I assume you mean a 24" plate at 1,000 yards? A decent factory rifle (such as the .308 Rem 700 5R) is not as accurate as a purpose-built target rifle, even if you do a good job and make very good ammo. So it is not realistic to expect to be able to hit a 24" plate at 1000 yards nearly all the time, with a factory rifle. However, if you do do everything right, it is reasonable to expect to be able to hit it more often that you miss it, which is enough to have a great deal of fun (and likely start you down a very expensive and very addictive road.... ;-)
For reference - the DCRA 1000-yard target has a 24" diameter 5-ring. A good shooter, with a good rifle, with good wind reading skills, in light or steady winds, can hit this nearly 100% of the time (but it's hard, and takes a lot of concentration!).
Yep, typo... 1,000 yards. I could throw a rock and hit a target at 100, hahaha! I definitely understand the advantages to a custom built rifle, but I've done enough reading and research over the past 5 years about this that I've learned I won't know what I want in a custom rifle until I start shooting at these distances. Maybe .308 isn't the round for me. Maybe I prefer a fixed power scope. Maybe I don't like it at all, lol! (I hope the last option is never the case...)
Excellent choice of calibre. Myself, I wouldn't call .308 factory match ammo "relatively cheap", but then again _I_ am pretty cheap ;-)
If you are going to handload, you might consider using Berger 185 LRBT bullets. The Sierra 175HPMK is a very good bullet (good performance for long range shooting, and quite "forgiving", in that it is easy to get a good accurate load worked out). The Berger 185 LRBT is the go-to default bullet for .308 F-Class shooting nowadays. It is a *very* high performance bullet (less wind drift), and is also an "easy" bullet to work with. It is pricier than the Sierra; if you can tolerate this, it is an all-round better choice than the Sierra.
Use good brass (Lapua is an excellent choice. Next best choice probably Winchester).
Don't fuss about fireforming your brass. It doesn't matter whether your brass is brand new, fireformed and neck-sized, or fireformed and full-length sized. It is pretty straightforward to load good 1000 yard ammo for a .308 - this is well-trod, well-known ground. Find out what all the good shooters are doing, and rip off their work. Nothin secret or magic about any of this.
.308 match is cheaper than .338 match is cheaper than .408 is all I was eluding to. For me it's the minimum for 1,000 yards and is one of the most tinkered with rounds in North America. I am on the same page with you about just finding load data and basically using others hard work to make my job easier. It's one of THE biggest reasons I chose .308. I won't be breaking new ground or trying to reinvent the wheel. Just wanna have fun and shoot, lol! The 5R is specifically rifled for 175gr bullets though. I'm not sure heavier would be advantageous or not... I have a line on a local supplier of BTHP 175gr Berger's and can get them at a VERY reasonable price in bulk. I could always try some 185gr's though just to see how they shoot.
Nothing at all wrong (!!!) with either of these scopes, in fact they are top-tier pieces of kit. I only recently tried out a Nightforce (12-42X IIRC) and I was *really* impressed with it.
If I were you, I'd put more into your rifle, even at the expense of putting less into your scope. There are a number of $700-$1200 scopes which are perfectly good to use, even though they are not as good as the Nightforces. To the extent that you'd be giving something up, it would be quite small, in comparison to the very large improvement you could make over a straight factory rifle. The single most important and useful upgrade you can make to a factory rifle is to put a good barrel on it (this might cost you on the order of $600-$700).
If a bit more $$$ needs to be put into the rifle I can squeeze the budget a bit. I don't want to sacrifice performance for savings even though I am definitely not in the "buying it for the brand name" market either. No kids, no wife, overseas income = a few extra bucks to spend all the time,
On the one hand, Remington trigger are mass produced pieces of crap, in comparison to a $200-$300 custom trigger. On the other hand, and to Remington's credit, the triggers are adjustable and to be honest can be adjusted to be pretty clean and pretty darn shootable. I think it's quite an unsafe design, I would never use or trust the safety on a Remington, however that is absolutely no impediment to a target rifle or a plinker rifle.
Since you don't need to adjust your trigger to a very low pull weight (BTW you are correct in this), you can make out quite fine with a Remington factory trigger. Adjust the sear engagement so that it is _clean_ (which is far more important than being _light_). Make sure that the trigger is safe (verify that it won't fire if you close the bolt too firmly, etc).
