Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD or Weatherby Vanguard Series 2 RC Varmint

[mfann85]

I am comparing these two rifles to determine which is the better buy, as I am trying to build a budget target rifle. I am looking for people who have first hand experience with using either of these rifles to compare the pros and cons of both rifles. I have read the write up by 8541 Tactical on the budget precision build of the Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD and have found it very interesting. Also I have read reviews posted by The Truth About Guns and have found them helpful as well. I know a stock change will be required for the remington and there are several good choices out there. I know less about the weatherby, I know that it is aluminum bedded and the rifle has a 1 in 12" twist rate as opposed to remington's pillar bedded action and 1 in 10" twist. Any advice or help with this decision would be greatly appeciated. Thanks!

 

[allaroundhunter]

How far are you wanting to stretch its legs to?

And what other types of customization are on your mind? There are many, many more aftermarket parts for the Remington, and that alone would make me choose the Remington for a target rifle (and I did). However, I chose the SPS Varmint in .308. I wanted to eventually have a 22-24" barrel, and you can't add barrel length...but you can cut some off.

 

[mfann85]

Sorry I didn't specify but I am also looking for a .308 model. I want the rifle to be able to accurately fired out to 600 yards. I feel a 20 inch barrel plenty for this range (with proper weather conditions) but the twist rate will also factor in. What twist rate do you have and what kinds of accuracy to you regurally see from your rifle?

 

[allaroundhunter]

The twist in mine is 1:12 which handles rounds up to 175 gr just fine. The SPS-AAC comes with the 1:10 in order to handle the longer and heavier sub-sonic ammo that is put through suppressors.

Here are two 3 shot groups with Federal Gold Medal Match 168 gr ammo (the 3 rounds above the bottom right diamond are from a friend who lost our competition )



And here are some 5-shot groups at 200 when there was a fluctuating L-R crosswind (same FGMM ammo, different lot #):




FWIW, I did call a low flyer on my second shot of that top right group before checking impact. However, even with the flyer it was still a sub-MOA group.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Here is my SPS AAC-SD's group with 178gr AMAX handloads. It shot nearly as good with 175 SMK Federal Match Factory loaded..

 

[mfann85]

Wow! All of those groups look great! @Cjohnson76 - What kind of work have you done to your rifle? Did you have to replace the trigger or change the stock? @allaroundhunter - Is that out of the box accuracy?

 

[mfann85]

Does anyone have any experience with the new weatherby vanguard series 2 rifles? In particular the RC edition or the RC Varmint model?

 

[adelbridge]

The Weatherby is metric pattern, barrel swaps are going to be difficult compared to 700.

 

[allaroundhunter]

@allaroundhunter - Is that out of the box accuracy?

Yes it is, actually.... I was shocked myself to be honest.

The only thing that I intend to do is change the stock. The trigger on mine is great. It breaks crisply at about 2 pounds and has no take-up or over travel.


ETA: I also slightly modified the stock to make the barrel free floating; and I did it the same way that Cjohnson did.

My rifle wears a Millett TRS-1. I bought the gun as a project gun to get me out to 800 yards and then possibly move out to 1,000 which is why I wanted the longer barrel.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Trigger is stock, I have it set a around 2lbs. I used solvent (acetone) to free the set screws on the trigger and adjusted it. The stock was touching the barrel while loading the bipod or resting on a bag. I used a dremel with a sanding drum and opened the barrel chamber in the stock ever so slightly. Then took a two part epoxy (r/c plane epoxy) and filled the blocks between the bedding pillars. It strengthened the stock tremendously.

I could not be more pleased with the rifle. The extra 45 minutes of work really paid off, but it was a shooter straight out of the box. I topped it off with a Vortex Viper and smile everytime I get it out to shoot.

My whole plan was try to build a budget 600-800 yard target rifle. Turns out Remington did almost everything for me...

 

[mfann85]

@Cjohnson76 - Your modifications and ideas are very similar to 8541Tactical's budget build seen here http://8541tactical.com/budget precision article.php ... Also the same issues with the 700 sps tactical aac-sd are seen in "the truth about guns" review. Now my main question is how does the remington compare to a Vanguard series 2 Range Certified. The series 2 comes with a sub-moa guarantee but the Range Certified ones come with a signed target as well. How do the weatherby range certified models compare with the out of box accuracy of the remington.

