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newTexan wrote:Some good info so far. Thanks!

With regard to purpose, I'd say recreational shooting with the possibility to hunt (deer etc) in the future. Slowly shaking off my northerner ways....

My eyesight is not bad, but not perfect as I get closer and closer to the big 40. The budget is not a problem really. I'm happy to save up if I need to. I don't really see a need to have a million dollar gun when I'm more like a five dollar shooter, but I'm all in favor of buying quality stuff if it's within my reach. Rather buy quality once than buy crap stuff over and over.

Alright with that being said this is my recommendation. Go look at either a Sako TRG-22 or a Tikka T3. Don't get to wrapped up with cartridge selection. Plenty of good ones exist and all have their ups and downs. Then go and get a solid scope, and not I'm not taking about a $200 paper weight, for this endeavor you will need something that tracks well, has solid internals, and good glass. Some good more economical (under $2K) options are the Vortex Viper PSTs, Bushnell Elite Tacticals, and Super Snipers. But if you have the financing I'd look at Premier, Schmidt & Bender, Hensoldt, or the Vortex Razor series ($2K and over). And always utilize proper mounting hardware. Seekins Precision makes some excellent products are reasonable prices. LR and ELR is a different game and requires some different gear. It is nice to be out with just you and your rifle engaging targets at distance. But is awesome to be out with your complete kit (rifle, laser range finder, Kersel, ballistics app, etc...) making hits at 1000 plus yards with regularity and repeatably.

Also like I mentioned before. If you don't already start handloading. The best ammunition in the world will come from your press when you load it specifically for your rifle.

Eye sight is vital when speaking of iron sights. Not so much when speaking of optical sighting systems. Part of why I like LR & ELR stuff so much, the high powered optics allow my handicapped eyes see targets I would otherwise miss.

Alright lets start with this. There are many different schools of thought on this subject and many of them have merit. But I will give you my view of this here. Start off by realizing that a rifle is a tool, nothing more. So don't try to make it out to be anything more then it is. Next remember that the guy driving the rifle has a lot more to do with accuracy then the equipment (about a 80/20 split). From this point comes a few questions? First off what is your budget? If one has the budget then I will always say buy the best stuff available. However I do understand that not everyone has that kind of money available. Secondly what kind of distances do you have available to you and what is your goal? In other words are you wanting get into tactical type competitions, F-class, or some recreational stuff? Do you handload now? If not then you should start.

All of these things have a great deal to do with what you purchase. But for us to help you then you need to help us. As an example of what I'm trying to say to you is this:

My 338 Lapua


And my AR-15


Both of these rifles will send bullet accurately to their target, however both fit very different roles and are vastly different rifles that were built on vastly different budgets. And I would never dream of trying to replace one with the other.