After a few months of not doing any shooting I've been practicing a bit lately.  

Couple recent shooting trip videos
First round hit from 699 yards in the wind

Another first round hit a few days later in easier conditions at 871 yards

funny video of me trying to video my reloading room

I have been more and more wanting to get into the sport I have nothing as of now but looking for the perfect setup

What do you mean by "perfect setup"?

The rifle stock/chassis etc that I find most comfortable I looked at a tikka tsr-1 while on vacation and the wife had a fit that I said I was buying it. So I passed for the time

Lefty where you at?  I have been itching to get some long range in.

The sooner you get started the better.  The best equipment in the world will not do any good until you know what you are doing.

I live in Osky.

No shit.  I graduated from osky

I used to like it here until all the houses around me became rentals.  I'm not kidding there are 4 houses across the street and 5 on my side including mine.  Of those My girl friend and I are the only two on the block with jobs.

Nice.  Wasn't like that when I loved there in the 90's.   Had a lot of fun in that town during my youth.

Overall it's a good town.  We do have a lot of low income housing...I'd call it "no income" housing myself.  Some how we have gotten a lot of folks from Chicago enjoying our "no income" housing.  I get up at 3 am for work and am about to head off in a few minutes.  Took the dog out and you would be surprised how many of my neighbors are out and about some sitting on the porch smoking.  Now why in the f&ck are people with no jobs out at this time of day?

I traded off my SPS tactical earlier this year, so I haven't shot anything but pistols. ARs are just so damn boring I can't even be troubled to drag them out of the safe these days. 

I will say, I was eyeing the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor and the Savage Stealth in 6.5 and they really have me thinking about getting back into it. Neither of my former bolt guns were very accurate and therefore no fun to shoot. 

I'm in new Sharon

I am starting my long range build now.  When it's done I will be in touch and head down there.  I still have family in blakesburg so I can make a day or two of it

In for a penny in for a pound.

I need to stretch it out more, most of the time I'm at 200 at Van Meter  DMRR. The wind has rather a swril on that range you can have wind flags going both directions at the same time. Bang Head Here!!!

The Savage police rifles are very accurate and a great choice, the remmingtons usually need the action trued.  Im a bit concerned about the odd set up of the bolt on the Ruger Precision Rifle so have not bought one.  Tikka doesnt leave the factory unless its under an inch nice guns,  but a top of the line GAPrecision or Tac Ops gun will be 1/4 moa (which is better than I can shoot, spendy stuff.)

Optics - the SWFA  SS scopes tend to be a excellent value. There is a big difference in what you get once you go over 2K in optics and I wish I was in that price range. top players are (Nightforce, US Optics, Tangent Theta, Schmidt Bender, Heinsoldt, IOR ...)
Leupold is over rated and Trijicon is a new player in that type optics.

I need to get more serious with it. I have a 6.5C Defiant/Bartlein/Manners/Razor HD build that has.... maybe 10 rounds through it? Been playing a lot more with the clone/trainer .223 that Septic built for me.

I personally think people worry to much about equipment when they are starting out.  Obviously you need reasonable quality equipment.  A rifle that shoots moa at a minimum.  An optic that tracks correctly and returns to zero correctly.  A quality range finder or a known distance range to start on.  I really think those three things are the critical pieces to start with.  If your rifle shoots moa at a minimum, your scope tracks correctly, and your ranges are dead on whether that be with a range finder or known distance you have all you need to get started.  From there it's all about time behind the rifle putting rounds down range and learning how the conditions effect your bullets path.  Over time you will learn what equipment improvements will benefit you the most.

A 1/4 moa rifle and I'm talking about a legit 1/4 moa rifle not just a once in a while thing, but one that can do it repeatedly is something everyone would like to have.  The problem is for a beginner it will not do you any good at long range.  You will waste that barrel before your skills are good enough to fully take advantage of it.  Beyond 600 or 700 yards if you are off on your distance by 15 yards, or your wind call is off by a couple mph, or maybe temp, or a number of things are off a bit that will do way more than that 1/4 moa rifle can ever make up for.  

A good spotter is very valuable as well.  Not just a spotting scope, but the actual person behind it.  There have been plenty of times I've missed on the first round, but if I can spot my shot I can get right on target in reasonable conditions within the limits of my caliber.  To be honest getting right on target beyond 1200 yards with a 6.5 caliber takes a little luck as well.  

My biggest difficulty has been very bad mirage.  I've had times where the mirage was so bad I was never able to get on target.  It's just dancing around down there not really where you think it is and it's so hard to spot misses.  Early morning and late evening is usually your friend.

Going down to Mount Auburn on the 8th to throw some lead out towards targets out to 800m.
AR with a scope and Garand with irons.

If you want a place to start cheap Walmart in Mason City just got in a Savage AxisII in 6.5 Creedmoor. Comes with a 4-10X Bushnell scope for $398. Buy now, shoot now, upgrade stock and scope when money allows. Two in stock, not on the rack yet(new mod item, you'll have to ask to see it specifically). Camo stock, medium barrel-thicker than the pencil barrel on a typical Savage ,30-06 hunting model but a far cry from a heavy barrel.

I'd like to grab one myself but don't have anywhere to shoot more than 400 yards-my M1 and .22-250 can do that nicely.

Took a few days vacation this week.  With a beautiful morning I decided to setup another long range shot.  I couldn't get my range finder to range in the fog, but as soon as the fog lifted enough to range the target conditions were perfect for an easy shot.  I struggled a bit yesterday afternoon with the ar15.  I got a first round hit at 402 yards with the ar15 yesterday and took 3 shots at that distance to center up perfectly.  I also had targets at over 700, but with the wind and mirage yesterday afternoon I couldn't spot my misses or see any trace at all so I didn't have any luck with the 223 at those distances in those conditions.  Heavy mirage has always been my nemesis in long range shooting.  Especially considering I'm shooting without a dirt back stop to help spot the misses.  Couldn't even catch a trace it was like looking through a glass of turbulent water.

