Rem 700P 308

[E5B]

A few months ago I purchased a NIB Remington 700P 308. It came with a Badger 20moa base, Badger 30mm rings and Harris benchrest bipods.

As soon as I received it I immediately shipped it off to Kevin Cram, owner of Montour County Rifles, in order to get accurized, thread the barrel for a suppressor and install a custom Jewell trigger factory set at 8 oz. I highly recommend Kevin for any gunsmithing as his professionalism and reputation is above reproach.

After I received my rifle from Kevin, I topped it with a Nightforce NXS 8-32x56 w/NP-1 reticle.

I immediately set out to work up a load and I had some Nosler custom brass, 175 gr Sierra Match Kings, CCI Benchrest primers and Varget powder waiting on the bench.

It didn't take long to find a load the rifle liked.

The first group is a 3-shot group @ 100 yards and measured .143".

The second group is a 3-shot group @ 200 yards and measured .677".

Measurements are taken from outside to outside at widest point then minus bullet diameter.

The Jewell trigger is outstanding. Crisp and light. Couldn't be happier with this rig. I'll be pushing it out to 300 and 400 yards when I have time. Suppressor paperwork should be back from the ATF anyday now.

This will be my target/long range plinking rifle.

 

[Bevo16]

If that is for plinking, what the hell do you hunt with?

REALLY nice rifle. How much do you have in it now (minus the glass)?

 

[E5B]

My intent with this rifle was to push out to distances that I wouldn't normally hunt at. Once I get comfortable with longer distances I may upgrade to a 338 Lapua...but that is several years off.

 

[Pepe]

.143 at 100 yards seem ridiculously badass. Is that standard for Remington 700P? Or did "Accurizing" the weapon really bring it all together? How much does accurizing usually cost and what's involved?

 

[Flugelman]

.143 at 100 yards seem ridiculously badass. Is that standard for Remington 700P? Or did "Accurizing" the weapon really bring it all together? How much does accurizing usually cost and what's involved?

My 7-08 Remington 700 Varmiter shot .452" out of the box with a handload of 37.2 gr IMR 3031 behind a Sierra 168 gr MatchKing. With the work E5B had done on his 700P I'm not a bit surprised at his results.

 

[Floppy_D]

.143 at 100 yards seem ridiculously badass. Is that standard for Remington 700P?

Fuck no, nowhere near standard. With good optics, ammo, rest and shooter 1MOA would be good. I personally would like to see 5 shot groups and more of them, but I have no doubt that he has a hell of a shooter there, and would see similar results.

Or did "Accurizing" the weapon really bring it all together? How much does accurizing usually cost and what's involved?

Accurizing can include bedding the barrel (via fiberglass or aluminum blocks) to eliminate pressure points, trigger tuning (travel, pull, takeup, single/dual stage), barrel crowning, lug/action polishing. Basically stuff the don't really do at the factory because it requires a human hand, lots of skill and time, and the cost of the rifle would reflect that. A 3 or 4 MOA rifle is plenty good for your average hunter. Cost varies, but if I recall MCR jobs run a couple hundred (and are well worth it).

E5B, you've got a hell of a rifle there. You obviously cut no corners, and the groups reflect that. You mentioned 338 Lapua... have you considered a 338-300 RUM? Similar in ballistics, less proprietary limitations, you are a reloader, it fits in a 700 long action... etc. Either way, you get some sick BC's out of .338 bullets. Well done.

 

[E5B]

You mentioned 338 Lapua... have you considered a 338-300 RUM? Similar in ballistics, less proprietary limitations, you are a reloader, it fits in a 700 long action... etc. Either way, you get some sick BC's out of .338 bullets. Well done.

I have not considered a 338-300 RUM but will definitely look into it. There's plenty of time for research as my next purchase is a year or so off.

I will get some 5 shot groups and different differences posted when I have time to get back to the range.

I have a stock (read no work at all done to it) CZ 550 Varmint Kevlar 22-250 that will do just as good as the 308 with my hand loads. It shoots 1.25" group at 300 yards which is plenty good for prairie dogs. I need to push it out to 400 and 500 yards to see what it will do.


Floppy, I appreciate the comments.

 

[Bevo16]

A 3 or 4 MOA rifle is plenty good for your average hunter.

If I had a rifle that could only shoot 3 MOA, I would throw it in the trash.

I'll agree that the average hunter is no better than a 3 MOA shooter, but most rifles do better than that out of the box.

E5B,

On those 3 shot groups, were you cleaning your barrel and letting it cool between shots? I have an M1A that consistently produces sub MOA groups, but I get vertical stringing of my shot placement as I work through a mag. Next time out, I am going to swab the barrel after each shot and let it cool to see what that does to my group size. It sure will be nice when the temperature gets below 100 f'ing degrees here in Memphis so I can get out to the range.

