First Centerfire

[PaddyT]

Gday, introduced myself before and am returning to hunting after more than 20 years, my previous experience was mainly knocking over bunnies with a borrowed 22 . Ive just gone and got my licence and have put a deposit on a safe. My line of thinking for acquiring a rifle was that I would start with a .223 - reasonably cheap ammo, easy to fire for a centerfire. I have a total budget in mind of $2k to get the full package- rifle, optics, cleaning gear, bag, safety gear,some ammo etc.I'm mainly interested in walk and shoot , and mainly for vermin control and a bit of meat (young goats etc). I went to the local gunshop and he thought I would be easily able to achieve this, I was thinking about a Tikka T3 (I am left handed and they seemed to have a good range of LH rifles) but any suggestions on this plus some ideas about optics would be appreciated. thanks

[jmr22]

G'day Paddy,

my old man has a t3 in SS, cant speak highly enough of it, synthetic stock is nice and ergonomic, almost negligible recoil. I don't think you would go wrong.

With regards to scopes all my rifles have just basic adjustable power scopes and I get along okay, obviously if your into gear you want the top stuff though

cheers.

Jacko.

[albat]

Tikka are superb rifles so yes, if you going to shoot everything with one gun .223 will be a bit light on for goat sized stuff unless the shot is precise but is doable , just make sure your safe is plenty cus you will end up buying more for sure

[RoginaJack]

G'day Paddy and welcome back to the sport.
I use a Tikka T3, Lite, left handed action in 243win calibre and find this a very accurate rifle. The factory mag. of 3 rounds is a bit short but have got a 5 round mag., a lot better for the dogs and pigs, 10 round mag. would be better still.
The scope is a Vortex Crossfire II, 4-12x44 and this works for me. Used mainly on feral dogs, pigs and foxes, actually a bit hard on the fox but pelts aren't worth anything these days. Ammo for dogs is Speer 70gr HP and pigs is PPU 90gr S.P. and yes, there is a great selection of 243win. ammo available.
I would prefer the 243w to a 223 for goats but your choice.

[straightshooter]

PaddyT
I think you have a well thought out plan which is hard to fault.
Unfortunately you are a cackyhander.
I would suggest you have a long look at what is available in left hand actions before blowing the major portion of your budget on the rifle and then skimping on everything else.

[RoginaJack]

Ah, Straightshooter, but a Tikka is a realistically priced Sako!

[marksman]

what everyone else has said

[PaddyT]

Thanks guys, yes unfortunately quite a few things with my left hand! Ok a few more questions-would I better off with a 1-8 twist which will give me a wider range of bullet weights I can use? I was thinking that for slightly larger game eg goats a 60gr round would be the way to go but am happy to hear otherwise. Also suggestions on bits and pieces I might need would be appreciated. Thanks

[bladeracer]

Ah, Straightshooter, but a Tikka is a realistically priced Sako!

Still double the price of the Ruger though

[SomeoneElse]

Thanks guys, yes unfortunately quite a few things with my left hand! Ok a few more questions-would I better off with a 1-8 twist which will give me a wider range of bullet weights I can use? I was thinking that for slightly larger game eg goats a 60gr round would be the way to go but am happy to hear otherwise. Also suggestions on bits and pieces I might need would be appreciated. Thanks

I’m happy with my 1:8 Browning X-Bolt Hunter .223 (right hand). They make lefty versions as well. Their different “flavours” of XBolts have different twist rates despite being the same caliber, so just double-check if you go this route. When I ordered mine it took about 8 months to get into the country, due to Winchester Aust’s import practices. I plan on having it for another 3 to 5 decades, so for me it was worth the wait. The LGS said I was the most patient customer they’ve ever had. The rifle is a pleasure to shoot, so that’s what really matters to me after having a crappy gun previously.

I tried some Federal 40gr VShok in it the other day. No problems with “overstabilisation/discintergration ” that some parts of the internet allege with light projectiles in fast twist barrels. Haven’t tried heavier than 55gr yet, but the 1:8 barrel should cope well when I do go heavier. I have no problem recommending 1:8 for .223.

