New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

[M Spangler]

Hey Guys,

i've been lurking for a while, and really like the loads of info i've found on this site. I figured it was time to pop up with my first thread. I'm new to long range shooting, i started last year with a rifle i got in a trade, and i would really like to get involved in it more than the rest of the shooting i do.

I'm currently shooting a rem 700 pss in 300 RUM with a harris bipod, hs precision stock, leupold rings and bases with a leupold mark 4 3.5-10 IR mil dot. I'm reloading for this

I've been wondering where to go next. I like the 300 but i've been thinking about getting out of it and into a .308 winchester. seems like it would be much better to learn on, and for most purposes (at least in MA) plenty of gun for me

do you guys think i should go with the readily available .308 or stick with the 300 rum and dress the gun up the way i want, and worry about caliber selection when it's time for a new barrel?

i have about 27 more questions that i can think of off hand, but i guess it would be good to hear some responses first.

thanks in advance guys. i look forward to being more active on this forum

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

I would say that a .300 RUM is a helluva a cartridge for a beginner and not something that I would recommend to new guys. You are correct though, the .308 is a great cartridge to learn on that is relatively easy on the wallet, easy on the shoulder, and allows the shooter to learn about the wind and proper range estimation. If I were in your situation I would sell the .300 RUM rifle while the barrel is still good and purchase a new or used .308 bolt action rifle. I wouldn't even worry about trying to convert the .300 RUM to a .308 because after the cost of having the action trued, a new barrel, and a new bolt installed that has the proper bolt face it just wouldn't be worth it IMO.

 

[WRENCHHEAD]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Trigger Monkey</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would say that a .300 RUM is a helluva a cartridge for a beginner and not something that I would recommend to new guys. You are correct though, the .308 is a great cartridge to learn on that is relatively easy on the wallet, easy on the shoulder, and allows the shooter to learn about the wind and proper range estimation. If I were in your situation I would sell the .300 RUM rifle while the barrel is still good and purchase a new or used .308 bolt action rifle. I wouldn't even worry about trying to convert the .300 RUM to a .308 because after the cost of having the action trued, a new barrel, and a new bolt installed that has the proper bolt face it just wouldn't be worth it IMO.
</div></div>

i agree fully.

 

[exhogflyer]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

That 300 RUM you've got there IS one helluva long range cartridge......BUT I'd say it couldn't be much worse for an admitted beginner such as yourself.
1) ammo expense even if you reload
2) blast and recoil are going to give you bad habits/ flinch
3) terrible caliber to learn basics on

Get a 308 and don't look back, if you have the bucks you could hang on to that 300 and down the road some use it when you have the skills ( I'm in no way putting you down by any stretch)

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

thanks, i know you're not trying to put me down. i am a beginner. i've shot for years but not true training with pros or anything.

unfortunately i don't have the scratch to hold on to it. i could, but then i would have to go very basic on the .308.

i just hate shooting the RUM and feeling like i'm going to burn out the barrel before i find a good load to work with. and meanwhile i'm trying to find a good load, but there's probably too much inconsistency in my shooting habits to tell if a load is good, or if i just happened to shoot a good group for once with a bad load, or shoot a bad group with a good load.

i can save the scope, rings, bases and bipod for the next gun. i like the idea of a rem action but i think i would want a 3 position safety.

what are used rem 700 in 300 rum going for right now? it would be nice to sell this one and get the .308 that i want. thanks again guys. keep the responses coming. the feedback is good

 

[nobearsyet]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

NECG makes a 3 position bolt shroud for the 700, I have them on a few rifles and they work great, but I'll warn you, it'll cost you almost $300 to get one fitted, and almost $200 for the shroud.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

At $500 for a 3-pos safety installed on a Remington 700 you could go with a FN TSR or even one of the SPR A1's and be ahead of the game with a 20 MOA rail, a great stock, and great accuracy.

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

so am i better off going with the rem and having a pretty standard small block chevy of the bolt action rifle world? or to go with the SPR? which looks like a pretty bad ass gun.

though i live in MA, so i'll have to check regulations on whats' MA compliant. i know, you would think a simple bolt rifle would be MA compliant but it's amazing what we can and can't have here.

anything else you guys would recommend in this range? thanks again guys

i think the .308 is the way to go. i can always move up in the future. maybe something in 338

 

[Micah Hughes]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

keep the scope and rings sell the gun and buy a 308 is what i would do

 

[Peepaw]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

I'll beat teh dead horse as well...the .300 RUM is too much gun for what you need, and are doing..and you throw in beginner status, and makes for a not so ideal scenario.
Jus tlike guys said above, the ammo is more expensive, ALOT more mule kick, and leads to bad habits.

You need to pick up something like the .308, where you can find ammo in most place for cheap. EVERYONE makes ammo for teh .308.

So, I would get a Rem 700 chambered for the .308 (probaly biased, since that is one of my rifles), and go have some fun. For a box of 20 rounds, you can buy it as cheap as @ $13 a box, and most ammo runs @ $20-$30 for 20 cartridges.


So, even though it's "boring" (the .308) and all of that, it is PERFECT for what you are doing.

