Iron sights on a Rem. 700PSS?

D

Do-Man

New member
I know this sounds crazy, but just listen...

I want to learn long distance shooting. I also think it's valuable to know how to shoot with iron sights as far out as possible. However, I don't want a gun for each purpose.

I've been tossing around whether a MIA or Rem 700PSS would be nice to have to learn all this. I'm leaning towards the 700 because, well, it's cheaper than the M1A.

So, would I be crazy in putting iron sights on the 700PSS? If I did put iron sights on it, could I still keep them and scope the rifle as well?

Any help would be great.

Doland

p.s. i don't want a Savage.

p.p.s. i live in California, and i'm an idiot for not buying a colt back in sep '94. i bought a shotgun instead.....
 
Well, lets see. I guess the answer is "If you want them".

I have a "precision rifle" that doesn't have iron sights on. The reason being is that I only plan on using this rifle from "concealment" and at long distances where a scope will be useful. I hope not to use this rifle for close in/fast work.

I also have an AR Comp w/removable carrying handle. This is what I'll grab for "general" purpose shooting. If taking long shots a scope will be mounted. If close in/fast work is anticipated it will be the iron sighted carrying handle. Also, I would much rather have a semi-auto for close in/fast work instead of a bolt.

So, you can put on iron sights if you want or you could buy another rifle. :D Say something along the lines of... oh... Steyr Scout. ;)

------------------
Schmit
GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"

[This message has been edited by Schmit (edited February 08, 2000).]
 
Do-Man,
I have some of my Remingtons set up with Redfield Palma sights which are detatchable.
I use thes rifles for target shooting and hunting, although they do look like "sniper"
rifles(God I hate that term; and NO, I'm not one, nor do I play one at the range). What I did was have a dovetail milled in the barrel near the muzzle, for the globe front sight do attach to. A sight base permanently attached to the receiver lets me bolt on the rear unit at will. It's good practice, very humbling, and sure will save a hunt if your rifle takes a tumble. PS, spend the money on a bolt gun if you want to shoot accurately...an M1(A) is a 2moa rifle in search of a good gunsmith and lots of money.
 
It would be an easy proposition to use 2 of the tapped scope mount holes for a rear sight. A good machinist could machine a dovetail or 2 tapped holes in the barrel for the front site. Havent been there, havent done that - but have thought about it.
 
Thanks for the comments. Reason I ask this is that a local store has a 700PSS with a 20" barrel for $750 that I'd like to pick up (heard they are LEO in 2000). They have a 26" barrel one too.

Obviously, I could just scope it and shoot away, but I'd feel rather ignorant if I couldn't shoot with iron sights. I did just get a mini-14, which I haven't shot yet, which doesn't do me much good at 300yds with iron sights, from what I hear.

Doland
 
Ever hear of the Warne Rear Peep Base? There is a picture of one in the pre 1998 Brownells catalogs.

Essentially it's a modified Weaver style steel scope mount with an adjustable peep blade built into the back- the peep also locks in place.

Price is about $70, add a front base and shipping= about $90. Not too bad for a sight and bases. 1st class QD Rings from Warne will be another $100.

I think it's ridiculous to carry iron sights as a backup- then try to attach them in the field. With the Warne setup, all you do is remove the scope and shoot- provided you've sighted in the peep.
 
"iron sights" on a Rem. 700 PSS is indeed a very good arrangement. In 223 or 308 the rifle out of the box with good ammo(either reloads or Fed. Match) will produce groups of approx. .5 to .75moa, so it is indeed an excellent rifle to learn to shoot long range.
Your best bet for a front sight is the "barrel band" type of front sight base.
This is simply a sleeve which generally runs in two sizes-.750 or .812 ID. Muzzle is turned to this size and the band slips over it and tightens with two screws-will not move on you if tightened and then the band has a flat area on top which takes a base of various heights for your actual front sight globe. Rear sight base mounts on left hand of rear receiver bridge/wall and you will have to have that area drilled and tapped to accept this item. This is where the rear sight mounts to and you are "off and running"
One of the problems with the front of the barrel having a dovetail machined is that if you shoot the rifle long enough you will eventually shoot the throat out of it and instead of buying a new barrel, the barrel is removed, and slightly shortened and a new chamber/throat is cut and you are back to new again or very close to it. It is the throat area that you shoot out in a barrel and most unlikely you will ever shoot out the actual rifling in a barrel. Probably 90% of the match shooters have their rifles rigged as described above. I shoot long range matches a lot and can tell you that after you start shooting the rifle with good micrometer sights, you will enjoy shooting a great deal more and wonder why you did not do this earlier.

