Need opinions on Rem SPS stock

[cowboy]

Just as the title says - I have no first hand experience with the SPS line but the general attitude is to throw the stock away before you even get going. I am going to help a young man buy a rifle, get it up and running and get his feet wet out to 1000 yds. on steel/paper. It'll be either a 308 or 260 - that decision has been made and is final.

My question is can I get a factory SPS to be adequate using the standard stock - I know I can get a Savage to do what we need to do from prior experience.

Thanks in advance for those of you that have found adequate results and what you did to get there.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Just as the title says - I have no first hand experience with the SPS line but the general attitude is to throw the stock away before you even get going. I am going to help a young man buy a rifle, get it up and running and get his feet wet out to 1000 yds. on steel/paper. It'll be either a 308 or 260 - that decision has been made and is final.

My question is can I get a factory SPS to be adequate using the standard stock - I know I can get a Savage to do what we need to do from prior experience.

Thanks in advance for those of you that have found adequate results and what you did to get there.

SPS rifles will run you around $550-650. They have a throw-away stock on them. And they also usually have a sporter barrel, which will not be great for LR shooting. Not that it won't work, but they're not known to be as accurate.

A MUCH better and MUCH more solid platform rifle to start out with, would be the new Remington 700 Long Range chambered in 7mm RemMag or .300 WinMag. It already has the Bell & Carlson Medalist M40 stock on it, 26" sendero/varmint contour heavy barrel, hinged floorplate, and is (from what I've read) a pretty fair LR contender right out of the box. And it's only $699-799.

For the money, that would be a much better alternative, and starting point for getting into the LR game.

Also, for affordable optics and all, I would look into an EGW HD 20MOA base, TPS TSR 30mm low height aluminum picatinny rings, and a Konus M-30 8.5-32x52 scope. You will have around $500 in optics.

So, you'll have a great starter gun for $699. Scope is $349. Rings are $81. Base is $71. So, you're looking at a grand total for getting started LR shooting for exactly $1,200+ tax (rifle).

You can get the scope, rings, and base from Midway USA.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

The stock is ok, but mine delivered a little better accuracy with a new stock and was much more comfortable and steady as well.

 

[Rem700addict]

Here is a pic of my SPS and results http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/lets-see-some-pics-you-300-win-groups-131734/index2.html

I have successfully shot this rifle at 450yrds with the original stock and a small 3-9 scope. If it were me I would put a Boyd's stock on it and a decent scope, that way you don't break the budget and you can upgrade the stock when you rebarrel the rifle if the boy really likes long range shooting. I'll say the SPS stock is junk, but i've had good results with the barrell, I know others have not. Have fun shooting, then upgradegun)

 

[jrock]

I modified mine to stiffen the front end with carbon fiber rods and JB weld along with pillar and glass bedded the action. I upgraded to a BC medalist in a weatherby style stock and the flex on the forend was no different than my mod'ed SPS, i.e. not great. Of course the bedding block make the BC better but if I was saving money all the way, I would just mod the Tupperware stock. I bought my SPS for the right price with full intentions up upgrading everything on it. If I was going to buy once and not upgrade it. I think the suggestion of the 700 LR is a good bet. Good glass is a must past 500 yards.

 

[WapitiBob]

+1 Mudrunner

My SPS shoots great now that it's been trued, has a new barrel, stock, and trigger.

 

[mrb1982]

I think the key to the original post is his caliber selection. I don't believe either of those calibers are offered in the new 700 LR.

Agreed with the rest, it isn't a great stock. But.....could you shoot it to lets say 500yds as he become proficient and then upgrade a little? Probably. Most people here are in agreement that the action/barrel portion is still pretty descent on the SPS. Being it's a younger guy just getting going on this game, might be good to start him out and then he can modify as he goes. I don't know about anybody else, but I didn't get to start out with anything too fancy to start. It's all a growing progression. As his shooting level and passion grows, so will his list of upgrades like the rest of us!!!! lol

 

[cowboy]

I think the key to the original post is his caliber selection. I don't believe either of those calibers are offered in the new 700 LR.lol

You hit the nail on the head.

 

[mrb1982]

Lol I kinda figured that. In that case if u go with the sps it is cost efficient enough to make it easy to upgrade.

I am kind of a 7RM fan myself. Started with a 7RM spa stainless then as my desires to shoot longer grew I went to a sendero 7RM. Now I put a kmw cheek piece in it and it is a good shooting gun. I can seat the berger 180 hybrids way out and still put them in the magazine. A lot of guys on here like bigger calibers but the ole 7 mag will kill anything inside 1000. Great caliber. I got a buddy that shoots a 260 for long range whitetails and he really likes it.

 

[NWmissouriman]

My personal opinion, buy the cheapest model 700 you can get your hands on, buy a McMillan stock and a different barrel. From what I've seen in the last couple of years Remington quality control has went out the window. It's still hard to beat a 700 actions for the money, but the rest of the gun leaves little to be desired, just my .02.

 

[mountainman56]

Recently helped a young neighbor with the same project. He came over with a SPS .308 Varmint and asked me to help him shoot far away. He has a place where he can get out to a half a mile. Seemed to me like 880 was a good distance to start.

The rifle itself is.........okay. The 26" heavy contour barrel seemed to be a good start. Shot reasonably well while I was helping him work up a load but did not achieve any groups worth bragging about. As stated here frequently, the stock is pretty bad. He liked the looks of my laminated stock rifles and being on a limited budget he bought a Boyds thumbhole. I installed pillars, bedded the recoil lug and floated the barrel.

It shoots nice sub-moa groups consistently now. He is happier than a cow eatin thistles now and had a grin you couldn't erase with a chainsaw the first time he hit that half-mile plate. He is hooked now for sure. Now he wants to install an after market trigger and is asking questions about barrels.

Had it been up to me I would have told him to just buy a Savage and go shootin, but what the hell, workin on them is half the fun.

 

[Clever]

700P 308 26" barrel H&S Stock, Good Platform SPS Stock is Junk.

 

[cowboy]

The young man in question got a paycheck yesterday that put his savings account in a potition to take care of his Mother's Day purchase, leave enough in case of emergencies, and to go get his own first rifle.

He has been shooting a couple of my 700 customs as well as 2 standard savages that I own. He has read all your responses and wanted me to say "thank you" to all of you for your input.

I'll be taking him into town today to buy his first rifle. I gotta bet that he tossed and turned and didn't sleep much last night. He's apologized to me dozens of times for asking so many questions and his last comment to me last night when I asked him what we are going to get he said "this is as bad as having 2 really good friends last year that were girls and deciding on which one he should ask to the prom". I wanted to start laughing but thought for the better of it and asked him "well, what did you do?" He said, they all got together, talked about it, and the three of them all went together and went Dutch.

I had to think for a moment because of the gender gap because things just weren't done that way in my time when it came to women.

So, we're heading off to town today - not sure what we're going to be buying at this point but I do know this young man is ready and what ever he decides I know that rifle will be well taken care of in its new home.

 

[cohunter14]

Good luck with the purchase and let us know what he decides on! As far as that SPS stock goes, yes it isn't great. But that doesn't mean the gun won't shoot with it. If he does get an SPS, have him break in the barrel and see what kind of groups he can get. Maybe he'll be lucky. If it isn't grouping, he can always try to remove the pressure points on the end of the stock to float the barrel and see if that helps. With some work, he should get it to shoot 1 MOA or so even with that stock. If it won't get any better, he can always save a few bucks and buy a Boyd's, B&C, or even a used stock on here.