Choosing a long range rifle

[arawakstorm]

Greetings to all:

I am looking into purchasing a 7mm rem mag rifle for long range mouflon/sheep hunting. I expect to be shooting between 350-700 yards. I like the price of the Remington 700 long range, and the Remingtons seem to have a good "out of the box reputation." I also notice that there is also the option of having a custom rifle built. My question is, is there truly an advantage over the "out of box" rifle with these more expensive custom types?

Please advise.

Thanks!

 

[FEENIX]

Greetings to all:

I am looking into purchasing a 7mm rem mag rifle for long range mouflon/sheep hunting. I expect to be shooting between 350-700 yards. I like the price of the Remington 700 long range, and the Remingtons seem to have a good "out of the box reputation." I also notice that there is also the option of having a custom rifle built. My question is, is there truly an advantage over the "out of box" rifle with these more expensive custom types?

Please advise.

Thanks!

Welcome to LRH and enjoy! The 7MM Rem Mag is an excellent choice for your intended purpose.

If you can afford,"the custom built option" is the way to go, esp. when you have a reputable gunsmith/gunsmithing service building it.

Good luck!

 

[davkrat]

The three Remington 700's I load for are all more accurate than I am. One BDL, one ADL and an SPS. basic bedding jobs, free float barrels and trigger tune. I'd say get a basic gun and do a little garage gun smithing and see what she does you might be pleasantly surprised.

I'm more interested in accuracy from field positions than squeezing a last 0.1" out of a group from the bench. Ymmv.

Ps - two of those guns are 7mm Rem Mags that are intended for the exact ranges you mentioned.

 

[hawk45]

Lots of great rifles out there. Remingtons have worked well for many years. Look at the Tikka T3 as well as Savage. There are smiths that will work on all 3, but the Savages are more for the guy who wants to be able to do his own work with little investment, yet still have a great rig. There are also lots of Tikka smiths out there if you want to customize down the road. Tikka's have one of the best factory actions and are well known for out of box accuracy. It's really going to come down to specs and personal preference.

The custom will allow you to tweak every aspect of the build and build in consistency, but at a price. This would have to be a decision you make based on the fund pool.

Best of luck, great round to go with.
Cheers,
Hawk

 

[cohunter14]

It sounds like you are on the right track for sure. Personally, I would take my chances on the Rem 700. Get it, bed it, make sure the barrel is free floated, and see what she can do. Worst case, you have a great foundation to build a custom off of if for some reason you cannot get it to shoot. And if it does shoot, you are in for a lot less money. Truthfully, the accuracy that is expected out of a custom isn't really necessary for the ranges you mention. Good luck!

 

[blacknzr1]

My question is, is there truly an advantage over the "out of box" rifle with these more expensive custom types?

in my opinion.... yes! (its usually money that holds people back, not that its not worth it. accuracy costs money, you get what you pay for)

basicly a factory rifle has become like a lottery ticket, it might shoot, or it might not.
and shooting depends on what you expect. a six inch kill zone at 100 yards, no problem anything off the shelf will do that. quarter inch groups at 100 and your really pushing your luck with that factory rifle, and without a hand load probably just dreaming unless your really lucky.
with a custom it might be a bit more than the likes of a sendero but at least you know what your getting. I have a sendero, it does shoot well, but it took a while to get there, including a new barrel. next time custom for sure! but in saying this its been an experience and I now know what id like in a custom.

 

[jehu]

Take a look at a Sako Grey Wolf! I have one and it's as close to custom as you can get.

 

[roninflag]

Greetings to all:

I am looking into purchasing a 7mm rem mag rifle for long range mouflon/sheep hunting. I expect to be shooting between 350-700 yards. I like the price of the Remington 700 long range, and the Remingtons seem to have a good "out of the box reputation." I also notice that there is also the option of having a custom rifle built. My question is, is there truly an advantage over the "out of box" rifle with these more expensive custom types?

Please advise.

Thanks!

I have both. custom and factory. i think the rem long range or sako long range would work for what you are doing.

 

[jrock]

I'd look at the small things like how the action feels and works, how the actions are made, how the barrels are made, what extractor system they use. I would hope the LR 700's shoot better than my 700 sps. I agree that buying a gun off the shelf without an accuracy guarantee is a crap shoot for sub MOA accuracy. If I was dead set on a specific accuracy window (for me it's 1/2 MOA), I would go custom. My next gun will be a custom...or another weatherby.

 

[arawakstorm]

To all of you:

Thank you sooooooooo much (!) for your input. This is an interesting process. Looks like I'm heading towards a Sendero, at least for now, and we'll see what happens. I've heard that all Sendero's are on hold, as Remington has been having some issues with the trigger.

Thanks again!

Arawakstorm

 

[davkrat]

Great choice. I doubt you'll be dissapointed. You'll love the 7mm Rem Mag and I think it's a perfect magnum to develop long range shooting with and most likely will do anything you ask of it in the field.

 

[coyotekiller82]

If it were me...I'd go 280 AI.

Either way you go, make sure the rifle isn't too heavy, is accurate, and that you are familiar and confident with said rifle.

 

[Boman]

Yep all rem model 700s are on hold due to the trigger recall. It's not looking good for getting a rifle for this year's hunting seasons. I called them and they had no idea when rifles will be sold again.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Go find an old 700 at a pawn shop and rip it apart and build a custom...

Simple, easy, and you have your rifle for hunting season.