Best target practice ammo for Remington 700 5R?

You are making the assumption that when you go out, you are going to have the skills to create tiny little groups.

I suggest trying different ammo with the skill level you have, and see for yourself what YOUR GUN likes. Not all guns like all ammo - even the same brand model and sequential serial numbered rifles - and I think blowing big dough on FGMM ammo or higher would frankly be a waste.

The smallest groups may end up being one inch or more at 100 yards, but choose the ammo with the best results and work with it. Make yourself better than the ammo.
 
paperslayer said:
You are making the assumption that when you go out, you are going to have the skills to create tiny little groups.

I suggest trying different ammo with the skill level you have, and see for yourself what YOUR GUN likes. Not all guns like all ammo - even the same brand model and sequential serial numbered rifles - and I think blowing big dough on FGMM ammo or higher would frankly be a waste.

The smallest groups may end up being one inch or more at 100 yards, but choose the ammo with the best results and work with it. Make yourself better than the ammo.
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No you are making the assumption that I am making the assumption that I will be able to create tiny little groups. I'm under no such illusions!

I'm trying to buy quality factory ammo (better than Norinco) but not waste high quality match grade ammo on my novice skills. That said, I did see FGMM ammo for sale at my local gun club for $275/200 rounds.

I'm going to treat the gun right and pick up a case, which I'll shoot as precisely as I can and learn - I knew from the beginning that precision shooting is expensive if you really want to do it right. Thanks for the good advice, all the best.
 
rnbra-shooter said:
Factory ammo means that the ammo will be made to an overall length of 2.80" or less (so that it will fit in any .308Win rifle out there). This means that the manufacturer has *no* flexibility to play with the seating depth of the bullet in order to improve accuracy (this is one of the two main tuning "levers" a handloader gets to work with).

Another fact is that factory Remington .308Win rifles tend to have rather long throats, so most magazine-length ammo will therefore have a fair bit of "jump" before the bullet engages the rifling.

To make the best of these facts, choose factory match ammo that uses a bullet that is known to be quite _insensitive_ to bullet jump.

The Sierra 168 Matchking is one of the best bullets in this regard (it has minuses of its own too, but since you are shooting at less than 800 yards this will not affect you for now). Unfortunately the factory ammo that uses this bullet tends to be pretty pricey, but there you have it. This bullet is loaded in Federal Gold Medal Match. Any other factory match ammo that uses the Sierra 168 HPBT should also serve your purposes well (I think Black Hills uses it; I'm not sure if "Winchester Ranger" uses the Sierra 168HPBT or if it is a 168HPBT made by Winchester).

The Sierra 175 Matchking is also very good in this regard; ammo loaded with it will work just as well for you as the 168MK, but the 175s can be pricier and they will giver you no advantage at 600 yards and closer.

Hornady makes two lines of match bullets. Their "HPBT" line is a bit fussier than the Sierras, and their "Amax" line is quite a bit fussier than the Sierras. If you can't get Sierra-bulleted factory match ammo, choose Hornady "HPBT" before you choose Hornady "Amax". Don't get me wrong, the Amax is a fine bullet - it's just that it usually needs more tuning in order to get it to shoot accurately, and if you are using factory ammo you don't get to do tuning.

Other very high quality very high performance match bullets can be even fussier, and are therefore to be avoided in your application.

Do save your brass. If you end up handloading eventually, you'll have good brass that was only fired in your rifle. If not, you have once-fired brass that you can give or sell to somebody else.
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Thanks to you and everyone else for the great advice and tips. I'm going to pick up a case of Federal Gold Medal Match at my local gun club, on special for $275/200 rounds. I'll take the plunge on reloading around summer of next year when I'll have the funds to do it. Until then I'll be saving brass and coin!

Again, thanks for all the help, I'm proud to be a paying member of CGN because it's such a great resource and it's threads like this that remind of how much I appreciate it, all the best.
 
I have a 5R as well and absolutely love this rifle, I've shot the best groups of my life with it and think the only way I can do better is primarily more practice and trigger time. This rifle shoots better than I do and I'm thrilled with it, next one will be a custom build likely from Alberta Tactical.

The 168 grain SMK is a wonderful bullet through the rifling in this barrel, I reload with that as my standard round and also will pick up the Federal Gold when I see it at the right price (rare occasion). Next purchase on my path to precision is some Lapua brass from Hirsch at some point.

