Remington 700 build?

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RielM

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Setting up my first rifle that I hope to start using at "longer" ranges than my hunting rifle. I am on a moderate budget I suppose, considering what can be spent on that activity. I need a left handed action and I think I want to go with .308 because I am already invested in reloading for it and I like the economical and flexibility options.
So far I have a HS Precision lefty bedded stock for a R700 SA with a factory varmint barrel contour. I am considering just picking up a LH SPS Varmint in .308 and putting it into the stock to get started at $899. Is this a good option? It gives me a platform that I can upgrade later if I want. On the other hand should I consider building something up right from the start with better parts?
 
IMHO it's a good start and smart move sticking to the 308 since you have the reloading dies etc - going with another caliber will get expensive quick - shoot 2-3k rounds fine tune your LRS skills then decide if switching calibers is a good idea. Was trying to sell my Axis with approx 850 rounds - had zero issues aside from the magazine plastic piece breaking - was looking at the Weatherby in 308 as my next choice.
 
Each to their own of course. For long range shooting and keeping the budget in mind, I went Tikka T3.

With the Remington you will need to true the action, you will need an after market trigger group, stock is optional, you will need a barrel , these all cost $$$.

With the Tikka, the action needs nothing, a Yodave trigger spring,<$30 delivered, will give you a match grade trigger, a Talley 20 moa rail is ~$100 as are Burris Signature Zee rings, if the Tikka is a Varmint model, they make them in 308 Win, you will get a barrel that is comparable to any match grade item from the aftermarket, if it is a regular hunter accuracy is usually very very good.

For example , I purchased a new donor Tikka T3, installed a Benchmark #5 barrel, YoDave spring, asked a friend to bed the stock, installed a rail, use Zee rings. This is a 0.4moa set up.
 
BCBRAD said:
Each to their own of course. For long range shooting and keeping the budget in mind, I went Tikka T3.

With the Remington you will need to true the action, you will need an after market trigger group, stock is optional, you will need a barrel , these all cost $$$.

With the Tikka, the action needs nothing, a Yodave trigger spring,<$30 delivered, will give you a match grade trigger, a Talley 20 moa rail is ~$100 as are Burris Signature Zee rings, if the Tikka is a Varmint model, they make them in 308 Win, you will get a barrel that is comparable to any match grade item from the aftermarket, if it is a regular hunter accuracy is usually very very good.

For example , I purchased a new donor Tikka T3, installed a Benchmark #5 barrel, YoDave spring, asked a friend to bed the stock, installed a rail, use Zee rings. This is a 0.4moa set up.
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He "needs" all that on the remington? Huh. Pretty sure he can make do. Upgrade the trigger for sure with a trigger tech, then shoot it. I have a sps varmint in 243 and i added the trigger and a better stock. Consistent 3/4 moa or less.
 
laker415 said:
He "needs" all that on the remington? Huh. Pretty sure he can make do. Upgrade the trigger for sure with a trigger tech, then shoot it. I have a sps varmint in 243 and i added the trigger and a better stock. Consistent 3/4 moa or less.
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No problem producing 3/4" groups at 200m with my R700 SPS (308) following a similar path. Trigger Tech and stock upgrade (and even those aren't required to produce good groups, but they do make it easier).
 
jparent said:
No problem producing 3/4" groups at 200m with my R700 SPS (308) following a similar path. Trigger Tech and stock upgrade (and even those aren't required to produce good groups, but they do make it easier).
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Yes lots of the Remington 700's will shoot really well. Lots of them struggle to hold MOA as well. They are getting better but I think there is a higher chance of a DUD with the 700 over the tikka.
I too suggest tikka for a good long range beginner rifle. A little bit more $$ up front but I believe that it is money well spent as the rifle will require fewer "must have" upgrades. Combined with a virtual guarantee of having a good barrel.
MDT sells scope rails for the 700 and the Tikka. I am very happy with everything I have seen from MDT.
 
