Maggot wrote:Personally....FWIW
How well a rifle is shooting is relative to the expectation/ability of the shooter.
I know a chap who shoots F/TR with a remmy. He talks the hind legs off a donkey, knows everything there is to know (and quite a lot you dont need to know) about .308...
I still reckon a novice could kick his ass with something like a Dolphin or a Savage. A well set up, good shooting rifle takes a lot of the doubt out of it.
Actually I gave my Dolphin to my son in law, gave him 10 with a snap cap and he bunged every single round into the V at 300, first attempt with anything larger than a .223. OK, it was a TR target but that still would have been a possible on a F class target...there was very little wind I grant you, but, when they design a rifle that negates the wind then it's time to pack it in.
A few weeks back another clubs members were lauding the group I was witnessing (I was in the butts with them) appear before my eyes.
It was a nasty 2.5" vertical spread (we were at 200). From a Barnard action with a 30" barrel....I was horrified and put em right. Sadly the owner died a few weeks later
I own a Dolphin Modular. Its not prefect, but it's damned near (more down to personal taste and Miks poor attempts at mind reading
), and had I listened I would not have had the mag feed version as I have never used it.
My advice would be to do the following.
1. Decide EXACTLY what you want from it.
Are you going to hanker after F/TR comp shooting, some tactical (?) or just shoot against yourself out to 1000 against TR targets....or not shoot past 600?
Look at what the majority of successful shooters are using in that discipline (its nice to be unique, but not if the thing is crap, obsolete, only repairable by a little man in Zanziba, or likely to blow yer bloody head off).
Warning, do not listen to the advice of anyone that does not ACTUALLY shoot that discipline and shoot it well.
(I recently heard of a lad who was told, by his none F/TR shooting cronies (They dont usually shoot past 50yds) that a short 24" barrel would be better as there would be less friction and the bullet would fly faster...if only he had asked us first
)
Where possible try out.
2. Having done the above, then work out what the best piece of glass is going to be to do the job (within your range).
Warning, do not listen to the advice of anyone that does not ACTUALLY shoot that discipline and shoot it well.
Determine what the minimum is you can use to do the job, but buy the best you can afford.
Dont buy anything that you have not personally looked through (for several minutes) in the conditions and at the range you intend shooting in/at.
Optics are subjective. By that I mean that what may be the nirvana to one, could be frosted glass to another (but still be percieved as the dogs by all). Any optic just aids whatever condition your eyes are in, soem suit more than others, since you will spend a lot fo time looking through it, make sure its as good as it can be (chances are it will move on with you to yoru next rifle, good glass tends too).
I dont personally like the SSG much, the mags are horrid, but they shoot ok.
Above all, remember that whatever you buy you are likely to lose something on it if you dont like the thing and want to move on, so take your time, you have to live with the thing.
I would always suggest going for a stock that has as much adjustment as possible, and a rig that is capable of coping with and shrugging off the rain...The Dolphin is well named in this respect.
A nice walnut number looks nice, but will it cope when soaked in water...
Now I aint Donald Trump. We both work, we dont go abroad (hate it and have 3 dogs) we dont smoke and seldom drink, so I can afford, for now, to enjoy some competitive shooting.
I would suggest possibly looking at a small loan.
I was going to save for my Dolphin, but there ar emany small loan companies out there with very good rates.
My wife pointed out that it would take a long time to save up, during which the prices would also go up, so I took a small loan to cover the rifle and sold other bits to cover the scope (Sightron 8-32 LRTD).
This may seem like an extreme lesson in impatience but think about it.
By the time you have bought a couple of dogs, spent the saving on this or that, you may well have been able to afford the more expensive option anyway.
Not everybodies approach I know, but its a thought. Remember its an expensive punt and you have to live with it.
I dont buy this "I dont need a Ferrari, I am not worthy etc" approach. The rifle is a launcher. It does not matter what you do in terms of sights or loading if the thing is a dog, but a good rifle can often be made to sing with a good load and some talent (that's me buggered then).
Currently, if I was in the market for a new GP rifle I would have either one of Daves Ovenpaa's M66 actions or an AI, but that's me
Take care, and whatever you decied, enjoy it, life's too short not to tongueout
