Advice

[Froudy 40]

Hi lads,

 

Just got granted a 243 for deer and fox shooting, I have been looking at the howa rifles and a a tec silencer, I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on them also what silencer and scope would you recommend and would I be better off with a heavy barrel rifle to start with?

 

Atb

 

Froudy

[coldweld 65]

No don't get a heavy barrel !!

Get the sporter barrel as a heavy barrel is a pain in the ar++, you will regret buying it. A light rife is just as accurate as a heavy rifle for sporting use and easy to carry all day or night.

Bull barrels are better for range work and rapid fire up to a point untill the heat haze distorts the sight picture through the scope !

 

Be cautious as some of the stocks on Howa's are cr++, and POI will change if you use a bipod or pull tight on the forend.

[the scudd 81]

as said above about the howa stock. once the stocks sorted you should be good to go very accurate rifle. buy the best scope you can afford.

[Alsone 789]

No don't get a heavy barrel !!

Get the sporter barrel as a heavy barrel is a pain in the ar++, you will regret buying it. A light rife is just as accurate as a heavy rifle for sporting use and easy to carry all day or night.

Bull barrels are better for range work and rapid fire up to a point untill the heat haze distorts the sight picture through the scope !

 

 

There's only 3/4 of a pound difference between the two.

 

Are you really saying you can't carry 8.5 pounds all day as opposed to 7.75?

 

It seems heavy vs light is opinion that divides the shooting world:

 

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/bull-barrels-36165/

 

I think some of it will come down to personal build as well. If you're ten or eleven stone you might want a lighter gun. If you're 6ft+ and 15+ stone (fit not flab), then a heavy barrelled weapon will probably not bother you for carrying in the slightest.

 

I tend to be a bit sceptical of people who say they can't carry 8.5lbs all day but then again I fall into the 6ft + category....

Edited December 25, 2013 by Alsone

[danw 1,748]

 

No don't get a heavy barrel !!

Get the sporter barrel as a heavy barrel is a pain in the ar++, you will regret buying it. A light rife is just as accurate as a heavy rifle for sporting use and easy to carry all day or night.

Bull barrels are better for range work and rapid fire up to a point untill the heat haze distorts the sight picture through the scope !

 

 

There's only 3/4 of a pound difference between the two.

 

Are you really saying you can't carry 8.5 pounds all day as opposed to 7.75?

 

It seems heavy vs light is opinion that divides the shooting world:

 

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/bull-barrels-36165/

 

I think some of it will come down to personal build as well. If you're ten or eleven stone you might want a lighter gun. If you're 6ft+ and 15+ stone (fit not flab), then a heavy barrelled weapon will probably not bother you for carrying in the slightest.

 

I tend to be a bit sceptical of people who say they can't carry 8.5lbs all day but then again I fall into the 6ft + category....

 

My stalking rifle weighs 12.5lb I don't notice the weight and many of the stalkers I guide have carried it for hours yet not one has complained about the weight, a few complain about the stock length its length of pull is 16 1/4" (I've long arms ) I personally find a rifle with a bit of heft to it easier to shoot but each to their own I guess

[sussex 5,776]

I changed last year to a lightweight t3 synthetic stock ,amtec mod after years of carrying a much heavier set up .Only reason ...old age ! with no change of results I now wonder why I didn't do it before .As for optics get the very best you can afford as their is a difference in low light conditions ..good luck with it

[Born Hunter 17,637]

 

 

My stalking rifle weighs 12.5lb I don't notice the weight and many of the stalkers I guide have carried it for hours yet not one has complained about the weight, a few complain about the stock length its length of pull is 16 1/4" (I've long arms ) I personally find a rifle with a bit of heft to it easier to shoot but each to their own I guess

 

 

I'm not a big chap but it's plenty manageable. With a sling to shoulder it it'd be no issue at all imo.

 

Wouldn't hurt knocking 2 inch off the stock though! LOL

Edited December 26, 2013 by Born Hunter

[Deker 3,453]

I have no use for a HEAVY field rifle, if others want them fine, waste of time and counter productive as far as I'm concerned, if I'm out walking for a few hours, or day, I want light! There is no discernable difference in accuracy over sensible distances in the field and any percieved accuracy benefit can easily be outweighed by your state of exhaustion carrying the thing.

 

Scopes get very personal and mods are getting better all the time!

 

ATB

[Deker 3,453]

 

No don't get a heavy barrel !!

Get the sporter barrel as a heavy barrel is a pain in the ar++, you will regret buying it. A light rife is just as accurate as a heavy rifle for sporting use and easy to carry all day or night.

Bull barrels are better for range work and rapid fire up to a point untill the heat haze distorts the sight picture through the scope !

 

 

There's only 3/4 of a pound difference between the two.

 

Are you really saying you can't carry 8.5 pounds all day as opposed to 7.75?

