Decision on purchasing my first firearm.

d1ce

d1ce

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I just received my rpal and I want to make my first firearm purchase. I'm looking right now for a Remington 700 sps tactical AAC-SD edition because of the threaded barrel. It seems to be a good rifle to begin with for precision shooting. But its out of stock almost everywhere. Anyone knows where it sells for the lowest pricetag?


I have not looked for other brands, I heard Sako's are good because their action is smooth as butter, but they are not cheap.

d1ce.
 
I'm looking right now for a Remington 700 sps tactical AAC-SD edition because of the threaded barrel.
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That would be the absolute last thing that I would consider, if I was choosing a rifle. The action , barrel, stock and trigger are factors where accuracy is concerned, threading the barrel contributes nothing of value.
 
stubblejumper said:
That would be the absolute last thing that I would consider, if I was choosing a rifle. The action , barrel, stock and trigger are factors where accuracy is concerned, threading the barrel contributes nothing of value.
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Im not choosing this rifle based only on the muzzle thread, mainly because its a special edition of sps tactical which its abit more expensive than the original one without muzzle thread. Since I would add accessoires to it later, buying a standard sps tactical and rethread a new barrel will be expensive at the end. AFAIK it has excellent accuracy out of box and a heavy 1-10 twist barrel, ####ty stock but theres a lot of aftermarket stuff. trigger? i dunno much though.
 
Precision shooting is about controlling variables. The silly bugger ad ons such as the threaded barrel, oversized bolt handles, fancy bottom metals with big magazines are a waste of time. Spend the extra money on reloading components. Different barrels were developed with different loads. This you'll need to dial in yourself. Get a regular 700 SPS or a Savage or something to get you going. When you can push 500 metres(which is pretty far for even the average shooter) then drop tons of coin down on the extras. I find that the fit up of the stock is more important then a threaded barrel. The houge stocks are great on shotguns. I never liked it on a rifle. It's very gratifying to be able to hit something past 500-600 metres and be consistent.
 
d1ce said:
AFAIK it has excellent accuracy out of box and a heavy 1-10 twist barrel, ####ty stock but theres a lot of aftermarket stuff. trigger? i dunno much though.
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It MAY have ecellent accuracy. I've been lucky, never had a bad shooting rifle that I bought for punching paper. I'd save my money and get the plain jane SPS Tac or 10/12 (insert model desigantion here) Savage. The real question is how much do you want to spend. As little as possible, get a Remington or Savage with a heavy barrel. Tactical or Varmint it's all pretty much the same in 308, if your interested in a .223 (and you should be) some of the Remington Varmint models have a slower twist rate (limits you to 60gr projectiles). Don't forget the Glass, about $500 min is what you should spend. The guys with deeper pockets (or the debt of a small country) will insist you need a NF, S&B, or whatever. If your rich bypass the cheap scope but if not I've been really happy with my Bushnell 4200 and my Burris FF 30. If you have the money to spend forget the Sako, get a Tikka Sporter. Bottom line, sit down and figure out what is the absolute most you can spend and go from there. The more you spend the less you'll have to compromise.
 
You REALLY need to decide what you want exactly before buying anything. Hunting, tactical, competition, plinking etc. Most hunting rifles can plink and shoot 300 yards no problem. If you want a tack driving 400 yard hunting rifle that looks tactical, I would still get a hunting rifle. Heavy barrel rifles are freaking heavy to hunt with if your out for hours, not practical at all. Seriously, consider used if you see something you want. I wouldn't consider the threaded muzzle a plus at all unless it was a big gun or wanted to see chucks blow up.

What exactly do you want this rifle to do?
 
Precision shooting is about controlling variables. The silly bugger ad ons such as the threaded barrel, oversized bolt handles, fancy bottom metals with big magazines are a waste of time.
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But some people just want to look Tacticool, even if they would be a lot farther ahead accuracy wise, spending the money on a better barrel, stock,trigger, scope, or on reloading components, so that they can afford to shoot more.
 
I dont hunt, only target shooting or long range shooting. I already have the reloading kit for 308. I just want to have a good starter combination for target shooting.

So far in the shoping cart:

sps tactical 308
millett trs-1 with burris xtreme rings
EGW 20moa base mount
harris bipod

ill be keeping the original stock for awhile. and maybe some diy stuff on it.

im not a tacticool guy, i just want to hit a quarter sized hole in 100yards.
 
You're not going to regret purchasing the Remington, I can guarantee that! I have the AAC-SD as well, and it's a fun and accurate shooter for sure. Quarter sized holes at 100 yards are a regular occurrence for me, and I suck! lol
Sure, you'll want to upgrade the stock eventually, but it will be far easier to do so with a Remington than with a Tikka or Sako. Easier, and WAY cheaper. ;)

The vast aftermarket available for Remington rifles is a huge plus, and it's what swayed me from my other choices when I was debating and researching. For me, it came down to the Tikka T3 Lite and the Remington 700 SPS Tactical or AAC-SD. The Tikka is by all reports a better shooter out of the box, but the available aftermarket is much smaller and more expensive from what I've seen. If you never plan on modifying your rifle, get the Tikka. Slightly higher initial purchase cost, but you don't have to touch it to have a great shooter.

...However, if you're anything like me and you can never leave something untouched and/or unmodified; go Remington. Parts and accessories are plentiful and affordable, and it's easy to customize your rifle to suit your needs.



