700 ADL 7mm Rem Mag

[wjarrell]

Hey ya'll, long time reader first time poster. I'm fairly new to rifles and very green to long range shooting and hunting. I'm not at all interested in competition, just hunting deer sized animals and shooting steel out to 800 yards for practice.

My wife bought me a Remington 700 ADL in 7 rem mag for our wedding anniversary. I was pretty excited about it. She got it from Sportsmans Warehouse, it came with 26" barrel and junk cheap scope, rings, and bases. When I picked up the gun I bought a box of HSM 168 grain vld's and went shooting. While I got it on paper, it was pretty obvious that the scope wouldn't track, aiming at bulls eye and hitting 8 inches to the left and 4 inches high. (I had no expectations for the factory scope or rings.) So for the rest of the box I continued to aim for the same spot to see if I could get the gun to group. If I remember right it was shooting about an inch at 100 yards with the factory scope rings and bases.

I already have one piece Talley rings mounted and in a month or two I will be putting a Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x44 on it. Next will be a Timney trigger. I'm pretty confident that the new and better rings and scope will improve my groups. If I can get sub moa groups with HSM 168 vld that is what I will shoot, if not I will load for it. Does anyone shoot this gun or have any reviews on it? Am I on the right track?

Thanks, Will

 

[dok7mm]

Welcome. You will find, I'm afraid, that the ammo you like and the ammo your rifle likes may not be the same. Good move to replace scope and rings and plan for a new trigger. Get a good shooting rest set up that fits your use and practice. Let your barrel cool between shots if you want to get good groups and enjoy your new hobby. As you get farther along, the members will expand on things to help you along. Good luck.

 

[SOUTHTEXASBOY]

I bought the same gun to transform into a long range gun, mine however did not come with a scope. I basically threw the stock and trigger away, I found a good deal on a B&C M40 stock, beaded the action to the stock, 20MOA EGW base, low EGW rings, vortex pst 6-24x50 scope and timney trigger. I have a pretty good load worked up, 69gn H1000, 168gn Berger VDL hunting bullets shoot a little better than 1/2 inch at 100 yards.

 

[wjarrell]

I bought the same gun to transform into a long range gun, mine however did not come with a scope. I basically threw the stock and trigger away, I found a good deal on a B&C M40 stock, beaded the action to the stock, 20MOA EGW base, low EGW rings, vortex pst 6-24x50 scope and timney trigger. I have a pretty good load worked up, 69gn H1000, 168gn Berger VDL hunting bullets shoot a little better than 1/2 inch at 100 yards. View attachment 54253

Factory barrel?

 

[kshunter]

I think your rifle will be very a very capable rig. I would definitely suggest reloading. My dad has an older 7mag BDL that I have been loading for him for several years. We settled on a sierra 168 matchking bullet at a pretty mild 2800 fps using Hodgdon 4831sc powder. Its nothing flashy but the gun flat shoots and recoil is surprisingly mild. I can place rounds in the kill zone easily out to 750yds with that rig. I know your not supposed to shoot critters with matchkings but we have a pretty good pile of Kansas whitetails that forgot to put their anti matchking armor on lol. My point is you will save money in the long run and probably squeeze a good deal more accuracy out of your rifle by reloading. Imho the 7mm rem mag is one of the best long range hunting rounds to date. It gives plenty of power with good selection of high BC bullets doesn't burn a whole can of powder every time you light a round off and has very tolerable recoil. With the scope you mentioned and an accurate 160 to 180sh class bullet I wouldn't hesitate to hunt anything in north America away out yonder with that rig. gun)gun)gun)gun)