It really depends what your budget is. Dropping a SPS into your HS Precision stock will be the most economical way to go. You can upgrade down the line if you like. If you don't like the trigger, you can send it to Guntech (Dennis Sorenson) and for $60 he'll tune it and it'll feel pretty much like a Trigger Tech. Rings, scope, rail, those will all cost the same whether you buy a Tikka or a Rem so no issues there. I say, get the Rem and work up a load for it and then start stretching her legs out. After a few thousand rounds you'll have a much better idea of what you want and don't want in a long range rig. Then you can get it re-barrelled in a different caliber if you like, or just get a match barrel in .308 spun up, get the action trued at the same time, maybe get a tac bolt knob put on. At the end of the day, you can't really go wrong by getting a Rem 700 and just shooting the hell out of it. You'll get much more from putting lots of rounds down range than by obsessing about what tweaks you want to do to it. The one thing I'd suggest though is getting one with a 1/10 twist barrel, preferably longer than 20". The 10 twist will stabilize the heavier pills that are better at long range and a longer barrel will give you more velocity which will help at distance.
 
jparent said:
No problem producing 3/4" groups at 200m with my R700 SPS (308) following a similar path. Trigger Tech and stock upgrade (and even those aren't required to produce good groups, but they do make it easier).
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Oh I am aware. I have 2 700s and have no problems with accuracy. I was just questioning the guy who gave a laundry list of things required to get it to shoot compared to his tikka that needed nothing.
 
laker415 said:
Oh I am aware. I have 2 700s and have no problems with accuracy. I was just questioning the guy who gave a laundry list of things required to get it to shoot compared to his tikka that needed nothing.
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Yeah, quote the wrong post. I was agreeing with you. ;)
 
laker415 said:
He "needs" all that on the remington? Huh. Pretty sure he can make do. Upgrade the trigger for sure with a trigger tech, then shoot it. I have a sps varmint in 243 and i added the trigger and a better stock. Consistent 3/4 moa or less.
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If your playing the long range game 3/4 moa is not going to cut it at all, in good conditions you will need <0.4 moa for 5 shot groups and <0.6 moa for 10 shot groups to be remotely competitive at 1000 yards.

Except for a barrel change out all the tweaks on the on the Tikka can be done at home , no gunsmith required.

A Tikka Varmint or Tactical in 308 Win will be a competitive shooter out of the box. I have one in 300 WM with a YoDave spring that will produce a 4" 5 shot group at 1048 yards in good conditions, even with its 1:11 twist Tikka/Sako barrel.

Then there is attention to your hand loads for long range shooting.
 
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jparent said:
No problem producing 3/4" groups at 200m with my R700 SPS (308) following a similar path. Trigger Tech and stock upgrade (and even those aren't required to produce good groups, but they do make it easier).
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I am calling pics or it didn't happen. I think 3 or 4 5 shot groups would suffice.

By my math that would be in the ~0.3MOA range which is a heck of a factory gun let alone a 700 SPS.
 
Alpheus said:
Nope.

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/04/15/how-much-does-group-size-matter/

3/4 moa is perfectly usable, I don't think the OP is competing in anything.
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That target is quite generous, thinking a 1 moa bull.

The premise of the original post is the OP has a stock he wants to build a target rifle around, the budget matters, I was just stating an avenue to keep the budget in line and at the same time have the best potential accuracy possible.

As skill levels increase 3/4 moa will be unacceptable.
 
That's exactly the article I was thinking of. This is where the type of precision shooting you do really drives how accurate you need. Since this is the "black and green" I would assume a consistent 0.75 MOA rifle is sufficient.

Some interesting thoughts from Jim See I read last week which, to me, are a very good standard for a non F-class type precision rifle:
"I say it all the time, my loads need to print 5 under 1/2", 10 under 3/4", and 20 under 1"..."

EDIT: here's the link - http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2017/04/how-much-accuracy-is-enough-what-works-for-your-discipline/
 
Ryan.M.Anderson said:
I am calling pics or it didn't happen. I think 3 or 4 5 shot groups would suffice.

By my math that would be in the ~0.3MOA range which is a heck of a factory gun let alone a 700 SPS.
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All i have at the moment on photobucket. I'll get some more next time i'm out.

This is with factory ammo. No load development. Just me shooting, no lead sled, just a bi-pod and what ever i have handy under the rear stock.

200 yrds



These aren't anything to write home about, but 400m in a wind, using holdovers and doping, using my iphone app for the calcs. I know the rifle will do better.





Remington SPS AAC-SD 16". Triggertech Trigger. Magpul Hunter Stock. Bushnell Elite LRS 3-12x.
 
