New Member -- Advice/Experience Wanted!

Brydawg512 said:

Yes, thank you very much! I will most definitely stay with my current rifle, considering I know and love the gun so much. So from what I'm hearing, upgrade the scope and then find consistent rounds? Also, the Vortex Viper PST 4x16-50 would or would not be suitable for this 500-600 yard range? Sorry for my lack of knowledge...

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xsn10s said:

Thanks for the kudos Alibiiv. I think at this juncture if his rifle is a shooter then getting practice and supporting equipment would be money well spent. Then after some more trigger time and experience he would be better educated on what HE actually needs.

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Creedmoor shooter said:

That's more than enough scope. I have that same scope and have shot it out to 1450 with great results. Recently bought a gen2 pst 5-25. No comparison between the two. Gen2 has way better glass

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entoptics said:

Any scope from a reputable maker in the 4-16X range give or take, that costs about $500 or more, will be adequate for your purposes most likely. Nikon, Bushnell, Burris, Leupold, Sig Optics, and Vortex all have good stuff in that range. More $$ is usually better, but benefits start to drop off exponentially as you approach the $800-$1000 range, and unless you want the most bomb-proof construction, you probably won't see much benefit in going above $800 in the ~16X magnification range.

As for the PST specifically, you probably don't need it, as illumination is not really necessary for hunting scenarios, and it usually costs an extra 20%. The Vortex HS-T line is good, and very reasonably priced (especially if you look for deals).

Beyond quality glass and robust build, the things you need to look for in a scope are...

1. Finger adjustable turrets. I like exposed turrets, but they can shift on you when hiking (see below about zero resettable/stop turrets).
2. Zero resettable turrets (ideally with a zero stop also). This allows you to set your zero, and easily return to it without counting clicks.
3. A measuring reticle (not just generic hold over "BDC" types). The reticles will be referred to as "MOA" or "Milling" reticles, and have hash marks for angular measurements (MOA or Milliradians). This allows you to do holdovers at some ranges, but more importantly, it will allow you to measure group size, and bullet drop and windage offsets, from the bench. The "BDC" or "Ballistic" reticles with aiming points at various yardages are better than nothing, but are "one size fits all", which means they rarely fit anything quite right.

You will also need a good bipod, a decent range finder in the "1000 yd" class, some shooting bags, and it wouldn't hurt to get a chronograph.

As mentioned already, I also think the rifle you have is probably just about perfect, so spend your money on the gear to support that rifle. Your budget should get you there, but as also mentioned, there's something to be said for "Buy once, Cry Once", so try and save up money, and be patient looking for deals and coupons. $700 on a scope, $400 rangefinder, $300 on "miscellaneous" would put you in great shape.

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Idaho Lefty said:

The 7MM Rem Mag is a GOOD Elk- Moose caliber IMO,.. I'd buy; (1) a GOOD Scope,.. 4.5X X 14X Burris', are very reasonable and plenty of Scope, to 700 Yards, on Big Game ( or, similar ) The Burris 3x - 15X 30MM Veracity, is even nicer ( 2) Reload 154 grain Horn Interbond's, 160 grain Nosler Accubond's or 168 Berger Hunting Bullets for, plenty of "punch" to 700 Yards on Elk ! All the Bullets stated have, fairly flat trajectory, with, LOW recoil off, a Bipod, Sticks or, Pack ! (3) another MUST HAVE is, a GOOD Timney or other good Trigger for the Rem. M-700, set at about, 2 to 2.5 Pounds for Hunting (4) Glass BED the Rifle, as stated by others or, pay a "good" Gunsmith, to do it and "free float", the Barrel.
(5) Practice "Field positions" after your loads are VERIFIED, at the ranges necessary and then,.. PRACTICE some more, until you can hit a 10" Steel Plate, at 400 yd's sitting on a Hillside, over "Sticks" , every time ! ( I use Hunters Specialties, the wood, $15.00 ones) with, my Pack rested, on my Chest, under the Rifle's "Toe" firmly supported. And then, practice to 700-750 yards over, the Pack/ bi-pod with, good "Toe" Support ( I use a Hollands Field rest ). You will also NEED to learn Wind reading, Skills as the Wind,.. is usually blowing when, Elk Hunting ! PS I only like a moveable top Turret as, the side "windage" Turrets, get bumped, quite often! And YES, "Zero" at 200 yards as, the 7 Mag is a Flat shooter with, medium weight, Bullets ! Good luck and have FUN !

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Alibiiv said:

Me again here. I'll probably get some feedback on this one, but it's my two cents worth. I like Leupold scopes, have a gun locker with about 15 or more them. I have VX IIIs for the most part, sort of a middle-of-the-road price range. What I do like about them is that they carry a lifetime warranty with them. I recently purchased a used Ruger 77 with a 3.5-10 VXIII scope on it. The scope was a bit cloudy and really needed to be upgraded. For me the scope was worth what I paid for the rifle because I knew that I can send it back to the factory for repair. My thoughts here are that there are a number of used scopes on sites like Gunbroker or Guns International and some are at a very reasonable

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Alibiiv said:

Please do not be sorry about the lack of knowledge. You were smart enough, and energetic enough, and motivated enough to look for information on something that interested you. And....you are listening, I think that you are doing a great job. As for a stock, for the shooting that I do, I like the looks and balance of the walnut stock (old school). I have had really good success glass bedding my rifles from the front of the receiver to the first four inches in front of the recoil lug and then float the rest of the barrel channel so that the barrel does not touch the wood from that point forward. Right now I have read articles that have stated that this does not work, or there are better ways like pillar bedding. All I can say that for a $30 AcraGlas kit and some time in the basement with a Dremel tool and some small carving chisels, I can make a difference on how my rifles repeatedly shoot. It's important to remember that you can easily spend thousands of dollars on buying equipment and gunsmithing services. "xns10s" in one of the responses has really given you some great information on what you already have. The 7mm RemMag is a very versatile and respectable cartridge with a great bullet selection, and some great ballistics to go with those bullets.

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Brydawg512 said:

Do you think that the scope would be overkill? Is the gen 2 cheaper or is it a more advanced scope than the Viper?

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Creedmoor shooter said:

5-25 is overkill for your purpose. They make a 3-15 model in the gen 2 that would work well

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