Remington 700 SPS Varmint INFO & ADVICE

[superlite17]

Hello all! As many of you know I have been beating this varmint rifle thing to death for a couple months... but finding a PERFECT rifle/calibre combo is very difficult... and every time i do it, about a day later i find one i like better. Anyway I have tentatively settled on the 22-250 and any comments on that are welcome as well!
Anyway, I have never owned Remington, but have heard GREAT things on some 700 platforms, specifically from military about the sniper rifles. I have had some "expert" marksmen tell me that Sendero and varmint 700's have ALL same features as the sniper rifles except stock quality/grade. So anotherwords in the Varmint and Sendero line you can get EVERYTHING except the stock for about $900 less. On the internet I have read alot that seemed to confirm this... but I cannot find the same info about the less expensive Remington 700 SPS Varmint that I saw in Dick's.
I am no rifle expert, i want the most accurate factory rifle i can buy... on a budget.
In summary, I have heard Rem Sniper riles ranked as the best on the planet, and that the Varmints were virtually identical. Is this true? And if so, does that hold true of the couple hundred dollar cheaper Remington 700 SPS Varmint???

In advance thanks for your knowledge, time, and help! Rod

 

[royinidaho]

It looks its time to quit aiming an pull the trigger. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

You've done your homework well...

You are pretty much spot on in your thinking but changed the specs when the "couple hundred dollar cheaper" phrase was used.

As with the fella that only wants an hole and has to purchase a drill motor and bit, all your after is a hole where you want but down range a ways and apparently at the least amount of expenditure.....

Purchasing an off the shelf factory rifle will more often than not get on that shoots decent. To shoot great they pretty much all need a little work. Most of which is do it yourself stuff.

Hopefully some of the Savage shooters will chime in here. You're just as apt to get a Savage shooter as a Rem. off the shelf and a bunch less expensive. Especially since you'll probably change the stock anyway.

In fact, 'my' next factory purchase will be a Savage or even the less expensive Stevens. I picked one up the other day and was intrigued by the AccuTrigger + the workmanship was pretty top notch.

Also, the glass you put on it is more important than the rife you put it on. Thus the recommendation for purchasing a less expensive rifle that is apt to shoot super well allows one to put more $ into the glass.

Just some thot's......

The 22-250 is a good pick.

 

[CatShooter]

[ QUOTE ]
Hello all! As many of you know I have been beating this varmint rifle thing to death for a couple months... but finding a PERFECT rifle/calibre combo is very difficult...

[/ QUOTE ]

The reason that you are having frustrations is, There is no perfect varmint rifle, especially when you use the words "less expensive" and "Budget" in the same paragraph.

[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, I have never owned Remington, but have heard GREAT things on some 700 platforms, specifically from military about the sniper rifles. I have had some "expert" marksmen tell me that Sendero and varmint 700's have ALL same features as the sniper rifles except stock quality/grade.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not true. The Military rifles have very fine custom barrels that are hand fitted.


[ QUOTE ]
So anotherwords in the Varmint and Sendero line you can get EVERYTHING except the stock for about $900 less.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not true. I have a Sendero-II that shoots like a match rifle, and two of my friends shoot them in 1,000 yard "F" class competition... but these are the high end of the Remington line, with a street price usually running around $900-$1,000, depending where you buy them. The stocks are internally identical to the Remington sniper stocks, and they are very fine.

The rifle you are talking about is the SPS... a budget rifle designed for the volume outlets like Wally world, etc. The SPS stock is a piece of crap stock. You will have to buy a new stock the day after you bring your rifle home.

[ QUOTE ]
On the internet I have read alot that seemed to confirm this... but I cannot find the same info about the less expensive Remington 700 SPS Varmint that I saw in Dick's.
I am no rifle expert, i want the most accurate factory rifle i can buy... on a budget.

