First Bolt Gun

[drck1000]

Happy Veterans Day all! A very special THANK YOU to all who are serving, have served or support those who serve this great nation! Hope you are all having an enjoyable Veterans Day holiday!!!

My bolt gun finally came in this week. It's a Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD. I ordered it almost 5 weeks ago and it finally arrived this week. Since this is my first bolt gun, I don't really have much to compare it to, but the stock X-Mark feels quite crisp to me. The manual says that it's supposed to be 3.5 lbs out of the box. I may just be used to the stock trigger on my AR and pistols, but this feels much crisper than all of those.

A scope with mount/base and rings are next. I'm going with the Viper PST FFP scope. Scott at Liberty Optics doesn't have it in stock at the moment and he hopes to get them back in stock in about a month. That actually may be a good thing because it will give me a little more time to save up and I probably won't have much time to hit the range in the next couple months. But who knows, I may get weak and get a scope just to get it up and running. Thinking a Millet TR-1, Viper, Nikon Buckmaster/Monarch, or other scope in that price range.

For mount/base and rings, I'm thinking of going with TPS for both. They seem to get pretty good reviews and are moderately priced. I'm also looking at Seekins mounts and rings, Burris XT rings, EGW mounts, among others. There are so many to choose from!

Once I get scope and get it mounted, I'll probably just get a bunch of ammo and maybe a Harris bipod and shoot it for a while before seeing if I want to upgrade any components. I've heard that the Hogue stock isn't very good, so that may be first on the list.

Anyways, here's a pic with an Uncle Mikes rifle bag.

Thank you for all the feedback and advice along the way!

[Dave L.]

Nice first gun. Check out the NightForce LW Rings and their 20 MOA base. I wouldn't go cheap on rings and base if you are buying a budget scope.
I usually get the best accuracy from Federal Gold Medal Match as far as off the shelf ammo is concerned.
Don't waste money on a bipod, shoot off a bag. Get or make a sand sock (aka: rock sack, rock sock, sand sock, or nut sack).
Blue Loctite all of your mount/ring screws and do not over tighten; you may warp/torque the tube on those cheaper scopes.
Check to make sure the barrel is floated. The Hogue stock shouldn't cause too much of a POI shift at first.
I would honestly put my money on glass/rings/mount before I touch a new stock.

[sgtbutt]

My bolt 308 is an SPS-Tactical. The only difference between the models is that yours is threaded and has a slightly different color Hogue stock.
The first thing I did with mine was swap out the stock. Not that the Hogue is a bad stock, I just knew I was going to Duracoat mine and the Hogue isn't condusive to painting. I bought an HS take off from a Rem 700 VS. I have since bedded and textured the stock and it made a noticable difference.
For rings and bases I bought Leupy MK4 pic rail base and Med Rings. I'm running a MK4 3.5-10x40 M3 scope. It is the same set up I have on my wife's VTR. The reason behind this is both have 20 inch worth of rifling at a 1 in 10 twist. For hunting applications it seemed right as I could range and just tell her how much dope to dial in.
Check out Larue bases as well, they're not bad at all for the price.
Now I guess the biggest question, are you getting a can? If so which are you going to go with.

[drck1000]

Nice first gun. Check out the NightForce LW Rings and their 20 MOA base. I wouldn't go cheap on rings and base if you are buying a budget scope.
I usually get the best accuracy from Federal Gold Medal Match as far as off the shelf ammo is concerned.
Don't waste money on a bipod, shoot off a bag. Get or make a sand sock (aka: rock sack, rock sock, sand sock, or nut sack).
Blue Loctite all of your mount/ring screws and do not over tighten; you may warp/torque the tube on those cheaper scopes.
Check to make sure the barrel is floated. The Hogue stock shouldn't cause too much of a POI shift at first.
I would honestly put my money on glass/rings/mount before I touch a new stock.

Yep. I'm definitely going to get a good scope, rings and mount before I mess with the stock. If I get weak and end up going with a budget scope, I am now thinking of going with a quality base and rings and and hope that the budget scope and my target scopes have the same tube diameter.

I already have a short front bag, but I need to get a rear bag. I may also just get a good front rest since the front bag that I do have was pretty cheap and is already breaking down.

Federal Gold Medal Match 175 gr goes for about $279/200 locally. I'll be shopping around for good deals online, but the shipping to Hawaii is ridiculous, if they even offer shipping over here.

