Building a precision target/hunting rifle on a budget

B

blueskies

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I wanted to build an accurate rifle that could be used for target shooting as well as hunting without breaking the bank.

The first thing I had to decide on was the rifle. After some research I chose a Remington 700 as a rifle proven for its accuracy and reliability and also not very expensive. I bought a new 700 SPS Tactical from Wanstalls on sale for $599.

The second thing I had to choose was the calibre. I eventually decided on .308 as a good all purpose round. 308 is large enough for hunting most North American animals, is an accurate round and is feely available and less expensive than some of the other large calibre ammunition.

I then had to choose a scope. I found a nice Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x40 on the EE for $300.

A Harris bipod also purchased on the EE completed the package.

In total it cost just over $1,000 to build the rifle.

The obvious question is how does it shoot? Surprisingly good actually. With the right ammunition I can get sub 1 MOA groups.

I was at the Port Coquitlam range today and it was interesting what a difference the ammunition makes. At first I tried American Eagle 150gr. SP and my I grouped at about 2 ¼”. I then tried Federal 150 gr. SP and I grouped at 1 ½”. I then used Federal Gold Medal Sierra Match King 169 gr. BTHP and my group closed to just under 1”. I think I may have gotten even closer but my last couple of shots were rushed at it was one minute to cease fire.

All these groups are with five rounds at 100 yards. If I went with three round groups instead my groups would be smaller.

Better shooters than I have managed to get sub ½” groups with this rifle.

http://w ww.snipercentral.com/spstactical.htm

The reason I relate this story is for the guys that would like to get into precision shooting but don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a rifle and scope. If you research your equipment and buy on sale or on the EE you can set up a one MOA rifle for around $1,000.

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Now here's a guy with my kind of approach... the cheaper way around the "Arms Race". I like to read this inspiring stuff because many members here are single parent(s), Post Sec students on a budget, multiple discipline or hobby folks, et all. It's all good!

Keep those range reports coming! :)

Heeere kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty! :D

:cheers:

Barney
 
This doesn't look like a build. Looks like you bought a factory rifle and threw a scope on it. I am not trying to be rude but simply stating the obvious. That's a great action to start out with and upgrade if you ever choose to do so.
 
Please reduce the size of your pictures. 1958 x 1214 is far too big. This page will take until New Years to load for a dail-up member.
The match ammo makes a huge difference. Reloading will keep it there.
 
Looks pretty good. I did something very similar as well.
All my parts were bought used from the EE with the exception of my
scope rings and bipod which I already had.

Rem 700 SPS Varmint heavy barrel in 243win, HS Precision Remington take off stock, Leupold VX-II 6x18 with target turrets.

Looks like all you need now is a tactical bolt handle. I had one installed by ATR and it looks and feels great. Much better than opening the bolt with the tip of your fingers.

Nice shooting!
 
That is a great pick for a all round hunting and target shooting rifle there are many add on parts for this line of rifles.I have fired few rilfes in time and .308 win. is aways a good shooter.And I do love the big pics it gives you a good idea on how this gun shoots.
 
Handloading

Thats a decent starter rig, your next step would be to think about handloading , proper handlaoded ammo tuned to you rifle will go along way in getting the best groups from your rifle.
 
You are off and running! You have invested in a very good platform for making incremental improvement to precision. I suggest running some Federal Gold medal Match ammo in there and see how it shoots.

You will likely find that heavier and longer bullets such as 168 gains and above will work best.

Machinist is absolutely correct. You will rapidly reach an accuracy plateau with factory ammo, and getting into reloading will be a prefect next step.

Give some thought to coming out to one of Mission's F-Class matches in the Spring, or even their "Club 300" where you can shoot with others who are trying to achieve accuracy at 300 yards. You would be a perfect candidate to participate the "Factory Sporter" Class in an F-Class match. If you can keep it under 1MOA, you can do very well.

Good luck
 
A tactical bolt handle would be a good idea as the hangle right now almost touches the scope.

Is this something I could do myself or is it a gunsmith job and do you about how much it costs?

Mad_Mikee said:
Looks pretty good. I did something very similar as well.
All my parts were bought used from the EE with the exception of my
scope rings and bipod which I already had.

