Okay, my brother Rob (FarRight) and I have been discussing the differences between a tactical rifle and a hunting rifle. I am planning on putting the heavier (#5 fluted) barrel, the custom McMillan stock, G. David Tubb titanium firing pin, Timney trigger, squaring and trueing the action, and the big thing he says makes it tactical; the scope... a Leupold 4.5-14x50 Long Range Tactical with MilDot. I know Tactical is part of the scope's name. I already have a Harris bipod, so YES my rifle will be rather heavy and it will look A LOT like a "sniper rifle", but I am only outfitting it as such to get the maximum accuracy out of it. So what do you guys think? Is there a difference? If so, what do you think it is? Where do you draw the line?

If you use it for hunting it is a hunting rifle. If you use it for being a sniper it is a sniper rifle. Some people will want you to believe it is how far you shoot but I'm of the faction it is what you are shooting.

Portability I would say plays a big part in the difference.
To me tactical is more a 1000y rifle where portability is not such a factor. An accurate hunting rifle, even with a mil style scope and bipod must still be reasonable portable (unless your sniping groundhogs or prarie dogs or what-have-you over there.

All I know is that tactical stands for a cool piece of machinery. I intend to get an AR-30 .338 Lapua more for it's looks than nay great need. Although I want to do some long range pig shooting with it.

I'm saving up to get a Chandler Sniper for the sole purpose of shooting woodchucks. I think it would be a damn fine "tactical" chuck rig.

You are really going to tote that clunker up and down the Montana hills ? HehHehHeh

Personally , I prefer a hunting rifle to go between 7 1/2 and 9 lbs. and mount up a scope of moderate to compact size . No 50mm objective semi-stovepipes for me .

I believe the main difference between a "tactical" sniper rifle and an accurate hunting rifle is durability. I hunt with "sniper" style heavy "tactical" rifles, 14 to 17 pounds, the same rifles I use to shoot in tactical competitions.

I have no worries about the scope getting "knocked off zero" when there's an unexpected tumble or 4-wheeler mishap. The floorplate is a steel replacement, not the weak alloy original, so no worries about broken trigger guards and trigger assemblies. The bases and rings are very heavy steel and won't slip or come loose and the screws are often oversize for added durability. The stocks are generally heavier than hunting models or reinforced with extra fiberglass or different "fill". The rifle is built tough and accurate, it's a tool that functions with repeatable reliabilty and offers considerable confidence in the equipment. If a hunter somehow manages to change the zero on one of the true "tactical" grade rifles there will be some other broken items too (bones, vehicle parts, rifle stock, etc).

The "tactical" scopes are NOW so named (IHMO) for the features they offer, not for the extreme durabilty of the early models. There are still very tough tactical scopes but there are also scopes far less durable named "tactical". I have used the 4.5 x 14 Leupold Long Range and the 4.5 14 Long Range "Tactical" (gold ring blackened). I prefer the 40mm objective models nowadays and use the Leupold Long Range M1 3.5 x 10 "tactical" on many of the rifles. I have tried the Mark 4 M1 (10X and 16X) but prefer the variable feature for hunting.

A Chandler is a fine rifle but the wait is often considerable, there are other builders that will do as good a job with less wait (but it won't be a "Chandler").

I don't care what people call it. If you wantit, can carry it and get alot of fun and satisfaction out of it then your on the right path. Deer at 100yds or gophers at 600, if you hit it nobody will wipe that smile off your face.

Labels, labels, labels. Can't we all just get along?

A rifle is what you do with it, IMO. I'll betcha a bunch of deer have fallen to Springfields, Mausers and Garands, just as the 30-30 over the mantle can be used to repel boarders. A rifle can be thought of as a crescent wrench, I guess. Not exactly the right tool for the immediate task, but it'll work! An unflattering analogy, perhaps ...

Redial

[ 06-05-2002, 20:07: Message edited by: redial ]

If you carry it in your vehicle, be it a truck, car, or four wheeler, then a tactical teen pounder is OK for road hunting. A tactical rifle is used by tactical specialists for tack tickling.

If you hunt from foot, then a hunting rifle is waht you would call it. If you can carry a teen pound rifle all day in the elk woods, then you have muscles in your sh*t and you can call it whatever you want to!!

If you carry a stalking rifle like the europeans do, then you can call it by its caliber, as a tactical mangetter, or a jagdwaffen.

Back to the thread: ACCURACY. Whatever it is called, a minute of accuracy would not do for a tactical rifle, whereas I would think a minute of angle for a hunting or stalking rifle would be fine.

Sounds like it has potential to be a whupass long shot Varminter, not too practical for beating the brush though. Its the same as with any rifle/scope combination, you pay the price with the sacrifices you make for the benefits you gain. No free lunches!

Tough, accurate, and light rifles have always had a fascination with me. I hunt some of the nastiest country you can imagine. It is all steep, loose rock; once you leave the wash bottoms. It is home to the Desert Bighorn.
I've slammed several rifles down regularly, and seen some break. I've studied all the reading I can find.
Dave King is right that the tactical rifle is built as tough as they come. I've got one as he describes. But, I've got two others that are, or nearly are, as accurate as my tac rifle. They weigh far less-7-8.5 lbs. vs. 12 lbs.
A really good, sporter weight, custom barrel seems to shoot as well as my tac rifle's. Good, tough steel TG&FP's are available in sporter rifles as well as tough scope mounts. Ruger and Winchester both make SS FP&TG's, and either Ruger rings, or Dual Dovetail set ups are plenty tough.
I'm in agreement on the 40 mm scopes vs. the 50 mm ones.
I find the 6X42 Leupold with a target style elevation turret works well.
If you really need to shoot over 600 yds., I believe you really need plenty of weight. Heavy barreled rifles are somewhat more consistant, but I've tested many for years, and don't see any "cold bore, first round" advantages to them. As long as the bore is fouled that is, and again, the ranges are under 600 yds. E

Purely semantics. One man's "assault rifle" is another man's defensive rifle.

In reality, snipers and those who build their rifles have merely learned what varmint hunters and benchrest shooters have also learned (often the same people doing all three) -- heavy barrels are more accurate and consistent than light, synthetic stocks don't warp in the rain, you can see better far away through a 14X scope than through a 3X, etc.

"Tactical" is just a label, overused in the opinion of some I know who actually walk the walk. See a guy at a match in black BDUs and lots of nylon gear, they'll joke, "Oh yeah, that dude's tactical."

Later,

John

To define "tactical" as pertaining to tactics and "tactics" as manuevering to gain an objective, than would'nt the terms "tactical" and "hunting" be completely interchangeable when discussing rifle styles?

Just a thought.

I think that nomenclature icons such as "tactical", and "benchrest accuracy" are over-used icons that have little to do with practical hunting considerations........

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Dave
I shoot a rifle that fits the description of what you might be looking for. It's a Steyr SBS Tactical Heavy Barrel in .308 It has a 25.6" Heavy hammerforged barrel, and yet it only weighs 8 lbs. I've got a Nikon Monarch 5.5 x 16.5 AO scope @ 18.5 ounces. Add Leup. rings and bases, and 5 rounds and you talking about 10 lbs, maybe less, all up and loaded. This rifle is very accurate right out of the box with no modifcations. This is the rifle I carry deer hunting when I can expect to get a shot in the 200 to 400 yard range. This whole package cost me about $1200, which is probably less than you will spend putting your rig together once you add up all the goodies. "Tactical" has sure become a marketing buzzword lately. Hell, I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean. But this rifle was exactly what I was looking for, and to me it means "Superbly accurate hunting rifle"

I think you're on the right track

Elmo