I'm looking to get back into the sport after about 20 years away.

Have been reviewing a lot of info and seems Alu stocks are considered the cutting edge now. Wondering if Wood stocks can still match up? Clearly less expensive by 1,000 US
Alu has more adjustment, but is it really befeicial below olympic comp level?

I've come down to 3 brands and could use some help choosing the right equipment.

My interest is in 3P with the possibility of K class (Bench), all ISSF standards. Main focus will be prone for small bore.

Stock - ALU
Feinwerkbau - 2700
Anschutz - 2313 or 2018
G&E - RS Revolution CISM mit Flimmerband

Stock - Wood
Feinwerkbau - 2700 Universal
Anschutz - 1913
G&E - W III

Action/Barrell
Anschutz - 54 SuperMatch - 2007 or 2013 (U6) 660 or 690
Feinwerkbau - 2700 standard
Lilja/Anschutz 2007/2013
Bleiker - .22LR 690

The G&E seem to be very expensive for what they are, and the Anschutz is very a'la carte. Right now, I'm leaning towards the FeinWerkBau... a complete setup including sights runs $3,500. Seems like best bang for the buck in Alu Super Match options. Interested to hear people's personal thoughts and experiences with each rife.

Cheers,
David

You might also want to consider Walther KK300. It won the Olympic Gold medal

Would dearly love to help but my wallet won't allow me to experience any of those.

Dschon............ciaoooo

Anschutz 1913+ barrel original 69 cm. or Lilja chambered Tenex + Alu 2018 or Gruening Elmiger
+ a batch Eley Tenex very Strong .............


Bleiker + Lilja Barrel chambered Eley Tenex + Alu Stock Gruenel & Elmiger + Centra diopter....a little expensive but very good start to begin with!?
+ a batch Eley Tenex very Strong .............



http://www.bleiker.ch/KleinkaliberSmallbore_3.html

http://www.acme-firearms.com.au/Used%20Rifles/Bleiker%20In%20Anschutz%20Stock.htm

Remember: you only live once ..... This is coming from an 59 year old !!!!
In recent years I realized that we must choose the best. Otherwise, sooner or later you regret.

if I win the lottery ( 131.000.000 euros ), I give you choice Anschutz or Bleiker .
lol

I've priced out a few of the stock complete rifles to get a sense....I'm looking to maximize quality, performance, and value, and I don't mind having last year's best rife, if you know what I mean.

FeinWerkBau 2700 SuperMatch 24mm/690mm Complete - $3,400 USD
ANS 1907 in 2213 (w/o Sights) - $2,750 USD
ANS 1907 in 1918 (w/o Sights) - $2,900 USD
ANS 1913 in 1918 (w/o sights) - $3,100 USD
ANS 1913 in 2213 (w/o Sights) - $2,900 USD
Walther KK300 Anatomic Compete - $4,000 USD
G&E CISM RS Rev Complete - $7,800 USD

The G&E is out of my price-range.

I don't see the value of the Walther's package compared to the Anschutz or FWB, but might be missing something. I know the Anatomic won the gold medal.. but what makes it worth the extra money? Is it lighter or more customizable in some way? The Walther does use a Centra Match Sight Set, which is as good or better than the FWB or ANS. Am I missing Something?

Dschon,

ANS 1913 in 1918 (w/o sights) - $3,100 USD
May be a fair value for money.

The best mix.....
Bleiker + Lilja Barrel chambered Eley Tenex + Headspace ,039/,041 + Alu Stock Gruenel & Elmiger + Centra diopter+ training and lots of perseverance and patience.

Good Luck

It wasn`t the Anatomic that won the gold medal, it was the regular KK 300

Matt Emmons has Anschutz no Alu Stock,

Potent has Bleiker

Is not the rifle that makes a great shooter but.unfortunately , vice versa. would be too easy to become champions!

Pete,
do not be modest, you must tell the truth you'd be in the shoes of Dschon!

Max you're so right there. It's the "nut behind the butt" that counts most of all.

Dschon buy an FWB 2700 of your preferred stock type, get help to set it up to fit you, good coaching and practice, practice, practice.

Shoot at as many different ranges as you can, shoulder to shoulder as often as you are able to and did I mention practice?