Rem 700 SPS Varmint heavy barrel in 243win, HS Precision Remington take off stock, Leupold VX-II 6x18 with target turrets.

Looks like all you need now is a tactical bolt handle. I had one installed by ATR and it looks and feels great. Much better than opening the bolt with the tip of your fingers.

Nice shooting!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, I tried the 168 gr Federal match ammo and it is very accurate in this rifle.

I am interested in checking out the F-Class matches you mentioned. Is there a place I can get more information on this?

Obtunded said:
You are off and running! You have invested in a very good platform for making incremental improvement to precision. I suggest running some Federal Gold medal Match ammo in there and see how it shoots.

You will likely find that heavier and longer bullets such as 168 gains and above will work best.

Machinist is absolutely correct. You will rapidly reach an accuracy plateau with factory ammo, and getting into reloading will be a prefect next step.

Give some thought to coming out to one of Mission's F-Class matches in the Spring, or even their "Club 300" where you can shoot with others who are trying to achieve accuracy at 300 yards. You would be a perfect candidate to participate the "Factory Sporter" Class in an F-Class match. If you can keep it under 1MOA, you can do very well.

Good luck
Click to expand...
 
Drop me an email and I will provide you with the contact info for the guy that organizes that stuff in Mission. You can also go to the Mission and District Rod and Gun Club website.

"Machinist" is a lean-mean-F-Class-machine as well. He is a fantastic fellow to get to know and I am sure he would be more than willing to introduce you around and make you feel at home.

Anyway, drop me a line.

Ian

riflebarrels@telus.net
 
Mission

I am usually at the Mission range every Saturday AM practicing at 300 with other f class shooters , Come on out and we will show you the ropes , the first match of the season is newbie friendly and the sporter class would be a good place for you to learn and improve your skills. If you are coming out to shoot send me a pm. TACTICAL bolt knob ? Is for esthetics only it will do absolutly nothing to Improve your rifles accuracy ,put your money towards a good set of dies and some reloading equipment or have your rifle bedded that's what will help improve your groups .
 
A tactical bolt handle?

The next thing I'd be saving for is an after market precision stock. Bedded properly and with reloads, plently of guys shrink their groups down to the .5moa and .75moa bracket. Stick to handloads and you can shoot a lot more for less.
 
Mission

Stephen ( blue skies ) came out to Mission last Saturday to shoot with me , i showed him how the F-class scoreing works and gave him a few pointers on shooting from prone , i put one of the ICFRA 300 targets up for him and he shot quite well with his factory ammo and rifle , Keep up the practise Stephen and you will be ready for the first match of the season.:)
 
I know I am going to get flamed for this and I am not trying to start a fight here. BUT the groups you show are great for a hunting rifle but are not even close to a target rifle. If you are ever going to be competitive you need to be down close to .25 MOA groups. You may get down to .5 MOA with some good loads but to be competitive you will need to do some work on your gun. Having said that you made a very good choice for a basic platform and there are lots of things you can do to your gun that will help you get much smaller groups. Just to give you an idea of what it takes to really be considered good the is a older gentleman in our small town that shoots competavly that shot at 200 yards a 5 shot .21 group and that is not MOA that's a group that was .21 of an inch larger than his bullet 6mm bullet hole. I am not even close but am having fun trying I am sure you can do the same. I have found it very humbling to shoot next to some of the guys that can really shoot and have the tools to do it. The bad news is most of the time unless you just get very lucky with a gun that just shoots well. The difference between .5 MOA consistently and .25 MOA consistently tends to be over a $1000.00 and a fair bit of triger time at the range. But like I said you have very good start.
 
I picked up an old Winchester 70 in 308 off the EE two years ago for 400 bucks, put an EGW base on it, topped it with a Nikon and it shoots 175/ 178 gr loads with consistent MOA accuracy out past past 500 yards. Something like 800 pesos all in and I wouldn't change a thing... except possibly turn it into a 6.5x55 someday. Cost to performance ratio is the winning formula!
 
I like those stories too, and it looks like a well-chosen package, but that was a smokin' deal on the scope, you saved about $150 or so there and the rifle is now $300 more at Wanstall's so it would be tough for others to duplicate that.
 
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