First rifle (Winchester XPR Green - Vortex combo)

[u/CaptainCanada514]

Hi guys,

I’ve been looking for a bolt-action rifle in .308 Win for a while and came across this deal: around $800, plus 5% off and a $25 mail-in rebate from Winchester.

I’m mainly planning to start with target shooting/plinking, and possibly get into hunting later, so I’m looking for something versatile. I also tend to prioritize quality and durability over price.

What do you guys think about this as a first purchase?

Any other models you’d recommend in a similar price range?

Thanks!

[u/CanadianBoyEh]

Not ideal for a target rifle, but it also depends what you’re expecting from it. How far would you be shooting regularly?

As a hunting rifle, that would be a good starter rifle and optic.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/CanadianBoyEh]

Thanks for your advice. As I’m really green, 200-300 yards to start, and up to 800 yards for now. Planning to get into long range later but with another rifle. As I’m living in Quebec, it’s kinda hard to find a place to shoot further anyway.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/[deleted]]

Didn’t mean to shoot a deer at 800 yards, but target

[u/FD4L → u/CaptainCanada514]

That rifle and round will be capable of hitting targets at 800m. Just yourself a good bipod. You may want a higher end optic for that distance, the vortex' on combo guns tend to pretty low end, but you should have no issues within 400 yards, which is likely farther than you'll ever be hunting in Quebec.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/FD4L]

Yeah that’s what I thought with this optic. I’m really looking for something versatile to start, and later get a true long range rifle (probably a Cadex one) and a better optic.

[u/FD4L → u/CaptainCanada514]

It should be perfectly serviceable for a starter, although 308 is a little hefty for learning and practice. The recoil wont be bad for a couple groups, but you'll start feeling it once you get through a box or 2 of ammo, your wallet will feel it too.

If you have access to a 300 yard range, I would encourage you to look into a good bolt action .22 like a bergara b14r, tikka t1x or a cz 457. Long range .22 competitions often go out to around 300 yards, where .22 experiences about 5' of drop. Combine that with wind conditions, and you have extreme long range training at 10-15 cents a round.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/FD4L]

I could definitely buy both, and prioritize the 22lr for intensive practice. Thanks!

[u/CanadianBoyEh → u/CaptainCanada514]

It’s definitely designed as a hunting rifle. The thin barrel will heat up quickly, you can’t add a muzzle brake, and it’s lightweight so seeing your hits/misses will be difficult, especially at only 200-300 yards.

200-300 yards and trying to learn long range is better suited to a precision rimfire build. I have a CZ457 LRP .22lr that I regularly shoot out to 400 yards. At “only” 200 yards it needs 7.7mils of elevation. In contrast, my 6.5 Creedmoor PRS rifle doesn’t need that much until just over 900 yards. The added benefit of rimfire is that rifles and ammo are MUCH cheaper than centerfire. And the more you shoot, the more you learn.

As a hunting rifle, .308 will ethically take just about every big game animal in North America. If the biggest animal you’d hunt would be deer, you could also look into 6.5 Creedmoor instead. (Though I’ve successfully taken multiple 1,000lb+ moose with both .308 and 6.5 and they didn’t notice or care what round hit them. As with any round, shot placement is most important.) The 6.5 is also a ballistically superior round for long range target shooting, and does so with less recoil.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/CanadianBoyEh]

Yeah that’s pretty much what I thought. Looking for a 22lr as well, but I was looking for something to learn to manage recoil and centerfire stuff.

[u/CanadianBoyEh → u/CaptainCanada514]

Although you can build a few bad habits with .22lr since the recoil is essentially non existent, the fundamentals of marksmanship are the fundamentals of marksmanship, no matter what you’re shooting. Make sure you’re following them and the skills will transfer over to the bigger rifles.

I’d say prioritize what you want. If you want to learn long range first, buy/build a precision 22lr now, and then get a dedicated hunting rifle later. If you want to start hunting and then learn long range later, flip your buying order.

Trying to have a centerfire rifle for both hunting and target shooting only leads to a rifle that’s subpar at both.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/CanadianBoyEh]

Alright thanks! I’ll be buying a 10/22 next week but for a tactical build.

[u/HappyCan7250]

For a first rifle, why not look at a 223? They're cheaper to shoot and will easily reach out to 300, 500, even further. There are guys who shoot 223 out to 1k even.  It's significantly cheaper than 308 to shoot and less recoil. 308 is great too, but it wouldn't be my first rifle choice. A 22LR should always be the first rifle, or a 12ga if you don't have one, but a 223 is a great first centerfire. There is the Winchester XPR Stealth which is a 16" medium barrel 223, so a bit heavier profile too.

Another fantastic budget rifle is the Stevens/Savage 334. It is MUCH nicer than the Axis line and I find my 334 is very similar to my Ruger American, and in some ways, even a bit better. It's smooth, adjustable trigger (although watch a video on how), medium profile barrel and not a light hunting profile so heats up a bit slower and more rigid. Its also only about $500. Mine is incredibly accurate, like unbelievably accurate for a $500 rifle. It is one of my favourite rifles and gets shot more than some of my more expensive ones. The synthetic models are $500, or come with a beautiful wooden stock for about $700. They come in a 308, 6.5, 30-06, 270, and a couple others.

That said, the combo you're looking at I think comes with the Vortex Triumph? It's actually a pretty decent scope, but you can also buy it on its own (rings included) for only $120-$140, so it's not an expensive scope, but it is excellent value. For about $650 you can buy a 308 Stevens (Savage, they're sold under both names as Savage owns Stevens), and buy a Triumph for only $650 ish and you get a medium profile barrel vs a light sporter barrel on the XPR, and save $150 almost.

