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Remington 700 sps long range?

8K views 32 replies 18 participants last post by  zukiking254 
#1 ·
I'm wanting to get into some long range shooting.
I want the gun to be bolt action.
I want the gun to be .308 or 7mag
And I am between a remington 700 or browning xbolt.
I've handled a remington sps long range and browning xbolt in the store and I'm leaning towards the 700 due to ruggedness and it feels pretty good.

Has anybody ever had either one these guns and what are you experiences with them.

I'm new to the 700 world so any help would be appreciated
 
#2 ·
The 700 is an excellent platform straight out of the box. I have a PSS and with Federal Gold Medal 308 168gr I get 1/2min groups. The SPS comes already Aluminum bedded in a H-S Precision Stock which helps greatly inthe accuracy department. I have taken mine out to 800yrds and kept in a 8" circle using 175gr. I don't have experience with the Browning so I'll leave that one to someone who has.
 
#3 ·
I have self defense handguns and an ar 15 that I'm comfortable with out to 300 yrds open sight.
The reason I'm wanting a rifle like this is for hunting and general purpose but on the other side in a shtf scenario, I think a long range rifle would be handy towards a group of turds. I rather deal with turds at 800 yrds than under 300yrds. The place I have to defend I can see nearly 1500 yards in certain places.
 
#8 ·
I have a Leopold Mark 4 M1 Fixed 10 power with Mildot Reticle. One of the issues you might run into with higher power scopes is mirage. I've always found that 10 power is really all I need. You might be different. Having said that, if youve never shot at anything long range, say anything past 300yrds, then you gonna have to learn how to cope with more than just mirage. Wind drift, BD, dope, cosign, etc...
 
#12 ·
I've been using a Mod 700 SPS Varmint (26 in bull bbl) in .308 for my long range (out to 880 yds) rig. The only thing I've done to it is change out the crappy stock that it came with and mount a Leupold MK2 6.5x18. And run some 175 grain Seirra HPBT handloads through it.
It woks great for my needs and I think the total was about $1270
 
#14 ·
I have a Model 700 in .308, set up to shoot @ 1000 yards.



It is capable of this type of bench accuracy @ 100 yards for a 5 shot string (168gr match w/46 gr IMR4064)



The 700 is more than up to the task for distance shooting.

Your round choice is critical for the distance you want to shoot. If you plan to shoot at a 1000 yard or greater and you want the rifle to be able to consistently deliver sub MOA (less than 10") at 1000 yards, then I'd suggest you do not choose a .308. Go with one of the 300 magnums or a .338 magnum.

The 7mm magnum is fine, but your bullet choices in .284, for distance shooting, are not as great as the choices in .308. Also, unless you reload you are not going to easily/cheaply find match grade 7mm magnum ammo designed for distance shooting.

.308 Win is great sub MOA at 600-800 yards. If your goal is to be minute of man at a 1000 yards then the .308 is fine. If you plan on shooting the .308 past 600 yards, I would also suggest to get a 20 MOA base for which every rifle you choose. If you are going to dedicate this rifle to distance target shooting you'll be fine with a 10X fixed scope (use mil dot or a laser ranger). If you plan on hunting with it as well I'd get a reasonable variable scope in the 4-16x range and get quality glass (expect to spend $800 to $2500 on optics...how deep are your pockets...lol)

The real issues with distance shooting isn't the rifle set up as it is the shooters ability to range the distance while adjusting for atmospheric conditions on the fly.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I have a Remington 700 SPS Stainless in .300 WSM that has well over 4000 rounds through it, mostly hand loads. My loads are for accuracy, not velocity so I am sure that helped barrel life. Accuracy as of last week was still sub MOA. From the reading I have done, this appears to be normal (with the .300 WSM anyway) as several years ago a shooter won a big match with a .300 WSM that also had about 4000 rounds through it.
 
#20 ·
Last police sniper school I went we got to do some shooting from 1000 yards in December in the freezing rain. You could see the vapor trail of the rounds going down range. I used only Rem 700 pss at that time. Fantastic weapon. Just built me another one but used the 700 varmit model this time for the longer barrel. I love it. Those were all in 308. Did build me a 700 few years back in 30/06 yep fine DSS (deer sniper system) love hogue stocks.
 
#24 ·
If you hand load you are going to go through more powder per round for the 300 mag. Loaded match bullets cost more too.

