Budget long range setup results

Another good piece of advice. I went out shooting tonight and dropped a 12 ounce beer bottle at 475 yards first shot. I feel pretty good about that in comparison to the vital size of an elk. Can't wait to get out there hunting
 
hi guys,

im new to the firing line and this is literally my first post.

this is just my experience:

i bought a 700 sps varmint with 26" from bass pro for 550 + a 50$ rebate to bring it down to 500 this past May and I loved the feel of it.

initially, even with factory premium ammo, i could not get it to group under 10" @175 yrds - painful

after doing a bedding job, and buying a reloading die for it, it tightened up a little bit to around 6" at 175 yrds but thats still terrible - especially for handloads.

i then went all out at figured that if i ruin the stock, i can just have an excuse to buy a nice BC or HS precision.

I bought a 5' long aluminum I beam from RONA for ~15$, a two part epoxy enough for 10 bedding jobs for another $15.

after removing all the internal plastic reinforcement inside the stock and channeling out the forend for the barrell contour, i put the aluminum bars in the forend of the stock and literally FILLED it to the top with epoxy.

i then proceeded to fully bed the action to about 1" in front of the lug nut.

verdict

a fully free floated r 700 sps varmint

i took it to the range the next day and i shot sub moa at 100yrds all day - no matter what load i had for it.

i rang a metal plate out at 380 yards shot after shot until my ammunition ran out.


its hard to find any reloading components in canada right now for some reason so i didnt have much selection on powder.
after a few weeks of trial and error, i found my 700 liked speer 168 gr HPBT backed by right on the dot 41 gr of AA2230 and cci 200 primers winchester or federal brass never did much of a difference.


end of the day, if the load mentioned above consistently rings the gong at 380 yrds, im happy and for $45 (15 for the epoxy, 15 for the aluminum re-bar, and 15 for the 6 pack) and a solid saturday evening, I found myself an awesome target/tactical rifle for a deal!!!

hope this post helps anyone looking to improve their groupings ( and their love for this slowly dieing brand)

-B
 
KimberCommander says the key to the reliable accuracy of a Savage is the way they use the barrel nut to also set the head spacing. In doing so, they take most of the variables out of the building of the gun.

I don't think so. Headspace in the barrel stays the same from shot to shot; it doesn't change at all. Plus, even if it was anywhere between SAAMI minimum and maximum amounts, accuracy would not be effected in any way. The best reloads would be sized so their case headspace was a couple thousandths short of chamber headspace. Doesn't matter what that number is.

The above aside, the headspacing method Savage uses does make it inexpensive and very good; several bolts don't need to be checked with a GO and NO GO gauge until one's just right for Savage's specs.
 
Shriner81 : I have the same rifle and it shoots really well with 168gr smk. I've been trying to get 175 and 190s to shoot out of it as well . I have had some good results but ran into a action screw problem . They kept coming loose . If I were you I'd keep an eye on that with your rifle . :)
 
I've got a Rem 700 ADL I paid just over $300 for at Academy on sale. It shoots sub MOA all day at 200 yards. Sounds like you just got a bad one Byron.
 
Well if i misinformed anyone my bad and im sorry. I was just stating what the savage rep told me when i had to send my rifle back to them for work.
 
Well for anyone still following this I figured I'd update you all and let you know I managed to fill my bull tag this year, shot a decent 5x5 bull on the last day of the season, after 5 long days of hunting and riding a bike on all the closed back roads I could find I came open a clearing with some elk off in the distance, settled in, ranged them at 535 yards, read a slight breeze and spotted the larger of 3 bulls, took aim and let one fly, shot hit slightly higher than I was aiming but double lunged the bull and he stood in his tracks, I almost thought I had missed and was preparing for a second shot when the bull fell over. I can't figure out how to share pictures through a mobile device on here otherwise I'd show you guys. Overall successful hunt, and was happy with the shot I got.
 
I used some Remington factory ammo with a 168 grain barnes xlc bullet, dropped it in it's tracks, through and through with a good amount of damage. Very accurate round as well, tested it out to 800 before the season with good results.
 
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