I always wanted a Remington 700P but it never seemed to make it to the top of my must-purchase list. A few years ago I finally purchased a 700 SPS TAC with the intention of using it as the base of not-too-expensive bolt gun build.
The Shitty Plastic Stock (that's what "SPS" stands for, BTW) was replaced with a B&C and the trigger was replaced with a Timney 510 before a single shot was fired. I mounted a SWFA SS HD 10 X 42 scope in Seekins low rings on a Leupold 15 MOA steel base (bedded to the receiver) and with Federal Gold Medal Match 168 ammo, shot these groups on my first few outings with it last year at 100 yards;
Happy with the performance, I spent some time tinkering with the rifle, including installing a Tac-Pro cheek riser, painting the stock, installing zero-stops in the scope, replacing the flimsy cast bottom metal with a steel unit and bedding it to the stock, readjusting the trigger pull to 2.1 pounds and properly adjusting the scope eyepiece to render the reticle razor sharp. Here is what it looks like now;
After over a year, I finally got back to the range with it yesterday. At that point, I had a total of about 50 rounds through the rifle, all shot at 100 yards. The rifle had been a consistent .6 MOA or better performer at 100 so I set up at 200 yards yesterday, and fired a total of nine shots;
The first shot was taken at a 6" plate to foul the barrel, and hit that easily.
I then took three shots, which went into 1.06" (.509 MOA), but I realized I had dialed in correction for 300 yards instead of 200. The windage was dead-nuts on.
I dialed down two clicks (which wasn't enough, of course) and placed five rounds into 1.230" (.591 MOA), four of which went into .825" (.396 MOA). The second shot of the string was the flyer, which I called as soon as the trigger broke.
After all the tinkering and having the action out of the stock countless times, the rifle continues to shoot very consistently and my confidence in it has grown. For a total investment of under $2k (everything purchased new), I am very pleased with how this project has turned out. I am especially pleased with the SWFA scope, both optically and with its robust construction. I was easily able to see my hits on paper at 200 yards.
I think I can now safely say this one is a keeper. I usually get rid of guns that I lose interest in, or guns that do not perform to my expectations. I think I finally have this one set up just as I want it and will now expend some more ammo learning to shoot it better. For a few decades I was an avid hand loader and enjoyed working up accuracy loads for rifles. Some of my old reloading gear didn't make the move with us seven years ago but I think the time and reason has come to get back into it: I have to believe there's more accuracy left to wring out of this rifle and plenty of opportunity to enjoy printing small groups on targets far away.
Consistently accurate rifles sure are interesting, aren't they?
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Originally Posted by taliv
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