New Rem 700 - Needs optics: help

[DontBurnMyFlag]

Hey all,

I am the proud owner of a new Remington 700 tactical with an 18" barrel.

But all the fun stuff aside.

I purchased it without optics.

the rifle is already drilled and tapped, but does not have a rail or bases/mounts.

What do you guys recommend as a starter scope. I am just looking to have fun and I have recently got into long range shooting.

any help is appreciated!

[Adventurer_96]

.308? .223? .300 Win Mag?

The hardest thing to me was saving up to get a good scope to put on a nice rifle. The tendency is to get something that will fit today's budget. But, that can be short of what you need in the long run.

What kind of shooting will you do? 18" for long range by my definition (which is 800+ yards, but that definition changes from person to person) is too short, but I'd guess if you're playing out to 500-600 yards you'd still have great luck. They're great rifles, I hope to throw one in the collection eventually.

My deer/elk rifle came with a Leupold 3x9 on it, and I'm really happy with it for a hunting scope. Nikon is really up-and-coming for the money.

I recently found a vintage Redfield 3x9 Wideview that I put on my M-40, with Redfield mount & rings, and while I haven't fired it I'm happy with the glass for the price.

[Shadow Shock]

I've killed more deer with a $30 Game Winner 4x30 scope on my 700 in .223 than anything else. Now I have a Buckridge 6-24x42mm scope on it, I absolutley love it. And at $90, it's a steal. Eventually, you may want a Leopould though.

[friedcheese]

Like the others: depends on the caliber - my guess is you got a .308 if it's a Tactical.

I have a .308 Rem 700 Mil-Spec SS 5R - and tried to get a good scope... I found out and took a lost on it because I didn't get a better one.

I started out getting "good enough"... I then found out I needed (wanted) more. I had a Zeiss 3.5-10x44 Prefect scope - not perfect past 500 yards on a paper plate sized target*
http://www.swfa.com/pc-6699-259-new-zeiss-35-10x44-conquest-rifle-scope.aspx
I now have a Nightforce NXS 3.5-15x50 NP-R1 - 600+ yds is a piece of cake seeing now.

I shoot nothing but Steel / paper.
And for those hunters.. my rifle would get pretty heavy for a hunter. :)

If you shoot - like me: prone or table top shooting at non-living targets:

Here are my recommendations.

Base: Badger Ordnance: P/N 306-06A (These are Alloy)
http://www.swfa.com/pc-5712-468-new-badger-ordnance-maximized-scope-rail.aspx

Rings: Badger Ordnance: P/N 306-16 (These are Alloy)
http://www.swfa.com/pc-8327-469-badger-ordnance-maximized-scope-30mm-rings.aspx

Scopes: *This is the expensive part- Leupold 3.5-10x40 Ill. or better then that: Nightforce NXS 3.5-15x50 NP-R1
http://www.swfa.com/pc-3277-297-leupold-35-10x40-mark-4-lrt-30mm-riflescope.aspx
http://www.nightforceoptics.com/?catid=1&viewitem=1

IMHO of course.
* shooting a paper plate that has a pop can full of Unijel explosives at 630+ yds attached to it with a 10X scope is almost impossib. I had a horilbe time seeing the letter on the paper plate - NOTHING is worse then shooting at the wrong target and hearing "what & where are you shooting at.." from the spotter with 200 people behind you. I sold that scope and got a better one.
Gateway Dynamite Shoot. http://www.acsol.net/~firedept/dynamite.html

[budlight2256]

I have a 700 PSS that I use for target shooting. I would recomend a leupold, but that all depends on the amout of money you want to spend. The reason for this is becasue of long range shooting that you said you were getting into. At long ranges a really good scope helps. But if you just want to have some fun at shorter distances and not spend a lot of money then its really an open question. I guess one could look at it as if one did buy a higher end scope you would allways have one. So, what are you going to be doing with the gun?

[George Hill]

I'll second the suggestion for the Leupold VX-7, however it is far from a Starter Scope. If you want to save some jingle, then go look at a Millett Tactical... you can get those for about 1200 less than the VX-7 and it's actually pretty decent glass for the money. The VX-7 is just fantastic... but it is spendy.

[taliv]

i put a Leupold VX-L (same stats as varmint extreme, except w/o the splash) and a nightforce benchrest (the 42x one) on two rem700s this year.

I am extremely impressed with the leupold. I'm mildly disappointed in the nightforce.

I almost bought a S&B last week, but an amazing opportunity to buy a knight's Stoner SR-25 presented itself, so I spent the $ on that instead. I'll probably get an S&B next year.

[Muzzy_B]

The VX-7 is just fantastic... but it is spendy.

You've got that right, on both accounts.

[kolob10]

I have a Remington 700 SS 5R in .308 and it wears a Leupold Mark IV 3.5 X10 with elevation compensating cams. It serves me well. I have a Leupold model 7 in .308 and it wears a Leupold compact 3x9. I have another 700 .308 that has a Leupold VX III 6.5x20x40. All have their place.