New to long distance shooting

[jjackson988]

Hey, I relatively new to the long distance shooting game, but ive been waterfowl hunting my whole life so i am not new to fire arms all together. but I was thinking about getting a Rem 700 .308, what do you guys think? also any suggestions on optics?

jj

[kraigwy]

The 308 will do anything that needs done in this country.

Remington is as good as any, better then most.

Ref: Scope. What's you gonna shoot. For hunting I like a fix power. 4 or 6 depending on what you're shooting.

For targets you kind of need to let us know what type matchs your shooting.

I dont know what you mean by long range. Short range is up to 300 yards, mid range is 5-600 and long range is 800 to 1000 plus.

[Swampghost]

What do you intend to do with the .308? Target? Hunt? The .308 is a good general round like the 30-06. Specifics would help.

[jjackson988]

I am an avid hunter, mostly deer, ive always used a Marlin 30-30 with iron sights. I would like to use the gun for deer hunting but also range shooting. Probably anywhere from 300 to 500 yards.

[Swampghost]

Where do you hunt? How large is the average deer? What is the average range?

I ask this because down here the deer are smaller and the shots commonly close. A .30 cal in camp raises eyebrows.

[bigalshootmupper]

Just my opinion - I'd go with the 308. 30-30 is good too but you can do a lot more with the 308. If you want to shoot 300 yards, definitely go 308 over 30-30. I have a 308 autoloader (DPMS LR-308) and it is my favorite caliber. I've been thinking of getting a bolt action 308 as the autoloader is too heavy for deer hunting. I just think the 308 is the best round as it highly available for ammo, ballistics are proven to be great, and it is very efficient (as it had has a lot of energy and velocity for the least amount of recoil). Sure there may be better rounds with better ballistics for long range shooting or taking down large game, but these larger rounds will wear you out quickly after about 20 rounds and they really don't have that much more energy. 308 is the best all around round in my opinion.

[csmsss]

I ask this because down here the deer are smaller and the shots commonly close. A .30 cal in camp raises eyebrows.

Huh? I've done a good bit of hunting in Florida, and seen plenty of hunters carrying .30 caliber rifles. What SHOULD a hunter in Florida be carrying anyway? A bb gun? A slingshot?

[SeekHer]

Firstly, 300 yds is not long distance shooting just a long shot well within the capabilities of most rifles and calibres...500 plus is starting to be...

A Savage has the best reputation for out of the box accuracy, primarily due to its excellent trigger...It seems that you have to really tweak the Remingtons to get them to shoot well and they have horrendous triggers -- first thing you should replace...Howa have also gotten quite a good rep of late with making guns for Weatherby...

The .308 is a classic calibre and has a variety of bullet weights available for it so you can get some good downrange ballistics and accuracy...

Any scope of the 3/3.5 to 9/10x is all you'll need--remember that you can't really hold anything over 10x steady enough to shoot WELL as every breath you take and beat of the heart is visible in the shaking crosshairs...You can take bigger, have them act as a spotting scope, but then you're paying for extra glass which means extra weight and extra to go wrong, not to mention a lot more money...Better a good bi/monocular with a bigger field of view!

Do not think too much about it if/that the scope could be costing more then the rifle...Optics is one think were you really get what you pay for...Leupold or Nikon (1st choice) are about your best bets although I've heard some good stuff about Burris...

[rickdavis81]

I have a rem. sps tac .308 that I like. Shoots great but I may be replacing the stock for a bell carlson. I've had a few savage 308's also. Both are great. But I like the sps's 20" barrel. It's currently wearing a Mueller 3x10 tac II scope. Check out snipercentral.com or longrangehunting.com for good long range advice also. Alot of it on hear too.

[Buzzcook]

If you are going to be hunting from a blind or stand, then you can afford to build up a Rem 700 into a real good target rifle as well. If you hunt more actively then you won't want to put as much weight into the rifle.
If you're just shooting informally an out of the box Rem. 700 will be fine for targets out to 600yds. You'll want to tweak it a bit by free floating the barrel and such like.

.308 is fine for both targets and deer.

