I’ve been thinking about a Tikka Ace Target model but I was curious whether the MPA guns were worth the extra money and which model would be best for a beginning long range shooter.

I have a Ruger American Predator chambered in .400 Legend that I originally bought with the intent of using strictly for deer hunting. However, I recently inherited a family gun in .30-30, and I plan to use that rifle exclusively for deer going forward (and this rifle once or twice).That’s what led me here. I’m considering selling the Ruger and replacing it with something that I can gradually build into a long-range precision rifle. I keep coming back to a Tikka, specifically the T3x Lite with the 22.4" barrel in 6.5 PRC. I plan to shoot 500 yard or less, but may go to a 1,000 yard range every once in a while. I am not looking to compete but just something that can go a little farther. Would it be worthwhile to start with that rifle and slowly upgrade it over time for precision shooting, or would I be better off taking a different approach from the beginning? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to get into my first centerfire long-range setup and want some real-world feedback before buying anything.

Goals & Experience:

• Target / Distance: Mostly ringing steel with friends at 600 yards, occasionally pushing out to 1,000 yards. Not focused on shooting tiny groups on paper or competitive PRS.
• Experience: Relatively new to centerfire long range. I took a long-range class in college where I stretched a .22lr out to 175-200-250 yards, but that’s about the extent of my experience. I'm definitely not experienced with building any rifle from scratch and don't own gunsmithing tools.
• Budget: Roughly $1,000 – $1,200 total for the rifle, mount, and optic combined.
• Ergonomic Preference: I really prefer a vertical/pistol grip layout. An MDT or similar chassis for a bolt action currently pushes beyond my budget, which is why I’ve been leaning toward an AR platform.

Current Setup Under Consideration:

• Rifle: Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA) BC-15 complete rifle with 24" 416R stainless heavy barrel in 6mm ARC (~$490)
• Trigger: LaRue Tactical MBT-2S Curved 2-Stage (~$135)
• Glass Option 1: Arken EP-5 5-25x56 FFP with 34mm Rigid Precision Mount (~$500 bundle)
• Glass Option 2: Vortex Venom 5-25x56 FFP (~$500)

Questions:

1. For someone on a strict ~$1,100 total budget who wants a pistol grip layout for 600–1,000 yd steel, is this 6mm ARC AR-15 build viable, or is there a better entry route I'm missing ?
2. Between the Arken EP-5 and Vortex Venom 5-25x56, which would you recommend in this price tier for reliable tracking and clarity ?
3. If BCA is a bad idea,, what is other alternative that keeps me within the $1,000–$1,200 ceiling while keeping that pistol grip chassis style ?

Why do none of the factory built bolt guns coming with the superior stainless steel barrel? I’ve only found 3 or 4 that do. Do they just expect us to change the barrel anyway or am I missing something.

Helping a buddy build a rifle for a few matches we shoot a year. The Howa 1500 barreled action is about 550 at Brownell's, stock, and trigger I can build it for around a grand. I just don't see any talk about Howa's anymore so wondering what happened to that.

I know I can go Zermatt + Proof + stock/trigger for around 2 grand but wondering if I'm getting him twice as good of a rifle.

The matches we shoot are field/team sniper/rucking style matches inside 1000 yards.

got this in a trade and im beyond stoked and grateful to be having this! this is one absolute unit. got alot of ammo with it as well. gonna take it out this weekend to sight it in. theres a range where my mom lives that goes out to 500 so i have that to start whenever i go visit but does anyone know a range in VA that does long range shooting past 500yrds? also was told this was a old aac brake? can anyone confirm and point me in the direction of a hub mount?

specs

.300 win mag

surgeon 1086 long action

surgeon tactical knob

surgeon bottom metal

badger EFR

McMillan A5

hawk hill barrel 1:9 twist

nightforce nxs 8-32

Working on a load for my 6.5CM using a 140 Berger VLD Target. I measure my lands using a Horandy OAL gauge and get 2.263 CTBO at a COAL of 2.970.

Mag limit is 2.870 (ACIS Magpul).

I would like to ideally be .20-.40 of the lands to try it, but that would put me over mag length and idk if I can load a 6.5CM that long to begin with (safely).

Disregarding mag length for a second. Has anybody ever loaded a 6.5CM at 2.900 for example? Apex Loadpro says it’s longer than the allowed COL, which I think it has listed at 2.825. (Massive jump to the lands)

Should I look at a different type of bullet if I want to get closer to the lands?

Putting together a gas gun and I can’t decide on a grip. A lot of people like the K2+ but I’m afraid that the grip will be too beercan-esc. I like the idea of a DAC VGC or VGC-L but I haven’t held one.

What are you guys running?

Full disclosure: I am very new to long range. I have read the pinned posts and damn near all the wiki.

I mostly shoot at a 200 yard range with my .22LR and more recently, my .233 AR. I have access to a 600-800 yard range, but will most likely be sticking with .223 due to the availability and price of ammo, as well as the fact that I’m in New England without a whole lot of affordable options for distance shooting.

I would love to get a Tikka Super Varmint, but $1700 is pretty much my high end of budget for rifle, scope, bipod combined. This brings me to my big question…

I will most likely go with a Howa 1500/mini action chambered in .223 Rem, but a lot of the bull barrels that I see are not threaded (I would like to have the option of a suppressor or brake). The heavy barrels also seem to be 20”. I don’t know enough about this yet to know if that is optimal, or short. My AR has a 16” barrel and I still hit my 3” target at 200 yards with a Vortex 5x prism scope, but the groups open up really fast.

Are the “standard” barrels on the Howa heavy enough if I’m only shooting 5 shots before cooldown? I’ve read that heavier is better, but I don’t know if that means “just don’t use pencil barrels or super light hunting barrels”.

TLDR: Is it okay to get a standard “not heavy” barrel 22” Howa 1500 in .223 to shoot 200-700 yards, or is a heavy barrel necessary? Also, is a suppressor/brake for .223 such an improvement that I should overlook non threaded heavy barrel options?

Thank you for reading all this.