ordering my first build!?

L

losthelegend

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
69
Location
Rock Bottom WY
I am getting ready to place an order on my first weapon build! I am building a rifle that I can upgrade later to support my needs as my skills grow. I am new to long range shooting and am looking to build a semi-custom rifle that can help hone my skills, a little easier to shoot, can reach out to 800+ yards and I am able to upgrade the parts at a later date. I have read quite a bit online and in magazines and this is what I came up with. What do you guys think?

Remington 700 sps tactical 308 20" bull barrel 1/12 twist
Bell & Carlson A2 stock--Tan w/ black webbing
Tally 20 MOA base
Leupold rings
Badger Ordinance tactical knob

$942 +shipping

What are your thoughts on the price? I am having Red Hawk Rifles out of Cedaredge CO do the work. I read the reviews and they seem pretty good. Does anyone have any experience with them? I spoke to the guys at Red Hawk and they answered all my questions to my satisfaction and had alot of patience with me. I know that this is an entry level weapon but I dont want to put a ton of money into it right now. I want to upgrade as I go and figure out what I exactly want. The glass is up in the air right now. For now I am going to use a Burris FFII 4.5x14x42 with tactical knob upgrade until I can save enough for a nightforce or a zeiss. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
 
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You're headed in the right direction. You can't really go wrong with a Rem700 in 308. Great rifle/cartridge combination to start with.

Here are some additional comments for you....

Barrel: why 20"? this will severely handicap you in trying to get a bullet to go 800 yards. Also, the SPS Tactical has a 1:12 twist barrel. You will not be able to shoot a bullet any heavier than 175grains with that twist.

The better option in an inexpensive factory Remington rifle is the SPS Compact. It comes with a 24" 1:10 twist barrel. With the extra 4" of barrel you will get more velocity and with the 1:10 twist you will be able to shoot up to and including 210grain bullets. the heavier bullets have a better BC and consequently will be able to go farther and have less wind drift.

Centerfire Rifle - Model 700 SPS Compact - Remington Centerfire Rifles

Stock: B&C A2. Good choice. Is that the one with the adjustable cheekpiece? if not, add one. Products

Tally 20moa base: Nice choice but if you're interested in saving some money, go with an EGW 20moa base EGW Remington 700 Picatinny Rail Tactical Scope Mount FREE S&H 40000, 40001, 40002, 40100, 40101, 40102, 40010, 40011, 40012, 40111, 40112. Evolution Gun Works Riflescope Mounts, Rings & Bases.

Leupold rings: nice, but expensive. Save yourself a few more dollars and go with Burris Signature Rings... Burris Zee Signature 30mm Rifle Scope Mount Rings for Weaver Bases FREE S&H 420587, 420585, 420588. Burris Zee Riflescope Mounts, Rings & Bases, Burris Riflescope Mounts, Rings & Bases.

Badger Bolt Knob - good choice. All my rifles have them.

SPS Compact (Remington MSRP $639) = ~$580
B&C Stock: ~$200
EGW Base: $40
Burris Rings: $58
Badger Bolt Knob: $35 for knob, $50 to install = $85

Total: $963

Sounds like your $942 is a good deal.
 
losthelegend said:
I am getting ready to place an order on my first weapon build! I am building a rifle that I can upgrade later to support my needs as my skills grow. I am new to long range shooting and am looking to build a semi-custom rifle that can help hone my skills, a little easier to shoot, can reach out to 800+ yards and I am able to upgrade the parts at a later date. I have read quite a bit online and in magazines and this is what I came up with. What do you guys think?

Remington 700 sps tactical 308 20" bull barrel 1/12 twist
Bell & Carlson A2 stock--Tan w/ black webbing
Tally 20 MOA base
Leupold rings
Badger Ordinance tactical knob

$942 +shipping

What are your thoughts on the price? I am having Red Hawk Rifles out of Cedaredge CO do the work. I read the reviews and they seem pretty good. Does anyone have any experience with them? I spoke to the guys at Red Hawk and they answered all my questions to my satisfaction and had alot of patience with me. I know that this is an entry level weapon but I dont want to put a ton of money into it right now. I want to upgrade as I go and figure out what I exactly want. The glass is up in the air right now. For now I am going to use a Burris FFII 4.5x14x42 with tactical knob upgrade until I can save enough for a nightforce or a zeiss. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Click to expand...
With that rate of twist and barrel length it's built to be a 600yds max gun using lighter bullets.

It'd make a snappy dear and coyote gun out to that range though but I prefer much higher velocities for varmint hunting and Higher BC bullets than you can get in the range that is designed to shoot well because around here long shots and high winds are the rule for things lile coyotes.

On the plus side you can move up to the .300wsm with just a barrel and bolt face change if you ever decide to do so in the future.
 
Pretty sure that 1-12 twist will support the 155Gr bullets, and those make 1k pretty easily. That said, I would prefer a 1-10 twist myself. I think 1 or 2 of the other remmy models actually start out with the 10 twist.

You also might consider a Savage Rifle, you can order one already with a McMillan stock that works pretty good. They are known to shoot pretty good as well. They also have a lot of after market stuff.

Have a good one,
Gary
 
I won't comment on your choice of the rifle specs but I will tell you that I bought a Alaskan Ti clone from Red Hawk rifles last year when I was in a pinch to have a rifle that shot well. My rifle easily reproduced the groups seen on Gun Broker. I shoots even better with Berger handloads and a bedding job. I am not a big Remington fan but this gun is very very impressive for a factory barreled sporter. Many groups are in the .3-.4 moa. I have tested out to 400yds so far with a 10x scope and it maintains .5moa.
 
I routinely get 0.3"-0.5" 3-shot groups from my .308 Win Rem 700 SPS SS with 24" sportier weight bbl off a Caldwell LeadSled using my hand loads (150gr SMK over 43.5gr RL 15, 168gr SMK over 42.0gr RL 15, both with CCI BR2 LR primers). This is a 2008 vintage Rem 700.

I think you'll be pleased with almost any Rem 700 you get...I also have a XHR in .25-06 Rem that shoots to 0.5"-0.6" with my 100 gr SMK hand loads over IMR 4831 and CCI BR2 primers. Big Green gets a bad rap for lack of QC...both of mine are great rifles...maybe not the smoothest actions in the world but they shoot really well out of the box. I was planning on putting McMillan stocks on both but with accuracy as delivered, I'm saving the dough for my next rifle.

I'd also note that my both my Win M70 Extreme Weather in .30-06 and my Savage 116 FHSAK, also in .30-06 are 0.5"-0.6" shooter with my match hand loads (168gr SMKs over 47.0gr IMR 4895 or 46.5gr IMR 4064 with CCI BR2 primers). I expect any of the four of these hunting rifles to get the job done out to my personal limits of 400+ yds, which are, unfortunately, getting shorter as I age.

Cheers,

Harry
 
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FEENIX said:
Check out the ads side, if they are still available, these might be worth for your consideration ...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f25/rem-700-semi-custom-308-a-75937/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f25/wtt-semi-custom-wby-270-od-green-75613/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f25/wts-tikka-t3-30-06-a-73930/

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I like your sig...although I may disagree with parts of it.

Best regards, and good wishes,

Harry, 2Lt, USAFR (ret)
1968-1971
 
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