Question on Scope Base for Remington 700

[smullen]

Actually I have several questions.

1st is my Remington 700 SPS Varmint a Short or Long action?

What is really the difference between the two (besides length)?

I mean is it all of certain calibers are short and all of another group is long?

2nd regarding Scope bases, what is Cant??? and the difference between say a 0 MOA ( I did find out that mean Minute of Angle) and 20 MOA???

If I'm going to go with a Badger ordnance scope base, which should I use???

I was looking over at Midway usa and they have a 20 moa for long and short (right and left) and I think 0 MOA??? I just don't want to order the wrong thing... The scope will be of decent size... 50-56 mm objective lens...

Lastly, I've got a few amazon bucks, can anyone recomend a few good rifle books? Something that will go into detail on topics like actions, Scopes and Zeroing and anything else you guys think is useful?

 

[rero360]

well, the length of your action all depends on the caliber, for example the .223 and .308 are short actions where as the .30-06 and .30 Win Mag are both long actions.

I have a badger 20 MOA base on my savage, you really can't get anting better that badger that i know of.

as to the differene between the 0 MOA and 20 MOA bases is that the 0 MOA base is perfectly flat, where as the 20 MOA base has a slight incline o it so that when shooting at longer ranges you don't run out of adjustment in your scope. so if you had a flat base and your rifle was zeroed at 100 meters with the reticle in the exact middle of its adjustment, by putting the 20 MOA base on the gun you'd shoot 20 inches high at the same distance using the same scope with the reticle in the middle.

what really matters when it comes to your scopes objective lens size is the ring height, most people suggest you get rings just high enough to get the bell of the scope off of the barrel.

 

[Omnivore]

20 MOA translates to around 20 inches at 100 yards. A 20 MOA scope base will give you that much more elevation adjustment, and/or it will put your line of sight more through the center of the scopes lenses, where acuity is best, when shooting at long distances.

Cant is rotation of the rifle, either tipped to the right or to the left. It is extremely important in long distance shooting. That is because you have a high "sight angle" with respect to the barrel-- when you're looking at the target through your scope, the barrel is pointed upward, to compensate for bullet drop. If you cant the rifle, say to the left, your barrel is now pointed a bit to the left with respect to your line-of-sight, and not high enough. Your round hit low and to the left. Imagine laying the rifle on its left side; now you have no elevation at all, and bunch of left windage. You'll hit maybe 20 feet low and 20 feet to the left of your point of aim at long distance.

Some scopes have built-in bubble levels. Some shooters install a bubble, or ACD (Anti Canting Device) either on the scope or somewhere near it, so they can check for level before firing. Inside 100 yards or so, this is not so big a deal, but at 600 yards it can make a huge difference, especially with the more arched trajectories, unless your setup is held exactly the same for each shot.