I'd also recommend this video series produced by a member on this board, which is excellent and he uses a 5R throughout it.

[youtube]HUx-lC8Eiqc[/youtube]
 
Tomochan said:
Seriously ? A 3/8 inch group is 7.88mm and the WBSF (World Benchrest Shooting Federation) lists the record as being 13.39mm at 300 Yards shot in 1997 by E. Arenzi.
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He said "group" . . . . like previously mentioned more than likely a one shot group, just measuring the size of the hole it makes . . . Laugh2
 
BigBeaverBoomStix said:
I'm going to pick up a case of Federal Gold Medal Match at my local gun club, on special for $275/200 rounds. I'll take the plunge on reloading around summer of next year when I'll have the funds to do it. Until then I'll be saving brass and coin!
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That is a really good price - you should definitely buy (at least one) case at that price, you won't go wrong with it.

Good on your club for getting first rate stuff and selling it at great prices.
 
Tomochan said:
Well, the best factory ammo you could feed it would be Federal Gold Medal Match with 175 g SMK ( more likely you will find FGMM with 168 in most stores but get the 175 if you can ). Hornaday match is also good and a little less expensive.
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The above is good advice for the 5R.

There is a lot of misinformation regarding the 5R out there. The first is Remington's all shoot the same, you need a match grade barrel etc etc. Yet the 5R has pretty much universal approval for being more accurate than the normal Remington. Essentially you are getting a match barrel for free. I love shooting my 5R rifle. It makes me look good. Pure and simply it shoots exceptionally well.

The constants with the 5R are that they shoot 168 Federal Gold exceptionally well. 175 as well and is recommended for further distances or on days with a bit of wind. The bottom line is with this ammo these rifles are excellent shooters. I haven't felt the need to buy a custom rifle due to how well this rifle shoots.

Some tips: First get good glass and good rings. The money you saved, should be spent on these.
Second tip: These rifles shoot 165 Federal Fusion at 3/4 moa 5 round groups. But here's the real fun trick. This ammo is less expensive than the Federal Gold and for first sight in, works very well. Plus it gives you a possible hunting ammo. The best part is after you sight in with this ammo. One click up and you're sighted in for 168 Federal Gold.

Get a firearm torque screwdriver. Set the two stock/action screws between 50-65. This rifle has an aluminum bedding block. Put some G96 in there and then crank it down. Both being equal seems to be more important than the actual tightness.

Overall the 5R is a great rifle that shoots fantastically right out of the box. There are many accounts reporting the same results with these rifles. The ones that don't shoot are the exception not the norm. Use the match ammo as your baseline. Too often I see people go straight to reloading without ever realizing what the rifle is actually capable of without reloads. Sometimes their reloads are nowhere near as accurate.

Look up 5R milspec and R5 milspec (sometimes listed wrong). Note that 168 Federal gold is a constant with these rifles. There are of course other loads that are great too, but this one is very easy and can give you instant feedback. Be careful of advice on general Remington 700 rifles. Because contrary to what is often stated, I don't find them to all be the same. With the 5R I have never felt the need to replace the barrel. In fact mine is stock except for the trigger being lowered. Even then my best group was actually with the factory 5 lbs trigger. It was still very crisp. So save your money and just get the rifle setup first.
 
Epoxy7 said:
The above is good advice for the 5R.

There is a lot of misinformation regarding the 5R out there. The first is Remington's all shoot the same, you need a match grade barrel etc etc. Yet the 5R has pretty much universal approval for being more accurate than the normal Remington. Essentially you are getting a match barrel for free. I love shooting my 5R rifle. It makes me look good. Pure and simply it shoots exceptionally well.

The constants with the 5R are that they shoot 168 Federal Gold exceptionally well. 175 as well and is recommended for further distances or on days with a bit of wind. The bottom line is with this ammo these rifles are excellent shooters. I haven't felt the need to buy a custom rifle due to how well this rifle shoots.

Some tips: First get good glass and good rings. The money you saved, should be spent on these.
Second tip: These rifles shoot 165 Federal Fusion at 3/4 moa 5 round groups. But here's the real fun trick. This ammo is less expensive than the Federal Gold and for first sight in, works very well. Plus it gives you a possible hunting ammo. The best part is after you sight in with this ammo. One click up and you're sighted in for 168 Federal Gold.

Get a firearm torque screwdriver. Set the two stock/action screws between 50-65. This rifle has an aluminum bedding block. Put some G96 in there and then crank it down. Both being equal seems to be more important than the actual tightness.

