Precision: Bolt gun or Semi-Auto?

[LittleLebowski]

I vastly prefer bolt guns for cost and accuracy.

[JV_]

I vastly prefer bolt guns for cost and accuracy.

Same here. Plus, gas guns beat up brass - making it more difficult to reload.

[JAD]

Same here. Plus, gas guns beat up brass - making it more difficult to reload.

Not quite as bad as roller locked...

[Trigger]

I have slightly different take on the bolt vs semi-auto discussion. If you want a semi-auto 6 or 6.5 you have very few choices, and I would recommend going with a JP CTR-07. I think they make the most accurate semi-autos, and the side charging handle is great. 6 or 6.5 Creedmoor run best in that gun, and the Creedmoor gives you more room for a longer bullet and still fit in the AR-10 magazine. Barrel length is 22." No other choices.

But. You can overheat a barrel pretty quickly, and even more so with a semi-auto in 6 or 6.5. You can shoot the throat out of a 6 or a 6.5 pretty easily, and erosion happens the most when the barrel gets hot. If too hot to touch, you are going to be eroding the throat. Expect a life or 2500 rounds for a 6.5 Creedmoor, and less if you burn it a lot. 6 Creedmoor will be around 2000 rounds. 243 Win and 260 Rem burn barrels a tad faster because or the powder to bore ratio, and slightly shorter necks.

Now I can run three rounds through my bolt gun (Rem 700, Sako TRG, etc) accurately in 10 seconds. Done it at PRS matches on three different targets at 100, 220 and 280 yards. Only three shooters out of 50 hit all three targets, and all three were shooting bolt guns. I do not feel a bolt gun slows me down for accurate fire at long range. (300-1000 yards)

So I recommend a bolt gun. More accurate, just as fast. Since it is more accurate, you are less likely to to go blazing away and burn out your barrel.

My recommendation? Get a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. Unfortunately those are extremely difficult to find. Next choice? Tikka T3 in 260 Rem. Both can be had for under $1500. Both will shoot .5-.75 MOA. Get a good $1000-1500 scope.

Then just like pistols, go practice. A lot. You will realize that the cost of ammo far outweighs the cost of the barrel ($500-600) for a re-barrel. 2500 rounds of 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor will be $2500-3000 even if you reload.

Once you have shot out that barrel, you will be a much better shooter. Now you can decide whether you want to rebarrel your rifle, sell it and get a GA Precision for $4000, get an AI, or whatever custom floats your boat.

Oh, one more thing. Because the lock time of an AR is a lot longer than a bolt gun, and the AR vibrates due hammer swing and harmonics, ARs are much less forgiving of mistakes. They are tougher to shoot well.

Bottom Line, get a bolt gun.

[NickDrak]

I loathe 3-gun to the core of my soul.

It's basically a shotgun reloading contest.

[Sal Picante]

I have slightly different take on the bolt vs semi-auto discussion. If you want a semi-auto 6 or 6.5 you have very few choices, and I would recommend going with a JP CTR-07. I think they make the most accurate semi-autos, and the side charging handle is great. 6 or 6.5 Creedmoor run best in that gun, and the Creedmoor gives you more room for a longer bullet and still fit in the AR-10 magazine. Barrel length is 22." No other choices.

But. You can overheat a barrel pretty quickly, and even more so with a semi-auto in 6 or 6.5. You can shoot the throat out of a 6 or a 6.5 pretty easily, and erosion happens the most when the barrel gets hot. If too hot to touch, you are going to be eroding the throat. Expect a life or 2500 rounds for a 6.5 Creedmoor, and less if you burn it a lot. 6 Creedmoor will be around 2000 rounds. 243 Win and 260 Rem burn barrels a tad faster because or the powder to bore ratio, and slightly shorter necks.

Now I can run three rounds through my bolt gun (Rem 700, Sako TRG, etc) accurately in 10 seconds. Done it at PRS matches on three different targets at 100, 220 and 280 yards. Only three shooters out of 50 hit all three targets, and all three were shooting bolt guns. I do not feel a bolt gun slows me down for accurate fire at long range. (300-1000 yards)

So I recommend a bolt gun. More accurate, just as fast. Since it is more accurate, you are less likely to to go blazing away and burn out your barrel.

My recommendation? Get a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. Unfortunately those are extremely difficult to find. Next choice? Tikka T3 in 260 Rem. Both can be had for under $1500. Both will shoot .5-.75 MOA. Get a good $1000-1500 scope.

Then just like pistols, go practice. A lot. You will realize that the cost of ammo far outweighs the cost of the barrel ($500-600) for a re-barrel. 2500 rounds of 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor will be $2500-3000 even if you reload.

