Plan for F/TR, newb needs help please

[VALKRIDER]

Hello all,new to the forums and looking for some sage advice from Savage F class shooters. Presently I shoot NRA Highpower XTC and CMP games matches. I've decided to get into F/TR. At first I was going to buy a Savage F/TR .308 but have shelved that idea. My plan now is to buy a Savage LRP in the HS stock and replace the barrel, nut and recoil lug.Of the calibers the LRP comes in, which do you think would be the easiest to resell the original barrel,.243,.260 or 6.5?Do the target actions generally require trueing etc. ? I'm looking at the Sinclair Gen.III bipod and any opinions on it would be appreciated. If I'm making any mistakes here please sound off as I'm completely new to Savage rifles and don't want to make a major screw up.Thanks for your help.

[LongRange]

i think any of the above will sell with no problem but id say the 6.5CM. no input on the genIII other than they get mixed reviews,some love them some say they are hard to load as they want to slide and cheek weld is hard to get use to...IMHO if your going to spend $250+ on a front rest spend a couple hundred more and get one of the best front rests.personally i shoot off a harris and a sock full of rice in our F-open matches.

[VALKRIDER]

Thanks for the response.

[Berger.Fan222]

A friend just bought the Model 12 F-T/R in .223 and is reporting excellent groups. With Savage rifles, I would buy the caliber you want and try it before switching a barrel. Many times you will have all the accuracy you want straight from the factory. I have been pleasantly surprised every time I have seen a new Savage shoot.

[LongRange]

i think he is kinda set on the LPR which isnt offered in 308.

VALKRIDER...just a little more for you to think about...you can build a riffle for about the same price as the LRP...i didnt do a bunch of research but it looks like the LRP goes for about $1200 so depending on what stock you choose if you built a riffle it would be about the same price maybe a little more. i built a 260 the first part of this year and minus scope,base and rings it came in right at $1420-$1450 specs..

savage target action
NSS lug and nut
28" shilen select match
bell carlson A-5 fully adjustable stock...

if you have the money id suggest building over buying as it will save you time and money in the long run. if on a budget then go with your original plan of buying and selling off parts to help off set the cost. reason i say it will save you time and money is that after you shoot a match or two your going to most likely want to change the stock...then next youll want to bed the action...it never ends LOL!! as far as truing the action...IMHO just buy a glades armory bolt handle and shoot it it will loosen up...i was on the February list with SSS to have my action done and canceled after installing and using the GA bolt handle as the added leverage was enough to cycle my bolt with 1 finger and not loose sight of my target...also before spending all that money on a front rest id suggest you shoot off a harris bipod you might be perfectly happy with it over an expensive rest...just teach yourself how to load it as your shooting...im by no means an expert on F-class shooting(or any shooting as far as that goes) as ive only shot one 600yd F-class match(last match of this year) but i did shoot a 567 in that match and took first place in F-open and expect to do much better next season.

im going to get grilled for this one but you could save a few more bucks and go with a remington action if you build...i believe bruno's has remmy actions for $499 then you could build a rem/age...NSS has CBI barrels lugs and nuts...just a thought.

[earl39]

Nothing wrong with the Sinclair. Because of the ski feet you can't load them but is as close to a front rest as a bipod can get.

[CH Luke]

