WGMarlin39A

+1 For this gentleman as well. Nothing, IMO, is as useful as practicing with a good ole 22lr. Fundamentals are key to developing proper rifle marksmanship, or any type of marksmanship for that matter.

+1 for that Recommendation. IMO, Savage's quality as of late trumps most of the new Remington 700's in the same price point. Accu-trigger is an amazing thing in itself. The .270 Caliber is very, very flat shooting and the recoil is similar to a 30-06 but not as bad. But if you're looking for something that has little to no recoil and can still reach out there and touch something, I'd consider a 22-250. As you're probably aware, 223 ammo is very hard to come by these days. I was originally going to go with that caliber for my Savage target/varmint rifle, until the shooting at Sandy Hook happened. Popular, widely available calibers are great until something like we're seeing happens, then everybody panics and the supply is depleted. You can find 22-250 much easier now-a-day's than 223. Plus 22-250 shoots flatter and has more energy. Just food for thought.

Hello all. Would like to call upon all varmint and target shooters to help me with my scope choices. As the headline states I'm in the process of acquiring a Savage Model 12 BVSS in 22-250. Its a heavy barreled stainless bolt action with a 26 inch barrel and heavy prone style stock of wood laminate material. Total weight of the rifle without a scope is 10lbs. Its going to be my target practice rifle as well as obviously my dedicated varmint/predator rig. I don't want to skimp on glass with this thing. I've physically looked at only one scope so far. It was at Cabela's and the scope was a Nikon Monarch 5-20x44 SF with side parallax adjustment and their BDC reticle. I was very impressed with the clarity of the scope, and after understanding how parallax adjustment works, was certainly happy with that adjustment feature as well. It was priced at $449 if memory serves. I've read a few reviews on MidwayUSA of the scope stating that some users are having trouble shooting through the scope in multiple positions, i.e. some sort of eye relief issue. Either way, I'm interested to know everyone's opinion of what they like and what they're using for said application. I've researched on MidwayUSA a lot and I've got 3 or 4 different scopes on my watch list, a couple Nikon's, Hawke's and Vortex scopes. I'm not a Leupold fan mostly because I believe you pay for the name and there are other scopes out there whose quality is the same if not better for less money. The questions I have are these: is something like a 6-18 magnification range ideal for a dual purpose target/varmint scope or should I opt for more magnification in the form of a 5-20 or 6-24, etc? Are Illuminated dot reticle's and fully illuminated reticles worth considering and a big help or is that based on shooter preference? Is a 40mm objective enough light transmission or should I opt for a 44-50mm objective? I know from experience that its best to mount the scope as low on the rifle and closest to its bore as possible, which leads me to prefer the 44 or 40mm objective. Let me also say that I've put a cap on my scope budget of a $550-600 limit. Please give me your thoughts gentleman (and ladies?) on this subject. I look forward to hearing everyone's advice and I thank you in advance.

The sneaky always pissed off guy everyone is talking about is Walt. He's a great guy, has probably forgotten more about firearms and shooting than any of us will ever learn. If you ever sit down or stop and actually talk to him about shooting or firearms, he's an encyclopedia and always has good advice. He's just doing his job, maintaining the grounds and looking out for any body not following the rules. He definitely does look pissed off alot of the time, but thats just his normal face lol As another poster has said, you have nothing to worry about with him as long as you're following the rules. Numerous times I've shot at the rifle range til just before dusk, as soon as Walt shows up I'll ask if he needs help with anything. Whether its changing target boards or taking down targets anyone's left up. I suggest you all should do the same. The only way EFGA will stay as good as it is, is if everyone pitches in to keep it safe and clean. To the OP asking for advice for your first time....I'd confirm that yes the sandwiches at Pops Kitchen and Tap room (the gas station) are delicious, definitely read all the range rules (which are posted at every range), definitely sign in at every range, stay behind the red line when the range is cold, pay attention to sunset (calenders with sunrise and sunset times are also posted at each range), police your brass, take down your targets when you're finished, always bring your eye and ear protection, staple gun, targets and target backers, and above all be safe and have fun. Oh and definitely make it a point to spot at Heritage Guild and Sarco if you have time and they're both open. Just be careful at Heritage of the big tall behemoth salesman named Harley. He'll probably talk you into buying something. But you'll most likely say, "why didn't I buy this sooner?" when you walk out of there haha To poster asking about steel gongs at the rifle range..yes sometimes there are gongs. Most of the time there aren't though, which I have yet to figure out why. Same goes for the gongs at the 25 yard pistol range. They're not there all the time. Sometimes other shooters will bring their own steel targets to hang at the rifle range, and of course they take them home when they're done. The steel targets that are there all the time are the angle iron steel plates at the 50ft .22 range. I love shooting those and they're always available to shoot. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the other "mysterious" steel gongs can chime in here.

I might show up to this one. Its not far from me and I've wanted to shoot clays for a while, its been too long. My 870 needs a workout.

Just as an update I was in Cabela's on Friday 1/25/13 looking for ammo and checking their available varmint/target rifles. They had almost neither of both. Ammo wise they had nothing in .223 or .22lr. They had shot shell loads for 22lr but thats it. Shelves looked very bare all around. Honestly I've had better luck with ammo at Heritage Guild cause its not far from me at all and I know a few of the guys there. Its times like this when I really wish i had the space and time to reload my own.