Hey guys just got a Rem 700 long range I'm 300 rum. Was curious how big a bullet one can put in this configuration. Was hoping for a 210 at least. Thanks in advance.
Ps, hopefully this one doesn't hold the recent Remington accuracy problem
What is your twist rate? It seems like about every 12-18 Months now someone is upping the ante for the newest bestest BC in It's class bigger, longer and heavier bullet and even at Rum velocities there are limit to what a 10 twist can do.
I've given up that race because I was unsatisfied with the terminal performance of so many of the new wonder bullets to come along the last few years and I'm comfortable giving up some BC if it gives me a bullet I can rely on 100%, every time I pull the trigger. For a long time that bounced back and forth between the Nosler Accubond and Hornady Interbond. The Accubond is still an excellent hunting bullet for anything in N. America in the right hands and right calibers. Nosler really let us down with the ALR's though when they initially way overstated their original BC's and it just wasn't possible that it was an honest mistake. That always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Hornady let me down when they quit producing their most reliable bonded bullet period in order to ramp up for their New Hornady ELD series in which they produced the ELDX and M models both of which have great flight characteristics but they failed to bond them with the same process that had worked so great for them for so many years.
I don't like bullets that break up, I want them to hold together and track straight through no matter what they hit and I really like to see a reasonable exit on the backside. Not something you can throw softballs through or use for a baskeball hoop and certainly not something that just pencils through.
Nosler's tried and true Partition is still a great bullet but it's still an open flat based bullet that can give little better than a caliber sized exit if it only goes through the ribs or soft tissue. Need a great bullet to drive through the shoulders and spine of an Elk though and it will get the job done. A friend of mine racked up over forty beautiful bulls with the old Nosler Partition from his 7mm Rem Mag from the early seventies until his retirement from guiding and big game hunting due to health reasons about ten years ago. That man taught me more about shooting and being a true outdoorsman than anyone else in my life and remains one of the most respected figures in my life. As a 12 yo I saw him make what had to be an impossible shot at over 800yds with that 7RM, BDL, with what we'd call today a cheap old Bushnell Banner "range adjustable scope" that came with dials for various bullets giving you rough range drops out to if I remember right 550 and he had the skills to send them well beyond 800. We were driving around the ranch west of Graham one day and he said, "see that coyote" and I said the one up on the hill, he said "Yep", grab my rifle and shoot him. I looked at him embarassed and said Homer, there's no way I can make that shot, it has to be five hundred easy. He told me, "Boy, there's one certain way you'll never make a shot like that is not try, and I sheepishly said, but I'm bound to miss and let you down. He said CR, I started missing those shots when I was your age so I could make them when I got to my age and I didn't have me to help you.
Sure enough he got me out of the truck laid his bags over the hood, told me what to dial up and where to hold and to squeeze. I couldn't believe how proud he was when sure enough I hit him dead center on the shoulder, and he just smiled and said, next time you figure it out and I'll watch. I blew the shot, he said why? and I told him I got nerveous and pushed it. He said yep, no need to rush, take your time, think it through and squeeze, we're not running out of coyotes or bullets.
Next one was a chip shot at about 400 less than 5deg angle so Idialed it up, waited till the shot was right and killed it.
I was Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood rolled into one in a 5'6" frame that never new how to fail. Sure, he'd miss one now and again and learned from every shot and taught me to do the same.
20 years later some buddies were trying to get him into a new deal called IPPSC, 3 gun competition. He knew I'd had some considerable side arm training and asked if I'd come help.
What could I say, I borrowed 10.00 worth of Gas to get from Tarelton to Newcastle and bright and early he kicked me out of bed and told me to earn my breakfast.
He'd watched way too many movies and some videos of the pros with their quickdraws knocking down movie bad guys with magic guns and pro's mowing down pie plates and bowling pins with blazing speed.
At ten yards he could hit the round bale we pinned the paper plate to but not much better.
He never knew how to fail and ran through three mag's with his dad's 1911 which was his fathers side arm he brought back from WWII and hadn't had any real care or upgrades since. He'd only shot it the day before he called me and new he needed some help.
I said leave me the last three rounds.
I stuck it in my back pocket he said go, I carefully drew and in about 3 seconds put all three dead center.
He said I can't win this thing shooting that slow, and I told him you can't win if you can't hit all 8/9 whatever they were putting up and do it moving from station to station with mandadory drops and reloads at specific times and such all designed to put more pressure on you and right now you've put 25rounds out plenty fast from a static position and haven't scored a hit.
Like you told me that day long ago with the rifle. Take your time, ingraine the muscle memory and take you shot when it's right. The speed will follow.
I also told him to take it to town if he wanted to shoot it and get some upgrades so we did a minimal accurizing package on it and he said he'd do is best and I could come back the next weekend.
The next weekend we had it set up more like their range and sure enough, as a novice/rookie class, whatever they had at that time his score would have gotten him into the last weeks top five. We tweaked on it some more and I changed out his springs and did some file work on his trigger components and it got quicke.
He could't afford an AR at the time so we kidnapped my dad's M1A, accurized it and I helped him with that. He really didn't know what to do with a rifle that wasn't a bolt gun but by the time the weekend was over, again, his score would have put him in the last week's contest about midway up against some guys who'd been doing it quite a while, had top end equipment and a budget that allowed them to shoot five days a week, some even had the stores they work for furnishing the hardware and ammo.
He promised to work hard on it but I had finals or midterms the next weekend so he was on his own.
Of course he put every spare minute he hand into it and got a progressive loader for the 45 acp and his old RCBS single stage for the rifle ammo and probably spent every spare nickel he had setting himself up for success.
Being increadibly hard headed and the most natural athlete and shooter I've probably every known, instead of practicing the next week he entered the local shoot, placed in the top two with all three guns even shooting his same old 1100 Rem Bird gun for the shotgun portion and took first place in his division.
Several consecutive years into the future he kept himself in the top ten even at the state level and was both runner up several time and won it a time or two as well I believe.
He just refused to fail and dedicated himself to be the best at everything he tried. He was even good enough at golf he could have turned pro but for his temper. They didn't appreciate cowboy language at some of the golf courses and he could string'm together if he blew a shot. No one could be as hard on him as he was on himself.
Dedicate yourself to it, learn all you can and work your butt off with capable equipment and ammo and even if you lack talent, it's certainly possible to master any shooting discipline to a competitive level you can be proud of even if you are your only competition.
This same man was responsible for my first antelope hunt and successful kill way back with drawing an out of state tag in NM was like finding gold bars laying on the bank floor and the banker telling you, It's ok, take two, we have plenty to give away today!
5'6 maybe seven in tall boots, never over a 140 pounds and he's still a giant of a man to me 42 years or so after that Antelope.
When you find your niche, find a kid who's interested and mentor them even if it's not your own kid. They'll cherish it for life and you'll get so, so much more out of it for yourself as well.
You came to the right place. There are people here who will bend over to help you get off to a good start and then help you improve your capabilities far beyond what you think you have or can develop.