New Rifle

I have the Mossberg atr, which I believe is the same essentially as the patriot. While I have owned this rifle for over a year I have not shot it as I need to buy a scope. However, I will say that the adjustable trigger on mine is quite nice. Very light and crisp. One other observation; the finish is easily prone to developing surface rust. Keep her oiled up and check after handling and you should be good. Sorry I have no input on how this rifle shoots. Edit: looks like the patriot is an improvement on the atr.

I have no experience with the Patriot, but I also have an ATR. I got one of the first ones as a gift about 12 years ago, and it's been my primary rifle since. They're not fancy by any means. The only issue I've had with mine was the molded in plastic sling mounts in the stock broke pretty quickly. I ended up putting a Boyd's stock on it and dropping in a Timney trigger. I can usually get around 1-1.5" groups with most factory ammo.

My BIL has an MVP. His plastic sling mounts broke quickly also. Accuracy is about the same as my ATR.

It looks like Mossberg may have gotten rid of this style sling mounts on the Patriot, so this may not be an issue. I think if I were to buy one, I'd spring for the Patriot Revere, that's actually a very nice looking rifle. But I also understand the want for a cheap "beater" rifle if you're worried about scratching things up.

As far as 6.5 vs .30/06, either will do the job unless you start getting into really big game (bigger than elk). I prefer .30/06 as a go to do anything rifle, but recoil is much more mild on the Creedmoor.

Thanks for info gentleman. I picked the 6.5 CM due to the lighter recoil. I’m pumped to pick her up in a week or so. This is my first time buying a firearm online. Shipping to Right to Bear Arms In Haubstadt, IN. The transfer fee is $20 cash or $25 charge. I didn’t think that was bad at all.

Lots of elk-sized game has been taken the last few years out west with the 6.5 Creedmoor, with the proper bullet I wouldn't feel at all handicapped with it.

What model did you end up getting? The synthetic stock with the Crossfire scope?

I’m sure that’s a fine round, along with many others. If I like the 6.5CM in the bolt gun I might looking into a AR 6.5 for next season.

Free shipping and no sales tax are pretty common. Also check Bud's Guns, Kentucky Gun Company, and Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore.

Picked up my new rifle tonight. Headed to the range this weekend.
After some research online Im going with either the Hornady Percision Hunter 143gr or Winchester Deer season XP, 125 gr to start with. Soo many great bullets but so little time and money to try them all before the season. I want to find the right combination of accuracy and knockdown power obviously.

Anyone have a favorite round they suggest besides the ones I listed above?

We had a great time at Sugar Ridge rifle range this past weekend! HPR is soo much different than the old 12ga I’ve used for the last 20 years. It always did it’s job but was it was never fun shoot. Slugs are expensive and they beat your shoulder up.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is not only more accurate than I am, but it’s a pleasure to shoot. I had her sighted in after the first box but my son and I shot 4 more boxes of 20 just for fun. Started at 25yds and worked up to 200yds. I’ve never shot that far in my life. I feel very confident holding dead on for any deer within 200yds now.

I had such a good time that I’m now considering joining Red Brush gun club to work on my shooting skills. I think a Ruger Precision Rifle might be in my future soon. I’d like to top with a high end scope and start learning how to shoot 300, 400 and 500+ yards for sport. I realize you can’t just buy good equipment and expect world class results. It will take a lot of time and practice.

Now that I’ve gone HPR, I’m not going back!

Accuracy is obtained by having each round as identical to the previous one as possible, and making sure that you hold the rifle exactly the same way every shot (pressure against shoulder, pressure on the wrist of the stock, etc.) and only moving the 1st joint of the index finger to get the trigger to move. If the rifle is in a rest, you squeezing the trigger dry firing the rifle and having the trigger "break" shouldn't change where the crosshairs are setting.

Go talk to the guys at the range, look thru a bunch of different scopes before you drop the $$ on one. Higher end for one person might not be the same higher end that it is for another.

Once you get much past 200 yds watching what the wind does is important.