New rifle

[Retaks]

Hey everyone. Im new on here and am about to start on a rifle for target shooting for me. I have everything ordered to get me started and i wanna get some opinions. Ill be starting out between 200-300 yards and progressing from there and had a $1300 budget to start.

Remington 700 SPS Varmin 308
Leupold Dual Dovetail mounts
Nikon Prostaff 5 3.5-14X40
Choate Stock
Timney Trigger
Harris Bipod

That is whats currently on it way and i should have it by the weekend. The scope and mounts will be switched out down the road and used on a hunting rifle. Im waiting until i progress to longer ranges to change the optics.

 

[Rogue111]

Looks to be a good start. If you get hooked you may want to look into handloading.

 

[Temp9]

Looks good, but I would get a SWFA mil/mil instead of the Prostaff. A 10x fixed will work out to about 1000 yards in torso plate sized targets, and it actually costs less than the Prostaff.

 

[Retaks]

New rifle

The scope is ultimately going on a hunting rifle down the road and i will be getting a better scope for this rifle. Plus it was on sale for under $300.

 

[09jisaac]

Nikon makes, in my opinion, a good optic.

They are better suited for hunting than LR shooting though. Mine tracked reliably when I sighted it in, but I don't know about the long term reliability of the tracking.

In a hunting scope, I just zero at 200 and leave it there. With a long range scope, you'll probably need to crank on it every time the distance changes drastically.

What reticle did you get?

 

[Retaks]

The Nikoplex reticle with the XR Custom Turret.

 

[sam1304]

I would either want an FFP "First focal plane" scope or a fixed power like mentioned above either with Mil/Mil turrets. I wouldn't want to be messing around converting moa to mils etc.. along with the problems associated with SFP "second focal plane" scopes. I would also rather a picatinny rail for mounting the optic as it is more flexible. You may think as it will be going on a hunting rifle after that you don't need it but in actual fact it will be beneficial for hunting. I am using this set up on my own hunting rifle as i am hunting on a mountain side but would like these features on any rifle and optic. Optics are an extremely important part of the rig and choosing the right set up can be a long process with a steep learning curve. Your best bet is to read and take on board what some will say not all though take everything with a pinch of salt. Have a look at sinper 101's videos "youtube" on optics and optic choice there is some good information in his videos. All the best in your endeavor, And I hope you will make a well informed decision and that it works out the way you would like it. At the end of the day it is your rifle and your decision.

 

[Retaks]

Thanks Sam. I have plans down the road to add a 20moa base and Nightforce scope but funds didnt allow that right now so i got a scope and mounts i will use on a hunting rifle for my step son in a year or two. He will be getting a Rem 700 in 7mm-08.

As of right now im doing alot of reading and research on everything. I really dont understand mil dots but am trying to learn about them and exactly which scope, base, and rings i will add down the road.

 

[Retaks]

Everything except my rifle is suposed to arrive today. The rifle should be at the dealer tommorow. Hopefully i can get everything together this weekend.

 

[steelslayer22]

Sounds like a pretty good start

 

[Retaks]

Well everything is together and i got to shoot it yesterday a little. It was the first time ive ever done a barrel break in and it seems alot easier to clean now with no copper fouling. I shot a box of PMC Bronze 150gr FMJ and a box of 168gr Barnes Vortex. It shot decent with both but not amazing. Bot were keeping groups around 1". I want to try some Hornady Match ammo and see if i get better results.

 

[cptchuck]

Did you ever try that new ammo for your groups? I just picked up the rem700 aac 308. 1-10 twist. I wanted to see what the best groups you got with what ammo.... I too have that exact setup as you, my scope had the mildot tho. Still have factory trigger, I do a little smith work and on my 223 sps tactical its around 1.4lb I just had to cut a tad off the fire pin catch area (where sear contacts)

The gun hits very hard on the primer and will not lock the firepin back until you have slid the bolt a tad, by fixing it to when you lift the bolt you can slide it back down and its ready to restrike with out moving the bolt at all. That gave me at least 2.5lb diff in the trigger pull, thus allowing the factory trigger to become as great as rem seems to think it is.