Good choice?

B

Ben..

Guest
Hey :)

I'm about to buy my very first rifle which I hope to one day use for long range (1000 yard) target shooting.

The rifle I have chosen is the Savage F/TR .308 and I was just wondering what you guys think of this choice :)

I have only read good things about them with the only exception being the safety on the trigger which can lead to "miss-fires" if not pulled correctly which IMO is a good thing not only by safety standards but also to train me to pull the trigger in the correct manner.

Anyway any thoughts and or opinions would be greatly appreciated as I REALLY like this rifle but don't want to make the wrong decision.

Thanks


P.S. The scope I will be using is the Nightforce NXS 12-42x56mm
 
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It depends.........

on what type of target shooting you are planning to do. If its bench rest, which I assume it is since you're on this thread, it is NOT a good choice. Read any of the results pages of the major 1000 Yard BR clubs in the country and you won't see a 308 Winchester in the winners column.
Sorry but that the unvarnished truth.
A better bet would be Savage's 6.5/284 or the 6BR if their twist is right.
 
You made a great choice for a rifle platform, and your scope will be top notch........just the wrong caliber as ONEFLYER stated......6BR or 6.5-284 would be a far better choice for 1K, and both are available from the factory in 1-8 twist from Savage. Perfect for the 130-140 grain LR target bullets. And I am sure I am not alone in saying that I have been in a pile of shoot-off's where the guy next to me is shooting a stock Savage.:eek:

Now what you need to do is get a few of your friends to join you!!!

Target shooting is a lot like golf........it can be done by your self, but is much more enjoyable with a group pf friends.:):)

I'm just sayin........;)
 
Oh I will be using it for F-Class target shooting.. Sorry I'm only new to everything when it comes to shooting I just assumed I could also use it for Benchrest shooting aswell :(

So what's the difference between F-Class and Benchrest that make the .308 good for one but useless for the other?
 
Ben,

Not useles - just more difficult.

I shoot F/TR here in Australia & use my F class gun for 1000 yard bench at the moment. But I understand that because my loads are slower & less efficient, balistically speaking, I have to be more switched on to shoot as well as the guys with the souped up calibres - and I don't most of the time.

If your prime discipline is to be F/TR & you want to have a little fun on the bench at 1000 yards, the .308 is fine. If you plan to shoot open F class & some 1000 yard bench, then go for the 6.5x284,

John
 
I don't think you'll find anyone claiming the .308 is "good" for F-class, though truthfully, I've never shot F-class. It is (was?) just perfect for Palma, because the rules required it. I might consider a .308 just about perfect for a 600 yard Heavy Gun, but most wouldn't agree.

There are significant differences between benchrest and F-class, and there is an F-class forum on BR Central.

Finally, while cost is always a factor, in competition, it has to be an "other things being equal" factor. And they rarely are.
 
The nice thing about the Savage 308 bolt face is that you can change to so many different cal. just by changing barrels. And, you can put the 308 back on any time. See Sharp Shooter Supply for Savage upgrades.
 
Charles E said:
I don't think you'll find anyone claiming the .308 is "good" for F-class, though truthfully, I've never shot F-class. It is (was?) just perfect for Palma, because the rules required it. I might consider a .308 just about perfect for a 600 yard Heavy Gun, but most wouldn't agree.

There are significant differences between benchrest and F-class, and there is an F-class forum on BR Central.

Finally, while cost is always a factor, in competition, it has to be an "other things being equal" factor. And they rarely are.
Click to expand...

Wait, so this rifle wont be any good for 1000 yard F-class shooting either?... The whole reason I changed my mind on getting a .223 was because I wanted the power to shoot accurately at 1000 yards..
 
F Class

Ben

There is a division of F Class just for 223 and 308 called F-Class T/R. There you will shoot against only 308s and 223s. A 308 would be challenged on the line against the likes of some of the other cartridges out there. With a 308 you will have the opportunity to improve your condition reading ability.

See the link for more info regarding F Class.

http://usfclass.com/rules.aspx

Take care
Rob
 
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Hi Ben, Last year I was a rookie at the Benchrest game. My advise would be to look at the results of a match and see what is winning first. Then if possible find a match in your area and go to watch, and talk to the guys that are shooting. I found that all of the shooters are more than willing to help out a guy just starting out.

You just don't see alot of .308's in the BR game. I think you can do better with the 6.5 x.284 or 6br Savage. Better bullets, better veloicity.

As far as ammo, most all BR guys load there own, because BR is so precise. IMO if you have a good BR gun, you can shoot F-Class, if you like shooting prone. F-Class is like benchrest w/o the bench.:D
 
Perhaps the moderators (Charles E) should move this thread to the F-Class forum, since its pretty obvious that is the original posters primary intent with this gun?

As for the .308 vs. whatever... yes, the .308 has a bit of the 'flight-o-the-bumblebee' going on at that distance, regardless of loading. Some of my friends routinely give me crap about needing to borrow their Dewalt cordless screw gun to speed up cranking on all the elevation needed to 1k. And I take no small amount of joy in the times when I get to show them what a .308 is capable of :D

The F/TR class is specifically designed as a 'limited' class for .223 Rem and .308 Win *only*. If you think a .308 is a challenge to shoot in the wind at long range... try a .223 sometime. Not impossible, but it'll sure toughen ya up some. My wife's F/TR rifle is a .223 Rem, and in light conditions it's disgustingly capable of tearing up the target. 600 and in, it's definitely got what it takes - and there are a whole lot more 500-600yd ranges in the U.S. than 1k ranges. The 12 F/TR in .308 Win specifically has managed to find its way into the top 2 or 3 the last two years at the F-Class Nationals in the F/TR class.

Thats the good news. The bad news is... at least at the local club level, many times there won't be enough F-Class shooters in general, or F/TR shooters in particular, to break out F/TR as a separate class. Hence, you all get lumped together in one big 'F-Class', and then you *are* shooting against the F-Open guys directly. As much as I like tweakin' the Open guys when I can, the odds are definitely *not* in favor of the .308 in that situation.

The rest of the story is that the stock on the 12 F/TR is not really designed for shooting from anything but a bipod and rear bag. You can get (or make) a front 'sled' or plate that will attach to the fore-end rail and it will then fit fairly well in a 3" front bag. It'll track a little funny because of the slope of the buttstock (which is that way for a reason), but it will be an improvement none-the-less.

If your primary desire is to shoot F-Class, specifically F/TR, and maybe an occasional BR match on the side (more for fun than anything else), then there's nothing wrong with any .308 rifle you can find. It can do quite well within its limits, and people tend to forget just how flexible those limits can be at times. ;) Decent gear and good ammo are definitely useful in this sport (F-Class), but on a squirrelly range, well, you can't buy what you need to win there.

FWIW... you might try the forums over here for access to some people who specifically shoot F-Class and such
 
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milanuk,

Sounds like you've given him good information. As far as I know, us moderators can't move threads. That's a Wilber- or Elmer-only option. Ben might get more information reposting to the BR Central F-class forum, but seems like you've given him some further links.
 
Thanks HEAPS milanuk for that info!..

Based on what you and others have said I'm going to stick with the .308 and learn to shoot and have some fun, then if and when I decide to do precision benchrest shooting I will buy another rifle or barrel and bolt head to suit.

Like I said I'm only new to the sport so my intention isn't to walse up to competition level and expect wonders but to get familiar with both rifles and long range shooting as well as have a good time :D

Thanks again for all the help guys it's really appreciated! I will be ordering all my gear tomorrow :)


P.S. Sorry for posting here but my initial question was in regards to .308's and benchrest shooting which has been very well addressed :)
 
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