Rem 700 SPS accuracy upgrades

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agrice715

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I have a Remington 700 sps varmint .308 wearing a Nikon monarch 3-12x42 scope. Originally bought the gun for hunting but I am looking to achieve more accuracy and do sum bench shooting. I have reloading equipment would just have to purchase dies. That being said is it a waste of my time to develop a load for this gun to achieve more accuracy. Or is it better to go ahead and get an aftermarket trigger (timney/ jewel), and a better stock (B&C or HS) and have the action bedded in this stock, and the barrel free floated, then develop the load. Or will the load be the same with or without these upgrades because the action and barrel are not really changing?

Also thoughts on a timney vs jewel for this gun and B&C medalist vs an equivalent HS stock which to my knowledge is about $100 more?
 
Even without looking, this being your first post wasn't a surprise... What you're asking is like asking car guys, "should I modify my Corvette." The Rem 700 is one of the most popular rifles out there so honestly, you REALLY need to start using Google and start looking around. I just spent the last 3 months deciding what I wanted to do, without asking others what I think they want me to do.

Sorry, I just get worn down by such questions (and yeah I'm a car guy.) They're on the order of "What color should I paint my car?" "Should I add a turbo", or "Blonde or brunette?" What do YOU want to do? Just shoot the darn thing, see how you like the results, and go from there. SO much of this is subjective anyway, so taking advice from Interweb strangers means nothing if you spend YOUR money on it, and don't like the results...
 
Totally agree I dont want to waste my money. However I have spent tons of time googling reading thread after thread. And the end goal is a gun with an aftermarket stock I listed the two i like. An after market trigger because Ive shot quite a bit and read time after time that the x-mark on a remington just isnt all that great. I will develope a load for the gun eventually. So I know what i want to do I'm more wondering which investment to make first. Either go the reloading route first or start with a stock and trigger and such. Just thought id ask some more experienced guys what they had done and some results. A more experienced shooter who has made all of these changes would know whether or not I would be wasting my time if i went the cheaper reloading route before changing the physical parts of the rifle.
 
KB, lighten up!!! He's asking good questions. First, Agrice, welcome to the forums. The newer 700's come with pretty decent triggers, the X Mark Pro, so if you have one of those, you are in pretty good shape to start with. Obviously not as good as a $250 aftermarket trigger, but certainly good enough to start with. Get your self some front and rear sandbags and some GOOD (as in Nosler) ammo and just go out and shoot the rifle. Obviously, make sure your scope is sighted in properly. Get used to the gun. Then you will appreciate the incremental improvements like a good stock and a free float barrel. My only immediate change to my 700 was the stock since I couldn't stand the sticky feel of the stock grip. Enjoy your gun, I certainly enjoy mine.
 
Thanks sig... I have shot like 6 boxes of Winchester ballistic silver-tips because thats what i like for hunting. They have nosler bullets loaded in them and when i go to reloading (eventually) ill probably have a load using those bullets as well as one just for target shooting maybe sierra match kings Ive read alot about those. Are these "Good" in your opinion or do I need to step up to some nosler custom ammunition or somthing along those lines. Don't get me wrong I'm not struggling to get fair accuracy. The rifle is plenty accurate for anywhere i hunt. I'm getting 2- 3 inches at 200 yards (5 rounds) very consistently but I know there is a bit more potential than that even on a poor college guys budget.
 
Get all the changes done to the rifle you want: stock, bedded, trigger, etc and then work up a load. No sense in working up a load then having to do it all over again because you made changes to your rifle.
 
I agree with Sig228, start by shooting some quality factory ammo in order to get a basline in you rifles accuracy in its stock configuration. I personally would shoot a few boxes of Federal GMM 168gr smk's before I started to spend my $$$ on a new stock or trigger. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what your rifle is capable of with match ammo.
 