I think I'll probably be alright with the trigger the more I hear about it. If it's 2-3lbs then I'll love it. A lof the rifles I shoot are in the 4lb+ range and I never have any problems so I'd imagine I'll feel spoiled with a 2-3lb'r, lol! I have a set trigger on my CZ-527 that I use to hunt with and tbh I dislike the lighter set... It just doesn't feel as clean to me and my groups end up opening up all over the map. I'm a subscriber to squeeze-surprise trigger control, but 1lb is just too light for me. A good break is more important than an early break imho. Sounds like if it's a dud trigger though I have options. Jewel, Timney, etc. Again, the reason I chose this rifle and the 700 SA platform.
If you like a mil-dot or ranging reticle, fill your boots by all means. But there's no need for anything fancy - get a reticle you like and that you can see, use your wind and elevation knobs, and/or holdover/holdoff, and you will be able to hit your target.
Personally I like a heavy reticle; I acknowledge that most target shooters prefer unusually light reticles. One thing I will say in favour of heavy(er) reticles is that if your reticle "disappears" or is difficult for you to see (especially against darker or irregular targets), you are giving up any and all supposed advantages of a finer reticle. Another thing I'll point out is that you are able to aim a reticle to a much finer degree of precision that the reticle itself.
I think the NP-2DD or NP-R1 are what I want. Will have to stare through each when I get back to Canada for a while to see what my eye prefers. Both are offered in illuminated which would help for lower light conditions... maybe.
There are a number of $400-class bipods made for F-Class. They are gorgeous and you might want to look at them. Having said that, one can get very good results from a $100-ish Harris or clone (suggestion: get the "swivel" version). There are only two bad things I have to say about the Harris style bipods, and neither of these is a showstopper. One is that they are a bit slow to adjust and set up (you have to get out of shooting position in order to alter the height). The other is that usually they "hop" when you shoot, requiring you to rebuild your position for each shot you fire. Having said that, a Harris bipod won't stand in the way of you shooting 10" groups at 1000 yards (many other things will... ;-)
F-class bipods... They are large and complicated, lol! However, something I want to achieve is to be able to watch the trace through the scope due to my spotter being too old to see that far... Is it worth it for me to do my due diligence and look into a much heavier bipod than a Harris to achieve that? "Hop" as you say is something I'm trying to defeat, again another reason I chose .308 over a heavier round, and I'd rather not spend to try and go spend again, lol... If I get a bipod and it's not doing the job it'll collect dust...
If you're shooting from a prone supported position, I think the answer to this is "No". The strongest rifle scope I've used has been 42X and it was great. If there is such as thing as "too much scope", I haven't seen it yet and I am still looking for it.
I've used as little as 15X - a $250 Weaver KT15, with which I shot a pretty spectacular 1000 yard score off my elbows; the target looked too small to hit but the 10s and Xs just kept coming up. Later I used this scope on a .308 to shoot F-Class pretty competitively at 300-600 yards (10 years ago; F-Class shooters and gear have gotten a *lot* better since then).
I've looked through a 10X scope at 1000 yards - didn't do any shooting with it but man did the target look *small*. Having said that, a good shooter can shoot pretty darn good scores with a 10X scope. And most of my 1000 yard shooting is done with only 1.5X magnification, and somehow I manage to hit the bullseye most of the time even though I can't even see it.
What about that insane March scope with a final power of x80??? That's craziness, lol! And much more than I want to spend. Good to hear more is better, especially to start with. As I improve on technique I'll try lower powers.
reloading dies - get good ones.
Get one of the good seaters with a micrometer adjustment. Redding is very good. Forster is just as good and is quite a bit cheaper.
If you get Lapua brass, you can get away with using a bushing neck die (e.g. Redding "S" type). Very quick and convenient (no need to lube or clean brass when you size; and Lapua is consistent enough that you don't need to turn necks). A Lee Collet die is a viable alternate - it's much yuckier to use but it does just as good a job.
You'll also need and want a full length sizing die or a body sizing die. If you have a neck die, all you need to complement it is a body die (no need to get a FL die).
To make good 1000 yard ammo, you'll need a chronograph (on instead of a chronograph, you can test your ammo at 1000 yards).
You won't need a chrono to make good 600y ammo.
Yes, loading kit is going to be a major investment. I do have a chrony and good one at that. The old man always need one for IPSC the last 35 years or so. I'm too lazy to hand load pistol calibers and just shoot factory stuff as I'm not trying to finish first place in 3 gun, lol! Just out to have some fun.
Thanks a bah-zillion for the detailed and full on response. It's chock full of info I need and is a MAJOR help for me to decide on some unanswered questions and also has made me think about a few things I didn't even know. Cheers!!!
