[skullcrusher]

If you plan on using that target rifle to occassionaly hunt elk, make sure of the state laws regarding magazine capacity. Just a thought.

[Tuner]

Ruzai, I have seen several (2) BAR's perform and all of them were capable or right at 1 inch five shot groups at 100 yards; both of them were in 30-06 caliber. I see no reason why one in 300 Win Mag or .338 Win Mag, all so available, would not do as well. I am not a semi auto person but have several friends who own BAR's and Remington Semi Auto's which I have shot. I have been consistently surprised at the out of box accuracy of each of these rifles, none of which did worse then 1.5 inches at 100 yards for five shots and most did better. This is not going to take any medals in a bench rest match but it will put meat on the table with every pull of the trgger. BTW this was all with standard factory loads, nothing taylored to the particular rifle. If you are looking for a full length Mag. the Browning is the only one that I am aware of that offers both the .300 and. .338 mags in a semi auto, but again they will not smeet your 5 round capacity.

[Ruzai]

I've heard good things about BARs all around. I havent seen many semi-autos in the full length mags other than BAR and you mentioned the Benelli and it looks very promising, especially with the recoil system for quicker recovery time. I see now that if its going to be a 300 Win Mag or 338 Win Mag the capacity will be 3 in the mag and 1 in the chamber. I think I could deal with that for a magnum chambering.

So far I've narrowed down my known choices to a BAR LongTrac in 300 Win Mag or 338 Win Mag
or the Benelli R1 in 300 Win Mag.

The crio treatment and recoil system along with the sleek look are enough to sway me away from the lack of a 338 Win Mag chambering option seeing as how the 300 Win Mag would probably be easier to handload.
I know a little about the BAR LongTrac in 300 Win Mag but it seems like it wouldnt have as many features as the R1, of course it shows in the price difference between the two. My queston is are the features worth the extra $$$. I'd actually like to know if anyone as some experience with the R1.

[Tuner]

The BAR has been on the market for probably 30+ years and stood the test of time, the Benelli is new to the market but may incorporate newer technology. I wouldn't be too concerned about recovery time, the difference is probably measured in hundreths of seconds! BTW, I believe there was a write up on the Benelli last month in one of the "Gun Mgazines".

[Ruzai]

Thats true about the recovery time, but what really interested me about the Benelli is the Crio barrel treatment, its supposed to tighten up groups a good bit and lessen fouling from magnum load from what I can see of it. I'll have to do more looking to see if I can find opinions on the R1 and maybe some upgrades on a BAR LongTrac that I might be helpful for me.

[Fast Ed]

In almost every case, an accurate bolt gun will be more accurate than an accurate semi-auto. Not saying a semi can't be accurate, but gun for gun, I would put my money on a bolt being much more able to meet your accuracy requirements.

That being said, here's my latest build. It's a .260 large frame AR on DPMS upper and lower. Not an elk rifle as far as I am concerned. For that I have a .338 Win Mag Rem 700 Bolt Gun. This type of rifle can be built in any caliber made on the .308 case and some WSM calibers. May be something to check out.



Fast Ed

[Ruzai]

Wonderful looking build Ed. I like the JP Enterprise fore-end Magpul stock and 50mm scope combo. Looks like you put a lot of cha-ching into the rifle.

What's you experience with the 338 Win Mag like? I'm particularly interested in the caliber rather than the gun, since I dont know many that use it.

[Fast Ed]

I have enough in it that it kinda blew my gun budget for a while.

I have a Rem 700 .338 WM built by Randy Gregory using an Obermeyer barrel and a McMillan stock.



I had it built for an elk hunt I took a few years ago. Didn't get an elk. I shoot the 225 Barnes TSX in it. Ballistics on the .338 are impressive. With my load, I am still carrying 1500 lbs-ft of energy out past 500 yards. It shoots almost as flat as a 120 grain bullet from a .25-06. The difference in drop at 500 yards is only 4". The only problem with the .338WM is that because it hits so hard on the business end of the barrel, it also hits pretty hard on the other end of the gun. Recoil with the above rifle approaches my tolerance limit, especially off the bench. It only weighs 8 3/4 lbs. loaded. It's great for lugging up the mountains, but a heavier gun would absorb more of the recoil. I now use the Caldwell Lead Sled for load work, and then shoot from field positions when practicing because I can rock with the recoil instead of getting slammed like when at the bench.

Fast Ed

[BudW]

Sako 30.06

[Ruzai]

I'm not too fond of the 30-06
Blasphemy right? Couldnt tell you why really...personal preferance I guess.

The field positions when shooting is always a good idea for practice since you cant always have a bench in the field for that perfectly stable shot not to mention the recoil dampening affect.
I like those numbers for the 338 Win Mag, if I were to get a bolt gun (which probably will happen in the not so close furture) I think I'd go for what you have there with a more personalized stock for myself.
But I really think I may end up going with the R1 in a 300 Win Mag in the end for my next rifle, the more I look at it the more I see it has over the BAR. I'm not saying a BAR isnt good, I just like the way the R1 seems to fit better for me.

I would go for the BAR if it had more upgrade available, but it seems like what you get from the factory is what you're stuck with...