Re: Trying to decide on a 1/2 MOA bolt gun
Consistent 1/2 MOA guns aren't quite as common as some shooters would have you believe. In fact, most of the people (and I am not pointing fingers) claiming to have guns capable are blowing smoke up their own arses. Sure, they may occasionally throw five rounds into 1/2", but doing this on a day to day basis in all conditions is a completely different animal. Actually, to take that comment one step further, I doubt less than 50% or more of those making this claim could legitimately provide five consecutive targets of 5-shot 1/2 MOA groups. Sure, I could gather up five different targets from various outings on different days, but that doesn't mean jack.
Now, I am not talking about true bench guys, those shooting 22 PPC in Stolle actions under 36x Leupolds. These guys start rebarreling when groups "open up" to 0.5" at 100 yards. No, I am talking about the tactical shooter who just bolted a 10x mil dot on an out of the box Remington LTR, Savage 10FP, or FN PBR. Am I suggesting these guns aren't capable of half-inch groups? No, just not likely on a consistent basis.
As many will tell you (and have suggested), shooting 1/2 MOA takes a lot more than having a 1/2 minute potential gun. You must have ammo consistent enough to shoot 1/2, an optic good enough to repeat this feat, and more importantly, the monkey behind the wrench must be competent enough to shoot that well. Simply buying equipment capable of these groups does not guarantee a thing, especially if the shooter is unable to take advantage of the potential.
However, I do believe there are a lot of guns out there with the potential of being true 1/2 MOA guns. Personally, I would start off with a Savage 10FP in either .223 or .308. I have quite a few of these guns, and they are honest 3/4" rifles. Hell, they will even throw 1/2" groups, but not often enough for me to call them 1/2 MOA guns with a straight face. Nevertheless, a 3/4" gun will likely accomplish the goals of 90% of the tactical shooters on this board, at least those who do a more than shoot paper at 100 yards on every outing.
Starting with a 10FP will certainly get you in the door and legitimately close to being a true 3/4 or less gun. The beauty of the Savage is, if the barrel doesn't live up to your standards, you can rebarrel it at home and be shooting in less than an hour. No need to drop it off at a 'smith for 3 months, simply order up a hand lapped prefitted Lothar Walther barrel, bolt it on/headspace, and you will likely be ready to shoot in the amount of time it would take you to drive a Remington to the gun shop. Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking Remington actions, and I have quite a few of them as well. But, they are not as "user friendly" as a Savage, and I have not seen them to be anymore accurate out of the box than a run of the mill Savage. There is very little that cannot be done to a Savage in your basement, while there is very little you can do to a Remington.
Of course, even building a rifle doesn't guarantee a thing if you don't have the ammo. This means reloading, and its a whole new ball game...