Overall the 5R is a great rifle that shoots fantastically right out of the box. There are many accounts reporting the same results with these rifles. The ones that don't shoot are the exception not the norm. Use the match ammo as your baseline. Too often I see people go straight to reloading without ever realizing what the rifle is actually capable of without reloads. Sometimes their reloads are nowhere near as accurate.

Look up 5R milspec and R5 milspec (sometimes listed wrong). Note that 168 Federal gold is a constant with these rifles. There are of course other loads that are great too, but this one is very easy and can give you instant feedback. Be careful of advice on general Remington 700 rifles. Because contrary to what is often stated, I don't find them to all be the same. With the 5R I have never felt the need to replace the barrel. In fact mine is stock except for the trigger being lowered. Even then my best group was actually with the factory 5 lbs trigger. It was still very crisp. So save your money and just get the rifle setup first.
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I took over a year to choose a rifle to enter precision shooting with, mostly because I lacked sufficient funds.

I looked at Savage, Accuracy International, Steyr, Kimber, and I settled on the Remington 700 R5, because it seemed to have the best reviews and value for the money.

I was lucky enough to get a lightly used one off CGN, that came with Leupold glass and mounts and Harris bipod. I know that there are plenty of better rifles but they're way out of my budget.

Appreciate the info, and glad to hear about all your success with the R5 rifle. All the best.
 
BigBeaverBoomStix said:
I took over a year to choose a rifle to enter precision shooting with, mostly because I lacked sufficient funds.

I looked at Savage, Accuracy International, Steyr, Kimber, and I settled on the Remington 700 R5, because it seemed to have the best reviews and value for the money.

I was lucky enough to get a lightly used one off CGN, that came with Leupold glass and mounts and Harris bipod. I know that there are plenty of better rifles but they're way out of my budget.

Appreciate the info, and glad to hear about all your success with the R5 rifle. All the best.
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You made a good choice. As for "better" rifles out there. Maybe. I've shot alongside $3000 custom rifles and I didn't feel out of place. My rifle was a sleeper "tactical rifle". Ie it doesn't look like what it really is. If any of the rumours of the 5R are true, the barrels were off the M24 line ie M24 tooling, the actions while not custom shop have been rumoured to be assembled there. Either way they shoot well. I happen to also like the look and finish on them.

My only regret with this rifle is that I rarely get out to shoot it these days.

5R-2.jpg


I have my first two targets from this rifle saved. Shot on different days. A sight in/fouling shot before shooting for 5 round groups. Almost no wind (Rare perfect conditions). With 168 Federal Gold at 100 yards. I've also found no difference with first shot and subsequent groups. 5 rounds without a sighter or fouler will still yield sub .5 moa. These targets aren't flukes with this rifle. This is consistent. Also sub 1" at 200 yards. I haven't shot for groups at 300, but have nailed a golf ball sized rock, once called out by Fireball during a range day at 300 meteres. Dead on. Yes it's a fun rifle.

5R-target-3.jpg


5R-target-4.jpg
 
I should also add that I put together a Desert R :) . A ways back I bought a barely used 5R without the stock from the EE (Also one of the 666 serial numbered actions :cool: ) . The VSF tan/black stock is the exact same as the green/black model on the 5R and VSSF II. So I was able to make one with a subdued stainless/tan and black webbed stock. It looks pretty cool. Unfortunately my AR bug kicked up again with some must have items came up so it's been neglected and isn't scoped yet.
 
I also love mine very very much!!! Starting reloading next Tuesday when my rcbs kit show up!(phophetriver)
My buddy who had one suggested hornady 178gr bthp... for factory ammo ive tired a couple and ive found the hornady 168gr match bthp really good and well priced
 
I have been looking at purchasing one of these rifles, although there are only two available to me locally, both .300WinMag. One with the 24" threaded muzzle, and the other is a 26" barrel. Just looking for some advice/insight into if a .300WinMag would be as accurate as the .308 counterpart.

Cheers, Monk.
 
MonkOnAToilet said:
I have been looking at purchasing one of these rifles, although there are only two available to me locally, both .300WinMag. One with the 24" threaded muzzle, and the other is a 26" barrel. Just looking for some advice/insight into if a .300WinMag would be as accurate as the .308 counterpart.

Cheers, Monk.
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The .308 should have a 24" barrel with no threading and the .300 win mag should have a 26" barrel without threading.
 
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