To touch on glass quickly, may I offer my .02? There's nothing wrong with the Millett TRS-1, it's a decent scope for the money. With that said, the old adage of "buy once, cry once" definitely holds true when it comes to rifle scopes. My wallet was feeling a bit bruised after buying my rifle, bipod and case, so I went for more of a "price point" scope to help ease the pain and meet the budget I had set. Pro-tip: That nice scope you've been eyeballing that costs twice as much as the one in your hand? Buy it. I didn't do that initially, and ended up climbing up in quality until I found a scope I liked, all the while losing time and money along the way.
I found happiness in a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50. It was a little over a grand with rings, which was double what I wanted to spend...but happiness is paramount!


Pictures because pictures are good...


IMG-20130328-00022.jpg
 
big_loaf said:
Sure, you'll want to upgrade the stock eventually, but it will be far easier to do so with a Remington than with a Tikka or Sako. Easier, and WAY cheaper. ;)
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I'm not so sure upgrading a Remington is any cheaper than upgrading a Sako because the Sako does not need upgrading. The Sako trigger needs no upgrade, nor does the barrel or the varminter stock. Eventually you may shoot out the barrel and then replacing that is the same cost as a Remmy. The lock time on a Sako is faster, the magazine is great.

Unless we are talking 40XB the Sako will almost always be more accurate out of the box.

If a guy wants a Mcmillan or other custom stock, the inletting cost is the same for Rem or Sako.

So... I would say there are far more over the counter upgrade options for Remington but I don't see where the end result is any cheaper.

I'm sure I'll draw fire for this, but overall shooting experience between my Sako and Remmy is like comparing a fine car to a farm tractor. I often shoot my Rem and once in a while I shoot my good rifle. Since I have both I believe that's a fair statement.
 
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BadAsMo said:
I'm not so sure upgrading a Remington is any cheaper than upgrading a Sako because the Sako does not need upgrading. The Sako trigger needs no upgrade, nor does the barrel or the varminter stock. Eventually you may shoot out the barrel and then replacing that is the same cost as a Remmy. The lock time on a Sako is faster, the magazine is great.

Unless we are talking 40XB the Sako will almost always be more accurate out of the box.

If a guy wants a Mcmillan or other custom stock, the inletting cost is the same for Rem or Sako.

So... I would say there are far more over the counter upgrade options for Remington but I don't see where the end result is any cheaper.

I'm sure I'll draw fire for this, but overall shooting experience between my Sako and Remmy is like comparing a fine car to a farm tractor. I often shoot my Rem and once in a while I shoot my good rifle. Since I have both I believe that's a fair statement.
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I completely agree with you on that one, though I was more referring to the initial purchase price with the available aftermarket as a nice option to have. Since I enjoy modifying most things in my collection to some extent, I chose the Remington over the Tikka. Will I end up spending more on upgrading my Remington than buying a new Tikka T3 and leaving it alone? Absolutely, but I'm okay with that. :)
 
d1ce said:
I dont hunt, only target shooting or long range shooting. I already have the reloading kit for 308. I just want to have a good starter combination for target shooting.

So far in the shoping cart:

sps tactical 308
millett trs-1 with burris xtreme rings
EGW 20moa base mount
harris bipod

ill be keeping the original stock for awhile. and maybe some diy stuff on it.

im not a tacticool guy, i just want to hit a quarter sized hole in 100yards.
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It appears you just want us to confirm your own desire to purchase this rifle. The fact you are buying Millet-anything tells me you need to spend much more time educating yourself.
 
I prefer the 5R milspec over the SPS tac. The ones I have and others I have shot have been solid sub .5 moa rifles out of the box. 168 Federal Gold along with good optics and you're set to go. Easiest setup out of the box. Mine is stock except I did have the trigger weight lowered. I don't feel out gunned even though there are fancier rifles out there costing a lot more. The 5R shoots and the quality I actually like. I like the bead blast stainless finish with the HS stock.
 
I second the 5R or a Sendero if you are serious into precision shooting and if Remington is your preferred brand otherwise Savage offers best bang of the buck and if budget is not an issue Sako TRG or Tikka super varmint are exc rifles but the later two has less aftermarket accessories and if you like customising then you can't go wrong with the 700 action tons of aftermarket parts and support but the draw back is you can easily drop thousands of dollar into one single rifle.
 
Epoxy7 said:
I prefer the 5R milspec over the SPS tac. The ones I have and others I have shot have been solid sub .5 moa rifles out of the box. 168 Federal Gold along with good optics and you're set to go. Easiest setup out of the box. Mine is stock except I did have the trigger weight lowered. I don't feel out gunned even though there are fancier rifles out there costing a lot more. The 5R shoots and the quality I actually like. I like the bead blast stainless finish with the HS stock.
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HS precision HTR .308 all the way!!!
 
Remingtons are alright, but I wouldn't buy one bassed on the hinged floorplate design. Mag's only for this shooter.
As it seems you're looking for a designated target shooter, I think you should be looking at something that is maybe glass bedded/ free floating.
 
I shoot better .... I shoot berger .... And that means my rounds rarly fit the mag anyway...

To the op, good choice on rifle. Not sure why ur so set on the threaded barrel? But the Sps tac is a good rifle. If you ever get in to hunting they are a joy to carry for an accurate rifle. I had one with me when my wife got her first buck.
 
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