Example:

 

[FlyBoyd]

Ha! Don't let Bevo deceive you. He took these with a .22 at 50 yards with a blown up target. His trick dime has a 2" diameter. The hole is so big because it was already tumbling. He hand loads his rounds after scavenging brass from the range and throwing back a 12 pack

 

[E5B]

E5B,

On those 3 shot groups, were you cleaning your barrel and letting it cool between shots? I have an M1A that consistently produces sub MOA groups, but I get vertical stringing of my shot placement as I work through a mag. Next time out, I am going to swab the barrel after each shot and let it cool to see what that does to my group size. It sure will be nice when the temperature gets below 100 f'ing degrees here in Memphis so I can get out to the range.

Bevo,

First of all, I followed the detailed intructions from Kevin at Montour County Rifles on barrel break in procedures. There is a lot of controversy on this topic on whether it truely helps or not. I figured it can't hurt anything.

Yes, I let my barrel cool between shots. Before shooting a group I'll fire one shot to warm the barrel. Typically I'll wait 4-5 minutes between shots and between strings I'll wait a half hour or so. In the summertime, I'll set the rifle in my pickup with the AC on to help aid the cooling process.

As far as the cleaning goes, I've experimented with a certain process that I have now confirmed with 3 different rifles. I had a couple of guys recommend NOT cleaning the barrel until accuracy starts to fall off. They also said that accuracy wouldn't stabilize until 30-50 rounds down the barrel...depending on the rifle and loads. The above groups I fired were down a barrel that hasn't been cleaned in over 125 rounds. Some have said that they haven't had to clean in over 500 rounds. It took a lot of discipline and trust for me to do this as I have always throroughly cleaned my guns prior to putting them back in the safe. I can tell you this works! Both my 22-250's have gotten tighter groups after 50 rounds down the barrel. Now, I'll still clean the chamber, bolt and receiver but I won't touch the barrel. Try it with your M1A and see if it works for you.

Sometimes vertical drift is due to trigger pull. If you are shooting from a rest then any trigger over a 1 lbs will start to effect accuracy....depending on the rest and shooter. Obviously, this is not ideal for a hunting rifle. My huning rifles are set at 2 lbs and my bench rifles are set at 8 oz. Huge difference on the bench.


E5B

 

[FlyinRock]

Nice rifle! My Rem 700 ADL with a Brown Precision stock and a plain Jane Leupold 2x7 holds about a dime sized group but not as tight as yours. Maybe its just me?! It is in 30/06 and about 40 years old now with a 6 digit serial #. My 375 H&H will hold about an inch with the 300 gr solids but is punishing off the bench!
Semper Fi

 

[FlyinRock]

Ha Ha Ha...I needed that laugh. Thanks -That was good...
Semper Fi
Rocky

 

[FlyinRock]

E5B
I wonder sometimes at the methods used to determine accuracy of a working rifle. The cooling, cleaning, etc. When I was still active as a high power competitor (master card), at matches we got "fouling rounds" or "sighters" and I could understand the sighters part. It gave us a chance to check winds as we saw them in the scope. As for the time between rounds, we'd never end up anywhere but the bottom of the scoreboard if we waited that long between rounds. For a hunting rifle it is a different story. I'd always check my zero prior to the hunt and not clean the bore until after the season was finished. Didn't seem to make any difference to the animal if my rifle shot 1/2" or 3" groups when it fell down dead with one shot correctly placed. I'll qualify that by saying I never took shots over 200 yards on game. My old faithful Rem 700 in 30/06 still shoots better than I can and after 40 years still has a clean bore and ready for the range.
The controversy continues........
Semper Fi
Rocky

 

[Bevo16]

The wide variance of techniques in pretty wild. You would think that there would be one "accepted" way, but nope. I guess that makes it more fun that there are a bunch of different methods to try.

 

[E5B]

My paperwork for the suppressor just got approved. Lengthy process. Mrs. E5B got the 308 out and threaded it on for a few pictures. It's a AAC (Advanced Armament Corp) Cyclone. Can't wait to try this thing out!!!

My daughter is posing with it....

I've done some extensive research and the consensus is that these things reduce recoil and noise. What they DON'T do is improve accuracy. If anything, folks have experienced a slight change to POI (Point of Impact) with no degradation or improvement to accuracy. Once I get this thing to the range I'll let y'all know how it works out.


I also have a guy building a 300 Whisper (300/221) for me which should be complete by the time I get home....but that will be another thread.