Hi all,
Just a heads up from the off - this will be fairly lengthy because I’ll be commenting on my logic / justification for the choices of each of the component parts of the spec, so people know my reasoning for their response so any recommendations are based on (or rationally countering) what my choices are. Anyway…
So after years of telling myself I wanted a dedicated stalking rifle that was lightweight and compact along with a heftier and longer target rifle I’ve capitulated after coming to the realisation that I simply don’t - and won’t - shoot as much as I want to.
Quite frankly, I can’t afford to shoot as much as I’d want due to ammunition costs, outing / trophy fees and the price of fuel to travel to where I’d stalk or target shoot. I work an amazing shift pattern (incredibly lucky) - 4 on 6 off 12 hour shifts, however, shooting always involves long travel (and therefore fuel) from my home. I have loads of time to shoot just not the money! To that end I’ve decided I just want a canny nice rifle that does both well but neither close to perfect. I could get 2 factory rifles with 2 different low to mid-range scopes (good ‘ol 4A for stalking and ‘Christmas tree’ for targets) that would both be used infrequently or I could get one nice custom that I would grow fully accustomed to the fit and feel of whilst also loving the aesthetics - I’ve chosen the latter…
Here’s what I was thinking:
Action - Tikka T3X Donor Action / Trigger - I like Tikka actions and if there’s anywhere I can save money on the build without me caring it’s this.
Calibre - 6.5 Creedmoor - I’m not a reloader and this calibre represents the best variety and availability of target and hunting ammo. Good trajectory for targets (applies to hunting too really), big enough for all U.K. deer (would probably restrain from big lowland reds though) and very manageable recoil.
Barrel - I’ll go with whichever quality barrel maker the smith I choose recommends whether it be Phoenix, IBI, Bartlein, Proof etc. Profile will be up for discussion too based on overall weight to compromise for both stalking (manoeuvrability) and target shooting (heavier for recoil reduction and heat dissipation). My main concern here is barrel length, and it’s also the factor I’d like opinions on more than anything else. I was thinking 22” because - whilst obviously still inefficient for a 6.5 Creedmoor which would usually have 24-26” barrels for the maximum velocity and burn - I feel it’s the right compromise level between compactness / weight and the muzzle velocity sacrifice. It should be noted I intend to use a compact forward-mounted mod so this will add length. My main question here is what would your opinion be on dropping to 20” from 22”? Would that extra compactness outweigh the extra muzzle velocity loss for the dual purpose I describe? Looking forward to the debate here.
Stock - McMillan A10 Adjustable - Now this here is a biggie for me. I’m relatively short (5’8”) with small-ish hands and have always found traditional stocks (both ‘Hunter’ and ‘Tactical’) to have a long grip to trigger reach, resulting in a skewed and less-than-ideal trigger finger pull and angle. Honestly I didn’t even know this until a year ago (after shooting for 17 years!) when I shot a chassis rifle and realised how much more comfortable the grip and trigger pull was. This stock is one of the very few traditional tactical (I.e. non-chassis, which I wouldn’t want to stalk with) that has a shorter grip to trigger reach. I’d be opting for the carbon woodland ambush camo which looks particularly tasty also.
Scope - the quite literally brand new Delta Stryker 3.5-21 x 44 FFP DLR-1 reticle. I’ve owned and looked through many Delta’s and I’ve always liked the glass quality for price. The magnification range fits my purpose (along with 9 yard parallax if required) and it also has plenty of elevation for target shooting. The 34mm tube will give good FOV. I acknowledge the light gathering of the 44mm objective isn’t ideal for low light stalking, however, the weight (around 800g) and length (13”-ish) is appealing on that front and the nearest competitors on the lightweight but high quality scope front for stalking would be the Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 MIL which is same objective lens and the Kahles K318i, both of which have less maximum mag and are about a full grand more. I feel the reticle on my choice is good for stalking with the illuminated cross but still allows for quick drop calculations without the cluttering of a ‘Christmas Tree’.
(And I can get the thing on 0% klarna over a year at optics warehouse to ease the burden of the rifle build haha).