 

It seems heavy vs light is opinion that divides the shooting world:

 

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/bull-barrels-36165/

 

I think some of it will come down to personal build as well. If you're ten or eleven stone you might want a lighter gun. If you're 6ft+ and 15+ stone (fit not flab), then a heavy barrelled weapon will probably not bother you for carrying in the slightest.

 

I tend to be a bit sceptical of people who say they can't carry 8.5lbs all day but then again I fall into the 6ft + category....

 

 

You can be as sceptical as you like, I know, I do it.

What is there to be sceptical about, if you want to lug a great lump of steal around then fine, I don't, it isn't scepticism, its fact!

 

Edit

My heaviest rifle (.308) comes in at 11.1lb, that includes 12-25" Bipod, Moderator, scope/sunshade/mounts, sling and a Full magazine, that is plenty after a few hours!

Edited December 26, 2013 by Deker

[hutchey 147]

I have the howa with fluted barrel in 243 and it's a great rifle, nice weight, accurate once you've put rounds through it!

Stock not the best in the world but then it's a cheaper rifle!

[Deker 3,453]

Yeah, Howas, offer a good selection at sensible money, nothing wrong with them.

 

"Personally" I can't stand the Hogue Stocks, others have an orgasm over them!

[charlie caller 3,654]

You will be very pleased with a Howa/Weatherby rifle, the engineering is first class, and mine is incredibly accurate, the triggers are a little heavy, but can easily be sorted, and if you want to change the stock, a hundred quid or so will get you a very nice Boyds laminate stock, from over the pond that your action will drop straight into, I would be tempted to get a Weatherby vanguard, with the wood stock, if you dont fancy changing it, and you could always have it glass bedded for ultimate accuracy, in future, the barrel is up to you, but unless you are using a lot of rounds, target/varmint shooting, then it is not needed, a sporter weight will be fine.

[Alsone 789]

What is there to be sceptical about....

 

....because I don't find it difficult and 3/4 pound is nothing, but then again whilst I'm not some huge lumbering hunk, I'm not a particularly small or slightly built guy either...

 

I think at the end of the day its each to their own. Buy what you fancy and what you believe in, as belief in your equipment is an important factor to accuracy as well.

 

I believe in heavy. It reduces recoil for definite. Many would say it increases accuracy, certainly the military think so, but then again they shoot at much longer ranges, and rabbits, deer etc don't shoot back if you miss them!

 

However, if you're physically small definitely consider buying light as fatigue will affect accuracy without question.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Alsone

[danw 1,748]

I think the debate over heavy vs light will always roll on, from my point of view it is irrelevant in a hunting rifle what matters more is does the rifle fit you. I personally believe it is every bit as important as with shotgun fit, I spend a long time ensuring the scope is in the most natural place for when my head hits the stock and to that end I have had to have custom stocks made to accommodate my build, the rifle should come up as naturally as a shotgun with cheek weld and eye relief perfect from the moment it touches your face,Moderators ruin the balance of a gun and this must be taken into account when setting up a rifle and your stance should be practised to counter the nose heavy tendency though it can also be cured by modification to the stock.

At the end of the day the rifle should please you personally and anyone else's opinion is quite simply irrelevant

[Deker 3,453]

 

What is there to be sceptical about....

 

....because I don't find it difficult and 3/4 pound is nothing, but then again whilst I'm not some huge lumbering hunk, I'm not a particularly small or slightly built guy either...

 

I think at the end of the day its each to their own. Buy what you fancy and what you believe in, as belief in your equipment is an important factor to accuracy as well.

 

I believe in heavy. It reduces recoil for definite. Many would say it increases accuracy, certainly the military think so, but then again they shoot at much longer ranges, and rabbits, deer etc don't shoot back if you miss them!

 

However, if you're physically small definitely consider buying light as fatigue will affect accuracy without question.

 

 

Sceptical

1. not convinced that something is true; doubtful.... Like I said, what is to be sceptical about, light guns sell, what do you think people do with them?

 

You have an interesting turn of phrase, 3/4lb is massive when you have been carrying it all day. You really do need to stop reading so much and actually do it, when did you last walk around all day with a rifle combo weighting 12lb plus and then do the same with a 10lb combo. It doesn't matter how big and fit you think you are, you WILL notice the difference!

 

The Standard SA80 is Light. The army only shoots at LONG range with the right rifles, (and very few get one of them to walk around with all day) they might put down covering fire with the SA80, that doesn't make it a long range rifle! A standard, out of the box, Lightweight Rem 700 will outshoot a SA80 all day anyway, so lets not start getting into what the army may or may not do, it has little or no bearing on shooting foxes, etc!

 

So, its not a free choice anymore, you are only allowed to buy a light rifle if you are physically small. I know plenty of well built guys who use light in the field and they can shoot with them.

 

Perhaps a read of #6 above would help, from someone who used heavy for years.

 

As I have made clear, if someone wants heavy, then fine, perhaps you should concede to others that like and use light rifles to great effect, and not be sceptical about it.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Deker