Exposure
Member
I have had the itch for a new bolt rifle for target work for a while but didn't want to spend a lot of money.
I wanted .223 as I already load for it and it is pretty darn cheap.
I have read some good reviews of the new 700's and with a little bit of shopping my mind was made up.
I located a 700 SPS Varmint with 26 inch barrel at budsgunshop.com. I set up the transfer with a local dealer and placed my order.
While waiting I went to midwayusa.com and ordered a Tasco 6-24X Varmint scope. I know a lot of you will roll your eyes at this but I LOVE these Tasco varmint scopes. I have been using one on my K31 for several years now and it has been flawless. For $73.00 I feel like I can't go too wrong anyway. I also ordered a nice Burris 2 piece steel scope base and their Xtreme tactical rings in the "high" style, to top everything off I got a Caldwell 6" to 9" bipod.
After that I ordered some Sierra Match King 52 grain bullets and just for fun got a pound Hodgdon Benchrest powder as I had never tried it before and am always on the lookout for new powders.
The rifle showed up first and it pretty much met my expectations. Like most reviews said, the metal finish leaves something to be desired for sure. It is not entirely uniform but again, I didn't pay a fortune for the rifle. The black plastic stock certainly doesn't look as pretty as a nice piece of walnut, but I don't care, I was going for the budget bolt rifle here. It felt nice and seemed very sturdy.
Later in the week my other stuff showed up and on Friday night I had the scope mounted and the bipod on. It looked awesome!
I boresighted the rifle and then had to wait until today to get to the range. It was worth the wait!
I did a barrel break in procedure using Wolf 62 grain FMJ. As expected accuracy was pretty poor with the rifle managing a best of about 3" groups. But I was doing the shoot/clean/shoot/clean/remove copper etc. etc. etc....
I wasn't trying for accuracy but just getting the scope close to zeroed and getting the barrel broken in. After 30 rounds of boredom I was ready to see how she would shoot.
Here she is, ready to get to work.
Looking down to the hundred yard line. The read arrows indicate my targets.
Your truly getting ready to send one downrange!
And the first pretty promising results. This group was achieved with handloads. Just some quickie blasting type handloads that I did up on my Lee Classic Turret. Nothing special, just fun ammo made with mixed brass, speer 55 grain spire points, and Win 748. But I thought that for what it was it was OK. Center to center measured 1.365 inches.
As an experiment I had made up 5 rounds with the Benchmark powder, 52 grain Match Kings, and Radway Green once fired brass all from the same lot. I hadn't planned on any accuracy work today but at the last minute I put these together just to get a starting point for my handloads with the Benchmar.
All the Speer rounds have been shot and 3 of the 5 SMK rounds have been fired. I just like this pic so I included it.
And now the real surprise. I think I like this new powder! I erred on the side of caution with these 5 rounds as it was a starting load and still got stellar results. Center to center of .680 inches on a 5 shot group! I was very happy to say the least. I have never had this kind of success before on a first batch of handloads.
So now I have some more benchwork to do. I am sure I can get the group size to shrink. I would be tickled if I could get 1/2" groups out of this factory gun with a cheapy Tasco scope on it. I am pretty sure it can be done.
All in all I love my new rifle. The trigger is REALLY nice in my opinion. I had read some complaints about the triggers on the new 700's but mine is beautiful. And I really think this is a bargain, especially considering the sub 3/4" group on my first attempt. Here is my total cash outlay.
Remington 700 SPS- $545
Tasco 6-24X Scope- $74
Burris scope base- $20
Burris rings- $49
Caldwell bipod- $40
_______________________
Total- $728
So I met my bargain price range and ended up with a tack driver. I'm very happy tonight!
I wanted .223 as I already load for it and it is pretty darn cheap.
I have read some good reviews of the new 700's and with a little bit of shopping my mind was made up.
I located a 700 SPS Varmint with 26 inch barrel at budsgunshop.com. I set up the transfer with a local dealer and placed my order.
While waiting I went to midwayusa.com and ordered a Tasco 6-24X Varmint scope. I know a lot of you will roll your eyes at this but I LOVE these Tasco varmint scopes. I have been using one on my K31 for several years now and it has been flawless. For $73.00 I feel like I can't go too wrong anyway. I also ordered a nice Burris 2 piece steel scope base and their Xtreme tactical rings in the "high" style, to top everything off I got a Caldwell 6" to 9" bipod.
After that I ordered some Sierra Match King 52 grain bullets and just for fun got a pound Hodgdon Benchrest powder as I had never tried it before and am always on the lookout for new powders.
The rifle showed up first and it pretty much met my expectations. Like most reviews said, the metal finish leaves something to be desired for sure. It is not entirely uniform but again, I didn't pay a fortune for the rifle. The black plastic stock certainly doesn't look as pretty as a nice piece of walnut, but I don't care, I was going for the budget bolt rifle here. It felt nice and seemed very sturdy.
Later in the week my other stuff showed up and on Friday night I had the scope mounted and the bipod on. It looked awesome!
I boresighted the rifle and then had to wait until today to get to the range. It was worth the wait!
I did a barrel break in procedure using Wolf 62 grain FMJ. As expected accuracy was pretty poor with the rifle managing a best of about 3" groups. But I was doing the shoot/clean/shoot/clean/remove copper etc. etc. etc....
I wasn't trying for accuracy but just getting the scope close to zeroed and getting the barrel broken in. After 30 rounds of boredom I was ready to see how she would shoot.
Here she is, ready to get to work.
Looking down to the hundred yard line. The read arrows indicate my targets.
Your truly getting ready to send one downrange!
And the first pretty promising results. This group was achieved with handloads. Just some quickie blasting type handloads that I did up on my Lee Classic Turret. Nothing special, just fun ammo made with mixed brass, speer 55 grain spire points, and Win 748. But I thought that for what it was it was OK. Center to center measured 1.365 inches.
As an experiment I had made up 5 rounds with the Benchmark powder, 52 grain Match Kings, and Radway Green once fired brass all from the same lot. I hadn't planned on any accuracy work today but at the last minute I put these together just to get a starting point for my handloads with the Benchmar.
All the Speer rounds have been shot and 3 of the 5 SMK rounds have been fired. I just like this pic so I included it.
And now the real surprise. I think I like this new powder! I erred on the side of caution with these 5 rounds as it was a starting load and still got stellar results. Center to center of .680 inches on a 5 shot group! I was very happy to say the least. I have never had this kind of success before on a first batch of handloads.
So now I have some more benchwork to do. I am sure I can get the group size to shrink. I would be tickled if I could get 1/2" groups out of this factory gun with a cheapy Tasco scope on it. I am pretty sure it can be done.
All in all I love my new rifle. The trigger is REALLY nice in my opinion. I had read some complaints about the triggers on the new 700's but mine is beautiful. And I really think this is a bargain, especially considering the sub 3/4" group on my first attempt. Here is my total cash outlay.
Remington 700 SPS- $545
Tasco 6-24X Scope- $74
Burris scope base- $20
Burris rings- $49
Caldwell bipod- $40
_______________________
Total- $728
So I met my bargain price range and ended up with a tack driver. I'm very happy tonight!
