SPS Tactical vs SPS Varmint (308)

[jwfuhrman]

Looking to get into shooting Mid Range to the occasional Long Range for fun, and shooting "Sniper Challenge" Matches like the one at http://www.MammothSniperChallenge.com (I think thats the URL)

My Price range is $500-$650 for new. I have been looking at the SPS Tactical and SPS Varmint, both in 308.

THIS IS TO JUST GET ME STARTED

Im eventually going to have my gun smithed and tuned, New Stock(either a McMillian Stock or ACIS stock, haven't decided).

My question is, which gun would you recommend I go with?

The SPS Tac has the "Tac Heavy Contour Barrel" vs the SPS Varmint Contour

Im putting a XTR 6-24x50 on here. The Sniper Challenge is the type of matches Id like to shoot with this gun, with it also filling that role in the my collection.

Just looking for some opinion's is all. I dont have alot of $$ to spend, thats why those 2 models caught my eye. Im leaning towards the SPS Tac to get me started vs the Varmint model.

[a1fabweld]

The 26" barrel of the SPS varmint will make a big difference past 800 yards. More velocity. I had the SPS Tac & sold it. Not that it wasn't accurate, just to short of a barrel for 1K. Upgraded to a 5R for the longer barrel length. Under 800 yards it doesn't really matter which you get.

[jwfuhrman]

For right now, thats not a big concern past 800. at the mammoth challenge farthest the 223/308 "military caliber" class shoots is 800yds.

Im going to swap out the barrel eventually anyways to a 24in

[MOA]

What makes you want the short barrel? ussually a short barrel is slightly more accurate, but with stock guns it would make little differnce. A 20" barrel will make it past 800 yards. With Federal Gold Medal Match you will loose nothing with a 20" barrel. That all said I would go with the longer barrel. More forgiving when you work up handloads, you CAN get more velocity out of it with slower powders, and they seem more stable to me. Plus you can have it cut down. Never been able to get a barrel stretched yet...

Make sure you get a 20MOA base for your scope, or a sniper central 15MOA base. and before you upgrade your gun with a stock, blueprinting, and new barrel you should start handloading if you don't already.

[michael word]

I pondered that same question and eventually decided on the varmint. I was told by remington that the barrel on the varmint is the same as on their police line of rifles and the varmint was able to be found cheaper than the tactical model in my area. in the end I eventually ended up with a savage due to the better quality of machining and more guaranteed accuracy with the accu-triger.

[sscolt]

A friend and I both bought new Rem 700 SPS's, he got the 20" Tactical, I got the 26" Varminter, we chronographed them using the same ammo a few weekends ago to see the difference the 6"s of barrel would make.

The results,
Velocity measured 5yd's in front of the muzzle, using 147gr German MEN surplus FMJ

Mine with the 26" barrel averaged 2802 fps, his with a 6" shorter barrel averaged 2670 fps, so there ya go, 6" equals 132 fps velocity difference.

So with that info inputted into a ballistic program

26" barrel at 800yds still doing 1252 fps and a drop of 257"
20" barrel at 800yds still doing 1191 fps and a drop of 266"
26" barrel at 1000yds still doing 1066 fps and a drop of 481"
20" barrel at 1000yds still doing 1032 fps and a drop of 534"

So if you use 800yds, which seems to be a pretty universal max effective range for 308 as a base line I wouldn't think it would matter whether you went with 20" or 26", the difference is minimal.

As far as accuracy, well they both shot well under 1" at 100yds, so not really any measurable difference there.
I now sort of wish I had gone with the 20" as well, just so much more practical and not any apparent performance difference.

[austinN4]

A friend and I both bought new Rem 700 SPS's, he got the 20" Tactical, I got the 26" Varminter, we chronographed them using the same ammo a few weekends ago to see the difference the 6"s of barrel would make.

The results,
Velocity measured 5yd's in front of the muzzle, using 147gr German MEN surplus FMJ

Mine with the 26" barrel averaged 2802 fps, his with a 6" shorter barrel averaged 2670 fps, so there ya go, 6" equals 132 fps velocity difference.

So with that info inputted into a ballistic program

26" barrel at 800yds still doing 1252 fps and a drop of 257"
20" barrel at 800yds still doing 1191 fps and a drop of 266"
26" barrel at 1000yds still doing 1066 fps and a drop of 481"
20" barrel at 1000yds still doing 1032 fps and a drop of 534"

So if you use 800yds, which seems to be a pretty universal max effective range for 308 as a base line I wouldn't think it would matter whether you went with 20" or 26", the difference is minimal.

As far as accuracy, well they both shot well under 1" at 100yds, so not really any measurable difference there.
I now sort of wish I had gone with the 20" as well, just so much more practical and not any apparent performance difference.

This is good information to have as I am pondering a similar purchase. Thanks for posting it.

[efgh346]

SPAMMER

[LRB45]

You could go with the longer barrel and then have it cut to the length you want.

[long-shot]

It's not my intention to muddle the waters, but Tikka is another option to consider. It has a 1/8" twist allowing you to stabilize the heavies needed to compete at long range. It also has a much smoother action, built in rail, and a decent magazine system.

Just food for thought.

http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?varmintss