varmint / tactical / long range rifle

[stinkitup]

If it's Varmints there is still no real reason to go a 6mm over the 6.5. I shoot 100 and 95 nosler BT's and Vmax's out of my old swede, they have messed up crow's, rabbits and foxes, they will easily put down goats and most pigs. I am working on my vmax load and some 140gr woodleigh's but have shot 140 sst's out to 500m on a fly target. With a 9x scope you can't see much and it was a first time for long range for me but when you see a 5 inch group come back on a target it made me happy.

Do you still have a M38 or had one? IF your looking to put a custom barrel on it later anyway why not pick up a second hand Tikka in 6.5x55, see how it shoot's, from most reports they all shoot even if it's not a heavy barrel then you can put a custom heavy barrel on it later?

Ryan

[CZ550]

Deadkelly,

Ask yourself what ferals you are going to be shooting most of and get the gun to suit, you can never be overgunned on smaller species like rabbits, hares and foxes (a bit dearer to kill though!), but I feel you can certainly be undergunned for larger goats, big roos (under permit of course!), pigs and some of the deer species. I will get shot down in flames over this I realise, but I think if your chasing anything from a rabbit to a small sized deer a .243 should do the job. I run a .243 and launch 87 grain V-Max pills at everything (1:10 twist barrel). It has taken everything from rabbits and foxes (excellent paddock pizza) to red deer with careful shot placement. Consider ammo availabilty too if you don't reload - I picked up some .243 ammo from a chemical reseller the other day! Don't worry about performance to 1000 yards, you're just lucky if you can hit something at that range in field conditions, shooting from a vehicle.

Just my 2 cents,

CZ550

[Glenn]

I agree 100% with you CZ550!

Glenn

[deadkelly]

righto guy's i found my rifle . cleaver has the new weatherby vangaurd carbine in 22 250 or 243 with 20" barrel & has the new ajustable trigger . & comes in at $490 .
this will suit me just fine for the money , i have a simmons 3-9 x 40 i can put on it for now . i'll take one in 243 if they have any left . i'll give them a call first thing tomorrow . as i said earlier in the first post i wanted a howa hb 243 . but my finances changed that same night . it may not be a heavy barrel but the handy 20 " will make for a good car rifle . the 243 has a 1:10 twist barrel with fingers crossed may stableize the 105 & 107 bullets ( to have a play at steel & paper @ the range ). oh well for my very limited budget it's about as good as i could expect . & there's quite a few after market bits & pieces i can gather over time as money trickles in .

[bigfellascott]

Well done DK - can't argue about the price hey. You'll have to let us know how it goes when you get it.

[L579]

You should add the price of a decent set of earmuffs a 20" Barralled 243 or 22-250 is gunna hurt

[deadkelly]

[quote="L579"]You should add the price of a decent set of earmuffs a 20" Barralled 243 or 22-250 is gunna hurt[/quote
sure will . oh well i'll take that into account while working up accuracy loads . i'm looking for accuracy over speed anyways .

[deadkelly]

i paid a deposit on a std length vangaurd last night $570 . i'm very happy with that rifle & price oh well of to work now have a great day guy's .

[deadkelly]

i now have the 243 vanguard in the safe now . it's still unfired , i just bought a bench rest & front & rear sand bags . i have some factory norma & rws ammo & will head out the range this w/end to sight & run in . i have a cheap 3-9x40 scope for now . i now need a better scope & spotting scope & once again i'm really scraping the barrel for funds . so if anybody has used a entry level scope & spotting scope that works for under $1k let me know please .

[Brad Y]

Hi mate

243 with a 10 twist your probably going to get 90 and 95gr pills to stabilise but the 105 and 107's you wont without a 1:8. Load those 87gr vmax for varmints and a 90 to 95 for hunting. You should be able to shoot the 95gr SMK for target work.

Would like some more specs on the rifle- heavy barrel? what stock is it?

Those vanguards are almost identical to the howa 1500 actions, so the DBM kits and 10 shot mags should fit it. Plus you will have a big choice of stocks to play with. Best of all, they are fairly easy to do a basic true job on. Fit an aftermarket barrel and it will turn into a tack driving tactical beast one day when the funds allow. Get higher capacity scope like a 6-24, then find a tactical style stock and you should be able to set up the mags and bottom metal kit then get the barrel at the end. You can do it in stages when the funds allow.

By the way, I have a 10-50x60 nikko targetmaster scope here if you want it. Its side focus turret is slipping slightly but it still focuses fine. Ive used it for F class and it worked fine for that. Not a totally clear scope comparing it to a nightforce but it might help zooming up on target a bit more. Let me know.

[stinkitup]

With my old tasco 3-9 tasco on my old swede you can make out bullet holes in your targets, also if you can make your own targets with a cross through the centre of the targets it's easier to keep your POA the same. Do you have a digital camera with any zoom? You can use this as a spotting scope utilising the digital zoom should get you up around 20x on most camera's.

Ryan

[deadkelly]

g'day ryan my brother is lending me his 20xzoom digital movie camera to do just that .

[stinkitup]

Perfect! Plus you can record your groups

Ryan

[deadkelly]

i know it's been ages but this is the latest . the 243 vangaurd has a 24" std weight barrel & std black synthetic stock ( touching the whole length of the barrel ) trigger has no creep & chrisp but heavy . well well it's not shooting near where i was hoping . about 1 1/2" . i have used norma 100gr , rws 105gr , rem 80gr sp , highland 90gr ammo . well i spose it shot all of them quite consistantly just abit large & vertically strung groups .
i have a mate lending me his sub moa hb stock & trigger to try this weekend & will try the same ammo batch's & take it from there . my 2 cents

[juzz338]

My 243 is a pig with any ammo except certain handloads so do not worry to much about accuracy until you have exhausted your reloading options. When you are changing your stock over do a quick search on adjusting howa triggers and you will find for a factory trigger they are really good you can achieve zero creep and bugger all weight that is less than probably practical on a hunting rifle.