Budget Remington 700 upgrades?

I

insomni

New member
ok, decision time. I have a 5 year old .308 Remington 700 SPS. Everything is factory and it has the 23" factory [sporter/light weight] barrel with a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40 scope and a Harris L Series bipod.

I'm shooting about a 1"-1.5" group at 100m depending on ammo.

I want to upgrade and get some serious accuracy out of my coveted R-700 action.
In time I'd like to add a heavy barrel and an H-S stock, but now I'm running into budgetary problems.... I can't afford a $300 barrel AND a $1100 stock. It's one or the other. If I go with the barrel, I could probably get the standard stock floated and glassed.

so, Smithies! Which upgrade should I do first? New barrel or new stock?
 
$1100 stock from HS?? Holy cow! A good HS precision stock will run you less than $400 my friend (about $325 from midwayusa). If you still only want one at a time I would go with a new barrel first.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
If you don't already handload... that'd be something to throw into the accuracy upgrade list.
If you do handload already... or have no desire to, then a quality barrel, fit properly should provide a marked improvement in accuracy.

Cheers,
C
 
oops. sorry, was getting frustrated there & had a brain fart. was looking like 1100 whole package (which i can't afford all at once). about $500-600 for the stocks I'm looking at.
 
insomni said:
oops. sorry, was getting frustrated there & had a brain fart. was looking like 1100 whole package (which i can't afford all at once). about $500-600 for the stocks I'm looking at.
Click to expand...

Which stocks were you looking at? Because again, very good HS precision stocks are available for less than $350. And there are other good stocks available for less than that.

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I'm looking at the tactical ones that are similar to the one on the M-24's H-S PST-11 stock which is tought to get a hold of.
I like the adjustability, feel, and heft of that stock. I looked at McMillan too but found them too vertical for me to shoot comfortably.

*EDIT* Right now i have the Remington SPS stock fitted. It is a light weight monte carlo stock.

I'm looking for something a little heftier to keep the rifle jump down when I fire, and a barrel with some tighter tolerances to it. Maybe some fluting so it looks cool, but accuracy is what I really care about at the end of the day..... new scope MIGHT come farther down the road, but the Leupold i have on there works incredibly well.
 
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The HS Pro Series are similar to those that are on the Remington Police and are a very good stock. The HS already comes bedded so that wouldn't be necessary, whereas McMillan typically need a bedding job. The ones without all of the adjustments are the ones that I am taking about being under $350. If you are set on that HS PST-11, then I say go for it. But you need to upgrade the stock before the barrel. The stock that you have right now probably does not have the barrel channel cut wide enough to accommodate a heavier barrel.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
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Look at the B&C Medalist tactical/varmit stocks at just over $200. I don't like anything B&C makes on a hunting rifle. They are all just plain too heavy. But for what you want they are every bit as good as the HS, and at 1/2 the price.

http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-BELL-&-CARLSON-cln-Varmint-fdsh-Tactical/Categories

I don't care for the tactical look, but put one of their sporter stocks on my FN Patrol rifle. It was a huge improvement, and took almost 1 full pound off the ungodly heavy Hogue that came on it.

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=guns1018.jpg

http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m513/jmr40/?action=view&current=guns1019.jpg

Do you handload? If not your money would be better spent on loading equipment and supplies. That rifle should be a 1/2" shooter as is with carefully put together handloads. That is where I think you will see the biggest improvement in accuracy for the dollar.

Almost all of my rifles have aftermarket stocks, mostly $500-$600 McMillans. I've never noted any significant improvement in accuracy. I buy them because they are lighter, fit me better, are tougher, and look a lot better.
 
1) B&C Medalist tactical is a great value. My son ditched the tupperware stock on his 700 and replaced it with one and it greatly improved consistency.

2) Ditch the factory trigger for a Timney. They don't make the rifle more accurate, but they do make the shooter, shoot more accurately.

3) HANDLOAD. 1" groups with factory ammo is pretty respectable.

4) Barrel? Don't discount your factory barrel, yet- sounds like it shoots pretty good, so far.

Change the stock, and trigger. Handload, if you can. See how it shoots.

Just because it's a "factory" barrel- including sporting contour, doesn't mean it won't shoot. Heavier contour barrels are not more "accurate" than sporter contours- but they usually shoot better in a target application where there are a lot of rounds sent and the heavier barrel will not heat up as quickly and string shots.

You didn't say what your application is, only that you want to improve accuracy. Depending on your luck, some factory barrels will shoot very well. We planned to re-barrel my son's Savage .308 when we bought it- with a sporter contour barrel. The barrel shoots 3/4 minute with our handloads, and even though we shoot long range target with it, does not string shots when it heats up (within reason). We've been surprised, but if it ain't broke- don't fix it!

JMO, but I would put the $500 or so you'd need to spend on a re-barrel towards handloading, first. It'll give you a lot more mileage for your buck if you're seeking accuracy.
 
thanks for all the input and recommendations! Again, this community has proven incredibly helpful.

I really like the look of that Olive web Medalist stock jmr! y'all are correct that the present stock I have is fit for a light weight barrel.

I have some questions about handloading rifle rounds, but I think that'll be another thread.
 
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