Which rifle to set up for distance?

[Radtekk]

I have a Mosin, tapped for a scope with a bent bolt, Mossberg MMR and Windham AR's, and a Ruger 30-06 bolt (XL-7 iirc, 4 round internal mag). Trying to decide which to set up for distance. I have decent glass on the Mosin and Ruger, probably not good enough for 4-500+ yards. None of them have bipods. I'm not planning on anything competetive. The relatively straightforward question is: Which one of these is best suited to consistently hitting "Q" sized targets at 4-500 yards? Factory ammo (milsurp on the Mosin), not doing anything fancy to the guns as they sit, no trigger mods, etc. Just straight up "I can only afford to upgrade one, so which one should I buy a bi-pod and better glass for?"

Thanks!

 

[Sawicki1991]

Whats your Budget? What about buying a Grendel upper for the AR Itll set you back $500-$600 but can reach out 1k with a good spotter

 

[PatMcD]

Either of the AR's you have will reach that distance easy. Hopefully both have floated hand guards.
The Ruger 30-06 will do it as well.

Don't waste any money on the Mosin.

 

[Dadstoys]

If your looking at it from a budget perspective, the Windham.
.223 is going to be the least expensive .
The Mosin is a fun gun to shoot, but long term, the mil surp stuff is drying up quickly.
I love my 30-06 but I'm not set up yet to reload for it , so a long range day is going to get pricey .
Is either Windham a 20" barrel?

 

[Radtekk]

The budget is mostly driven by only wanting to "invest" in one gun. The Windham and Mossberg are both stock out of the box, put a cheap holo on the Mossberg that I don't love. The question there is which gun is going to be more accurate. The shooter will NOT be as good as the gun. 556 and 223 ammo supplies are more than sufficient. I have enough spam cans that I'm not worried about running out of Mosin ammo any time soon. The 30-06 I have more than enough to get a new scope sighted. The gun is mostly there because everybody should have a modern 30cal bolt gun of some sort, IMNSHO.

So the question is which of these best lends itself AS IS to glass and a bipod. I don't plan to be "reaching out" 1000 yards, or lying in the grass in a ghillie with a spotter. I don't hunt. I just want to be able to shoot farther than 100 yards or so. If I have to.

A new upper isn't a viable option since I then have to start buying ammo for it also, and I've just spent several months doing that for everything else.

 

[Mountain]

Which Windham AR's do you have? What is the barrel length and twist rate? What chamber? Basic 5.56, .223, or .223 Compass Lake or Wylde? As asked before- hand guard is free float? I'd go with the Windham, but what to spend money on depends upon answers to these questions.

Norma, Winchester, Federal, and Hornady match ammo in .223 isn't too expensive vs. what you would spend for accurate large bore ammo. The ammo makes a big difference. Hand loads best, but I have found the Norma 77 grain match to be almost as good as hand loads.

A decent barrel on an AR will do fine at 4-500 yards. IMHO, the expensive glass mostly benefits competitors. If you want to have fun at longer ranges and can sight in at any given distance, you don't need the uber repeatable windage/elevation of the high end glass. Match irons work good at those ranges too . Once you are dialed in for tight groups at 100 yards, 500 yards is only a few clicks up in elevation.

I took Dad's old 7mm Remington Magnum that was shooting about 1.75 MOA and via proper action torque, a Timney trigger, and some work on hand loads, I was able to squeeze out consistent sub-MOA groups. Average is .8-something. The .25 cent (or whatever they are calling it) trigger job on an AR plus some JP reduced weight springs will really make a difference for your AR triggers. For a couple cold ones I'd be happy to help in person.

 

[jpm]

30-06 Bolt gun no question.

 

[mac1911]

I have a Mosin, tapped for a scope with a bent bolt, Mossberg MMR and Windham AR's, and a Ruger 30-06 bolt (XL-7 iirc, 4 round internal mag). Trying to decide which to set up for distance. I have decent glass on the Mosin and Ruger, probably not good enough for 4-500+ yards. None of them have bipods. I'm not planning on anything competetive. The relatively straightforward question is: Which one of these is best suited to consistently hitting "Q" sized targets at 4-500 yards? Factory ammo (milsurp on the Mosin), not doing anything fancy to the guns as they sit, no trigger mods, etc. Just straight up "I can only afford to upgrade one, so which one should I buy a bi-pod and better glass for?"

Thanks!

If you just poking at the 19x31 Q target with the bowling pin silhouette then almost anything you have will do.... well maybe the mosin will let you down past 300 with surplus ammo.
The XL 7 is a marlin ? ... not a bad gun but I bet after 8 to 10 shots it will really start to wonder. It is light weight hunting rifle not a target gun.

Mossberg..... I don't think mossberg has made a accurate gun since the pre 1968 gun control act.... IMO

That leaves the windham....

What gun can you toss down on the bags and shoot the best?

Now since I'm sort of in the same stage right now (looking for a 600 yard prone rifle) I most likely will sell off the so so guns I have and buy a nice bolt gun and optic.

Now I'm new to nice optics. I grew up where the 5/8 and 7/8 4.5x 22 scopes was the norm and 30/30 duplex ret and 32mm objective was "big".

If I was looking to just plink at 500 yards at a Q target and "hits" on target where all that I was looking for I would sell all the ruger and the mosin and mosin ammo and buy a nice 10x scope for the windham and buy some 77 grain match ammo if it's a 1/8 or 1/7 twist....

Or sell the entire lot of them and buy a nice savage or tikka set up with a nice scope and have at it....
I just started shooting off a bipod myself. I plan to play in the F class AR tactical class/600 prone matches for a little while with my AR. I failed miserably at my first 600 yard attempt. I actually shot better with iron sights with my AR first time out at 600.

Good luck.

 

[UNSUB]

Recoiless Rifle

Sent from my SM-G928P using Tapatalk

 

[Stape]

I'd say if you don't hunt and want to make hits out past 100 then the AR hands down. Ammo costs a lot less and practice is more important that anything. Plus upgrades are cheaper and less involved with the AR as opposed to a bolt gun.

 

[92G]

Most windhams are 1:9 twist, which typicall dont stabilize 69 or 77 gr very well. Limited to 55 gr is a an issue beyond 400 yards. This may be limiting for you stretching past 500 where the 77gr excels and the 55gr blows.

Either of the AR's you have will reach that distance easy. Hopefully both have floated hand guards.
The Ruger 30-06 will do it as well.

Don't waste any money on the Mosin.

^this

nothing in 308? Tragic!

 

[mac1911]

I'd say if you don't hunt and want to make hits out past 100 then the AR hands down. Ammo costs a lot less and practice is more important that anything. Plus upgrades are cheaper and less involved with the AR as opposed to a bolt gun.

this is why im using the my ARs for now... already had one capable of sub moa... now I need to get used to the scope and bipod! half way through my first 600 yard prone match I wanted to ditch the bipod and sling up!

 

[weldingmachine]

30-06 Bolt gun no question.

x2!