Help with Remington 700 choices.

[voere270]

Another vote for .223 if you're doing the varmint thing. Economical rounds and very little kick. Be sure to consider the weight difference between the rifles especially when adding optics. If you're going to be spending a lot of time on the bench between hunts, consider the heavier barrel as it'll give you a longer life and require less cooling between shots.

Of course, they're all going to group relatively closely when used so the key really is to buy a gun that's good for you and learn where it shoots before you take it into the field for hunting.

 

[Taylor-Made]

Another 223 vote

I am shooting target with the SPS Tactical in .223. It is costing me .40 cents a reload for match ammo. I believe Barrel life is approximately 4 times that of the .243. As for the DM, not sure if you are reloading, but for target rounds you probably will be single feeding anyway to get the rounds out to the lands.

 

[Jayph]

What would the round count be for the barrel life for a .223Rem and a ..243Win? And +1 for wood...I like it for "hunting" guns

A .223 will go a long time. I have 4000 rounds down mine with no loss in accuracy yet. My friend had his .243 go at about 1600 rounds. It shot great untill about 1300 and then slowly declined it's got a new barrel now and the old one had alot of throat damage (he didn't really worry about heating the barrel though his way of thinking was they make new barrels every day)

 

[9x19p]

1 more for .223 , I have the SPS Tactical. It's very accurate with reloads but a little on the heavy side once you add glass and a bipod.

 

[warrenb]

If your gonna practice at the range, your gonna have a lot more down time waiting for the barrel to cool with the 243. If a 223 will do what you need then stick with that. I like both calibres but the 223 offers a little more for us sophisticated types.

 

[drslav]

223 keep a varmint a varmint and get another deer rifle later

 

[maynard]

If you only plan to target shoot at ranges out to 500-600 yards the slow twist Remington barrels will shoot 55 gr bullets just fine with the right load. Although the bullet will get pushed around in the wind a bit more than heavier bullets. I see on Remington's web page that only the SPS Tactical has a 1:9 twist barrel in .223. The only problem I see is if you plan to shoot heavy bullets at longer range (out to 1000 yards) the 20 inch barrel is on the short side to take advantage of the heavier (80gr)bullets.
Save your money and buy a Tikka T3 in .223 with a 1:8 twist. You get a longer barrel and faster twist to handle the heavy bullets and you get a mag fed rifle to boot.

 

[scout]

While not on the OP list, I've been very pleased with the Remington 700 XCR ... 20" SS barrel, 1x9 twist in .223. Comfortably puts 5 rounds of 77 SMK into a thumbnail sized area at 100 yds. Great on gophers with the 55gr Nozler BT! Also used it at our 300m ISSF match and have shot consistently into the 4-ring at 800m with IVI ammo at our intro clinic days.

Presently have the rifle out to put on bottom metal to accept the new AI .223 polymer mags (same size as the AI 308 mags, so you can load over length). Bottom metal was @$210 plus shipping from the address below (Savage fans take note), mags are on the way from Wolverine.

cdiprecisiongunworks.com/

Bill

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

If you only plan to target shoot at ranges out to 500-600 yards the slow twist Remington barrels will shoot 55 gr bullets just fine with the right load. Although the bullet will get pushed around in the wind a bit more than heavier bullets. I see on Remington's web page that only the SPS Tactical has a 1:9 twist barrel in .223. The only problem I see is if you plan to shoot heavy bullets at longer range (out to 1000 yards) the 20 inch barrel is on the short side to take advantage of the heavier (80gr)bullets.
Save your money and buy a Tikka T3 in .223 with a 1:8 twist. You get a longer barrel and faster twist to handle the heavy bullets and you get a mag fed rifle to boot.

I think I plan to shoto mostly 55gr stuff. So I am a bit confused as to which barrel length/twist rate I would need?

 

[warrenb]

My stevens 1/9" twist shot both the 55 grain BTs and 69 grain smks equally well. Obviously the further out you go the wind effects the lighter bullets more.
Or as suggested get a 1/8" twist and have the ability to shoot the 80 grainers.

For 55 grn I'd stick with the 1/9 personally, ton choix.

 

[dan belisle]

For 55 gr bullets, any of the 22 centerfire twists will do. 1-12, 1-14, whatever. Heavier (longer) bullets will require faster twists. - dan

 

[albayo]

Remington is probably the way to go in 223. If you are shooting 55gr in a 1-12 or 1-14 barrel and you want to move up to 63gr and 69gr just replace the barrel. I compare the Remington 700 platform like owning a Harley you can get anything you want for it.
If you are going to go with the 700 in 243 it can be changed to 308, 7-08, or 22-250.
Just something to think about.

 

[DrawBlood]

Remington is probably the way to go in 223. If you are shooting 55gr in a 1-12 or 1-14 barrel and you want to move up to 63gr and 69gr just replace the barrel. I compare the Remington 700 platform like owning a Harley you can get anything you want for it.
If you are going to go with the 700 in 243 it can be changed to 308, 7-08, or 22-250.
Just something to think about.

The Savage does have an easier barrel replacement system though.

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

So a 1-12 or 1-14 will work just fine for me with 55gr rounds (or more)? And a 1:9 will work will 55gr. BUT I can't ever really use heavier bullets effectivly?

 

[wapitiwhacker]

So a 1-12 or 1-14 will work just fine for me with 55gr rounds (or more)? And a 1:9 will work will 55gr. BUT I can't ever really use heavier bullets effectivly?

A 1:9 Remington barrel should be good up to about 70 gr. My SPS Tactical does very well with 69 gr. SMKs or 70 gr Bergers. The 1:12 or 1:14 would be effective only up to about 55 gr.

 

[Obtunded]

The Savage does have an easier barrel replacement system though.

Not a chance. The savage uses a barrel nut. You need to take the gun apart, use a headspace gauge to precisely locate the barrel, snug the nut and put everything back together. A shouldered barrel with an indexed recoil lug gets screwed back on - period. With the right barrel vise, you don't even need to remove the scope or stock in some cases. (depending on the profile of the barrel.)

Some of the guys i shoot with have barrel vices welded to a trailer hitch draw bar. They can change barrels in minutes.

You can swap barrels between savages, and you can buy pre-fab barrels, but changing them is not "easier."

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

So the smaller the number the faster the twist?...1:9 is faster then 1:12? Sorry I am new to long range rifles...I normally just shoot a 10/22 and SKS at 50-100yards lol

 

[9x19p]

1:9 means 1 full twist every 9 inches, so it is faster than 1:12, if you buy something with 1:9 you will have more options as far as bullets go, you can shoot heavier/longer bullets and do more "long range" shooting.
peace...

 

[wapitiwhacker]

So the smaller the number the faster the twist?...1:9 is faster then 1:12? Sorry I am new to long range rifles...I normally just shoot a 10/22 and SKS at 50-100yards lol

You got it. A 1 in 9 twist will rotate the bullet one full revolution for 9" of travel down the barrel. The 1 in 12 takes another 3" to rotate the bullet the same amount. Hence the 1:9 is a "faster" twist. Clear as mud??

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

You got it. A 1 in 9 twist will rotate the bullet one full revolution for 9" of travel down the barrel. The 1 in 12 takes another 3" to rotate the bullet the same amount. Hence the 1:9 is a "faster" twist. Clear as mud??

I get it now...much thanks!