F T/R competition you said - keep in mind that is only 308 or 223. To go beyond 600 yds that means a 308.
Having recently gone up this learning curve and planning for the future consider you will likely end up doing this in two stages:
1) The $2-2500 rifle platform. Since the Savage FTR rifle comes with a decent barrel (without waiting months to get and install). Included here will be some basic reloading equipment and a decent bipod like the Gen III. If you have top quality optics you will certainly have something more capable than 98% of us are as shooters. You can learn reloading, ballistics and the million other details that will come with a burgeoning fascination with this sport if you're like most of us.
2) The $5-5500 platform. A top quality custom action (like Kelbly) on a specialized stock (like Precision Rifle & Tool who can also do the complete build with all top quality components) with a top quality barrel (like a Bartlein). At this stage you have a national caliber rig to go play with the 2% serious guys (about 10% are truly gifted - all are pretty **** good). Keep using your Stage 1 during the 6-10 months it takes to bring this together, then sell it and use the proceeds to go to a top shelf reloading setup.
Optics - a top quality (cry once) scope like a $2-2300 Nightforce Competition. Buy this upfront and transfer it to Stage II. Keep in mind these are crazy easy to sell for 80% of what you paid if you ever lose interest.
What did I do? Bought a 26" 12 VLP and a 6x24 Viper PST, after a year and a half learning a ton I found I had hit the max and just couldn't be as competitive as I wanted. Now I'm doing Stage 2 and buying the NF scope to help improve my scores while waiting for the build. Doing it over knowing what I learned I would do it the way I outlined above.

[pdm25150]

Well if I was you and I was once, I would find a model 10 HS Precision, I prefer the PST 1101 stock with higher comb than the LRP stock. Shoot it for a year then order you up a Brux barrel from SSS or whatever barrel you choose. Would use the Sinclair gen 3 bipod which I have and like. A good quality one piece 20 moa base and good set of rings. Top it off with a Weaver T-36 and have at it. That's a pretty good start for a F/TR rigg. Shoot for a year and upgrade the barrel, maybe upgrade the scope to something with more magnification and side focus. If you take care of the Weaver it will resale for darn near what you paid for it. Just my opinion.

[andy221]

You could have SSS build you a rifle. I heard their prices are reasonable and their turn around time is extremely fast! And if you ever need to get a hold if them they almost always answer or will get back to you right away.

[Hotolds442]

You could have SSS build you a rifle. I heard their prices are reasonable and their turn around time is extremely fast! And if you ever need to get a hold if them they almost always answer or will get back to you right away.

[VALKRIDER]

Hi all.Want to update this thread to where I presently stand.Picked up the LRP in .260 Rem for a decent price.Sinclair has the Gen.III adjustable on sale so also got it.Bought a CBI stainless 30" .308 barrel,recoil lug,barrel nut,action wrench and nut wrench from NSS, and a 20moa EGW rail.Already have a Sightron 6x24x42 big sky II and although it's not the magnification I really want, I think it will be OK to get my feet wet with at 600yd.Once I get an idea what the .260 barrel is worth I'll probably peddle it on gunbroker.Had rotator cuff surgery at the end of Jan. so I'm in a holding pattern for now.When I get out of slot machine mode(one arm bandit ) I'll get it assembled and start some load workup.Thanks for all the input it is much appreciated.

[sc1911cwp]

Overall, how do you like the LRP? I have been thinking of getting one. However, I'm not into needing a repeater and leaning toward a single shot action, the PTa. How do you like the stock?

[Robinhood]

o s u r

[sc1911cwp]

I have no idea what that means.

[VALKRIDER]

Overall, how do you like the LRP? I have been thinking of getting one. However, I'm not into needing a repeater and leaning toward a single shot action, the PTa. How do you like the stock?

Can't comment much about the LRP as I'm recovering from rotator cuff surgery and haven't fired it.Just from preliminary hands on inspection I can say the bolt is nice & smooth as I'd expect from a target action.The HS stock is an almost exact duplicate of the B&C Tactical/Medalist I had on another rifle with 2 small differences.The wrist is ever so slightly smaller than the B&C which is a plus for me. The HS "feels" a little lighter so I'm guessing they're made from different materials.I was quite happy with the B&C so I think I'll be just as pleased with the HS.I really like the feel of the target accutrigger.I'm a slingshooter with tons of time on military 2 stage match/competition triggers and virtually no time on single stage triggers.I could never get used to the Timney I had on the other rifle so the target accutrigger is kinda sorta like being on a 2 stage match trigger for me.