Sanity Check on Rem 700...

T

Tango27

New member
Hey folks, I'm looking for a little input on an upcoming Remington 700 purchase. After lots of rounds through my Ruger 10/22 at 50-100 yards, I'm itching to start reaching out a bit further and seeing how I can do at 200-500 yards.

Obviously the 10/22, despite all its wonderful qualities, ain't gonna reach out that far. Thus, I'm looking at a bolt gun, and I don't think anything is going to shoot as well out of the box as a Remington 700 for the money. I may be wrong there, but this is what I've picked up from reading what you guys have to say on bolt gun comparisons.

Now, since there aren't many places to shoot 800-1000 yards around here, I'm thinking it wouldn't make much sense for me to go with the .308 (feel free to comment on that statement). For anything up to 500 yards (and maybe even a little farther depending on what I'm shooting), I can probably do fine with the .223.

And since I may be putting a different stock on the rifle after I've shot it a while (to get something that I can adjust to fit my body a little better than the standard stock), I'm thinking the 700VS is probably a better way to go than say the 700P. By the way, what are these two rifles priced at these days?

I'm also thinking about the Leopould long range M3 or M1 to put on top--or is this too much optic for shooting at distances less than 600 yards?

Finally, what is the "basic kit" for someone starting out on medium-range shooting? I know a spotting scope and rangefinder are two things I'll need. Any other tips you guys can give?

As always, thanks for the advice!

Tango
 
Tango: If you could get the VS in .243, that's be my recommendation. I'm going to see if I can get somebody to swap a .243 barreled action out of a VLS into a VS stock for me. Maybe the Rem. Custom Shop would do it.

I own a Rem. VS. I use an 8X32X44mm scope. You can probably do fine at the ranges that you mentioned with a variable with a max power of 20. The Leupold 6.5X20 Target/Varmint is a great scope for your purposes.

Going prices around here for VS's are in the $535-$600 range.
 
The remington 700 VS is a great choice but you may want to consider the .308 more closely. The .223 is OK at the 400 yd range but not great. The .308 will be more wind resistant for long ranges. You should also be able to shoot .308 at 1000 yds if you get a hankering to get out that far some day.
 
Your basic idea of the 700 is sound. I'd prefer the .308 to the .223 because it is more of an all-around-utility cartridge. That is, target or casual plinking or hunting. The .223 generally should not be used for hunting anything bigger than a coyote.

As for scopes, well, away from hunting, whatever your billfold will stand. I've killed a couple of deer at 350 and 450 yards with my 3X9 set on 3X for the "close" shot, and I vaguely recall aroun 6X on the longer.

I'm shooting off a table at 500 yards with a Simmons 44 Mag, set on 10X...Works fine.

Now, if and when you get into hunting mode, I wouldn't want more than 3X9, generally, because of the field-of-view issue. A running target at 40 to 50 yards, and even 3X can be a bit narrow. :)

Hope this helps, Art
 
If you're planning on swapping out the stock, save some $$ and go with the VLS. This is a target wood stock that keeps the price lower than that of the H&S Precision units on the PSS and VS.
I second the .308. I currently switched to a .223 VS from a .308 PSS and will be switching back on Tuesday. The .223 is accurate, but I feel that I have lost that punch from the 30 caliber bullet.
The Leupold M3 is an excellent choice. I have been using one for about 9 months now and I love it. The main difference between the M1 and M3 is that the M3 has the Bullet Drop Compensator(BDC). This is a nice feature if you're shooting factory match ammo and want the quick adjust feature.

Be Safe
Mike
 
.308 if you want top go with a "general" purpose caliber... good for paper, hunting, long range, etc.

As for scope I've got a Leupold Mark 4 M1 on my "precision" rifle. It is 10x. I also use it for stand hunting. These are great scopes. However, if you want a veriable look at the Springfields. They have the recticle on the correct focal plane for use on a veriable.

As for rangefinding. Take a look at a MilDot Rectical. It will alway be with you and it's batteries don't ever wear out.



------------------
Schmit
GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"
 
I use Remingtons in both 223 and 308 for prairie dogs. While 223 will shoot a long ways it has a practical range of about 300yds because of wind. Lighter bullets just seem to blow away on windy days. If you can figure out the drop you can shoot 308 with more accuracy at longer range on windy days because of the heavier bullet.

