Rifle Modifications

TxHillCountry

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Joined
Mar 29, 2013
Messages
17
Location
Cooper, TX
My current rifle is a completely stock Remington 700 ADL in .270 Win. with the only added equipment being a DNZ one piece scope mount and 3-10x50mm Vortex Diamondback scope. Currently the rifle shoots 1.25-1.5" groups at 100 yards.

I have started hunting deer on 500 acres of open wheat fields in San Saba, TX with most shots ranging from 150-600 yards. I know practice and range time will be of greatest importance, but I am wondering if the rifle is capable of accurate shots at 450+ yards on deer to pig sized game shooting if it shoots 1.25-1.5" groups at 100 yards?
 
Not sure, but it seems the current model has a 1:10 twist barrel. If yours is the same, you should investigate shooting the 150 gr Match Grade VLD Hunting bullets from Berger. The Hornady 150gr IB has a similar BC. The Sierra Game king is trailing quite a long way behind either of those. There is no substitute for shooting the highest BC bullets in precision hand loads that you make yourself in once fired brass.

Getting your rifle to group better will take potentially working on the bedding, barrel free floating, and the trigger. The first 2 you should have no problem doing on your own, the objective being to prevent any intermittent loads on the barrel and the best possible (and most repeatable) coupling between action and stock. Youtube has plenty of videos on the subject or you could talk to your local gunsmith. If you have a wooden stock, have it pillar bedded, that way the expansion and contraction of the wooden stock no longer impacts the tension of the 2 action screws.

With the trigger, unless you know exactly what you are doing (and have the "right" remington trigger), I suggest you solve this problem externally. The most modest cost solution is to get a Shilen trigger. They offer this trigger as part of their custom rifles so it is a pretty good trigger and much better than the standard Remington one. It is adjustable, but I have not touched mine. The only negative thing I have to say about mine is that they EDM the entire trigger profile and that leaves a square edge on the part that touches your finger. It would be much nicer with a rounded edge, but that should be done before the trigger is finished or assembled, because I believe it is through hardened so very tough and if one grinds on it with a dremel it would need some sort of re-finish to prevent corrosion. I hope someone from Shilen reads this, since otherwise it is a great trigger and modestly priced compared to some of the alternatives. There are gunsmiths charging $100+ to stone your trigger sears and adjust it and that is without the cost of shipping your barreled action 2 ways !

Remember with the Remington, that the safety never in fact blocks the striker from falling. Always use respect and follow basic firearm safety rules when handling a rifle with a loaded chamber. Use serious discretion about what kind of trigger pull weight to use on a hunting weapon.

Besides the above, how do you handle the shooting position in the field ? Do you use a Bipod, hunt from a seated position or prone ? I just recently got one of the long Harris Bipods which can support the rifle at an acceptable height when seated on the ground. A decent rifle rest and to be able to aim stress free is a big factor in making shots beyond 300 yards.
 
I am currently shooting 130 grain Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertip with a BC of .433 but I will definitely look into those you recommend as I would like to try a bullet in the 150 grain range.

As far as bedding and free floating, the rifle has the factory synthetic stock. Depending on the school of thought, factory synthetic stocks may or may not take to the bedding compound; what is your experience with bedding the plastic stocks? I will be shooting from box style blinds with a shelf and sand bags, so the front foot or so of the stock will be the majority being supported. If I free float the factory stock, will it be flexible enough to contact the barrel when on the sand bags?

I definitely will not be taking a chance in adjusting the factory trigger myself. I have looked at the Timney Model 510 trigger as well which retails for right around $130, but I will look into the Shilen. Thoughts and opinions on the Timney?
 
Timney are great triggers, but I had never heard of one that price. When I was looking (about 2 years ago) there seemed to be nothing under $200 except the Shilen.

So you have a synthetic stock. Well as far as stocks go, one thing you have at your advantage is that you own one of the most populous bolt actions in the world. So you have a LOT of aftermarket stocks to choose from. Having said that, you can make a very substantial improvement to the Remington stock. The first thing is to GENEROUSLY free float the barrel (allowing for deflection when in the shooting position. You want to use a playing card to do the free float test, not a dollar bill. $ bills only work on stiff stocks which the 700 tupperware is not. My 700 SPS stock was actually warped and I had to take 1/8" off one side to get it free floated. Go to the hardware store and get a 3/4" hardwood dowel 2 feet long and the coarsest belt sander belt they have. Cut the belt and glue it lengthwise onto the hardwood dowel and you have a free floating tool that will waste no time. Just check your progress and verify which area is binding/close frequently.

As far as bedding goes, remember the main problem is that the bedding compound needs some thickness to have any strength. So in any area where it needs to be strong, you put a 1/8" round nose router bit in your dremel and whittle away some material to allow for the appropriate thickness of bedding compound. You want to allow enough contact area with the stock so that the barreled action stays in proper alignment with the stock.

People seem to use strange things to do bedding with, but remember that it is not the epoxy that has structural strength, it is the re-inforcement. So add either cotton flox or chopped fiberglass or even chopped carbon fiber to your epoxy. Those fibers will provide the strength of the bedding and the resin bonds them together and to the stock. Micro balloons and other powder type fillers are used for fairing work, not structural ! Look at this page http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Fillers/fillers.html at the fiber products. Fiberglass, carbon and Kevlar. The shorter the fibers the easier it will fit into confined spaces. It will seem weird but in modern work one tries to use the same weight of reinforcement as resin or more.
 
Here is a link to the Timney model I am referring to:

Remington 700 w/Safe

When it comes to stocks, I know synthetic/fiberglass stocks are better for weather resistance when compared to a conventional wood stock, but they tend to cost a good bit of money. Are laminate wood stocks from a company like boyd's the best of both worlds for rigidity and weather resistance, or are they also susceptible to moisture and heat?
 
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