Need Help Tuning Remington 700, Handloads and the Shooter

[witchhunter]

Your 10/22 will appreciate the clean bore too... But use a copper remover on the centerfires first. Follow the instructions and you will see the difference, keep it clean and it will stay clean longer. Again, I like JB in there after the copper is gone, to smooth it out. Keep it clean and don't overheat it and it will last longer.

 

[dirtykid]

When you have some spare time go browse Youtube, and search for a guy that goes by
"LoneWolfUSMC" he has a web-cast style shows that cover a lot on the REM-700 , specifically the .308
I thought I knew quite a little about long distance shooting,reloading etc..
But he confirmed some of my previous knowledge, and shed light on some new aspects of how to fine-tune your rifle to bring CONSISTENCY to your habits,,

 

[mljdeckard]

With my first ever rifle loads, with three different kinds of bullets, off a cheap plastic rest, with my over-excited shaky hands, my 70 VSSF 22-250 shot less than 1". I think that's about as good as can be expected.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

My most accurate handloads for my Rems in .308 Win are the "accuracy" loads that Sierra publishes in its Vth ed. manual:

42.0gr of Reloder 15 under a 168gr Sierra MatchKing bullet. I use CCI BR2 primers. My SPS-Varmint, also free-floated and glass-bedded in a B&C Medalist A5 stock consistently delivers 0.5-0.75" 5-shot groups with this load and only slightly larger with FGGM using 168gr SMK bullets. My hunting rifle (R700 SPS SS in a B&C Medalist Sporter stock is a 0.66-1.0" rifle, more than accurate enough for anything I need to do with it.

My most recent loads, using VihtaVuori N550 have done as well. I have also had good success with Hornady A-MAX and Match bullets and Nosler Custom Competition bullets.

It is important to note that 1 MOA is an excellent performance from most hunting rifles. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

FH

 

[ironworkerwill]

The barrel on the 700s are mostly hammer forged. The Hierarchy of rifle barrels are from least to most precise: hammer forged, button rifled, cut rifled, single point cut, and some say broached cut.

Every time the hammer strikes the blank barrel on the mandrel it leaves marks like the 1/16 marks on a rule running atop the lands and grooves of the tube. Every mark is a small peak or valley that copper will get caught in.

Not to say hammer forged tubes can't drive tacks, some can and do. But, they will be less likely to be real competition for the Brux or Hart barrels. Rem has suffered some Q.C. issues in the last few years. I suspect most folks who claim .5moa have made barrel swaps or are using an older model 700.

Lapped lugs, new tube, and a trued bolt face may bring new found confidence when shooting.

 

[MichigammeDave]

Another thing you might try is weighing your bullets out of the box. If you find a decent bullet at a decent price, weigh each bullet and keep the ones that are dead on, using the rest for deer hunting.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Re: premium grade bullets.
Yes, the Sierra's match bullets are held to a much higher standard.
The accuracy that original poster is getting is pretty much what I get from PrviPartisan. Those and "commercial grade" components such as Winchester bulk bullets get typically 1-1.5moa accuracy from a "match grade" rifle.

Use Sierra bullets to duplicate Federal Gold Medal match.
Use Federal 210Match primers...
Federal brass, and do trim. I even neck turn for additional concentricity.
Use either Reloader15 or Varget. I personnaly prefer the Reloader15 or H4895 when accuracy is critical.
Weigh all charges.
Seating depth is secondary to feeding/functioning. In matches where a jammed gun can ruin your day, functioning is primary. Where time isn't critical, often bullets touching the lands give me best accuracy.

Given all the above, I've got a Remington M700 ADL (synthetic stock and sporter bbl) in .22-250 that with Sierra 55gr bullets, H380 or RL15, Fed210 primers and Winchester cases weight matched will give 0.5" groups and 2 out of 5 will be one-hole groups. (5-shots). Substitute a PrviPartisan 55gr Spt and groups run 1.5-2.0"... ditto Hornady 55gr spt (with cannulure) or Remington 55gr Spt's...

Yes, the bullets make all the difference.....