Or get a 334 and get a $250 6-18x50 Bushnell R3. I just got one from Dante and am really happy with it. The R5s are also quite nice. Or a crossfire HD in 4-12

[u/GlizzyDog222]

Spend a little extra or wait for a sale and get a tikka lite in .223. Not that much more and will be WAY better in every aspect, plus it’ll be cheaper to shoot.

[u/ShadowcastZ]

Definitely not a target rifle. It's an entry level hunting rifle. If you want quality, and a target rifle in .308, then expect to spend 2 - 3K on the rifle at least, plus about the same in a optic.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/ShadowcastZ]

Yeah I know it’s getting kinda expensive and tryin to start on a budget. Gonna spend more cash later but can’t now

[u/Iokua_CDN → u/CaptainCanada514]

I'll argue  against a lot of the folks here. 

Folks here talk about buying 3k guns and 3k scopes.

I have a 700 dollar CZ 557 and a 200 dollar vortex scope, not too different than this gun. 

With it, I'm easily hitting steel at 100m, 200m, 300m and even 400m. I haven't tried past that,  and past that my 12x scope struggles a bit to see the targets. 

So if you plan on hunting, and blasting away at targets,  this seems like a very economical way to jump in.

Would a heavier barrel be better? Likely.  Not much you can do about that unfortunately. 

Would a heavier stock be better for long range? Certainly.  At least you could use a recoil pad. If you have a hollow stock maybe fill it will  scrap plastic or resin to add some weight, or just get some hood accessories that will all add weight.

So this would be a very decent budget option.

Do you want the budget option  though? Going more expensive for the scope and rifle you can no doubt get a better gun.  

Also... I'm not sure the magnification on the scope. I have a 4-12 and again, I have a harder time picking up targets past Like 500m. If you want to shoot 800m, I feel you might need more magnification. But if you are like me and more willing to target shoot at 500m and closer, this rifle Would be great. 

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/Iokua_CDN]

Thanks for your feedback. I noticed that the scope is a Triumph HD 3-9x40mm. I think that’s why this combo is cheaper than the others I was looking for (around 1000$ but the combo comes with the Vortex Crossfire 2)

[u/Iokua_CDN → u/CaptainCanada514]

Oh gotcha!!! 

A vortex crossfire  2 can be had for $200 bucks, so if this rifle is $200 dollars less than the other, it's like you are getting the Triumph Scope for free.  

So not a bad deal.  Or buy it and buy a more long range scope,  and use the Triumph on another gun or sell it?

You'll likely struggle to hit 800m with 3-9, unless you got some fantastic eye sight. I would struggle.

Still potentially a good deal though! Buy it, shoot it, enjoy it, upgrade the scope later 

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/Iokua_CDN]

Sounds good! Thanks again!

[u/CanadianBoyEh → u/Iokua_CDN]

I agree. Even a "pricier" Bergara HMR is $1,600. Pair that with an $800 Vortex Venom and you've got a rifle and scope that will very comfortably reach 1,000 yards for under $3k total.

And the more affordable rifles and optics are getting better and better. The options now are MUCH better than when I started years ago. I still have my R700 Budget Build and it's still a good rifle! Got me shooting and learning for under $2k all in. Is it as good as my full custom? No, but it's also 1/6th the cost.

Are the purpose built high dollar rifles gonna be better? Yes. Do you NEED to spend that much? Nope.

[u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 → u/CaptainCanada514]

As a first purchase, perhaps start with 22LR?

There are several good platforms you can build upon for a target rifle.

Take a look at the CZ457 and of course the Ruger 10/22, although the 10/22 is not really meant for precision shooting despite people dumping thousands into a build (i.e. me 😂) but it's very modifiable.

You can hunt small game with a 22LR.

[u/CaptainCanada514 → u/Hot_Cheesecake_905]

I will probably buy a 10/22 next week! I’m planning to buy another chassis and make a tactical build

[u/ShadowcastZ → u/CaptainCanada514]

Better to buy once, cry once. Cheap hunting rifles have thin barrels and heat up too much after 3, 4 , or 5 rounds shot, then you're stuck sitting there waiting for it to cool to gain some semblance of accurancy back.

[u/AssMilkerTv]

308 is an expensive target rigle

[u/Opposite-Signature61]

If you like the XPR, buy the XPR SR (Suppressor Ready), in 308, and toss a brake on it. It'll shoot like a light 243, while only being 22" long, and with a Vector Optics 6-24x50 and Talley Lightweight mounts comes in at 8.88 lbs ready to shoot. Has a barrel contour better for targets and still light enough to carry without being a liability. You'll be able to keep it long term and practice until you can easily reach to 400-500y for deer, 400 for elk, or longer for targets though the dialing gets heavy past 500 lol

[u/FZbb92]

I’ve always been a .30-06 guy. In 2022 I picked up an XPR in .308 and I’ve killed several deer with it since and really like it. I find myself reaching for it before my other deer rifles anymore

[u/Snipez9999]

If you want something that’s can transition from target and hunting. I would first get a 6.5creedmore and second maybe think about getting a more target focused rifle around the 1200-1500 range you could also buy a more hunting focused rifle like a plain tikka 3 or plain savage 110, etc and buy a chassis such as the mdt oryx or field stock that’s budget friendly and still good and can do both roles