remington 700 sps tactical

[mvf22]

hey all , my name is mike im new to the fourm. this spring i am going to taking a long range shoooting class, i dont yet have a rifle but i am in the market for one. i was considering the 700 sps tactical in .308 to get me started and then when the funds allow for it i would make some up grades to it. i was wondering what your guy's thoughts are on this rifle and possibly what this rifle is accurate out to ?

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Hi Mike,

you're off to a good start here, and assuming the rifle shoots accurately to start with, should do you fine for some time to come. As far as the effective range question, that's a bit subjective. The 308 is very widely used as a 1,000 yard target cartridge, but those are specialty rifles built just for that purpose; very specific throating, specialized chambers and bullets matched to this type of shooting. With a standard off-the-rack rifle, given some good long range ammo like the M118LR or a commercial equivalent, I'd say 700-800 yards shouldn't be out of reach, assuming you're willing got put in the trigger time.

I'f you're handloading already, you can get a head start here by selecting bullets that are suitable for these distances, basically a 175 grain and up. Don't hesitate to ask questions here, and you'll find more than a few answers to ponder. Welcome to the site!

 

[Major Dave]

I bought one of these Remington 700 SPS Tacticals. I expected good things of it with the short stiff barrel. Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. I could barely get 1 MOA groups out of it - and that only with a sandbag under the action. Off a bipod or with the sandbag under the forend - minute of barn door!

I sent it over to a custom 'smith, who is free-floating the barrel, and fixing the fact that the bolt handle doesn't close fully. Apparently he's had to take a lot of material out to get the bolt to lock-up properly. I was really disappointed. I had thought Big Green's quality control problems were behind it, but apparently, that is not the case.

He's also putting new bottom metal on it to accept a detachable magazine. Trying to load cartridges through that tiny ejection port under time pressure at a match is an exercise in frustration.

The choice of a Hogue Overmoulded stock is OK, but they should have gone the extra few yards and used the version with the full-length aluminium bedding. And what is the deal with only one sling attachment point in the forend? Two is pretty much standard on tactical rifles.

Will report back when I get the rifle back with the work done. Here's hoping that all the problems are fixed.

 

[bbru]

I have the same rifle and mine is a phenomenal shooter. With federal 168 gr gold medal match it shoots under 1/2" consistent groups all day everyday. I have shot some 175gr sierra matchkings that shot one hole. Unfortunately i dont reload, so i stick with the federals

 

[BearDog]

I also have the SPS tac in .308, and I consistently shoot around .5MOA with 168gr AMAX. I switched out the stock on here and went with a Bell & Carlson Tactical Medalist Style 3 w/ "Hook". I had a hard time shooting sub moa before I did that. Now, as my grandpa says, "shes tits on" haha.

 

[Codyg510]

I also have the SPS tac in .308, and I consistently shoot around .5MOA with 168gr AMAX. I switched out the stock on here and went with a Bell & Carlson Tactical Medalist Style 3 w/ "Hook". I had a hard time shooting sub moa before I did that. Now, as my grandpa says, "shes tits on" haha.

My experience has been similar. Despite the overall low cost and non-free floated barrel the rifle will still produce around .5-.75MOA with FGMM 168 SMK. Handloads with 168 grain AMAX will consistently produce <=.5 MOA.

A stock and trigger upgrade certainly couldn't hurt as the $ becomes available.

 

[Eagle Six]

.....well I thought I would ask mvf22 what type of long range class he was going to attend and when in the spring. I was thinking the answer to those 2 questions would help me make a more meaningful reply.....until I realized he has only one post....this thread and that was back in November of 2010! I am curious as how that class, over a year ago, turned out for him.

Best Regards.....Eagle Six