Rem 700 sps varmint accuracy

Doug,

I have a 700P that will not shoot 150/155 gr. bullets worth a hoot.

Mine comes alive with 168 gr, Nosler Custom Competition or Sierra 175 gr. Matchkings.

I have tried various powders and have pretty much settled down to H380 and BLC(2).

I don't have the load data in front of me but I do not load very hot.

I load to 2.800 oal unless I am shooting Berger 175 gr VLD. Those I load at
-.065 in. off the lands.


You will be AMAZED at how your groups can diverge depending on seating depth.

The same load can be really good or just terrible with as little as
+/- .010 in.deviation on seating depth.

I posted some groups a couple of years ago on this forum showing just how much deviation one can see. I will see if I can find the post.

If you check on all my posts, you can find back in 2009 about groupings.

It will be on the last page ( earliest ) of my posts. Lots of good stuff there.





Anyway, Berger has some good information for working up a load and that data can be used for other bullet manufacturers.
 
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So here it's 11.10.12
Haven't shot in a while. Have several loads worked up. Hope to get out tomorrow or Sunday and do some research. Its pretty cool here(warm for Michigan), but I will take humidity and temp readings as well as the rest of ambiant.

let ya know results ASAP.:)
 
went out and shot my test rounds and settled on 36gr imr4895 with 168 gr Sierra MK HPBT. Shot outstanding groups! The 155gr A-MAX bullets shot very well too.
Getting the PC down to 36gr really made all the difference. Also didn't clean it before hand either. Thanx to everyone that helped me out! Shootin is fun once again!
 
MOA improvement.

Went out and shot again by myself today and got some good trigger time in without distractions. Used my latest worked up rnds I posted earlier and my best group of 5 was a .5MOA. A couple went thru the same hole. :D
 
Looking for a really good projectile for my 308 rem700 for hunting white tails here in West Michigan. Got my hand loads with 36gr imr4895 and 168gr sierra MK's hpbt down to .5 moa. Lookin for a good hunting rnd now. Any suggestions and or tips?
 
.5" groups is great. I have an SPS in .308. I use 168gr SMK's over 42gr of 4350. What is your trigger like? Mine was mushy and never really broke clean. I put in a Timney trigger adjusted down to 2.5 pounds of pull. Clean and crisp.
 
Great post.

New to this forum -lots of good stuff here.
Just started loading for my Rem 700 sps Varmit.
So far the best thing cooked up was 168 gr Hornaday HPBT with 44.5 grs of Varget. shoots very well, looking forward to more loads. great info here.
 
I have the ADL version of this rifle. It is a run that Remington does for Dick's. With the 26" tube and myhandload of 168gr SMK's and 44grs. of RL-15 I was averaging .655moa. I had the barrel cut down to 20" with a recessed target crown and the groups have decreased. The norm now is .55moa but I was able to achieve a 10shot group of .65moa.
 
Yesterday I shot a 5/8" (5) shot group at 100 yards with my Remington 700 SPS Tactical, with Remington UMC 150 grain ammo!

I shot 3 more groups with my handload's, 168 grain HPBT's with 44.5 grains of IMR-4895, they all shot under an inch! I'm very pleased with this rifle!
 
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 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
 
Douggamm I agree with most that 44gr. is high for IMR4895 for accuracy, must of the time mid to low range for powder charge is best. As for cleaning, how many rounds are you shooting. I use a wet and dry patch for every round I fire that day. My cleaner is Wipe-out Patch-out works great & no odor. I'm old school, I always clean after shooting, only need 3 foul shots to get the rifle to start grouping,for hunting it's alittle different, hunters may fire 5 rounds to zero before a hunt so the next round fired when hunting should be very close, for hunting a lightly fouled barrel is OK, in one season they my shoot 10 rounds, and put it away for next year. In benchrest shooting you fire 28 rounds at a session. a hunting rifle will last forever if maintained properly, a benchrest rifle, will most likely have a new barrel installed due to the amount of rounds down the tube. Also after cleaning you lightly oil, just remember to clean the oil out before shooting , oil in a barrel will form a varnish in the barrel.In reloading use the same make casings, federal cases are thicker so lower your powder charge 1 grain to start, than work up. With Remington barrels like ours, the have alot of free bore so trying to get close to the lands may not help. With match rounds like blackhills they are 2.800 OAL but they seem to shoot great in most rifles, it has to due with the right powder charge , just slowly increase .03 grains at a time with the same powder & bullet till you find the sweet spot. hope I helped chris
 
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My 700 VLS in 223 shoots it's best when the bore is fouled. I don't clean it until the accuracy falls off or it's winter and I'm not shooting it a lot. I have a Winchester 70 sporter in 308 and I found that it likes 44 grs Reloader 15 and a Sierra 150 BTSP.
 
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