[/ QUOTE ]

You cannot buy the most accurate varmint rifle for $400-450. The SPS has a light weight barrel and a whimpy stock, and the rifle tops out a 7 pounds.

[ QUOTE ]
In summary, I have heard Rem Sniper riles ranked as the best on the planet, and that the Varmints were virtually identical. Is this true?

[/ QUOTE ]

NO and NO.

You need to understand that, first, a sniper rifle is NOT the most accurate rifle in the world - it is built for stability and consistency. It MUST shoot to the same point of impact, under almost all conditions.

The accuracy of these rifles is OK, but NOT of match grade. They are built to get dragged around, beat up, and still hit a target that is 20"x40".

So you need to let this sniper fascination go... it's not relevant.

The starting price of the current Remington M-24 Sniper rifle is $3,500+, and you're talking $400... take some personal inventory on this thing.

[ QUOTE ]
And if so, does that hold true of the couple hundred dollar cheaper Remington 700 SPS Varmint???

[/ QUOTE ]

The "couple hundred dollar cheaper Remington 700 SPS Varmint" is THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS CHEAPER!!

[ QUOTE ]
In advace thanks for your knowledge, time, and help! Rod

[/ QUOTE ]


You have been the victim of some internet BS.

The rifle you are looking at is at the bottom of the Remington product line. This is in no way related to the Sendero's, the Varmint Specials, or the M24 Sniper rifles... these are all different animals.

If $400-$450 is your price range, you would be well advised to look at the Savage varmint rifles. They have an excellent reputation and many have won varmint matches out of the box.

The requirements of a Varmint rifle are very different than a sniper rifle.

.

 

[Triggernosis]

Well said, catshooter!

 

[Guest]

The SPS Varmint is actually a whole differant rifle than the SPS. It has a Non Fluted HB of about the same diamater as the Old Rem 700 BDL Varmint. The stock is totally differant than the standard SPS.
Remington Web Page
So far the feed back on them has been very good.

 

[hawkshaw59]

I just got mine finished up and took it to the range Saturday and was very impressed with the performance of the rifle. Mine is the .308 and I was shooting Remington Premere Match ammo which only comes is 168gr. I shot about 40 rounds through it at 100 and 200 yards. Had a 1 1/4 group at 200 and I know with some practice I will improve on that. For the price it is one of the best investments I have made on a rifle.

 

[davkrat]

I too am looking into the 22-250 SPS varmint. The only thing I can't for the life of em figure out is why they put a 1:14" twist in the 22-250. The .223 has a 1:12" twist, do they expect you to shoot longer heavier bullets out of a .223 than a 22-250? That's nuts. I was looking forward to getting one of these and shooting the heavier VLD bullets but I doubt a 14" twist will stabalize anything past 55gr.

 

[hawkshaw59]

In the beginning the .308 had a 1:12" but they changed it to 1:10" later. Hopefully they will change the .22-250 in the near future to something more suitable.

 

[superlite17]

[ QUOTE ]
I too am looking into the 22-250 SPS varmint. The only thing I can't for the life of em figure out is why they put a 1:14" twist in the 22-250. The .223 has a 1:12" twist, do they expect you to shoot longer heavier bullets out of a .223 than a 22-250? That's nuts. I was looking forward to getting one of these and shooting the heavier VLD bullets but I doubt a 14" twist will stabalize anything past 55gr.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you guys do not think this rifle will perform w/ the heavier grain?

Also those of you that have them... did you compare to Savage and are you glad you made the decission you made? Looks as if that trigger is new and maybe adjustable, is it?

Thanks - Rod

 

[CatShooter]

The 14" twist in the 22-250 will woirk fine with the 55gr soft points.