My optics: Nikon Monarch 3 scope 4-16x50, Murphy Precision stainless steel 20MOA picitinny rail, Warne QD Maxima steel rings (low, part # 200LM). The scope is probably a touch on the big side for lots of walking, but watching Elmer’s bunny-busting videos gave me varminting envy/inspiration. I also knew that I’d be shooting at dusk/dawn, so the 50mm objective was a must for me. Murphy Precision were great to deal with re pre-sales questions about their rails. The rail is milled on the underside for chamber clearance for both right and left actions.

I’ve probably spent closer to $2500 than your $2000 budget. I could have trimmed this if I went for a basic set of perminant scope rings (and a smaller scope), but I intend on trying other sighting systems in the coming decade as the budget allows.

Someone Else.

[PaddyT]

Sounds like a nice setup- is their any advantage to the rails over a permanent mount other than easy change over of optics? Not sure if Id have your patience for 8 months though!

[straightshooter]

Ah, Straightshooter, but a Tikka is a realistically priced Sako!

If one could be led to believe that an A180 is a realistically priced C63 Mercedes then you may have a point.
Once upon a time Tikka was a separate manufacturer and competitor to Sako.
When Tikka was absorbed into Sako it was downgraded to became the Sako made cheapie and as such is somewhat overpriced. Even more so when Beretta took over Sako.

[PaddyT]

Hi Straightshooter do you think I am better off looking at something other than Tikka for my budget? As i said I am after suggestions Thanks

[SomeoneElse]

Sounds like a nice setup- is their any advantage to the rails over a permanent mount other than easy change over of optics? Not sure if Id have your patience for 8 months though!

Thanks, yeah I like the setup. The only advantage to above-receiver rails as I see it is:
- Transporting with optics removed might be useful to some. I don't currently do that.
- Swapping to/from a dedicated IR/thermal setup aught to be easier than the "add on" approach, while maintaining a moderate amount of repeatability in the zeroing.
- While trying some basic DIY IR solutions I can keep the rifle locked in the safe while I work on the scope over a few days.
- I may want to mix/match optics as my rifle collection grows.

If that sort of tinkering doesn't float your boat then I'd say there is no advantage having a dedicated scope on a picatinny rail. I measured/counted the actual elevation clicks in my scope before opting for the 20MOA rail, just to get better use of the elevation click range. But you could do that prior to getting non-picatinony rings anyway. Barrel-shroud picatinny rails have a whole lot of uses, but I'm only talking about classic "hunting style" rifles with a rail over the receiver here.

Someone Else

[PaddyT]

Thanks for that, spend a huge amount of time fiddling with fishing and gamefishing gear in the garage but too inexperienced to start fiddling too much with rifles at this stage

[PaddyT]

Ok put my PTA in and have had a chat to the LGS and what he has come up with for my budget (2K) is Tikka T3X Lite 223 left hand, Bushnell Elite 4500 2.5-10x40 or a Minox ZA5 2-10x45 (30mm tube )- I am more inclined to go with the Bushnell - mainly because of a mates recommendation - but any comments here would be appreciated. The LGS is prepared to through in mounts (is there anything I need to look for here?) , a bag, cleaning kit and a sling. This all seems reasonable to me after having a look at some online prices etc but I would love some feedback, thanks

[albat]

leupold vxr firedot i rate them highly the centre dot has impressed everyone who has looked through it has 30mm tube and they are nice and light can be had for a bit over $700 , glass is good and dot brings the eye to target quick smart see my thread titled leupold vxr firedot , member Die Judicii just got one on his sako so pm him

[PaddyT]

Thanks

[bigfellascott]

The kit you have chosen will do you mate, just get a one piece cleaning rod, some jags etc to suit, some cleaning patches and solvents to suit and some lanox to coat the bore and metal parts in after each clean and you should be pretty right to go, a rifle bag would also be a good idea if you don't have one and a tool box to store ammo in with a lock on it is also a good idea, that should keep you out of trouble for now and down the track you will buy more gear as it suits your needs.

Good luck and enjoy.

[PaddyT]

Thanks for that will go with the Bushnell methinks

[Rikta]

howa

[PaddyT]

no lefties