Beginners equipment questions

Robby6pack · 2024-12-24T00:15:49-0500

Looking to get into LR. At present I have a Remington 700 .270, 30-06, AR15 5.56 and a Ruger American Ranch 5.56. I just put a Arken scope on the Ruger and would like to start with it. My range only has 200 yard max, but have access to another range with up to 1000 yard distance. My plan is to use this Ruger up to 200 until I feel comfortable to move up. So here are the questions:

How far will this rifle take me(5.56)?
Is it unreasonable to think this 16 inch barrel will reach 1000 yards accurately?
I will have to keep you a budget, and have found a Remington 700 sps tactical in 6.5 creedmoor. Would this be an acceptable rifle to move up?
Also looking at a tikka upr. Should I shoot the Ruger for a while and save for the Tikka? I don’t want to buy twice if I can avoid it.

Thanks in advance.
Robby T

DarinC · 2024-12-24T12:12:12-0500

Do you reload? A 223 can be very effective with heavier bullets. 16” is going to hurt you a bit, but you should be able to get that guy out quite a ways while you work on your fundamentals. I run a 223 ai with 80-85g bullets out to 900 all the time, but it has a 24” barrel too.

Personally, shoot that Ruger until you either can afford to move up to a tikka. I don’t have any experience with the REM, but every factory tikka I’ve been around hammers.

End of the day, practice is going to do you the most good, and a 223 can provide that ins very affordable package

spife7980 · 2024-12-24T12:20:07-0500

I’ve shot my 16” 7 twist 223 to 1k with the 75 gr elds with reasonable effect.

Better have a flasher or clean targets, you know, “reasonable” for a 223 at 1k.
It’s cheap to try. It’s fun too.

Dirty D · 2024-12-24T12:32:28-0500

Start hand loading that 223 and be METICULOUS with your powder charge weights and that 223 will be a great 1k trainer. You will learn the wind quickly shooting a 223 to 1k. Be sure to have a backstop where you can see those tiny splashes to know your corrections.

Robby6pack · 2024-12-24T15:57:49-0500

I do reload all of my.270, so a set of does is all it’ll take. Thanks for the advice.

JR1200W3 · 2024-12-25T08:53:42-0500

Robby6pack said:
Looking to get into LR. At present I have a Remington 700 .270, 30-06, AR15 5.56 and a Ruger American Ranch 5.56. I just put a Arken scope on the Ruger and would like to start with it. My range only has 200 yard max, but have access to another range with up to 1000 yard distance. My plan is to use this Ruger up to 200 until I feel comfortable to move up. So here are the questions:

How far will this rifle take me(5.56)?
Is it unreasonable to think this 16 inch barrel will reach 1000 yards accurately?
I will have to keep you a budget, and have found a Remington 700 sps tactical in 6.5 creedmoor. Would this be an acceptable rifle to move up?
Also looking at a tikka upr. Should I shoot the Ruger for a while and save for the Tikka? I don’t want to buy twice if I can avoid it.

Thanks in advance.
Robby T

If you want to shoot longer range there's a certain amount of equipment and accessories that you're going to want. And sustaining ammo is a consideration. Are you reloading? Or are you buying ammo? Shooting and developing doesn't happen without ammo. Buying ammo gets expensive. I would stay with the Ruger and look into getting a ballistic computer(phone app), a chronograph, a quality heavy bag, a toolkit, and a quality cleaning rod, Boretech solvent, some patches and a jag. And then I would start thinking about reloading. If you're shooting 223, it's a great place to start. 77SMKs will do well to 600, you can get some shit done to 800, and you can plink out at 1000. If you're out west and have a higher DA more so. If you're on the east coast, less so.

If you then decide you want to stay with shooting long range and don't want to buy twice I would skip over the UPR and look into an Aero Solus rifle, building off an Origin, or buying an MPA Premier II Pro that has the CDG action. Those are three different options of increasing price in order.

Skip the R700 SPS. Gone are the days of modifying R700 actions to slowly build into a custom long range rifle as you shoot it in stock version.

clefairy · 2024-12-25T09:40:27-0500

You’ll only be able to hit the 1000 if you can spot your misses. If you have a spotter it will also help out, but 556 slapping a steel plate is tough to see through the scope.

At least you’ll be able to hit 1000 and in while having a good time.

NHPiper · 2024-12-25T09:41:29-0500

I agree with everyone else here. If the Ruger shoots well, then keeps shooting it. There are also a lot of aftermarket stocks and Chassis options now those rifles.

With 77 gr bullets, you should definitely be able to go to 600-700, maybe even stretch to eight if there's good conditions and spotting your misses is possible. My second, what has been previously said, that putting together a kit will probably make you more effective out past 400 yds, particularly a range finder unless you're always shooting at known distances. I don't think I had a range finder for the first 5 years I spent shooting long range because it was always known distances. You can find some fairly cheap ones for a couple $100 that will definitely do the trick.

Shop The PX for used equipment. Most of it's in fantastic shape, there's usually lifetime warranties, and people are generally good to deal with.

The advantage to going towards larger calibers is going to mean that you can push that distance out. Another couple hundred yards, and spotting misses is easy. If you're shooting solo without a spotter, then finding a caliber that's low recoiling so that you can see misses will be really important, another reason why the 223 is a great option.

One of my first bulk guns was a Remington 700 SPS tactical in 223 with a 16 in Barrel that I put in a bell and Carlson stock. It shot phenomenal. I still miss selling it, it would have been a great beater rifle if I had held on to it.

One of my favorite guns is a 223ai, which means I have to reload. But I'm shooting 80 gr bullets 2850 FPS, so getting to 800 is pretty easy. But again spotting Mrs becomes a challenge and once you're shooting into sandbanks.

Welcome to the newest addiction of your life! It's a fun one and this is a great community to ask questions in.

jlorensen · 2024-12-25T09:43:52-0500

My thoughts.....good bipod and rear bag, and tons of practice with the .223. At the 200yd line, shoot from many positions and shoot progressively smaller targets. Do this while you save $$$ for an upgrade. Tons of long range cartridges out there, and the 6.5 Creedmor is a good one. While you're practicing, see what others are shooting and do a little research along the way......you'll probably decide "what's best" 10 times before you're ready to buy, lol.

I've never taken a .223 to 1k, but I've shot at 500 quite a bit with great success.

As mentioned above, this would be a great place to try reloading if that's of interest.

One last thought......I recently picked up a couple different Cole-tac bags, and they are way better then the less expensive options they replaced......look for good bags and decide to spend a few extra bucks there.

Wannashootit · 2024-12-25T09:51:50-0500

600 yards is a fair estimate IMO of the "cutoff" where the .223 becomes more challenging; this is where most rounds begin to lose energy exponentially with drop and drift increasing accordingly. Since experience is king, handloading is mandatory both for accuracy and cost effectiveness.

Beyond that, you can certainly lob the rounds- but you might decide you're better served by a more capable round where you can spot yourself. Once you gain experience and knowledge of local conditions you'll have a better idea of what will best serve you to "move up".

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