... read time after time that the x-mark on a remington just isnt all that great
Click to expand...
You've "read" ... ? Don't you have an opinion yourself? You're shooting the gun - what do you think of the trigger? Have you tried an upgraded trigger on anyone else's gun? It's likely that with quality ammo, the gun can outshoot you now, in it's stock configuration.

IMNSHO, the sooner you start reloading, the better. A decent single stage press and some dies are not going to go out of style - you'll always be loading for that or other rifles.

The std stock does suck - with mine, I got down to 1.1" at 100 and I figure it could do somewhat better with a better shooter than I am. But, the stock just wouldn't take a decent amount of sling pressure for prone shooting. I went with a B&C with full length aluminum bedding and then skim coated it. I can get a very reliable .75 now and I've only scratched at load development.

Bottom line - start reloading - it makes your future shooting cheaper and thus more frequent. When you feel you're definitely limited by the configuration, look into another stock for whatever type of shooting you want to do. Last I'd worry about the trigger which is a lot better than good ole' rumornet generally allows. If that still doesn't suffice, then look at blueprinting the action and upgrading the barrel.
/Bryan
 
@ Rhino.. Thanks that was basically what I was wondering to begin with. I suppose i didn't say it quite so simply. That makes sense but for some reason I had in mind that since i wasnt changing the barrel or the action then the load should be the same but i suppose that bedding and free floating changes both of those or their mechanics anyway.

@wnycollector... Thanks ill look into those. They are by far cheaper than ballistic tips and nostler customs. Ive not shot much federal through any of my guns so I had no idea federal produced ammo using the match kings. That'll give me an idea of if id like a handload with those or not.
 
I have the ADL Varmint in 308. Same gun but with a blind magazine. With my handloads I was getting .65moa. This is with the factory VTR stock. I then had the barrel cut to 20" and had a recessed crown cut. It now shoots .55moa with the factory stock.

I also have an SPS Tactical in 223 that was a special distributor run with the VTR stock. I have only begun working on a load for this one, but right now it is 1moa. I know it can do better.

Both rifles sport the X-Mark Pro trigger, and for me it works great.
 
Agrice, if you decide to modify your rifle, the last thing I would buy would be a trigger. Unless they've changed recently Remingtons have adjustable triggers, so there's really no need to buy one.

Unlike thin, sporter weight and super-lightweight barrels, varmint weight barrels are typically much less sensitive to being free floated, but it certainly won't hurt and could help. Do it.

Many years ago when Remington came out with their 700 Classic in 220 Swift, I snatched one up. Showing it to my Dad, I commented that I was going to take it home a glass bed it right away, to which he replied, "Why don't you shoot it first?" I did, and 20 years later the rifle still isnt bedded and still shoots itty-bitty groups. I now only bed rifles if they "need" it.

Unless it is internally tighter meaning the action fits better, and aftermarket stock won't make your rifle any more accurate.

My opinion is handload first then start looking a modding your rifle. But I have a feeling that after tailoring loads to that particular rifle, you'll find there's little you need to do to the rifle.

Good luck,
35W
 
Having owned Remington rifles for 35 years it's an easy question to answer. The biggest improvement comes from bedding the stocks with a free floating barrel on Remington rifles. Because you have an SPS it's a waste of time to try this on your rifle, replace the stock. The SPS stock is totally garbage. I replaced mine with a B&C Medalist, group sizes shrunk from 1" to 1/2". Second is the trigger. The new Xmark trigger is very crisp, a nice trigger. Unfortunately you can't adjust them to much so I replaced mine with a Timney.

The stock was $220 and is pillar bedded making the barrel free floating. A Timney trigger is about $129. Do these two items and I guarantee you'll notice a big difference.

I did these items before I even started tailoring handloads. If you develop a load without changing the items first you'll end up changing it again afterwards.

Here's a picture of my SPS VS stainless afterwards.

