Hunting / sports shooting rifle

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Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by rafsta01 » 15 Aug 2014, 2:24 pm

Hi Everyone,
I am new to firearms and been having trouble getting an answer for a question i have.
Apologies if is a stupid question but i dont know who to ask.

Is there a rifle that i can buy for hunting game and sport shooting? as getting 2 rifles is not possible at the moment.

In regarding the caliber i was looking to .308 or 30.06 but not sure as both are good for game but not sure for target shooting.

originally i was pointed to Tikka T3's and Sako but still not 100% as i would like to make the best choice.

Your expertise is highly appreciated and i'm sorry if i am asking the wrong question

thank you in advanced
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by Norty_Country_Bloke » 15 Aug 2014, 5:25 pm

If you're new to shooting as a whole, .308 Winchester or 30-06 Springfield is a lot of gun and can manifest it self with bad habits in your shooting technique. What are you hunting? I'd probably recommend a CZ or Anschutz .22lr. Brilliantly accurate rifles, cheap ammunition and a great starting point to work on your technique. Then once you've got your feet nice and wet you can move up to a thumping .30cal. But hey, do what makes you happy :)
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by 1290 » 15 Aug 2014, 7:19 pm

Unless you're after super accuracy long range sport shooting...any off the shelf rifle will do the job. Decide what you want in Stock, mag, finish, sights and you can narrow down on a rifle.

If you're starting out consider open sights. Get your technique sorted, go hard or go home, go the 308win. Learn to shoot it.

Btw, 308win and 30-06 spring. are the same calibre, different chambering.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by rafsta01 » 16 Aug 2014, 8:57 pm

Thanks for the reply.
I was considering the .308win.
I do have a bit of experience in shooting and hunting. My brother owns a tikka T3 lite with a 30.06 cal.
I have shot it a few time at the range and went hunting with him.
So any rifle will do the job.... any particular rifle that considered by a lot of people for long range shooting?
thanks again for all you your reply's and help, this is helping me out heaps
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by Apollo » 16 Aug 2014, 9:44 pm

Define "long range" please.

Some people think long range is like 300 metres others don't consider long range to be much less than 1,000 metres.

For a factory rifle hunting is generally a light weight rifle, for target you need the likes of a heavier varmint type or much heavier profile barrel. Not all that nice to carry for long distances in steep country.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by headspace » 16 Aug 2014, 10:12 pm

If you have already used a 30 cal rifle then the 308 won't be a problem for you. It's not really practical to try and use a sporter weight rifle for "long distance" shooting. As Apollo says that term has different meanings for different shooters. I'd consider 300m far enough for a sporter weight 308 particularly if you are hunting with it. of course you really don't want to lug a heavy barrel target rifle around the scrub for hunting either. But ethically I would hesitate to shoot at an animal at over 300m the chance of wounding is too great.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by 1290 » 17 Aug 2014, 8:20 am

Long range does mean a different thing to different shooter and different chamberings and different sights...
For 22LR open sight shooting long range for some might be 100 to 150m... centrefire I have a hard time acquiring a target with the eye at 300m or over, so for me over 300 is starting to be a bit long in the range. :oops:

For pistol chamberings with more drop longer/is shorter.
For standard/mag rifle chambering personally I consider when 500+ scoped is the limit where it starts getting l-o-n-g , while supermags, 1000+??

This is my take, everyone has their own opinion

I'm sure you've made a good choice there headspace, enjoy.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by yoshie » 17 Aug 2014, 5:43 pm

What match would you be shooting? Most matches have a sporter/hunter classification for example bench rest,f class and military rifle, a 308 will be ok for big game too.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by RDobber » 18 Aug 2014, 8:40 pm

rafsta01 wrote:I was considering the .308win.
I do have a bit of experience in shooting and hunting. My brother owns a tikka T3 lite with a 30.06 cal.


Tikka make consistently good rifles. I've used many and all have shot sub MOA groups as factory rifles. With the right ammo and shooter they'll do better too. I'll borrow one of the other guys photos but you can see shots from a stock Tikka 7mm-08 here. 0.375" group at 100m with one. That do ya?

7mm-08 there but it's a very close calibre to the .308. .308 is perfect for hunting and target shooting, good choice of calibre there if you're already a little comfortable with some recoil.

Not knocking other brands but Tikka is always a good choice IMO.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by Antie » 18 Aug 2014, 8:41 pm

What's this? 300 win mag fan boy recommending the .308 :o

:lol: :D
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by RDobber » 18 Aug 2014, 8:43 pm

Never said there was anything wrong with the .308, just love the 300WM ;)

Fair's fair though. It's not the best calibre for your average greenhorn, no denying that.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by Herdsman » 18 Aug 2014, 8:45 pm

rafsta01 wrote:I was considering the .308win.
I do have a bit of experience in shooting and hunting. My brother owns a tikka T3 lite with a 30.06 cal.


.308 is plenty mate for hunting, and will easily do 500m target shooting for you.

I don't imagine you'll be shooting further than that for a while as a new shooter with an all-purpose rifle...
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by Baronvonrort » 18 Aug 2014, 10:53 pm

rafsta01 wrote:Thanks for the reply.
I was considering the .308win.
I do have a bit of experience in shooting and hunting. My brother owns a tikka T3 lite with a 30.06 cal.
I have shot it a few time at the range and went hunting with him.
So any rifle will do the job.... any particular rifle that considered by a lot of people for long range shooting?
thanks again for all you your reply's and help, this is helping me out heaps


If you go the 30-06 you can use your brothers ammo if you go shooting with him,if he reloads he can even do some for you, the 308 will have slightly less power,if you like the 30-06 not a bad choice although i would go 308 and if something bigger was needed perhaps a 300 winchester magnum

The long range shooting rifles could be custom built which means expensive compared to Tikka, the 300 WM could be better for the really long stuff.

It comes down to budget and preference
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by inventurkey » 19 Aug 2014, 12:09 pm

Take a look at some varmint barrel rifles.

Good for the range, and not too heavy for carrying about.

Tikka Varmint will do the lot, and isn't an expensive 'match' rifle.
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Re: Hunting / sports shooting rifle

Post by inventurkey » 19 Aug 2014, 12:10 pm

Or the new Tikka T3 TAC would be a good option too.
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