Bench Rest Shooting

[Rugerboy50]

Thinking about taking a basic entry level approach to this.

Rifle would be a Remington 700 SPS Varmit.

By the time i buy a gun, good scope and all the accessories i figure to be at $1,200.00 or so from an investment standpoint.

My clubs max range is 300 yards.

Question is am I going to see good results with this set up?

Don't want to spend this kind of $$$ for marginal results would rather put it back into my handgun or shotgun stuff if marginal results is the case.

[MoJo]

It depends on your definition of good results.

A stock Remington 700 Varmint rifle should be capable of 1 MOA groups with the proper ammo. Tune it some and they should shrink to .5 MOA or smaller. Put a custom barrel and bench rest stock on it and blueprint it you may get it down to .25 MOA. A genuine sub MOA benchrest rifle will set you back 5 to 10 grand.

Now if you only want to shoot stuff at a long range the rifle you have chosen will do just fine.

[The Annoyed Man]

I got easy sub-MOA groups from the get go out of my 700 VSF in .308, which was marketed as a varmint rifle (even though .308 isn't a varmint caliber, per se). It has a full length aluminum bedding block. With a 26" fluted fully floated heavy barrel with a 1:10 twist, it just loves 168-175 grain match bullets. With handloads, I have shot groups as small as .375". The only "tuning" my rifle has had was to have the factory trigger lightened.

I would think that a model 700 rifle with a "varmint" designation would shoot pretty well right out of the box. That said, the right optics will make all the difference in the world.

[Jumping Frog]

. . . (even though .308 isn't a varmint caliber, per se). . . .

Two-legged varmints.

[The Annoyed Man]

. . . (even though .308 isn't a varmint caliber, per se). . . .

Two-legged varmints.

Ayupp! I actually wanted a "tactical" .308, but being left-handed, I did not want to drop that kind of money into a right-handed rifle.....again. So when I found a dealer that had this left-handed one on the shelf, I snapped it up. After all, back in the day a sniper rifle was nothing more than a varmint rifle in .30 caliber. Early requirements for an M24 or M40 called for a synthetic stock with a "varmint profile," with a "varmint profile" barrel of X length. There is a point in bolt action rifles at which the differences between a varmint rifle, a sniper rifle, and a target rifle are more a matter of cosmetics than it is shape and function of the rifle.

My 700 VSF is a model no longer in production, and I think they made them for only a couple of years—2005, 2006. You can't find them on the Remington website anymore, and I'm not sure why they stopped producing them. But, consider the list of features, and compare them to the list of features of a good tactical or sniping rifle of the time:

• Synthetic HS Precision "varmint" profile stock
• 26" heavy profile barrel (at the time, some M24/M40 rifles had 26" barrels)
• 1:10 twist rate for stabilizing heavier "match" profile bullets
• Full length aluminum bedding block
• Fully free-floated barrel

The primary difference between it and a sniping/tactical rifle at the time was the fluting on the barrel. That was fine with me. It reduced the all up weight because I intended to also hunt with this rifle (and have done so), and the flutes do not adversely effect the accuracy. All of that said, I've only ever fired one round in the field in it. All other rounds have been fired from the bench, trying to make tiny little groups in a piece of paper, which can occupy me for hours and put a big smile on my face.

So there you have it.....buy a Remington 700 varmint rifle, and have something that is very versitile and will be satisfying to shoot. Can't beat that with a stick.

[WildBill]

I think the Remington 700 is an excellent starter. I have a varmint .222Rem as well as two standard barrels. The only modification I made to the varmint is lightening up on the trigger. I have a 24X Unertl mounted on the rifle. I also have a 12X, but I like the higher power when trying to shoot tighter groups.

My question for Rugerboy50 is whether or not you reload. IMO, finding the right load will allow you to shrink the groups beyond the 1 MOA groups that you shoot with factory ammo.

[PeteCamp]

Just to muddy the waters for you and offer an option. You might want to check out the Savage Target Rifle series found here:
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/models/
Savage is making a very good rifle and their team has won some prestigious matches with mostly stock rifles. There are not as many aftermarket items available as for the Remington, but then they don't seem to need those items as much. Just sayin'.....

And before everyone flames me, no, I'm not a huge Savage fan. BUT...I have one (what is now the 10 Precision Carbine) and could have bought NINE of them for what I have in ONE of my Remingtons.

[RECIT]

I am on the hunt for pretty much the same thing. A precision bolt gun capable of shooting better than I am. I want a threaded barrel and box mag personally. I think either the Remington 700 SPS or Savage 10 tac/varmint are both excellent places to start without breaking the bank. From my research there are TONS of accessories for the 700 and a few for the Savage.

Petecamp is is right though is saying the Savage models really don't NEED much to achieve great performance.

[Rugerboy50]

Savage 10 flcp-k .223.

What a nice looking rifle.

Oh yeah I'm a lefty.

Need to study this series of rifles more.

From a look standpoint i really want stainless steel hardware on a black stock. Just not seeing left handed options.

[The Annoyed Man]

Savage 10 flcp-k .223.

What a nice looking rifle.

Oh yeah I'm a lefty.

Need to study this series of rifles more.

From a look standpoint i really want stainless steel hardware on a black stock. Just not seeing left handed options.

My Remington 700 is a lefty.

[alvins]

i bought a remington 700 aac-sd with flash surpressor/brake. Its awsome, Spent about 1400 so far on it. im lefty i havent had any problems with it so far.

[PeteCamp]

I forgot about this, which is fairly important. Buying a Remington guarantees that you will spend way more money on it than you really have to. Why? Because of all those neat goodies that will turn up. Don't ask me how I know this.

On the other hand, I put a good stock on my Savage and that is it. Do I wish I had some goodies? Yeah, but the gun shoots acceptably well as is so I'm not as eager to go blow a lot of money on it. On the Remington side, one answer to this problem is buy a rifle that won't need goodies EVER. I like George's rifles:

http://www.gaprecision.net/

You'll need to add another $1K to $1.5K for optics and mounts. Good luck in your decision.

[Rugerboy50]

So what I'm hearing is that Savage is a better off the shelf rifle than a Remington.

Appreciate the input.

[The Annoyed Man]

So what I'm hearing is that Savage is a better off the shelf rifle than a Remington.

Appreciate the input.

I would disagree, and we own a nice Savage 10-FP HS Precision in .308. It is a very good rifle, and it is quite accurate. It is not as "nice" as the Remington 700. The Remington has lots of extra details that may not necessarily improve the function of the rifle, but definitely do improve the appearance of it. For example, the bolt body on the Remington is jeweled, but not on the Savage.

Consider the picture below. It shows the actions of both rifles, the Remington on top, and the Savage below. The Remington bolt is jeweled. The Savage's isn't. The Remington's action does not allow stuff to get into it past the bolt body when the bolt is locked up. The Savage actually has gaps between the bolt body and the inside surfaces of the receiver. You can see a red dummy round through that gap. That gap would admit dirt and debris into the action, even when the bolt is closed. The Savage is not a poorly made rifle by any means, but the Remington displayed an attention to detail that is not as obviously apparent on the Savage. Accuracy is about the same for both rifles.

BTW, both rifles were within about $10 or so of one another in actual purchase price. I bought the Remington from Sporting Arms in Lewisville, and I bought the Savage from the old Sportsmans Warehouse that used to be in Lewisville.

[Rugerboy50]

Found a couple of Savage models that i like.

Additional reading and advice from a trusted friend helped put Savage over the top.

Will start seeing what's available.