Long range rifle with a 20 inch barrel

[Alientaz]

I am in the market for a new bolt action rifle with a 20 inch barrel. I am open on the caliber but have been looking at the Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .308 but would like it too have at least a 600 meter range. It will be used mainly for target but am learning to hunt as well. I am starting to hand load so cost of rounds are of less importance to me. Thank you everyone for all your help.

 

[shootnstarz]

Friend has a 700 varmit 308 that I shot one ragged hole at 100 yds with using my own Matchking handloads. Most accurate centerfire I've ever shot.

Rick

 

[FowlHunter13]

I just picked up the Remington 700 VTR in .308 and love it so far. I have only had it about a week and a half and already taken a deer at 110 yards. I haven't had the chance to do any serious bench work with it yet, but after hunting season I plan to run it through it's paces.

 

[SAWMAN]

The Remingtons that you have mentioned are great guns although I have limited knowledge as to their accuracy and longevity.

One gun that I do have some experience with are the older Savage 110FP's. They were the all black 20" heavy bbl'ed models. I do not know if they still offer these but if they did WITH the Accutrigger this would be recommendation chambered in 308Win shooting bullets in the 155-175gr weights.

I am glad to hear that you mentioned the 20" bbl. This, given the shorter bbl's are more rigid and length has nothing to do with accuracy(velocity,yes). For the 600m range mentioned and the hunting application,one bullet and one powder(I use 748)will do it all.

Good luck with your acquisition and keep us informed as to how it goes. --- SAWMAN

 

[Medic]

SAWMAN is right about the Savages. If you can find a 110 or a 10 or a Sears version made by Savage buy it and you can start working on them from there.
Barrels can be swapped at home with a few simple tools, triggers are easy and you can float the barrel and epoxy bed the action yourself.

 

[SAWMAN]

Thanks Medic,you are absolutely right(forgot that). "Problem" is I do believe that the FP's only came in 308 and 223. And I do believe that the 223's twist was 1:12 which would limit(somewhat) the bullets used to the 55(or so)grainers. However a change to a 20-22",1.00" diameter,1:8 would be pretty sweet IMO. 600m's here we come !! (although personally, I still would choose the 308) --- SAWMAN

 

[ben_p]

I have really been looking into the Savage 10FP lately, in .308. Never really been into bolt guns but I think that will be my first before too much longer.

 

[Alientaz]

Everybody what about the new Ruger American rifle? Has 22 inch barrel and is about half the price. Is there a different caliber I should be looking at beside .308? Looking for range 500 yard with knockdown power for hunting? Thank you

 

[sharkfetching27]

the 308win will work great at 500yr, but if you r wanting to hunt something like an elk r bigger i would go with a 300win mag. this is just my 2 cents i am shure there r more people on here that could probably help u out better

 

[SAWMAN]

A long range "hunter" should have a combo of several things. Firstly....a hunter could be used for target...but....a target possibly would not qualify as a hunting weapon. This,would mainly depend on the chambering. You could surely punch paper at 600yds with a 223Rem,however hunting deer or elk would be a no-no.

I happened to mention the Savage line of weapons in my above but there are some others produced that would certainly fit the criteria as mentioned above. The perfect example would be my .30-378 Wby Mag for sale here. However this weapon is like a boat. You not only have to be able to buy it and set it up with all the extras...you also have to be able to afford to run it.

With a long range hunter you will not get short and light,yet accurate. You will not get low recoil yet long range capabilities. You will not get hunting trigger yet long range/target trigger. You will not get small scope with wide field of view yet a zoom up to 20X. And extremely important, you will not get a cheap scope yet a scope that can be used for the longer ranges. Now......I say the above fully understanding that the words like..."short,light,accurate,low,small,cheap" or even "long range" mean different things to different people.

For a long range and/or target gun you WILL need several things IMO. 1.Trigger 2.Stock 3.Barrel 4.Chambering 5.Ammo 6.Scope(base?) 7.Shooter. You will notice that I did not include action. Generally the action type does not matter. However take a look at the bench rest shooters. How many of these professionals DO NOT use a bolt gun ?? Now....I have shot semi-auto's that shoot pretty damn good. I have owned bolt guns(yep....a Savage)that shoot in the .250"+. I now own a T/C Encore Pro Hunter chambered in 7mm Rem Mag that will shoot the 130gr SMK's into groups that measure right around .350".

But.....to just snap back to reality for a second. To hit, and humanly kill a deer at 600yds, what MOA gun do you really need ?? This given the heart/lung are of a full grown deer is 10 inches or so. And remembering that MOA is just that ...... no matter the range. And how many foot pounds of energy does your weapon have to deliver at these ranges to humanly dispatch the animal ?? And,at what speed will your bullet strike the animal at 600yds ?? AND.....will the design of the bullet allow it to open effectively at this speed ??

All the above you will have to determine for yourself. Start digging. ---- SAWMAN

 

[sharkfetching27]

Sawman you could not have said it better!