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Old November 21, 2017, 07:45 PM   #1
DukeMakedo
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Join Date: November 17, 2017
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Is Thompson Dimension a good option?

What caliber to choose?

Am a newbie. I want a rifle for deer, but also to play at shooting targets at long distance. Am teetering between caliber choices. 7mm-08 seems the best, first rifle for deer and long range target shooting. .270 and .308 Win also appeal because the Ammo is available at local Wal-Mart.
Anyone have advice?

--And Thompson Center Arms has the Dimension rifle with easily swappable barrels. A person can get a .308 rifle, and then buy swappable barrels for 22-250, .243, or 7mm-08. For the newbie, that idea is tempting, if the rifle is good, and the barrels are rugged, and not too expensive to swap. Any opinions on the Thompson Dimension?
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Old November 22, 2017, 07:40 AM   #2
reynolds357
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Switch barrel rifles are for countries with firearm ownership limits and for traveling where weight is essential. Other than those reasons, they are pointless. Do the math and compare the Dimension and its barrels to Ruger American RIFLES in those same chambering. Dollar investment will be similar.
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Old November 22, 2017, 09:12 AM   #3
THE
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If you like the T/C Dimension get it in the caliber of your choice and don`t worry about barrel swapping. There are a lot of other rifle options in the Dimension price range. My choice for caliber would be .308.
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Old November 22, 2017, 09:17 AM   #4
VoodooMountain
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I think you would be better served with a dedicated rifle for each caliber. I second the Ruger American rifle as a good option. I see them all thin time for $300 in just about any caliber.

Savage 10/11 rifles can have their barrels swapped within 10 minutes with a wrench, vice, and go/no go gauges.

I saw a deal at sportsman guide (I think) for a savage 11xp in 308 for $429 plus there is a $100 mail in rebate. Dollar for dollar that is your best bet

EDIT
It’s sportsman outdoor superstore

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperst...606/c/firearms
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Old November 30, 2017, 10:21 AM   #5
ndking1126
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Keep in mind the physical characteristics of the ideal hunting rifle and the ideal long range rifle can be quite opposite of each other. Your situation may be different, but hunting rifles are usually light, short and easy to maneuver (at least for woods hunting) while long range rifles are usually long and heavy. Its my experience that one rifle to do everything isn't good enough at either to keep me happy. I would recommend you buy a rifle that is specifically for hunting or long range and then just accept that it won't be good (or at least ideal) at the other.

Don't overthink the cartridge choice. 7mm and 270 are both great options (as are 243, 260Rem, 6.5 Cr and 308), Focus more on learning how to shoot and understanding ballistics. If you want hunting accuracy, the stuff at wal-mart is probably fine. But if you want long range accuracy, there's a good chance you will have to reload or go a store that has higher quality ammo.. in which case they would probably have any mainstream cartridge.

My recommendation is buy a hunting rifle that is cheap to shoot, learn to shoot really well (appleseed, online training, something) and practice. Once you get some experience under you belt, you may realize you got lucky and have a really accurate rifle you can play with at the range. But if it's not accurate enough for your tastes, you can get another rifle for long range fun.

Long range shooting is addictive.. and not cheap! You've been warned!

Last edited by ndking1126; November 30, 2017 at 10:30 AM.
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