There are some top shooters in NZ using the 2700, don't waste your money on brand names at your stage of shooting if you can't afford it. Or buy a second hand rifle.

I have used an anshutz 1411 of 1976 vintage for the last 14 years(since I took up smallbore shooting) and I don't see any reason to upgrade to a new rifle.
I have put centra sights and an SKP buttplate on it, other than that it's original. The "Nut behind the butt" still has a little mental work to do though.

Most of all have FUN.

Yess

internationally you can still see old shooters with old 54 match "1970/1975" with triggerset with Stecher. Old irons from 590

I agree FWB is a great rifle, maybe not up to the same quality of the other brands but still shoots better than the people using them. I have shot 1411, 2013 and then FWB 2700. With very good results with all three. Spend the extra money on training and traveling to matches. My current rifle (FWB) would be more than good enough to shot 600, Get what most suits your position.
When I was shooting at World Cup matches in 2005 there were a many shooters using FWB 2700. Check out the MEC stock looks pretty flash.

Nut Behind the butt, I agree.

When I was 12, I shot my first 100 at 50ft prone and by the time I was 14, I shot my first 100 standing... without a jacket, glove, sling, eyepatch, or even a match rifle... it was a simple Ruger bolt action .22 at a Scout camp range, it had open iron sights that we bought at K-mart. The only high end component were hand loads that a friend of my dad's made for me because he saw potential. It's been 20 years now...still have a few NRA awards in the closet.

I'm going to demo some wood stocks to see if the amount of adjustment and balance points suit my anatomy (can I get comfortable). I'm also interested to feel the amount of vibration in the stock compared to the Alu. The Wood stock saves me about 1K... which would be nice. Right now the front runner is the new 2018 stock from ANS, and I understand there is a vibration dampener they have just come out with. I'll be in Switzerland and Germany in 2 weeks and may pop up to the factories to see some of the selections at ANS, FWB, and G&E. Will report back when I have more info.

So... here's the skinny... back from Europe.

I went to both the ANS factory and the G&E factory.

The Precision stock from ANS is really nicely made, felt very well balanced and the front of the stock sat well in my hand prone. The G&E is only marginally better, with a bit more tooling in certain key areas which reduced vibration. Results wise, I found a 0.1 MOA improvement with the G&E with the same action and barrell setup. Tests were performed 2 days apart, at different locations, using identical match ammo.

For someone not in the olympics or searching for trophies, I struggle to justify the difference in price.

I know many people are unhappy with ANS customer service. I spoke to the ownership about this. They are making some changes to allow their major distributors to handle more service elements rather than having everything go through Germany [in the next year]. This should improve the global reach and responsiveness.

Anyways... I'm going with ANS. They will be building me a rifle based on measurements taken last week. I'll pick it up in early April.

Dschon,
Excellent choice!I did not know that Anschutz constructed "tailored".
I've seen the stock 1918, a friend of mine bought it with 1913 and is making amazing shots. The new alu-stock is better than the old ( like mine ...sigh...sob.. )!!
I wish you good future shootings

ciao

Max, I selected the lighter trigger spring, a barrell with flutes that set the balance point exactly where my hand is when prone. The barell is being custom milled and specially bedded with tighter tolerances than normal. The cheek piece is contoured slightly (rounded solid Alu) based on the shape of my face and we selected cork for a coating. There are a couple other "tweaks" I won't detail... Needless to say, the boys at the shop think it will shoot 100-9 without a problem.

Dschon,
I envy you for the new rifle.......
Great idea for special bedding with tighter tolerances and cork coating cheek piece.

What is " flutes "" ....you go to play at the "Scala" ..... lol
I do not understand " flutes ".........??


---------------------------
One shot one kill -

Max Take a Look here http://www.edinkillie.co.uk/ecatalog/feinwerkbau-2700-light-rifle-p-718.html?cPath=76 and click the picture of the rifle and you will see the flutes (grooves )along the barrel to lighten it.

here is another example:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kennethnielsen600/Savsjo61209#slideshow/5412174175213097634

Max, Flutes are channels cut into the barrell that lighten it, but don't dramatically change the stiffness or shooting qualities.

For someone looking to lighten the rifle for smallbore, this is a fairly inexpensive option that yields good results. I would recommend using a company like Lilja for work like this.