BTW, a .308 can be shot out to @ 1000 yards with very good results, and from sounds of it, you are not going to be shooting out to a 1000 for awhile (if at all ever???) so, what Im saying is, teh .308 will carry you for a LONG time, before you would need to "upgrade".

Good luck.

 

[E3C3H3O3]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Micah Hughes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">keep the scope and rings sell the gun and buy a 308 is what i would do </div></div>

+1,FOR SOMEONE NEW THATS WHAT I WOULD DO

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

yeah i think thats the way to go. the rum is nice, and recoil with the brake is barely more than my father's MA1. i only have a 500 yard range, and can't hunt with rifles in MA, so it's pretty much overkill, it's a waste of gun for my situation.

i do reload for .308 also, so i can make nice rounds on the cheap.

i think i'm going to go with a remington sps. they seem like a good deal for the $, i would go with the 700p, but i would prefer to upgrade to a a MCM stock, or something similar, so that would be a waste of money on the HS precision to just get swapped out.

seems like there are equal pros and cons to the SPS-V and SPS-T any points that would lead you guys to one over the other?

 

[Peepaw]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M Spangler</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i think i'm going to go with a remington sps. they seem like a good deal for the $, i would go with the 700p, but i would prefer to upgrade to a a MCM stock, or something similar, so that would be a waste of money on the HS precision to just get swapped out.

seems like there are equal pros and cons to the SPS-V and SPS-T any points that would lead you guys to one over the other? </div></div>


Thats a good idea, and is why I went as budget oriented as I could...I figured with either rifle, was gonna end up changing out stock, so why spend the extra $$$

Well, a friend of mine here on teh hide, "layinclose2hell" has teh Tactical SPS..look him up, and drop him a line...he will be able to give you some idea's on it, as Im not tha tfamiliar with teh Tactical.
My Varmint, well, it's a nice rifle. It's a heavier rifle, so not one you would probaly want to spend a week backpacking through the mountains with, but IS a rifle that you can take with you on most hunts. Is VERY accurate, so all in all, dont think you can wrong. it does what it is supposed to do, and does it well.

 

[okiefired]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

Dont forget about the LTR.

okie

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

I think the ltr would put me in the same boat as the p. Extra $ for a stock that I would want to get rid of anyway. Are there any other advantages to the ltr other than the stock and fluted barrel?

 

[tman300wm]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

I would look into a Rem700 PSS or other in .308win. You really can't go wrong. You can dress them up nice and if you want to change calibers the bolt face will accomodate just about any thing that is being shot at tactical matches right now (.260, 6.5 Creedmore, 7mm-08, .243). With those options and the availability of match grade ammo in the .308 what's not to like?

The FN's are also quite nice, the SPR's come with nice furniture and are great shooting guns, and you can get a DBM sustem for them that will take the AI mags. If you're on a serious budget the Savages are pretty sweet shooting rigs once you dump the accu-trigger. Make sure you get one with the DBM system if you go that route.

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

i think i'm leaning towards the 700 SPST or maybe an SPR.

what do you guys think about the SPR vs the 700? the SPR gives me the safety i want, stock i want, and DBM. (until i know enough to be picky) is there a big draw back to controlled round feed? i've done some reading and it seems like people are split 50/50 on the topic

seems like you're getting a lot for the $ with the SPR where you would have to dump some serious cash in to the SPS-T to get it to have the same features.

so i guess the CRF vs PF is the question right now.

 

[okiefired]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M Spangler</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think the ltr would put me in the same boat as the p. Extra $ for a stock that I would want to get rid of anyway. Are there any other advantages to the ltr other than the stock and fluted barrel? </div></div>

The LTR is lighter and more manuverable because of its stock and barrel, just depends on what you want it for. Its factory stock is easy to sell if you want to replace it and you'll get a good price for it, think I got $200 for mine. If you're set on another model, thats fine. They're all shooters, but the LTR will easily shoot with any of them and I thought you might want to concider it.

okie

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

thanks okie,

i'll look into it a bit more. i still have some reading and researching to do. the more i read the more i realize i'll have to settle on some items for now.

looks like the LTR runs about $400 more than the SPS-T

could a mcmillan A2 stock be had for $400? i'm having a hard time finding prices online.

i would like a nicer scope but i'll settle with the one i have, stuff like that. i'm really just looking forward to shooting whatever i get. i need to spend some time with the gun, and remember that this is going to a learning tool, i don't need a $4500 rifle to learn the basics on.

when i get better and out grow the rifle, i can send it off to get mods to meet my needs and skills. or someday replace it. putting me behind a $4500 gun is like putting me in a helicopter, useless.

thanks again guys. all of the feedback has been awesome.

range is open late tomorrow. if i can scoot out of work early i'm heading there with the RUM to get rid of the last of the reloads.

 

[okiefired]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

Sounds like you're on the right track Spangler. I didn't realize the LTR's were that much higher. Mac's are all too high for me right now so I dont know thier pricing very well but that sounds really cheap. Maybe someone more up on them will chime in. Good luck.

okie

 

[M Spangler]

Re: New guy looking in to options for my 700 pss

Thanks okie.