Video from today 10" plate from 901 yards with 260 rem

That's. It bad I have been thinking tikka or RPR I can shoot decent distances when there is no crops in the field

Man that is amazing I am green with envy

Beaupain will probably be the best bet for the RPR. Last gunshow he had them in all three calibers for $995-the 6.5's went early.

Just got to get out there and start learning.  This rifle started as a budget build from sniper central.  I just changed it over time.  I put a timney calvin elite trigger in it, then put it in a McMillan stock, then pulled the "super sniper" optic off and put a nightforce on it.  None of that helped as much as the 1500 rounds of practice I put through it and the barrel I burned through on an "sprish" type ar15.  Keep logs and learn from every shot.

I went over to starks in Prairie and they had the RPR for right at 1100 6.5 and 308 but I couldnt get that tikka TSR-1 out of my mind

Either one would do the job--if you get the Tikka I want to shoot it!

While I haven't owned a newer Tikka, I've owned a hunting rifle variant in .243 and I've owned a RPR.... While the platforms may be similarly capable, there's no comparison in quality and craftsmanship between the two.

I've owned lots of rifles, but for my 'LR rig' I started with a 700PSS, went to a Savage 10T, then to the RPR, then went full-retard and had built/bought 3 full customs.

Don't get me wrong, I love the customs, but if I were starting over today, I'd to Tikka in a Manners (I'm a sucker for traditional stocks) or chassis in 6.5C and have Septic throw a new stick on it when I got really dialed in. The money you save up front over going custom should be put into optics.... Never forget how important quality optics are.

I'm not going to get into recommending specific brands of rifle, but I agree with what you are saying.  I highly recommend if you have a budget and are serious about getting proficient at long range precision shooting that you drop the idea of needing the latest and greatest rifle or super custom to get started.  I'm not kidding when I say that the best rifle in the world will not do the beginner an ounce of good.  If all you really want is super tiny 100 yard groups then yes the better rifle is going to help assuming you have the fundamentals down.  

None of what I'm about to say applies to people that can get into this with no budget, but for us average folks...

1st buy a cheap rifle preferably in the caliber you plan to use long term and with an action that has good aftermarket support as far as stocks/chassis availability and is common for gunsmiths to work on true up/blueprint/rebarrel etc.  I say preferably in the caliber you are going to use long term only because you can save money by buying the good reloading supplies for the caliber knowing you are going to load that caliber for a long time.  You are going to shoot out the factory barrel learning unless you go with something like a 308 with a super long barrel life.  So starting with a different caliber isn't a deal breaker you will just have to buy new dies and other reloading supplies when you rebarrel to a different caliber.

Next get a quality optic that has a reputation for flawless tracking and return to zero.  Of those pick one that has matching reticle and turrets in moa or mil which ever you prefer.  If you shoot with others you will be better off using what they use.  After you narrow it down on those things then pick the best glass you can afford.  Seriously it might sound stupid to put $3000 glass on a cheap old Remington 700, but you are going to do a lot of work to that rifle over time while that optic is always the same.  Getting familiar with the same piece of glass is a benefit as well.  Knowing all the adjustments and where they are location without thinking or looking helps a lot it lets you focus on other things.  If I'm on a different rifle with different glass after a miss I may have to break cheek weld, look the optic over, and think about things more before I can make the correct adjustment.  Don't cheap out on mounts either.  You don't have to go crazy, but get quality.

Learn to reload if you don't already.  I've read and heard that factory ammo has come a long way.  I still believe for precision rifles reloading is the way to go.  Control your own quality and consistency.  No lot to lot variation and when you get it down lower velocity spread.  Don't skimp on die quality if you are shooting the caliber you plan to use long term.  Buy the good dies and other tools immediately.  Buy a lot of bullets, powder, brass, and primers.

Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.  

As you get better you can put the rifle in a better stock, change the trigger, etc.  As you get better you can learn what you really want/need in a rifle.  When the time comes take it to a gunsmith to put a nice high end barrel on it, the action trued, and what ever improvements you want done.

By this point you are probably really have the fundamentals of shooting down and can shoot itty bitty groups at 100 or 200 yards with consistency.  You are probably also an intermediate long range shooter ready for a top quality rifle like you will now have at this point.  You will be an expert reloader able to find a good load for your nice fresh custom rifle immediately.  You will now be shooting groups at 100 or 200 yards from 1/4 moa to 1/2 moa on a regular basis.  You will be able to make first round hits on 2/3 or bigger silhouette targets inside 1000 yards in reasonable conditions without much difficulty.  Conditions matter never forget that.  An 800 yard shot in tough conditions can be way more difficult than a 1200 yard shot on a nice calm day with some cloud cover to keep the mirage down so you can use more magnification etc, etc.  You will be able to walk your shots in no problem if you do miss badly on the first shot as long as you have a good spotter.  You can also self spot because you will be controlling your recoil well by this point.  Where I typically shoot there is no dirt back stop it's usually weeds and not on a square range so it's more difficult to spot.  It helps when learning to shoot on a square range with a dirt back stop.  Easier for the spotter to learn as well since you will get the trace and the splash in the dirt mound.

I'm rambling, but you get the idea... Don't spend all your money on the rifle and neglect the optic and the ability to buy a ton of reloading supplies so you can shoot a lot.  There is no way around it lots of rounds down range is what it takes in different conditions, different distances, and in many different situations is what will make you become a good shooter.

Im only about 25 minutes away in Quasqueton