Range Report: New 700 5R Build

[RangerPark]

Hello Everyone!

I just completed my new Remington 700 build and I thought I'd share. I'm very excited about this one and can't wait to take it to the range. Built almost entirely from parts from site sponsors, they were all awesome to deal with.

Action and Barrel: Remington 700 Milspec 5R Gen2, .308, 24" fluted SS barrel, 1:11.25" twist, cerakoted black, tactical bolt knob. Got this beauty from CanadaAmmo. Best looking action and barrel I've ever seen on a stock Remington 700. Cerakote finish is top notch, much nicer than their regular blued finish. Tactical bolt knob is a nice touch. The flutes seem to add more rigidity to the barrel than they take away weight. At 24" with flutes the action and barrel weigh about the same as my 26" varmint bull barrel with action. Will have to use a scale to really compare.

Stock: The 5R Milspec comes with an H&S stock, similar to what's been used on the Sendero models. Nice stock but unfortunately Remington insists on making "tactical" rifles without a proper DBM. So I put the setup in a Magpul Hunter 700 Stock with DBM from a previous build. That was from RDSC. Always really liked that stock, perfect ergonomics for me. Also the H&S stock was actually painted tan instead of made that way. The grey stock on the Sendero is molded that color and feels much nicer.

Scope: Vortex 6-24x50 PST FFP. Used on a previous build. Been happy with it but I will eventually look to upgrade. From SFRC.

Base and rings: DNZ Game Reaper mounts. Always loved those. Had to order them from Amazon. Too bad no one sells them in Canada...

Muzzle Break: Precision Armament M41. From CTCS. Never used a muzzle break before. The barrel was threaded from the factory so I figured I'd give it a try. I've shot enough .308 to know I don't need a muzzle break, then again I don't need a Ferrari either, but given the opportunity... Read really good reviews about the M41, excited to give it a try.

Bipod: Atlas PSR. From Wolverine Supplies. New for this build. Really nice and sturdy. A bit of sticker shock, but I stopped counting at this point. Mounted on an M-LOK aluminium rail. Can't wait to try it out.

So she's all ready to go. I don't get to hit the range until Monday. I'm going to spend the weekend preparing some hand loads for it.

Cheers!

 

[Tomochan]

Very nice - be interested in see a range report.

 

[rickspeed]

Looks awesome...

 

[RangerPark]

Forgot to mention, TriggerTech trigger from GP Tactical. Those guys are awesome. They're running a Hunter 700 sale right now too. Too bad I paid full price for mine...

 

[223submoa]

Very nice. I'm loving my trigger tech trigger. What's your first impression of the pmag? I'm thinking about ordering one for my aics.

 

[RangerPark]

Very nice. I'm loving my trigger tech trigger. What's your first impression of the pmag? I'm thinking about ordering one for my aics.

The Magpul DBM and PMAGs are very nice. You have to be careful loading for the mags. I load at 2.830" COAL, .030" over SAAMI, and sometimes the tip of the bullet will catch under the feeding ramp on the first round. I've read about milling or filing the ramp a bit but I won't be doing that for now. This isn't anything with the mag really, more with the 700 feeding ramp I think. It also only happens on the first round, only with longer than spec reloads. I'm looking into Accurage Mags that allow 2.950 COAL to load longer boat tail bullets. Milling the ramp will likely be necessary.

 

[RangerPark]

Range Report

I was at the range this morning, I couldn't wait until Monday! Results were simply amazing. The rifle took about 20 rounds to break in and to start to group. The whole thing was a pleasure to shoot. The Magpul Hunter 700 and DBM were solid. The Atlas PSR took some getting used to but it was a very solid performer also. I won't review every component separately but I'll be glad to answer your questions if you have any.

The first group of the day worth talking about, Lake City XM80 surplus ammo, 0.788 MOA group, not too shabby for surplus ammo!

This group is from reloads from my previous .308, brass was fire formed to the previous chamber, .432 MOA group, 185 Bergers, good start!

Next we have more groups with the Berger 185, a small ladder I had prepared for my previous rifle, .400, .421" and .762 MOA. The .421 group had two bullets in the same hole and the .762 group had what looks like a flyer, still pretty good!

I also fired a .790" group with Federal Fusion 180gr, don't have a picture of that one, it also had a flyer.

And the group of the day goes to... 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP?!?! Those are the "cheap" bullets I use for plinking and then keep the brass! .294 MOA group! There was likely some luck involved, but I'll still take the credit for it!

Looks like the hype around the 700 5R is justified. Can't wait to see what the rifle is capable of with proper reloads, particularly using brass that was fire formed for this rifle instead of a different one. Maybe this will be a 1/4 MOA rifle, we'll see... I've been shooting mostly 180 gr and heavier bullets, the group with the 150gr Win XP makes me want to try some 155gr Lapua Scenars.

I'm one happy camper over here and I had to share. Cheers!

 

[RangerPark]

Range Report: Update

I hit the range again this morning. This time I got over the excitement of firing a new gun and paid more attention to my setup routine and follow through.

18 groups in total. .227 MOA being the best, with the majority of the groups near or under .500 MOA. It was a good day. This gun definitely likes the Berger 185's. The Atlas PSR is tricky to use for grouping, less than perfect technique opens up the groups with flyers. Enough groups near the .300's to give me good hope once I start reloading brass fire formed to this gun.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Was the mirage running Left to Right? Was the wind varying intensity and direction?

Were you using the same point of aim on each target?

Great shooting and some very tight groups. Retest with fireformed brass.

Yes, using a wiggly bipod is most definitely a learnt skill.

Jerry

 

[RangerPark]

Was the mirage running Left to Right? Was the wind varying intensity and direction?

Were you using the same point of aim on each target?

Great shooting and some very tight groups. Retest with fireformed brass.

Yes, using a wiggly bipod is most definitely a learnt skill.

Jerry

I had no noticeable mirage. I was taking at least 60 seconds between shots. There was quite a bit of wind, mostly the same direction, it was strong enough to flip the pages of my notebook, I'm sure it picked up a couple of rounds.

I was using the same point of aim for each shot however I was also running a ladder from 41.8 gr to 43.4 gr of IMR 4064. Had good groups with all the steps, will run my next ladder from 42.8 to 44.

 

[RangerPark]

I update the build with some new glass, Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56 MOAR with Nightforce 20 moa one piece base ring combo, very excited to try it out this weekend. The Vortex PST 6-24x50 that was on it is now on the .308 build I have for sale.