Jumping in to the fire...

[mikeyb]

Sign me up for another addiction in the realm of explosive percussion.

Just got off the phone with a vendor, sometime early in the new year I should see my shiny (well, matte) new Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .223 show up on my doorstep. It will be my first rifle bought specifically for punching paper at range - I have a few handguns I bought for that reason but no rifles.

I figure it should be a fun gun to learn long range shooting on with mild recoil, cheap ammo (I already shoot .223 in my VZ 58), and less noise over my big hunting rifles. Also should be able to drop yotes with confidence, especially with that handy barrel length.

Now I need a rail and scope/rings.

Then I need an "app for that".

Then I need a stock.

Then I need DBM with new bottom metal.

Then I need a trigger.

Then I need a bipod.

Then I need a tactical blanket to lay on.

Then I need a ghillie suit.

Am I doing this right?

 

[Tikka223]

I'd say rail / scope / rings ... AND reloading gear! Without the reloads you'll never get the full potential out of the rifle.

 

[mikeyb]

I reload already for my VZ among others, so I'm good to go there, I suppose I'll have to keep my brass separate though since I have only a neck sizing die. Also I use "whatever's cheap" for those reloads because seriously, VZ's are nothing to write home about accuracy wise (fun by the truckload though)!

I will probably go for a standard rail for now since I've never shot anything past 200 yards on a range. On the other hand, a lot of stuff I'm reading is saying "just go 20 MOA and be done with it" so more reading is in order. I suspect I'll spend a lot of time shooting at 100 and 200 for the next year at least so I don't want to be in a situation where I can't adjust for 100 yards because the rail has too much MOA built in.

Scope-wise probably a Bushy 10x or 5-15x unless there is something better I should be looking at in the low end, those two seem to get recommended a lot. I suck at scopes though. How about Burris? Vortex? There's probably others I'm missing out on.

Rings, no idea. I usually use Burris Zee on my hunting guns, I suppose those are decent for a .223? Is there any play with the inserts that may not be evident at 200 but would be at 500?

 

[Ganderite]

Your scope will need an adjustable objective. otherwise you will have significant parallax error.

 

[supernova]

Go 20 moa off the bat, when you start stretching it out you'll need it. You can still zero at 100 but you'll have an extra 20 moa of elevation. Few scopes can handle being maxed out without having problems and none of them are in your budget. It annoyed me to remove my 0 moa rail and buy a new 20 moa rail, I would have gone 20 from the get go if I'd known better. The Bushnell 10X is a very good scope for the money. At 100 yds I find its not far behind my Nightforce for clarity. Long range is another story but for a new shooter they give you what you need to learn. Good glass and internals but no parralax adjustment.

 

[tiriaq]

I see that you have a long list of pricey bells and whistles.

You are buying a rifle with a factory barrel. It may be outstanding. It may be average. It may not be worth ornamenting with all the cool accessories.

Get a decent scope. Mount it with decent rings and bases. Buy, or load some quality ammunition. Test the rifle very carefully, and determine if the basic accuracy potential is such that enhancements are worthwhile.

Your list didn't mention an extended bolt handle. Aren't these also a must have?

 

[paperslayer]

Secrets of achieving precision: good barrel, good ammo, good shooter. All the rest is window dressing. but....Spend money on glass - lots of money on glass. Then get reloading....when you get as good as you can get with that, order a new barrel and you will be opened up to an entirely different world.

 

[mikeyb]

Actually, the list of "things to get" is mostly meant as a joke, but I can see how easy it is to let things spiral out of control. My focus right now is getting the right scope in the right mounting system, then burning off some .223 to get it dialed in.

There's a great Youtube series on this rifle from 8541 Tactical, they made a budget build that did sorta well (he called himself out on a few mistakes). I was leaning towards their build but they went with a Weaver base which I'm assuming is 0 MOA and the Bushnell 10x. I suppose that would be a good starter config but I'd rather spend once glass-wise and get something I can grow into. I bought the rifle with the intention of using it as a learning tool first and foremost, but I'd hate to have all the lessons be expensive ones.