Once you have shot out that barrel, you will be a much better shooter. Now you can decide whether you want to rebarrel your rifle, sell it and get a GA Precision for $4000, get an AI, or whatever custom floats your boat.

Oh, one more thing. Because the lock time of an AR is a lot longer than a bolt gun, and the AR vibrates due hammer swing and harmonics, ARs are much less forgiving of mistakes. They are tougher to shoot well.

Bottom Line, get a bolt gun.

Thanks for the good info - it corroborates what a few others have said. As I stated before, I've got a deal worked out for .260 brass, so I'm 99% certain I would do something with that caliber. Looking at a lead on some bolt guns: T3 came up, as well as Savage.

Shifting gears, what, specifically, do you think the best way to practice for PRS events?
Quoting Tim Ferris, "What you do is more important than how you do everything else..."

[Sal Picante]

It's basically a shotgun reloading contest.

I can see you're the brains of the operation...

[LittleLebowski]

I have slightly different take on the bolt vs semi-auto discussion. If you want a semi-auto 6 or 6.5 you have very few choices, and I would recommend going with a JP CTR-07. I think they make the most accurate semi-autos, and the side charging handle is great. 6 or 6.5 Creedmoor run best in that gun, and the Creedmoor gives you more room for a longer bullet and still fit in the AR-10 magazine. Barrel length is 22." No other choices.

But. You can overheat a barrel pretty quickly, and even more so with a semi-auto in 6 or 6.5. You can shoot the throat out of a 6 or a 6.5 pretty easily, and erosion happens the most when the barrel gets hot. If too hot to touch, you are going to be eroding the throat. Expect a life or 2500 rounds for a 6.5 Creedmoor, and less if you burn it a lot. 6 Creedmoor will be around 2000 rounds. 243 Win and 260 Rem burn barrels a tad faster because or the powder to bore ratio, and slightly shorter necks.

Now I can run three rounds through my bolt gun (Rem 700, Sako TRG, etc) accurately in 10 seconds. Done it at PRS matches on three different targets at 100, 220 and 280 yards. Only three shooters out of 50 hit all three targets, and all three were shooting bolt guns. I do not feel a bolt gun slows me down for accurate fire at long range. (300-1000 yards)

So I recommend a bolt gun. More accurate, just as fast. Since it is more accurate, you are less likely to to go blazing away and burn out your barrel.

My recommendation? Get a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. Unfortunately those are extremely difficult to find. Next choice? Tikka T3 in 260 Rem. Both can be had for under $1500. Both will shoot .5-.75 MOA. Get a good $1000-1500 scope.

Then just like pistols, go practice. A lot. You will realize that the cost of ammo far outweighs the cost of the barrel ($500-600) for a re-barrel. 2500 rounds of 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor will be $2500-3000 even if you reload.

Once you have shot out that barrel, you will be a much better shooter. Now you can decide whether you want to rebarrel your rifle, sell it and get a GA Precision for $4000, get an AI, or whatever custom floats your boat.

Oh, one more thing. Because the lock time of an AR is a lot longer than a bolt gun, and the AR vibrates due hammer swing and harmonics, ARs are much less forgiving of mistakes. They are tougher to shoot well.

Bottom Line, get a bolt gun.

Furiously mashing the Like button. Concur on everything you said. JP rifles work and work well out of box. Bolt guns rule.

I know a guy on the Ruger rifle, Les. Let me know if you want a contact.

[Mack]

I don't have any personal experience with .260 gas guns, but if you are pretty sure you are going with .260 you can run into COAL issues so bullet choices will be more limited than with a bolt gun, depending on the distances you plan on shooting that may or may not be an issue.

For bolt guns in .260 the T3 CTR in a KRG chassis is probably one of the best setups you can get for the money.

[SecondsCount]

I have been dabbling in the semi auto and bolt action thing for a few years now. Started off with a DPMS LR308 and while I enjoyed shooting it, it was just big and bulky. Sold it and went in the opposite direction with a 20" Remington 700 XCR in 308. Hated it. The gun was light alright but the combination of the stock ergos and the short barrel made the gun kick hard. I was bruised after a 20 round range session.

Today I have a couple bolt guns that I really enjoy shooting, one is a 223 AI and the other is a 6x47 Lapua. The nice part about bolt guns is that they are easier on brass and there are a couple more tweaks that you can do to your ammo that are more difficult to make happen in a semi.

That being said, I recently built a precision AR in 5.56 and am having fun with it. Good barrel life, cheaper to shoot compared to the bigger calibers, and with heavy bullets you can reach out to the longer ranges. The downside is that with the little bullet, it's a little tougher to see or hear your hits on steel.