REMSPS.jpg
 
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sounds like a nice setup replace the stock and shoot the thing! after you get use to it worry about upgrades then i think the stock will be a big thing
 
I have a simple approach to this issue. I shoot my new rifles with Federal Gold Medal Match ammo as a basic comparator (or one of my accuracy loads, such as 47.0 gr of IMR 4895 under a Sierra Match King with CCI BR2 primers in my .30-06s) to set a baseline for their performance. If it meets my needs, I leave it alone...if it doesn't, I try to diagnose the causes and correct them, sequentially, stopping when I get acceptable results.

I recently bought a Rem 700 SPS-Varmint in .308 Win and mounted one of my Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 scopes on it with Leupold STD rings and bases (the STDs allow physical windage adjustment so you don't have to use up the windage adjustment of the scope). It produced three 3-shot groups of 0.19", 0.22" and 0.30" at 100 yds off a bipod and rear bag. I have subsequently developed a few loads that work as well as the FGGM (43.5gr of RL 15 under a 150gr SMK and 42.0 gr. of RL15 under a 168gr SMK)...and have not done anything to my SPS-V except clean it.

I have changed stocks on other rifles (I like B&C Medalists) after getting excellent results with B&C on my Winchester M70s but I get sub-MOA performance from every bolt action rifle I own. Once you know the capabilities of your rifle and, more importantly, yourself, then it may make sense to start throwing money at the problem. Until then, learn, practice, and read about alternatives and, as necessary, consult a competent gunsmith.

FH
 
Agreed, im still using the original stock. Filled the forearm with fiberglass, and bedded the reciever. I also floated the tube, but i am right now in the process of putting a bedding pad under barrel at the tip of the forearm to see what it does.
 
I was wondering the same thing. I don't understand how a new stock would make a rifle more accurate than bedding the original stock.
Click to expand...
Some stocks are more rigid than others. This effects the way it flexes, which may or may not increase accuracy.
 
I purchased SPS varmint in .223 and the stock on it was the major drawback. Problem with SPS stock is the material its made from and none-freefloated heavy varmint barrel which rests on two groves at the tip of the stock. I experimented with SPS stock by bedding it so it would support and freefloat its barrel and I had successful results, groups shrunk from 1" to 0.25". Later I replaced its stock to B&C tactical A-2, which has aluminum bedding block, this improvement didn't produce better accuracy only cosmetic change in appearance.
 
Problem with SPS stock is the material its made from and none-freefloated heavy varmint barrel which rests on two groves at the tip of the stock.
Click to expand...

I think by grooves you actually mean ridges. Every Remington rifle I've owned with a factory stock had the barrel supported near the forend tip.

Later I replaced its stock to B&C tactical A-2, which has aluminum bedding block, this improvement didn't produce better accuracy only cosmetic change in appearance.
Click to expand...

That stands to reason.

35W
 
Biggest thing to do for a stock SPS is handload. Do that first. Get dies and trimmer etc. to reload. Working up a new load needs to be done when you changed bullets or powder. So doing all the upgrades first is no real advantage.
I bought a used one which had a Jewell trigger. I reworked the original stock. Bedded the action and stiffened the fore end.
To me the biggest advantage of a Jewell trigger is it is 3 way adjustable on the rifle. On most you have to remove action from the stock. It is also a great trigger & mostly if not all stainless. Rifle basix and some other all nice.
 
I'm a big fan of pillar-bedding, but a bad bedding job can be worse than lousy factory bedding. It needs to be done well, with clearance at the front and bottom of the recoil plate and making sure that blind screw holes aren't filled with epoxy that prevents the action screw from pulling the receiver tightly to the stock.

On flexible stocks, I rout channels and imbed coarse-threaded bolt pieces (under the bedding surface) across the weak points near the front and rear screws. That keeps the stock from "relaxing" under compression. (A recent split Mod 7 Rem synthetic was repaired as part of the pillar-bedding job and it now shoots under 1/2 min.) I'd recommend the same for laminated stocks because birch layers are soft and may be slightly wedged apart by rounded receivers.
 
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