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Tactical Rifles M40
By JK | September 12, 2009
I have always been fascinated by long range shooting. Ever since I first got interested into guns, I've always liked being able to reach out and touch the target. With the Old West type guns I really liked the Winchester leaver actions and those sorts, but in general they were mostly chambered for pistol cartridges and had a limited range, probably 300 yards at the maximum.
Then you had the single shot rifles like the Sharps and Remington Rolling Block, chambered in the likes of the great .45-70, .40-65, .45-90, .50-70 and up to the .45-110. By today's standards these are obsolete compared to the modern high velocity cartridges but in the mid to late 1800's that's all they had.
Unless you have a lot of experience and know how, you were pretty much limited to 150-200 yards. Past that you're really just lobbing the bullet out there, but again, you practice enough and get to know what you're doing you can make hits at 500+ yards.
I've even seen a video of a guy shooting an old Sharps at 1000 yards and hitting the steel target!
Now that I'm into modern guns I have really taken more of an interest in long range shooting. While lately I've been concentrating my time and effort into AR type guns and hand guns and shotguns, the one thing that I lacked was a true Long Range gun.
Now, before I get too far, if you've read many of my posts, you know that I like to save up and get the best of the best – within reason. In my many hours of research I have read many differing opinions and peoples way of thinking and I believe that I have a good knowledge base on this subject. So, there are a couple different ways to go about getting a long range rifle.
The first option and least expensive route is to get a Remington 700 SPS rifle and a Leupold scope, preferably one of their Mark 4 series. The Remington 700 action is usually accurate, well made, and is often used to make custom precision rifles. So, with a base price of around $700-1,000 for the rifle and around $1,000-1,300 for the scope and you have a very good basic setup.
The problem you run into with mass produced rifles is you can't guarantee accuracy. You do get a lot of bang for your buck but you run the gambit in terms of accuracy, you can get one that will shoot ¼" groups all day long or you might get lucky to shoot under an inch at 100 yards.
The second option is to get a (for lack of a more appropriate term) "better" factory rifle. A good example is the FN SPR A3. For about $2,000 you get a very good McMillan stock and according to FN's site "Sub-1/2 MOA standard of accuracy". So you get more of a custom gun look and features but not the bigger price tag.
Or the third option, the one I took, is to go totally custom. There are a bunch of small time gunsmiths around the country that can build custom rifles but they usually take more than a year. However, a company that I found online is Tactical Rifles. All of their bolt action rifles come with a ½" 3 round group at 100 yards with factory ammunition guarantee.
Here's a quote from their website, "Our Company aim is straightforward – Our Mission is to build tactical precision rifles and to do so uncommonly well!"
What I was looking for is a rifle that I can hunt deer and hogs with at extended range, 500+ yards. I didn't want a (again for lack of a better word) "Space age" type sniper rifle like an Accuracy International rifle or Tactical Rifle's "Tactical L.R." I wanted something that would look like a general hunting rifle.
Which meant I ended up with Tactical Rifles "Tactical M40" in .308 Winchester. The base rifle cost is $2,800.
With upgrades and options and a Night Force scope the entire package will run quite a bit more than the base rifle price. But with the package I don't have to do anything to the rifle when I get it other than feed it ammo. Due to going custom, I have to wait about 4-6 months for the rifle (good thing they take monthly payments)
What is also cool is Tactical Rifles is they are going to offer a precision rifle class near the end of this year. They teach the basics in rifle handling and cleaning and then go into how to shoot long range. So I'll probably be able to pick up my rifle at the class!
www.TacticalRifles.net – The company building my rifle
http://www.fnhusa.com/mil/products/firearms/model.asp?fid=FNF006&gid=FNG005&mid=FNM0024 – FN's Bolt Action Rifle
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_700/ – The Remington 700
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