional bang for buck). I like the idea of only having to be familiar with one chassis and trigger setup, yet still having the ability to adapt the rifle for the task at hand. The costs seem acceptable to me if a little painful.

I'm not a benchrest shooter or anything, I'm just chasing something accurate enough without being a rail gun (if it can hold MOA at 1000+m i'd be happy). I do however want something that is reliable, I just want to be able to shoot the thing and maintain it; I don't want to have to spend years tinkering with it in order to coax a suitable level of accuracy and reliability out of the system.

I'm particularly interested in the following and would like to hear peoples input if they have first hand experience with the following rifles:

1. Blaser R93 Tactical 2
2. Desert Tactical Arms - SRS
3. Sako TRG 22/42
4. Accuracy International AE rifles (can't afford the AW's).

The Blaser R93 and SRS are the two I'm most interested to learn more about, as they both appear to be excellent designs and have some genuinely good features that set them apart from the alternatives.

I'm particualrly interested to know how the 'hot swappable' modular rifles compare to the 'fixed' barrel alternatives in terms of reliability under field conditions (dry and sandy right through to mud and snow) and accuracy.

Are their any options to get none factory barrel chamberings for the 'modular rifles' (such as .223, 6BR or 6x47 barrel for the DTA or Blaser)?

Thanks for any experiences you can share.

Cheers