As for the M1A, it is an excellent weapon and indeed accurate-very close to bolt guns and in some cases better-but can not suggest it for any type of scope work. Scope is mounted high and you need to have a cheekpiece to keep your eye lined up with the scope and is very akward to me to shoot. Many do however and seem to get along with it well. M1A is more expensive to purchase and it is a brass eater compared to the bolt gun. About 3-4 times is all you want to try and reload the brass from an M1A for it is a violent action and stretches the brass.

Would highly suggest the 26" version of the 700 for better balistics and even as important is the extra sight radius with metalic sights-clearer sight picture over a the longer radius. All of the above is just my experience and sure others will have other suggestions, guidance, etc. Good luck
 
In case you haven't already considered the obvious...the Rem 700 ADL (&BDL?) come with fine iron sights. And tapped for scope. Leave on the iron, and put on a scope. Remove scope, iron is ready to go. Or get "see-through" scope rings? I'm not sold on that idea, though. Never used 'em, but heard they raise you scope enough to mess with the ergonomics. Of course, if the Rem model you want doesn't come with iron sights, disregard.
 
DeBee, I did a search and couldn't find the Warnes sight, but did see a receiver mounted peep and an Ashley peep. I'd prefer to keep holes in the receiver a minimum, the Ashley seems the way to go, I think it installs in the scope holes.

MSL, would the "barrel band" front sight fit a fluted barrel? The 700 I was considering is a 20" fluted, which I heard is called the light tactical rifle. I prefer the 20" over the 26" because I'm small (5'5") and I want to try and make the 700 into a do-all, rifle. Accurate enough to snipe with, yet light and fast enough to hunt with.
 
Interestingly, the Army sniper school at Fort Benning issues detachable iron sights fitted to their M24 sniper rifles based on the 700 action. The snipers spend some time learning how to use them.

In his book The Ultimate Sniper, John Plaster suggests that the need for auxillary iron sights in a military sniping context is unlikely, because if the scope fails the mission is probably going to be aborted. Plaster also wrote an article about the Army program and the M24 rifle for the 1996 Guns & Ammo Annual, which includes a photo of the M24 system components. I can't remember whether it shows the iron sights, however.

[This message has been edited by AEM (edited February 11, 2000).]
 
I've puzzled over the iron sight question many times myself and again each time I work up a rifle.

I've searched high and low for bolt sleeve peeps... fretted for hours trying to fit tang sights to a bolt gun... ruined several scope mount bases trying to dovetail them for a folding peep blade... blah blah blah

The Ashley is a good peep however, I beleive it's a ghost ring (in the standard form) and somewhat out of place on a precision rifle. Secondly, if your scope fails in some way, gets muddy, dusty, dewey or whatever, are you going to sit down and get out your Torx wrenches and screw drivers remove the scope and mount then install the peep and sight it in on the spot?

Wouldn't it be better to unlock two QD rings and have a peep installed and sighted already on the rifle? This is what the Warne system provides.

With all that BS said, I am dismayed to inform you that Warne has discontinued this excellent little mount. I got one of the last ones out of the factory for my Winchester winter project (now spring). They won't tell me why the were discontinued. There may be a few left for the Rem 700...

By the way, I'm not much taller than 5'5 and I can plow a field with a 26" barrel just by walking. I vastly prefer the 20" tube and plan to cut the Winchester barrel accordingly- screw the ballistics go for handling and balance. The Remington LTR is an excellent piece- now if they made it in stainless...
www.warnescopemounts.com
 
My original intent was to mount iron sights to learn how to shoot with them to 200-300 yds, then remove them when I've learned and have saved up for a Leupold scope. I basically want a do-all rifle ala Cooper scout, but with a little more sniper capability.

Also, was considering the iron sights plus QD mounts, but I wasn't sure if there was room on the receiver for both.

Interestingly, this weekend, I was thinking a Garand would fit my to learn with iron, and then later get the scoped 700.
 
Following up on my earlier reply, it was the 1998 G&A Annual that showed the M24 sniper system with auxillary iron sights, not the 1996 Annual. Sorry for the error. I looked again at the photos and the sights are shown detached ( and very small in the photo). The lead photo shows the muzzle up close and you can see a dovetail sight mount at the muzzle, which is obviously where the front sight mounts.

I like your idea about a semi-auto with iron sights and a scoped bolt gun later. I took my M1A out this weekend and did some casual plinking at 100-200 yards. I can't see the target in any detail with my naked eyes and iron sights, but I can hit it! I believe if you can learn the traditional methods of shooting with target iron sights you can shoot a lot better than expected at long range. But I miss not being able to see the details of the target better. At the same time, I don't want to encumber my semi-auto with an awkward, heavy scope setup. I thinking of getting the Springfield Armory scout mount and put a 2.75x scout scope on it with QD rings.
 
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