Very much welcome all thoughts, opinions and criticisms of my rationale. I’ve thought this through long and hard so don’t tear me apart too hard if I’m talking crap
Just a heads up from the off - this will be fairly lengthy because I’ll be commenting on my logic / justification for the choices of each of the component parts of the spec, so people know my reasoning for their response so any recommendations are based on (or rationally countering) what my choices are. Anyway…
So after years of telling myself I wanted a dedicated stalking rifle that was lightweight and compact along with a heftier and longer target rifle I’ve capitulated after coming to the realisation that I simply don’t - and won’t - shoot as much as I want to.
Quite frankly, I can’t afford to shoot as much as I’d want due to ammunition costs, outing / trophy fees and the price of fuel to travel to where I’d stalk or target shoot. I work an amazing shift pattern (incredibly lucky) - 4 on 6 off 12 hour shifts, however, shooting always involves long travel (and therefore fuel) from my home. I have loads of time to shoot just not the money! To that end I’ve decided I just want a canny nice rifle that does both well but neither close to perfect. I could get 2 factory rifles with 2 different low to mid-range scopes (good ‘ol 4A for stalking and ‘Christmas tree’ for targets) that would both be used infrequently or I could get one nice custom that I would grow fully accustomed to the fit and feel of whilst also loving the aesthetics - I’ve chosen the latter…
Here’s what I was thinking:
Action - Tikka T3X Donor Action / Trigger - I like Tikka actions and if there’s anywhere I can save money on the build without me caring it’s this.
Calibre - 6.5 Creedmoor - I’m not a reloader and this calibre represents the best variety and availability of target and hunting ammo. Good trajectory for targets (applies to hunting too really), big enough for all U.K. deer (would probably restrain from big lowland reds though) and very manageable recoil.
Barrel - I’ll go with whichever quality barrel maker the smith I choose recommends whether it be Phoenix, IBI, Bartlein, Proof etc. Profile will be up for discussion too based on overall weight to compromise for both stalking (manoeuvrability) and target shooting (heavier for recoil reduction and heat dissipation). My main concern here is barrel length, and it’s also the factor I’d like opinions on more than anything else. I was thinking 22” because - whilst obviously still inefficient for a 6.5 Creedmoor which would usually have 24-26” barrels for the maximum velocity and burn - I feel it’s the right compromise level between compactness / weight and the muzzle velocity sacrifice. It should be noted I intend to use a compact forward-mounted mod so this will add length. My main question here is what would your opinion be on dropping to 20” from 22”? Would that extra compactness outweigh the extra muzzle velocity loss for the dual purpose I describe? Looking forward to the debate here.
Stock - McMillan A10 Adjustable - Now this here is a biggie for me. I’m relatively short (5’8”) with small-ish hands and have always found traditional stocks (both ‘Hunter’ and ‘Tactical’) to have a long grip to trigger reach, resulting in a skewed and less-than-ideal trigger finger pull and angle. Honestly I didn’t even know this until a year ago (after shooting for 17 years!) when I shot a chassis rifle and realised how much more comfortable the grip and trigger pull was. This stock is one of the very few traditional tactical (I.e. non-chassis, which I wouldn’t want to stalk with) that has a shorter grip to trigger reach. I’d be opting for the carbon woodland ambush camo which looks particularly tasty also.
Scope - the quite literally brand new Delta Stryker 3.5-21 x 44 FFP DLR-1 reticle. I’ve owned and looked through many Delta’s and I’ve always liked the glass quality for price. The magnification range fits my purpose (along with 9 yard parallax if required) and it also has plenty of elevation for target shooting. The 34mm tube will give good FOV. I acknowledge the light gathering of the 44mm objective isn’t ideal for low light stalking, however, the weight (around 800g) and length (13”-ish) is appealing on that front and the nearest competitors on the lightweight but high quality scope front for stalking would be the Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 MIL which is same objective lens and the Kahles K318i, both of which have less maximum mag and are about a full grand more. I feel the reticle on my choice is good for stalking with the illuminated cross but still allows for quick drop calculations without the cluttering of a ‘Christmas Tree’.
(And I can get the thing on 0% klarna over a year at optics warehouse to ease the burden of the rifle build haha).
Very much welcome all thoughts, opinions and criticisms of my rationale. I’ve thought this through long and hard so don’t tear me apart too hard if I’m talking crap
