I am planning to buy a rifle pretty soon, to target practice among other things. I have a pistol which I use for pretty much the same thing. I learned from a Merchant Marine Marksman how to shoot a pistol pretty well and what type of pistol to use. I have lost touch with this individual so I am at a loss for what type of rifle to get.
So here are my questions: I want to know which rifles are the most accurate? What type of scope to get (I want to do some long range shooting)?
And most importantly I would appreciate the weapon being cheap, like say under a grand.
I figure I could get a pretty cheap rifle and practice my aim with that, but I would like one that is capable of firing some distance that comes with a scope attachment.
Well, allow me to be the first to provide an answer that will be jumped all over by everyone else.
I assume that you are looking for a caliber recommendation?
I would suggest the .270. It’s a very flat-shooting cartridge, capable of firing long distances.
As far as type of rifle, I would go with a bolt-action.
Anyone have any experiences with the Browning BOSS system? Pro or con?
I posed this question to my brother, who is sitting here eating pizza and wondering what the hell I’m doing, and he recommends a .22-250, also known as a varmint gun and used in the Dakotas for prarie dog hunting. Dead accurate at +300 yards. Should cost 6-700 bucks.
Oh, and his personal preference on a scope is a Bushnell.
The .270 is a very good, general-purpose target shooting rifle. Others swear by the .30-06. The Great Satan in Clouds of Sulfur, the NRA, has an article in the latest American Rifleman that does a little comparison of the .270 versus the .308 versus the .280. They claim that the .308 is:
They do say that the .270 is better for hunting, however. But, they also say the .280 is a good choice “in-between” the two, because there are several grades of good match-quality bullets for it.
Or, if you want something exotic with a very flat trajectory, go with a .220 Swift (or the .22-250). Just be ready for ammunition that is $2.00 a shot…
Anthracite beat me to it: the .220 Swift is what you want, if you’re not married to the sub-grand price range.
I’m not an expert MYSELF, but a family friend is, and the pride of his rather extensive colection is this piece. He couldn’t say enough good things about it, including THIS li’l tidbit: when he hunts with it, he doesn’t pull lead on a running deer. Put the crosshairs on him, breathe/squeeze, and get the tag on your trophy. DAMN!
He also offers this piece of advice: THINK of what’s behind your buck, because the trajectory is so flat, the bullet so fast, that you could send it into the next county. Target shooting shouldn’t present this problem, but if you hunt, “Hunt Friendly”, okay?
My favorite answer, which I heard from a lawyer, applies here: “It depends”.
You can go from mild to wild on an accurate rifle. I think the biggest question is wether or not you plan to reload. Reloading will give you ammunition that is far more consistant than the factory offerings. You can choose the primer, powder, and bullets, of course. You can also prep the cases for better uniformity. This includes uniforming the primer pocket and “turning” the neck of the case to get a better fit in a custom “tight neck” chamber (To better center the case in the chamber. A case that has a loose fit will allow the bullet to slam into the rifling, deforming the bullet, leading to instability.)
Not only will reloading give you better consistancy, it will allow you to shoot cartridges that are not available in factory loadings, such as the 6PPC. This one rules 100 and 200yd benchrest. The 6BR Norma is good all the way out to 1000yards (for target shooting). I have a friend with a 1,000yard benchrest (1kBR) rifle in 6BR.
I have a 1kBR rifle in 6.5 Gibbs; a .270 WIN necked down to 6.5mm with the body taper blown out and the shoulder moved forward. At my first 1,000yard match, I put 10 shots into 6.855".
If you want a really nice semi-custom rifle, a lot of people say it’s hard to go wrong with a Cooper. I believe they can be had for around $900.
I don’t claim to be an expert. If you want to know more, send an e-mail and I will give you links for sites where you can get advice from people who know a lot more than I do.
Kid
I have a yen to have a .220 Swift, but never thought I was good enough to really appreciate one. At one time, you could get a Ruger .220 Swift for about $500, but that may be much higher now.
This confuses me a little. The .220 Swift is the “Gold Standard” varmint gun, but to hunt deer with it? That sounds a little odd to me, as the slug is very lightweight. Yes, I know it goes fast, and I know all about kinetic energy, but all the same…that would be unusual. I hope he’s had good luck with that.
“Hunt friendly” is always great advice. Just from a technical standpoint - the fastest load I’ve seen for a .220 Swift was a Norma factory one which sent it on its way at about 4100 fps - not mind-boggling fast, but certainly faster than a .223 (the same slug, different cartridge) at about 3300 fps. The slug goes so fast you don’t have much risk of riccochet, since it tends to blow itself apart when it hits a firm surface or water.
Just wanted to mention that if you plan to hunt deer, check the regulations where you are. In some areas it is illegal to hunt deer with a caliber less than .23, regardless of case length.
I have always been a fan of the 30-06. Quite versatile in that you can get rounds from 50 gr. at upwards of 4200 fps for long range varminting to 220 gr. in the area of 2400 fps for large game. As far as scopes, for the lower end and general use, you really can’t go wrong with Bushnell, Redfield or Weaver. Until you get your long range skills very well honed and unless you have an inherently accurate rifle and load combination, you really won’t be able to take advantage of the high dollar Leupolds and such.
It depends on what you want to do with it and what your idea of long range shooting is. I would also suggest a decent .22 LR just to be able to inexpensively keep up on the motor skills… and have a lot of fun 
If you just want something to plunk around with and you’re not interested in hunting anything (well, larger than a gopher) I would just get a 22LR. Ammo is dirt cheap and plentiful.
Although my old reliable is an old Cooey single shot bolt action (dead accurate though), I would strongly recommend a Ruger 10-22 semi-auto. Pretty inexpensive and very popular. There is no shortage of mods available for it if you choose to do something “different” with it as well. I also like its unique rotary-style magazine.
I’ve always been partial to the Remington 522. They’re not being made any more, but a used one shouldn’t be too hard to come by. Alternatively, a Model 597 might be just the ticket.
For long-range punch, either for hunting or target, it’s tough to beat a proper '03 Springfield. If you can’t find an original, there are plenty of good-quality knock-offs. Of course, that may break the bank, so try a Remington 700. Decent rifle, decent accuracy, comes in wide variety of cartridges, and your pocket will thank you.
Or, go to Ruger. They’re loaded with plenty of fine arms, or… Damn it, there’s not enough time in the day for this…!
If you’re target shooting, you may want to consider the Springfield Armory M1A rifle. At a suggested list price of $1,319 it’s a little over your price range, but I hear it’s very accurate.
If you want to hunt, then I don’t know. I’m not a hunter.
I’ve got an FN49 8MM that I’m willing to let go…