Remington 700 sps....now what?

C

CLC

New member
I purchased a Remington 700 sps in .223 and wanted some advice on how to set it up. This rifle will mostly be used for range use but will find its way into vermint hunting. I have a .22 and shotgun that are my primary vermint guns. I don't mind spending money on this rifle but I really don't want to break the bank so I'm looking for the best bang for my buck. I'm liking the leupold mark AR mod 1 but I'm new to scoped bolt action rifles. I'm also thinking about getting a picatinny base to mount the scope and rings on. I'm sure the more in think about it the more questions I'll have. Thanks in advance.
 
What type of range do you expect out of the rifle? Is it 100 yards or 300+?

The picatinny rail will keep the scope in place and stop it from migrating under bumps or recoil.
 
Float barrel, pillarbed stock, and I would use the best rings and bases I could afford, probably not a picatinny. Not that I have anything against picatinny, but theres better bases for bolt action rifles than those dudes.
Then start handloading and have some fun...
 
I figure this will be a 1-200 yard range gun. In pa you are lucky to find a 300 yard lane on public ranges. For hunting I figure 300 yards if I can reliably kill dog size animals. As far as rings and bases what makes one better then another? Looks to be a lot of different styles to choose from.
 
My SPS in .22-250 needed a better trigger and a better stock to get it to shoot up to its potential.

I put in a Timney trigger that was 3.2 lbs out of the box and set it at 2 lbs. Accuracy improved from 0.6-0.7 inches at 100 yards to 0.45'
I got another 0.1 inch improvement by changing the Tupperware stock on the SPS to a Bell & Carlson Medalist. The weight overall was heavier but the stock with a aluminum rail was significantly stiffer so the group sizes got smaller.

I got the SPS on a clearance sale for $436 and spent $80 on the Timney and 240 on the stock. Overall the results got me a really accurate rifle for under $ 760.

You will get the most bang for your buck out of your SPS with a better trigger and the Timney is usually the cheapest alternative for a reasonable upgrade.
 
Float barrel, pillarbed stock, and I would use the best rings and bases I could afford, probably not a picatinny. Not that I have anything against picatinny, but there are better bases for bolt action rifles than those dudes.
Click to expand...

What Hooligan said above.
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I have used regular Weaver Top Mount bases with Weaver 4-screw rings with great success. Inexpensive, but totally solid, especially when base screws are Locktited and bases are set on Locktite "Stud and Bearing Mount".

I have target scopes, up to 36 power that can be used for checking loads, then switch back to hunting scopes with no loss of zero, (provided the hunting scope was zeroed prior to removal).

Pillar bedding and free-floating, if done correctly, is a huge improvement to factory stocks. Installing a Timney trigger is like icing on the cake. It may not make a significant group shrinkage, but will make shooting more satisfying. I appreciate it even more when shooting offhand, but that's me.
 
My 700 SPS has the old style trigger and I did the "Reminton Crisp" on it and its wonderful compared to the factory trigger...
On the other hand my cousin bought a new reminton 700 varmint and it has new trigger, and it wont let him adjust the weight down past 4.5 lbs...he will probably go Timney or another nice trigger..
 
I'd just get a set of Talley LWT or DNZ mounts install a Leopold VX1 2-7X33 or 3-9X40 with long range duplex reticle and go shoot. Try a few different brands of ammo to see what your rifle likes if shooting factory. I wouldn't mess with bedding the rifle or the trigger until I knew there was a problem with either.
 
I wouldn't do a dang thing with an SPS stock but remove it and either give it to the kids or throw it in the trash. Hunk of crap. Add a Timney, lose the factory trigger and drop it in a B&C Medalist at the least.
 
I put the Houge Overmoulded stock on EBay, and bought a B&C for it. Tightened the groups up some and the rifle just feels more solid. I dont mind the stock trigger. I still havent figured out what scope I want, so I just put one of those cheap $165 jobs on it for now. Still, it shoots like this at 100 yards from prone off a bipod........

ry%3D400



This is the gun now. Still havent got around to painting it. :)

ry%3D400
 
My SPS .22-250 also needed a new trigger and stock to shoot really well. I don't think there is much you can do with the SPS stock. I tried free floating mine and improved somewhat. But it is so flimsy that you will probably find you will get a few fliers once in awhile.

Try as I might I couldn't get the Xmark under 5 lbs so it was gone. I opted for a B&C Medalist. Groups are 1/2" now and no fliers with the trigger at 4 lbs.
 
I pillarbedded my SPS and then I filled the barrel channel with aluminum tubing crossways every inch, and filled it with JBweld, and bedded recoil lug area with JBweld. It seems to work perfectly without adding a huge amount of weight...
 
For the scope I think I decided on the Redfield Revolution Tac 3- 9x40mm on a EGW picatinny rail. What does the 20 moa mean on the rail and would I want it with or without the cant? Thanks for all the help I do plan on a stock and trigger upgrade once I get to shoot the gun a bit. I do like the rem 700p stock I might go with that.
 
The 20moa base means that it is slanted down from back to front by 20moa. This allows for shooters to have more adjustment in their scopes to dial in longer ranges 600yds, 800yds, 1,000yds or more so they don't have to do any holdovers in their scope and can shoot to point of aim.

For your intended ranges, you won't need the 20moa base, but if you ever plan to shoot longer distance 600 yds or more, then it will come in handy.
 
I wouldn't do a dang thing with an SPS stock but remove it and either give it to the kids or throw it in the trash. Hunk of crap. Add a Timney, lose the factory trigger and drop it in a B&C Medalist at the least.
Click to expand...

^Yep

If it were mine, DNZ Game Reaper one piece scope mount. Timney trigger. Boyd's stock of your choice, bedded.

As has already been said, no need for a 20 moa base.

As for a scope, if you're shooting paper and varmints, I'd want more than a 3-9x scope. 6-24x would be the range I'd be considering. I won't get into brands because that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
 
What would be the limitations of the 3-9x? I liked the review of the scope in question, it's made in the USA and lightweight. Would the 20 moa base be worth getting If I at some point plan to shoot out to 600 yards? Im still learning so I don't need a complicated scope and I don't know what to expect out of the .223.
 
For up to 200 yard range I'd probably go with a fixed scope, probably a Weaver 6x.
Ive found with short to medium range, it is sometimes easier using a fixed scope because you get used to where a rifle will shoot quicker especially when youre holding off and over etc...
In saying that, I'm keen on getting a Bushnell fixed 10x for my .22 Hornet
 
The Redfield is a good scope, but it's more for hunting applications where you sight it in and don't really touch it again. The small capped turrets are not designed for being able to easily reach up and dial in your elevation for a given range.

Take a look at Vortex scopes. They are also a USA company with the best warranty in the business! Their scopes tend to have more features per $ than other brands. Look for one with target turrets or capped target turrets. This will make dialing in shots a lot easier and faster. I have a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x44 with mildot reticle on my target rifle.
 
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