Remington 700 SPS Varmint. Expecting too much?

[ngodwetrust21]

I am new to long range shooting and reloading. I am seeking the advice of the community who got me started in my long range rifle projoct. I have a remington 700 chambered in 308. The upgrades I have made include: a jewel trigger set to 2lbs and a bell and carleson medalist light tactical rifle with aluminum bedding and a free floating barrel. The barrel of the rifle is a stock 26 inch remington as well as the action. I am shooting a SMK 175 gr seated .015 off the lands with COAL of 2.90 and 4.1 gr of varget powder.


My questions.


1. The rifle is shooting 1 to .25 inch groops at 200 yards. Are there any other upgrades I can do to my rifle to make it more accurate or am I expecting too much with what I am working with?


2. Can I use the SMK 175 gr to hunt deer?


3. What upgrades can I make to this rifle that will improve my accuracy aside from purchasing a new barrel, action, or bolt?


Thanks,


Andy

 

[trebark]

Andy:

1. You are getting outstanding accuracy from your rifle. I think you would have a hard time getting it to shoot any better. One thing you might consider is lowering the weight on your trigger. The jewel triggers I have are set at 1.25lbs - that encourage real trigger control.

2. Although some will tell you that hunting with the SMK is ok, I generally disagree. There are too many good hunting bullets available in 308 to choose one that is not designed for hunting. Look at the 185/190 Berger VLD, 208Amax

3. Since you have upgraded your trigger and stock, the only remaining thing to do is to have the action bedded into the stock. Given the accuracy you are currently getting though, it might not be worth doing as a bedding job will cost you ~$100

I have been down the road you are on. You can read about it here:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-308-1k-rifle-evolution-continues-43510/

Be sure to read the thread all the way to the end. It concludes with a link to a new thread where you will see the rifle transformed into a full-custom 260.

As another example similar to your situation, check out my nephew's rifle:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/nephews-transformed-rifle-53634/

 

[The Surgeon]

The old saying "If it isn't broke don't fix it" certainly applies to your gun. .25 is excellent. As for the SMK's, I personally would not use them. I like the Accu-bond's out of my 308.

 

[woolecox]

I am new to long range shooting and reloading. I am seeking the advice of the community who got me started in my long range rifle projoct. I have a remington 700 chambered in 308. The upgrades I have made include: a jewel trigger set to 2lbs and a bell and carleson medalist light tactical rifle with aluminum bedding and a free floating barrel. The barrel of the rifle is a stock 26 inch remington as well as the action. I am shooting a SMK 175 gr seated .015 off the lands with COAL of 2.90 and 4.1 gr of varget powder.

How much Varget?

I say shoot it until you wear out the barrel then re-barrel it with something like a Shilen, Krieger, etc. That will allow you to shoot consistent 5-10 shot groups into tiny little holes as you have mentioned.

My Tac Precision 308 shoots the Berger VLD Hunting bullets almost as accurately as the SMK's. Same with my 243AI and 7mm Rem Mag. I use them exclusively for hunting.

Have fun with it,
Woolly

 

[Reelamin]

I don't know what you are expecting...but you will spend multiple thousands to try to shoot better groups. You will find that you more then likely will not shoot any better.

Any bullet will work fine on deer. IMO Deer are easy to kill with a 30cal bullet even FMJ.

 

[Sully2]

Depends on what your intentions are??

Hunting only? Swap bullets and go for it.
Long range plinking? Run with what ya got.
SERIOUS competition work? Ya need more tweaking and FINE tuning

 

[WildRose]

In all likelihood you'll not be improving accuracy much if any over what you have no matter how much you spend on it.

As mentioned above lighten the trigger and practice, practice, practice.

As for bullets the SMK isn't a hunting bullet and no I wouldn't use it for same.

Accubond, Scirocco, Interlocks are all far superior and have great ballistic coefficients.

 

[azsugarbear]

You didn't mention which scope you are using. A higher end scope with magnification in the 4-16X or 5-20X and a fine crosshair reticle can help shrink your group as well. But given your current groupings, I don't see much room for improvement.