But it will usually NOT work well with the 55 grain plastic tipped bullets like the 55 V-Max, and the 55 Gr Blitzking. (I have the tee shirt /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )

 

[superlite17]

Pardon my ignorance, there is a lot of it. I have hunted and shot my whole life, but just recently really become OBSESSED with accuracy and I do not understand a lot of concepts related to it: So those and heavier "might" not perform or they "will not perform"? I ask because I like the ballistic tip bullets, kinda feel my soft points get nicks and dings, which I with my limitted knowledge believe affect my accuracy.

Here is what leads to this discussion: My first rifle was a Browning auto .270, it was lucky to shoot a 3" group at 100', I then bought a Ruger .300 that litterally stacked them on top of eachother, after several years I sold because of recoil and got a 7mm which was OK, since then I have bought and sold MANY rifles because I wanted better accuracy... I have not found one. I now have Tikka Continental hunter that is OK, 1/2 between shots at 100'. Anyway, I want a very accurate rifle, actually two. A Varmint and I am going to sell the Tikka. So advice on either, or both is welcome.
I have kinda come up with maybe buying tactical for hunting as I believe maybe the tollerances are better on them. Then Varmint... I am confused /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Thanks ALL - Rod

 

[superlite17]

Cat, The Remington 700 SPS Varmint is heavy barrel. I am asking for hep on some specific questins... If you have not had exposure to the specific product in question, and really do not know anything about it, it is best not to comment. Had I and others not seen this rifle, your quote could have led me astray. Thanks to all of you who do have experience with this product, it seems as though it might be a fair deal i could put a better stock on later.

Cat, no fascination with snipers here, just use it as a generalization rather than listing model # or acronym. Additionally, go to any manufacturer's site and you will find... generally speaking, the "sniper rifles" or for those who like to belittle others, or get the idea anyone who uses the term "sniper" is a wanna-be... "Police tactical" rifles ARE MADE TO BETTER SPECS THAN THE VARMINT LINE... just the nature of their intended target. No "fascination" here. Cat, I have been and done everything I was ever "fascinated with" in my life... what about you? I'm a closet psychologist as well, and I doubt it, or you wouldn't need to use internet forums to belittle other people.

Cat, virtually every topic i have started, you have commented on. Either your information is a WAY OFF generalization... or insulting. If you see my posts in the future forgo the need to post, and go to the nearest dumpster and take your frustrations out on a cat...

 

[Holepuncher]

Catshooter I did notice you said usually wont shoot 55 bt's I mostly use 52grn Berger's in my 22-250 but my rifle will also nail targets with bug holes using 55 combined technology BT'S!
Oh by the way I happened by and had to join and chim in!

Don

Superlite17 I have also took notice to the SPS but I must say I dont think the SPS will hold a candle to a Tikka Varmint in 22-250. Those Tikkas will really shoot with tailored hand loads!

 

[davkrat]

It's not the weight of the bullets that is the actual problem with barrel twist and stabaliziation. The length of the bullet is what determines the stabalization requirements of the bullet. A bullet having a fixed diameter can only get longer in order to have more mass, therefore a heavier bullet tends to be a longer bullet. You can't compare a 52 grain this with a 55 grain that, they will probably be similar but not equal. The .277 130 grain BT and 150 grain Partition are almost identical in length. I assume that the .22-250 has that slow twist rate because of the higher velocities of the round compared to the smaller .22's. Unfortunately I think the Marketing hype dictates this one. You've got to push those little 40 grain pills to 4000fps in order to sell rifles I guess! In a fast twis barrel 4000fps would lead to too high of RPMs for the light bullets to handle and they blow up in flight. It's too bad the major manufacturers haven't caught on to the high BC slower velocity befefits at long range. Then again the average hunter probably just wants speed. I'll probably get one of the SPS just for fun. I don't have the funds to drop on full blown custom rifles, I like to get something that is usable at a fair cost and then work on them over time. Some of them I may never get done but I like knowing that if I start with a Rem 700, even a cheap bead blasted one, I can always have a new barrel put on and drop it into a nice stock. I guess I just won't be shooting any of those long VLD's out of my 1:14" SPS.