Remington sps 20 inch barrel

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Wendyj

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Been thinking of buying a Remington sps in 308 win for bench work only. Store had put a hold on last 26 inch bull barrel for another person. Only 2 left are 2 Remington's in 20 inch. One is 12 twist and the other is a 10 twist. For 600-800 yards would these shorter barrels work? Know I'll lose some velocity but not sure which twist to choose from. 10 should shoot 17@-180 if I'm not mistaken. Most of what I get cheaper is 165-168 grain bullets.
 
1:10 will shoot everything from 110-220gr.

But if it were me, I would get a savage for your intended purpose. Will be a better out of the box rifle than the Remington. Remington will require, at minimum, a trigger upgrade and probably a stock to get best accuracy from it.

FWIW, I have a savage with 18" heavy barrel that I use for bench shooting. You're gonna lose maybe 150fps over a 24" barrel.
 
My 18" Ruger Predatorn in 308 is about 110 fps slower than my 22" Winchester, about 18 fps for each inch.

I'd buy the 10 twist, although it might not make that much difference in reality.
 
+1 on the Savage. If you grow tired of that barrel, you can change it yourself with a few easily obtained tools (even change calibers if you choose).
 
I'd rather have the 18 inch. I can put bell and Carlson stock on for $240.00. Seems like years ago when I first started shooting I doubt I knew what a twist was. Just kept buying ammo until I found one that worked. Reloading opened a lot of doors and I've learned a lot. Seems like all older guns I find now are pretty much all 10 twist.
 
Wendyj said:
Been thinking of buying a Remington sps in 308 win for bench work only. Store had put a hold on last 26 inch bull barrel for another person. Only 2 left are 2 Remington's in 20 inch. One is 12 twist and the other is a 10 twist. For 600-800 yards would these shorter barrels work? Know I'll lose some velocity but not sure which twist to choose from. 10 should shoot 17@-180 if I'm not mistaken. Most of what I get cheaper is 165-168 grain bullets.
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the 12 twist will work ideally up to 168's. Some have successfully shot 175's but I failed to see them working per my data in my R700 Varmint 1-12" . There is no reason to shoot >168's for typical short to mid range target. Some guys just love to brag about launching 200gr bullets at max velocities. All's your doing at this point is spending extra money on expensive heavy bullets and prematurely burning out your barrel IMO. I prefer 155's and 168's and mild velocities <2550 fps . I use these all the way out to 600 yds with excellent results. You will loose approx. 40 fps per inch of barrel and the published FPS ballistics data is usually generated with a 24" bbl. You can most certainly take a 20" bbl rifle out to 600 yds provided you keep your velocities no less than 1200 fps at the end of 600 yds. Anything less and you risk going transonic and that festers bullet instability. I don't have deep knowledge of shooting 800 yds so I can't help with that distance.
 
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I shoot a Remington 700 20" brl 1-12 twist 168 gr Sierra HPBT bullet, Started out as a 700 LTR. barrel & action same as the SPS,After 4000+ rounds through the barrel had a barrel change. 20" heavy barrel has less wip then the 26" I bench rest shoot with this rifle 200 yard zero 1/2" groups an better with a rear bag off a Harris bi-pod. Just love shooting the rifle. Changed the trigger to a Jewell set at 10 oz. I favor the 20" over the 26. 1-12 has less stress on the bullet, perfect for 168 & 175. Sierra came out with a 168 grain tipped match king bullet good for 1000 yards if long range is your game. 200 yards is my range, goal is 1 hole 5 shot groups, close but not there yet. If rifle is for bench only, once you get use to the rifle ( alot of trigger time) changes will come, Bedding the stock or change, trigger to a much lighter pull & after 4000+ when barrel change is needed have it blueprinted, I can tell you I can not be more satisfied with my 20" barreled Remington 700 308 Cal. 1-12 twist. Hope I helped, Chris
 
Went back to gun shop today and they have the 700 milspec fluted barrel with 5 R rifling for $1100.00 with bedded HS precision stock. Think I'm going to bite the bullet and go with it. 11 1/2 twist. Lot more gun for the money.
 
Wendyj, That's the stock I have on my rifle, that up grade on the SPS would have cost you $350. Twist is perfect ( not to fast ) 5R rifling, what else could you ask for. When I went for a barrel change, a match grade barrel, is 11.25 5R just like your's. Your way ahead or the game with that rifle. Good luck, Be Safe Chris
 
The HS Precision does have a aluminum block, I did notice some rub marks, ruffed up the aluminum bedded with devcon, set action screws to 65" lbs. stock is rock solid.
 
For what its worth I just went through this same scenario. I have a REM 700SPS 26" 1-12 Varmint 308 that I have had for around 6yrs I mostly shot 168s with it and @ 100yds it would put 5rnds touching one another I tried 175s and it fell apart especialy past 100yds at 600yds it was all over the place. So I decided I wanted a new rifle with a 1-10 twist to stabilize the heavier rounds better. I went with the Remington MODEL 700 SPS TACTICAL AAC-SD with a 20" 1-10 barrel. I have had great results with it at 600 yds shooting 175s I can consistently hit the head part (about 6" square) on a full size IPSC steel silhouette. It came with a Hogue Overmolded Ghillie Green Pillar Bedded Stock that I love the feel of, but I dropped it in my Accuracy International stock from my other 700. X-Mark Pro Externally Adjustable Trigger that was suppose to be set at 3.5 pounds I couldn't get it below 4.5 pounds so I put a Timney Calvin Elite trigger in it set a 8oz anyway I have no regrets I really like this rifle.
 
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