Most of my 223 pdog shooting has been with 52 - 53 grain bullets. If the rate of twist on my rem 700 varmit special in 223 will take it, I'm going to try 69, 77 and 80 grainers to see if I can lob them a little further.
 
Art:

I've shot a few of the VLS's. I can't get the same performance from them as with the HS Precision VS stocks. The laminated shock sure is pretty, but it doesn't free-float the barrel, and the action isn't pillar or any other kind of bedded that I can see. Rem. has made the .243 in VS, but just not now. Still have hopes of getting the Custom Shop to put a .243 heavy barreled action in a VS stock. Since they don't have any "special" work to do, I'd hope that they wouldn't charge to much for the service. (All this, of course, if I can't get a good deal on a Tikka Continental with 26" barrel)
 
You dont mention what you are shooting?
Finding .22 caliber holes in paper at 500 yards bites. I aggree a larger cartige has more overall utility for hunting applications.

You might look at savage also. I hear good things about the degree of accuracy for price. However, I am a Remington fan like yourself.

Don't fool yourself though, you'll eventually want more rifles!! So don't agonize too much over the caliber <eg>

Doctari
 
Thanks for all the advice. I figured there would be many recommendations to go with the .308 over the .223. Has anyone read the article in this month's Tactical Shooter on the USMC M14 DM Rifle? In the last two pages of the article, the authors explain the advantages of using the M16 rather than the M14 as a DM rifle at ranges from 500-700 yards. They say the standard M855 round will still travel at 1292 fps at 700 yards, and can penetrate an armored vest at that range.

Have they overlooked something? There is of course the wind issue, but that may be mitigated a bit with a heavier bullet. The article says that the Army and USMC rifle teams have switched to the M16, and can shoot better at 700 yards than they did with the M14. Since in all liklihood I'll only be shooting paper or steel, and at distances less than 600 yards, I thought the .223 would be adequate for my needs (and if it costs less, weighs less, and has less recoil, so much the better).

Any thoughts?

Tango
 
Since you will probably want to use heavy bullets in the .223 for long range, you might want to consider the rifling. Remington offers the 700 in .223 with a 1 in 12" twist, which is best for bullets up to 63 g., but might not work for really heavy bullets.

I'm saving my pennies and researching for a similar rifle project, but I've settled on the .308. I'm leaning toward the 700 VS and am now researching scopes. I'm probably going to get the Leupold 3.5-10x but am still undecided between the 40mm objective vs. the 50 mm. The cost difference isn't all that much, but the 50mm requires high rings and I hate having to raise my head off the comb of the stock. From what I've read, it seems that you can't use a good spot weld with the high rings. Another issue for me is the mil-dot reticle. It adds almost $100 to the price of the scope. I'm thinking of putting that money toward a Bushnell laser range finder and sticking with the Duplex reticle.

For a spotting scope, I'm using a Russian 25-60x reflector scope I picked up very cheap from The Sportsman's Club mail order. You can also get the Tasco 20-60x for about $100. The Army uses Bausch & Lomb.

I'm learning a lot from The Ultimate Sniper by John Plaster.

Good luck, and please post after you start shooting to let us know what works for you.
 
FWIW, I just purchased a Remington 700 in .308, broke it in and sighted it over the weekend. Scope is a Simmons 2.5-10 X 50. At the 100yd range, the wind was plowing 8-12 mph from the side, and I was shooting 1-2" groups. Not bad for a windy day and my first time shooting something bigger than .22 My last group of the day was a cloverleaf--3 touching. Very intriguing. Needless to say, I'm very pleased. Only complaint is the trigger was pretty heavy. But I hear that's very common these days. Also easy to fix. Hope you are as happy with yours ans I am with mine. Let us know how it goes.
 
You might want to think about something in .270. You get the Flatter balistics like you have in the .223 and the same range as you would get out of the .308. The bullets tend to be a bit lighter, but overall you have a great calliber.
 
Tango27 I was interested in getting the 700VLS in .223($539.),but after looking at one i realized that for my purpose (crow,groundhog and coyote)it would get heavy packing around. I found a 700ADL with synthetic stock($329) that i think would fit my needs. Later i can change the stock it needed.
AEM I had a simmons 3x9x40 scope with leuopld standard mounts, replace the scpoe with a 3x9x50 Leupold,used the same rings just enough room to put Butler Creek flip up covers. Had to remove the back sight.
 
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