I'm sure this will come as no surprise to members that have been here a while, but I need to take a minute and say how happy I am with both my Remington Sendero, and the choice of 7mm Remington Mag.
I'm a very good shot with pretty much anything, I've put thousands of rounds, bolts, arrows, rocks, explosive cartridges and whatever else downrange, and recently I embarked on a quest to build a functional hunter/1000 yd rifle.
I looked at .338 Lapua, but the cost and barrell life concerned me. I also drooled over a .50BMG which I will own one day, but I'm not going elk hunting with that.
I ended up stumbling across a new Sendero in 7mm Remington Mag which happens to be my hunting round of choice so I scooped it up.
The sendero is a bit heavy, but that's all relative, (It supposedly weighs the same as my M77) I lugged the M60 around in the Army for 8 years.. It's all in how you carry it.
Anyway, long story short..
I put on a decent Bushnell 3200 Elite scope with the 50mm objective, though it really needs a much better one. This one will do the trick for now.
It took a while to get around to sighting it in, but with us both drawing elk tags this year, it got pushed up the priority list.
I'm used to a Ruger M77 7mm that's a decent, gently priced rifle. It shoots better than I do and has filled the bill nicely and put about 5 elk in the freezer over the years. I have another M77 in 25-06 that I won a competition with hitting a 100yd 4" plate freestanding more times than the next guy.
The sendero is in another universe...I was amazed with the consistency of the shots.
First three round group at 150 yds about 1cm around with two touching. Group was low and left... Adjusted the scope... another three round group, smaller than a quarter, dead center about 1" High.
Adjust.....next group, dead center 2 1/2" high smaller than a quarter with two touching.
Perfect. I have never sighted in a rifle that easily or had one so consistent.
9 shots and I was done.
Take out 4 2-liter bottles full of water at 250 yds with 4 shots. Wow, what a rifle!!!
So yesterday, we take out the fam and the other 7mm along with a few other family members sighting in thiers.
I break out the Sendero and send three 175gr Winchester soft point hunting rounds towards a target about 125 yds away.
My brother in law is spotting, he says he cant see my second shot, so I shoot again... He yells wait..I see it, you doubled the first shot. The third is less than 1/8" away from the doubled hole.... I'm all grins, but not surprised this time.
Three shots and I'm done..
My father in law is kicking himself in the butt because he recently traded his .280 Sendero for a 7mm RSAUM that we bought from him as a b-day gift for my sister in law.. He knows that he messed up...
My wife pulls up with the Ruger (on a bench of course for sight in)
Her first shot is right next to my group, second and third are less than an inch away. Good old ruger, always where you need it.
Done deal...ready to go. I was surprised that the Ruger stayed zeroed as it's been a couple of years since it's been out.
But the Sendero....wow, it's just a smile machine!!!
We plinked a few clays off a hillside ranging from 200 yds, to probably about 300. I can't say I hit the clay on every shot, but every single one would have been a dead elk.
That was fun....I can't wait to get a better scope and put some time into getting the bore polished. I have a hard time imagining this rifle getting more accurate, but I know that a mild trigger job (I'm not a fan of 1lb triggers, more like 3lbs) some good handloads and 50 to 100 rounds down the barrell will actually improve it!!!!
I know there are "better" (subjective) rifles and calibers out there, but for under 1000$, not including the scope....the Sendero is a winner in my book.
I'm a very good shot with pretty much anything, I've put thousands of rounds, bolts, arrows, rocks, explosive cartridges and whatever else downrange, and recently I embarked on a quest to build a functional hunter/1000 yd rifle.
I looked at .338 Lapua, but the cost and barrell life concerned me. I also drooled over a .50BMG which I will own one day, but I'm not going elk hunting with that.
I ended up stumbling across a new Sendero in 7mm Remington Mag which happens to be my hunting round of choice so I scooped it up.
The sendero is a bit heavy, but that's all relative, (It supposedly weighs the same as my M77) I lugged the M60 around in the Army for 8 years.. It's all in how you carry it.
Anyway, long story short..
I put on a decent Bushnell 3200 Elite scope with the 50mm objective, though it really needs a much better one. This one will do the trick for now.
It took a while to get around to sighting it in, but with us both drawing elk tags this year, it got pushed up the priority list.
I'm used to a Ruger M77 7mm that's a decent, gently priced rifle. It shoots better than I do and has filled the bill nicely and put about 5 elk in the freezer over the years. I have another M77 in 25-06 that I won a competition with hitting a 100yd 4" plate freestanding more times than the next guy.
The sendero is in another universe...I was amazed with the consistency of the shots.
First three round group at 150 yds about 1cm around with two touching. Group was low and left... Adjusted the scope... another three round group, smaller than a quarter, dead center about 1" High.
Adjust.....next group, dead center 2 1/2" high smaller than a quarter with two touching.
Perfect. I have never sighted in a rifle that easily or had one so consistent.
9 shots and I was done.
Take out 4 2-liter bottles full of water at 250 yds with 4 shots. Wow, what a rifle!!!
So yesterday, we take out the fam and the other 7mm along with a few other family members sighting in thiers.
I break out the Sendero and send three 175gr Winchester soft point hunting rounds towards a target about 125 yds away.
My brother in law is spotting, he says he cant see my second shot, so I shoot again... He yells wait..I see it, you doubled the first shot. The third is less than 1/8" away from the doubled hole.... I'm all grins, but not surprised this time.
Three shots and I'm done..
My father in law is kicking himself in the butt because he recently traded his .280 Sendero for a 7mm RSAUM that we bought from him as a b-day gift for my sister in law.. He knows that he messed up...
My wife pulls up with the Ruger (on a bench of course for sight in)
Her first shot is right next to my group, second and third are less than an inch away. Good old ruger, always where you need it.
Done deal...ready to go. I was surprised that the Ruger stayed zeroed as it's been a couple of years since it's been out.
But the Sendero....wow, it's just a smile machine!!!
We plinked a few clays off a hillside ranging from 200 yds, to probably about 300. I can't say I hit the clay on every shot, but every single one would have been a dead elk.
That was fun....I can't wait to get a better scope and put some time into getting the bore polished. I have a hard time imagining this rifle getting more accurate, but I know that a mild trigger job (I'm not a fan of 1lb triggers, more like 3lbs) some good handloads and 50 to 100 rounds down the barrell will actually improve it!!!!
I know there are "better" (subjective) rifles and calibers out there, but for under 1000$, not including the scope....the Sendero is a winner in my book.