You can put 8000 rounds through a 308 barrel, can shoot anything from 100gr to 175gr bullets (some shoot heavier but that is usually the upper limit for accuracy/performance coming from most experts). The SPS comes with a 1:12 twist so practically, you will be using the 168gr bullets max.

The 700 SPS tactical is a solid base, but you will have to upgrade the stock right off the bat (with bipod or shooting off sand bags in the front, the stock will flex and touch the free floated barrel, making it non-free floating during your shots). A stock upgrade is $250 at the bottom end, and can run upwards of $800.

If you get the 700P or 700PSS, you get a solid HS precision stock that won't need upgrading immediately, but you still pay $900'ish for that rifle to start.

You will probably eventually want to put a detachable magazine onto it, so you will replace the bottom metal (to accomodate AICS magazines) and that's another $300'ish or so.

Solid bipod is $100 (most use Harris). 20 MOA base and rings can be $100-$200 for the pair.

Price adds up fast, before you ever put good glass on the gun, which most serious distance shooters pay more for the glass than their gun.

Entry level, your 700 SPS is fine, but get it in 308 because it is cheaper and the barrel will last longer. Learn to shoot with that, shoot the barrel out, upgrade the barrel then. You can piece the other stuff onto it as you go and money allows.

Or spend about $1300 entry level for one of these affordably upgraded 700's:

http://www.snipercentral.com/scriflepackagedetails.phtml?packageid=2

With a few goodies you can pay a bit more for if you want.

I shoot an FN PBR in .308 (winchester pre-70 action/claw extractor) with 3 position safety that blocks the firing pin instead of the trigger seer. Comes with a detachable box magazine (proprietary and about $50 each to replace, but its a system already included in rifle package instead of the $300 for bottom metal upgrade to start. Comes with 1 or 2 piece base already mounted to action. Can get an older one with non-fluted barrel or the newer ones (PBR XP) that has flutes for weight reduction. Oh, and the stock is also a hogue overmold same as the 700 SPS, except it has a full length aluminum bedding block and aluminum rods reinforcing the stock fore end so it doesn't flex. It cost me $750.

http://www.snipercentral.com/pbr.htm

One Remington 700 to consider is the 5R mil-spec.

http://www.snipercentral.com/milspec5r.phtml

And reloading is going to cost you to get setup, especially if you buy a few splurge type items instead of bottom end stuff. Good luck finding powder right now.

God I love this hobby!
 
#25 ·
Thanks xelera, money is not really an issue cause I work more than time off to spend it but I'm thinking if taking some of your advise and start small get used to shooting at longer ranges. Just like my first ar 15 I bought a decent one and just started to play with it.
 
#31 ·
I think you are better served, for your scenarios, with .308.. For some scenarios- .308 in semi-auto is a far better choice- like SHTF... as long as you keep things longer range- bolt should be more than OK.

Reasons for a round like .300 Win Mag:
The boom.. At the range- sounds like a cannon. Actually had neighbors come by "to see the cannon".. even at public ranges- well- the others realize that the big boys have come out to play.. What's better than a single shot cannon; a semi-auto cannon that fires 4 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger !
Flatter shooting...
How about bragging rights? A guy at work- proud of his recent purchase of a Garand. Proud of the 30-06.. Proud of how much more power it had over his 5.56.. .300 WM outperforms the 30-06 by about 1000 ft lbs.. ;) Yeah, someday- someone I know will buy a .338 or maybe a .50 BMG-- till then.... ;) ;) ;) Of course, blowing holes thru 1/2 inch steel gongs at 100 yards and literally blowing it apart with the second shot- well- something the other guys haven't managed to do. :) :) :) ( The IT section goes to the range together every now and again; quite the collection of guns... )

The downside; Ammo for the .300 WM is closer to $2 a round.. Recoil sensitivity; after a box of 20- you will probably be sore for the next week..
 
#32 ·
I admit to being one of those people who have a 338LM rifle, even tho I am nowhere near as good of a shooter as to be able to fully utilize the round. It is a cool thing to have, and I actually do truly enjoy watching my friend take my rifle and out shoot everyone at the range (USMC Force Recon Scout Sniper/Instructor, now Army SOF Sniper/Instructor). He's patie nt enough to teach me, but I will admit that even with a round that scoffs at 800m targets, I struggle to get out past that range at the moment, while my friend is making amazing shots at 1500yds using factory 300gr Hornady/Lapua rounds.

The R700 AAC is a rifle I like very much, suppressor ready out of the box. I have one converted to 300BLK (custom action, new stock, new 16"bbl, AAC can) and it's a quiet tack driver.
 
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