[drck1000]

My bolt 308 is an SPS-Tactical. The only difference between the models is that yours is threaded and has a slightly different color Hogue stock.
The first thing I did with mine was swap out the stock. Not that the Hogue is a bad stock, I just knew I was going to Duracoat mine and the Hogue isn't condusive to painting. I bought an HS take off from a Rem 700 VS. I have since bedded and textured the stock and it made a noticable difference.
For rings and bases I bought Leupy MK4 pic rail base and Med Rings. I'm running a MK4 3.5-10x40 M3 scope. It is the same set up I have on my wife's VTR. The reason behind this is both have 20 inch worth of rifling at a 1 in 10 twist. For hunting applications it seemed right as I could range and just tell her how much dope to dial in.
Check out Larue bases as well, they're not bad at all for the price.
Now I guess the biggest question, are you getting a can? If so which are you going to go with.

What distances do you typically shoot with the MK4 3.5-10x40?

No plans for a can. They aren't allowed here. Maybe eventually I'll try some sort of muzzle device. The AAC-SD version was going for about the same price as the "standard" non-threaded SPS Tactical version, so I decided to go with the AAC-SD to allow for options for muzzle devices.

[rickp]

go with good glass, rings and base first if you have to stagger your buys.

I agree with most of what was said except the bipod. Get a bipod, you don't have to get an Atlas but a Harris for $70.00 will do. What... are you going to do carry a bag everywhere you go to support the front of the rifle???
Also, bipods some times help you shoot in alternate positions, they're not for just shooting prone.

The next thing I would do is look at a good fully adjustable stock. something that allows you to change LOP and Comb height. This will let you adjust the stock for YOU.

Lastly, attend a good school like Rifles Only and really learn how to run it, educate yourself and get the info straight from professionals that do it or have done it.

R.

[ForTehNguyen]

youll need to select a scope before buying scope rings depending on the objective lens diameter. Most likely though youll be using low height rings. I have a 6-24x50mm Bushnell Tactical Elite scope and I have to use mediums. It its a 40mm or so objective, low rings will work fine. I use an EGW 20 MOA scope base.

If you want to do a proper install and do it yourself, should purchase a Wheeler scope mounting kit. Has all the hardware to property lap rings, align, and torque screws down to proper spec. You can use these for any future builds as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Scope-.../dp/B002PQKGSI

this tool for reticle leveling is much better than the one in the above kit
http://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Pro-Re...197751&sr=1-23

[drck1000]

go with good glass, rings and base first if you have to stagger your buys.

I agree with most of what was said except the bipod. Get a bipod, you don't have to get an Atlas but a Harris for $70.00 will do. What... are you going to do carry a bag everywhere you go to support the front of the rifle???
Also, bipods some times help you shoot in alternate positions, they're not for just shooting prone.

The next thing I would do is look at a good fully adjustable stock. something that allows you to change LOP and Comb height. This will let you adjust the stock for YOU

Lastly, attend a good school like Rifles Only and really learn how to run it, educate yourself and get the info straight from professionals that do it or have done it.

R.

It may be a while before I can get out to the range again, so I'll probably have more time to save up for the scope that I want. That and hopefully the dealer that I am thinking of getting it from has it back in stock by then.

I'd really like to take a class for long-range shooting. There are local matches that shoot 200, 300 and 600 meters. That's about the max for local ranges though.

[drck1000]

youll need to select a scope before buying scope rings depending on the objective lens diameter. Most likely though youll be using low height rings. I have a 6-24x50mm Bushnell Tactical Elite scope and I have to use mediums. It its a 40mm or so objective, low rings will work fine. I use an EGW 20 MOA scope base.

If you want to do a proper install and do it yourself, should purchase a Wheeler scope mounting kit. Has all the hardware to property lap rings, align, and torque screws down to proper spec. You can use these for any future builds as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Scope-.../dp/B002PQKGSI

this tool for reticle leveling is much better than the one in the above kit
http://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Pro-Re...197751&sr=1-23

I already have the scope I want in mind, but the dealer that I'll be going through doesn't have them in stock. If I end up going with a cheaper scope just to get it up and running, I'll likely get something with the same objective lens diameter, probably 50 mm.

Thanks for the tip on the mounting kit. I'll have to look into that. There's a local custom rifle builder that does a lot of work on Rem 700's, but he charges something like $80 to mount a scope and I am not sure what exactly that includes (like bedding the base if required).

[broylz]

i started with the same rifle for my current rig. its awesome. i did go cheap and got Weaver low rings with a Weaver 20moa base and a Millett TRS-1.it shoots really well. I have a cheap bipod and made a cheek riser with strips of a foam mat under an elastic butt cuff. I also filled the buttstock with 7.5 lead shot. there is almost no recoil at all.
i do want to build with better quality in the future but being unemployed and a full time college student, money is tight.

when i redo it, i will be using Seekins rings and either seekins or Badger for the base. Id like a Manners stock and a Nightforce or Vortex Razor scope but it will most likely get a HS Precision takeoff from a 700P and a Viper PST scope.

whatever you go with, you will definately enjoy it.