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jparent said:
All i have at the moment on photobucket. I'll get some more next time i'm out.

This is with factory ammo. No load development. Just me shooting, no lead sled, just a bi-pod and what ever i have handy under the rear stock.

200 yrds



These aren't anything to write home about, but 400m in a wind, using holdovers and doping, using my iphone app for the calcs. I know the rifle will do better.





Remington SPS AAC-SD 16". Triggertech Trigger. Magpul Hunter Stock. Bushnell Elite LRS 3-12x.
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There is nothing wrong with the groups that you posted and I will always give props to guys shooting with a bipod and rear bag over a big sled but unfortunately the pictures do not show a .3 rifle.

I have a 5 round pocket group that measures .151 at 100M. I am very proud of the group but that unfortunately that does not make the gun a .15 gun. In reality, and in my hands, it is probably a .6 to .75 gun and in better hands it could do better. However, this is not a standard off the shelf 700. It is a custom gun screwed together by the Chou Brothers with some high end components and a good bit of load development.

I think this forum's members do a disservice to new guys when they say their stock "insert sub $1,000" gun shoots .25MOA all day long. Sure Tikka/Savage/Remington can turn out some gems but tack drivers they are not. A .25MOA gun all day long means every time you get behind the gun it is printing .25 groups.

If AIs/PGWs/TRGs/etc. are not .25 MOA all day long I doubt guns that cost a quarter of that can keep up.
 
Ryan.M.Anderson said:
There is nothing wrong with the groups that you posted and I will always give props to guys shooting with a bipod and rear bag over a big sled but unfortunately the pictures do not show a .3 rifle.

I have a 5 round pocket group that measures .151 at 100M. I am very proud of the group but that unfortunately that does not make the gun a .15 gun. In reality, and in my hands, it is probably a .6 to .75 gun and in better hands it could do better. However, this is not a standard off the shelf 700. It is a custom gun screwed together by the Chou Brothers with some high end components and a good bit of load development.

I think this forum's members do a disservice to new guys when they say their stock "insert sub $1,000" gun shoots .25MOA all day long. Sure Tikka/Savage/Remington can turn out some gems but tack drivers they are not. A .25MOA gun all day long means every time you get behind the gun it is printing .25 groups.

If AIs/PGWs/TRGs/etc. are not .25 MOA all day long I doubt guns that cost a quarter of that can keep up.
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Couldn't agree more. Go take a look at the 0.5MOA sticky challenge. Mighty short list considering all the tac driving Rems, tikkas and savages that shoot "sub 0.5MOA all day long"

Perhaps a worthwhile sticky would be "how to correctly measure your groups"....
 
Ryan.M.Anderson said:
There is nothing wrong with the groups that you posted and I will always give props to guys shooting with a bipod and rear bag over a big sled but unfortunately the pictures do not show a .3 rifle.

I have a 5 round pocket group that measures .151 at 100M. I am very proud of the group but that unfortunately that does not make the gun a .15 gun. In reality, and in my hands, it is probably a .6 to .75 gun and in better hands it could do better. However, this is not a standard off the shelf 700. It is a custom gun screwed together by the Chou Brothers with some high end components and a good bit of load development.

I think this forum's members do a disservice to new guys when they say their stock "insert sub $1,000" gun shoots .25MOA all day long. Sure Tikka/Savage/Remington can turn out some gems but tack drivers they are not. A .25MOA gun all day long means every time you get behind the gun it is printing .25 groups.

If AIs/PGWs/TRGs/etc. are not .25 MOA all day long I doubt guns that cost a quarter of that can keep up.
Click to expand...

Well, I never actually said that. What i did say is that "No problem producing 3/4" groups at 200m with my R700 SPS (308) following a similar path" My rifle is certainly not F Class ready, but it has plenty of "practical" accuracy. If the OP had said he wanted to enter long range competitions, i would not have even bothered to comment about my setup. There is a big step up in $$ to get those TINY groups all day long. And even the best rifle is subject to a myriad of ever changing conditions, not the least of which is the shooter.

I would also add, though i am very happy with my rifle and the way it shoots, not every Remington on the shelf will shoot that well (or at least the person behind the gun can't figure it out). Perhaps that is less so with Tikka, but every company turns out lemons, even if some shoot lights out.
 
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