Well, I' ve been saving my money for awhile and I' ve got enough to buy and outfit a decent rifle. I' ve decided to get rid of my " eastern bloc" third-world cheapo rifles and consolidate to nicer quality guns that are capable of better than " spray-n-pray" accuracy. So the Mosin/Nagant M44 carbine and sporterized SKS are also being traded in toward a new CF bolt-action rifle.

Anyway, I wanted to run my choices by you guys to see if I missed anything or if you guys (and gals, too) had any better suggestions. I' ve done a good bit of research, but when it comes to CF rifles I' m far from an expert on the topic. To give you a bit of background on my choices; the rifle I' m getting is for benchrest target shooting (sub-MOA accuracy), a " guinea pig" gun so I can learn how to work up precision handloads, and also as a varmint/predator gun for shooting coyote, groundhog, and maybe the occational crow and pigeon on the ground. The farm and public lands I' d be calling coyote on would offer the possibility of 400-500 yard shots if I really wanted to dial long-distance.

With that in mind here' s what I' m thinking about getting:

Savage 12BVSS in .243 Winchester with the sweet " Accu-trigger." I know that the .243 is a little much for smaller varmints (red mist and a memory, but dead is dead, right? The hawks gotta eat too.), but superior ballistics and versatility of the .243 appealed to me over the .224 caliber guns like the .22-250 or .223.

Bushnell Elite 3200, or maybe 4200 if I wait a month and save a little more, in either 4-12X40 AOor 6-18X40 AO. The 6-18X40 would be better for shooting paper, but the 4-12X40 would be favorable in the event of a closer shot on a coyote. I also haven' t decided whether I want the standard duplex reticle or the mil. dot reticle. The mil. dot reticle is appealing for its range estimating capabilities and for estimating lead or windage quickly.

I haven' t decided on bases yet, but for the rings I' m considering the " Signature Series" rings buy Burris (I think). I' ve heard really good things about them. This would be the first scope I' m going to have professionally mounted and boresighted. I' ve mounted scopes on my ML' s before but I' ve never expected them to shoot sub-MOA accuracy.

I' ll probably also put a Harris Bipod on it. Actually, I might eventually get two bipods. One shorter bipod for shooting on the bench and one longer legged version for sitting shots on the field. I haven' t decided for sure on the short bipod or a really nice benchrest or vise.

I' m also going to finally invest in a reloading setup. I' ve decided on the Rockchucker Master Kit to get started. For dies for the .243 I think I' m just going to spend the extra cash now and get the Redding Competition dies. I know that if I don' t get them now I' ll end up buying them later and spending twice. I' d like to have two different loads worked up for the .243. One light recoiling target load (I' d like to try A-Max bullets) and a hard hitting varmint/predator load. I' m also going to handload .45ACP for my Glock, since I' ve been getting the itch to try action pistol competition. Handloading pistol ammo would make competition cheap enough to try out, and just let me shoot a lot more.

That' s about all I can think of, but if you guys have any suggestions I' d be happy to hear them.

Thanks,

Mike