[Inspector3711]

It seems that you have to really tweak the Remingtons to get them to shoot well and they have horrendous triggers

The trigger has been a complaint with some Remington 700 rifles. My personal experience with the new trigger system is that it's very good on the two rifles I've fired. A nice crisp break with little or no creep.

If you get a Remington and you don't like the trigger you can order a Rifle Basix do it yourself replacement for around $90 and you will have an excellent trigger in about 15 minutes.

This upgrade has been added to both of my 700's because they were purchased before the new trigger was available. Both rifles are very accurate. One does have an aftermarket firing pin spring in it ($10) to speed up lock time but that is the only additional "tweak".

To make the statement that you "have to really tweak Remingtons" is like saying all Fords break down.

I wouldn't trade either rifle for anything else. That said, I'm not brand loyal and appreciate any rifle that is well made and accurate, including Savage. .308 is a great choice... Look at Howa as well, they offer excellent value.

[Swampghost]

csmsss, Florida is a weird place to hunt.

My biggest deer here went 180#s and came out of Big Cypress Swamp. I used a 1903A3 for that and nobody in camp said anything. We were also young, poor and using swap-meet rifles. Back then you also had to be prepared for some rather large hogs, panthers and the occasional black bear.

At the same time I had access to ranches near Lake Wales, Arcadia and Tallahassee. Again nobody said anything about a .30 cal.

Today I hunt a to-die-for ranch, one of the premier spots in FL. but the deer are REALLY small. My first year in camp (with my Rem. 742 30-06) a guy got one with a .30 cal. and got razzed up the wazoo from the cannon-like noise to the over-kill.

The stands are fixed (you are allowed to stalk) at bow range. There are also a few stands in the pasture that allow longer shots but nothing that would justify a .30 for teeny deer.

[sneaky pete]

old Sneaky Pete here: Oh boy,Swampghost you sure said a mouthfull!!!! Heck down here on Big Pine Key there was a nice 8 pointer that just barely broke 100lbs. We actually call them "Horned Puppies" and the Deer weapon du Jouir is still a head of lettuce and a Ball Pene hammer. Actually my wife did take a nice foto of a 8 pointer in velvet that probably went 125(the foto was made into a post-card) and about 6 months he got hit by a tourist from Michigan and died. THANX--SNEAKY

[emcon5]

Originally Posted by SeekHer

It seems that you have to really tweak the Remingtons to get them to shoot well and they have horrendous triggers

Have they changed the triggers recently? I have 2 Remington 700s, a BDL from the late 1980s and a ADL from 2000, and both triggers are actually quite good, when properly adjusted,

Originally Posted by Inspector3711

The trigger has been a complaint with some Remington 700 rifles. My personal experience with the new trigger system is that it's very good on the two rifles I've fired. A nice crisp break with little or no creep.

If you get a Remington and you don't like the trigger you can order a Rifle Basix do it yourself replacement for around $90 and you will have an excellent trigger in about 15 minutes.

The Remington 700 trigger (at least the one on my rifles) is adjustable from the factory for weight, sear engagement, and overtravel, and with a little patience can be made to work very well.

[Zak Smith]

Some reading to get you started


article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part I - Rifle & Equipment


article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part II - Optics


article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part III - Shooting

[Zak Smith]

article | Introduction to F-Class 1000-yard Competition


article | Introduction to High-End Long-Range Rifle Scopes ("Don't Skimp on the Scope!")


article | The Case for .260 Remington: A Better Cartridge For Practical Long-Range Shooting

[Zak Smith]

article | Colorado Multigun 2009 Steel Safari Practical Rifle Match

[Inspector3711]

Have they changed the triggers recently? I have 2 Remington 700s, a BDL from the late 1980s and a ADL from 2000, and both triggers are actually quite good, when properly adjusted,

I believe Remington introduced the X Mark Pro trigger about two years ago.

http://www.remington.com/xmark/

My LVSF was made two years prior and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to eliminate a 1/8" creep issue. I dropped in the rifle Basix trigger and was able to solve the problem. I now have a crisp 2.5 lb trigger.