 

[allaroundhunter]

mfann, I would expect similar accuracy from the two. The biggest difference is going to be aftermarket support. You can do a whole lot more customizing the Remington 700 to your exact liking than you can with the Weatherby...

Just understand that "sub-MOA" can mean anything from .0001" groups up to 1.0718" groups at 100 yards.


I just checked what the Vanguard 2 RC rifles are going for.... For that price I would just go with a Remington 700P or LTR without a doubt.

 

[Rob96]

I have the ADL version of the 700 Varmint. I had the barrel turned down to 20 inches with a recessed crown. Factory stock, Harris bipod and Mueller APT scope. Last time out I shot a .75moa group at 100yds.with my handloads.

 

[rayatphonix]

I've got the AAC-SD and the accuracy looks like it's going to be excellent. I've struggled somewhat coming up with a load, but seem to be on the right track. 5 shot groups with 150 grain Nosler BT's are under an inch shooting off bags. I've adjusted the trigger slightly, but other than that, everything's stock. I've got no doubt I'll do better. It's a very solid gun and I think you'd be happy with it.

 

[chrome_austex]

3-shots do not make a group! You need at least 5 or more to really demonstrate accuracy.

FWIW, my 308 AAC-SD shoots about 1.5 MOA, and not much better. The stock is flexible and sucks (esp with a bipod, its less of an issue off sandbags), the barrel is par for cheap remingtons, i.e. not that great.

Budget for a new stock and a new barrel if you really want to make a 'target' rifle out of a AAC-SD. For the money, a Savage might be a better investment.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Chrome, if I were you I would send it back to Remington. If mine shot 1.5moa off of a bipod or rest they would have it back. As far as the barrel, I will argue that one. It is one of their better choices for length and twist. I checked my rifle with a bore scope before I paid for it. It was flawless. I assure you the barrel is made to the same quality as the "Police 700P. I hate to hear of your issues, Remington should take care of it if you would send it in. As I had outlined, the stock is an easy fix. Mine is as stiff as the HS Precision on my Savage right beside it.

 

[mfann85]

@ Chrome, which savage model are you referring to that would be comparable. A 12 series varmint or 10 series tactical? I have also heard that eventhough to AAC-SD is one of the budget 700 models, it has a higher quality barrel because it is a joint venture with Advance Armament Corp. But that is also pure speculation.

 

[mfann85]

@Cjohnson, which epoxy did you use when reinforcing the stock?

 

[allaroundhunter]

mfann, the SPS Tactical AAC-SD does not have a different barrel than the SPS Tactical. The only difference is that it is threaded to accept AAC's (and many other manufacturer's) suppressors.

 

[mfann85]

The AAC-SD has a 1 in 10" twist rate while the SPS Tactical has a 1 in 12" twist rate. And I do believe that those barrels are built specifically for that model

 

[allaroundhunter]

Sorry, you're right the SPS Tactical does have a slower twist. But that does not make the barrel itself any higher quality than the SPS Tactical. AAC did not give input to the barrel except for the threading because they as a company do not make barrels. The twist in the AAC model is different for heavier sub sonic bullets. I asked a Remington rep the same question about AAC having direct input when I was looking into buying a .308 and he said was the threading is what they specifically requested..... But I don't know how in the loop he was.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Mfann85 , it was a two step resin epoxy. I think it might have actually been Great Planes brand. One of my friends used an epoxy that was designed to be used on metal (JB Weld). It is slightly heavier but seems to be way tougher. The downside was his epoxy cost way more. The model plane epoxy will work fine.

I will be honest, I could not be happier with the AAC-SD as a budget build long range target rifle. After seeing mine shoot, a few of the guys I shoot with, had to buy them. So far out of six rifles , we all are getting about the same results. I have no gain from you getting a Remington or not. That is up to you. If you do get one, I hope you have the luck I do with mine.

 

[ShadowsEye]

I just made a purchase about a week ago, went with a regular SPS Tac in 308, no need to spend more money on threads, and the faster twist wasn't compelling enough to warrant spending another 100 bucks.