Long range gun help

[wheelchairshooting]

Im fairly new to bigger calibers and stuff and I'm in need of advice. Im looking for something to shoot at least a couple hundred yards but also fairly light weight out of the box. I will do upgrades over time but don't want to have to upgrade everything before i can get good range time in with the rifle. Ive been looking at Remington 700 in a .308 but i haven't held one yet so not sure how heavy it is. I will be doing most firing from a bench but want something comfortable to shoulder and shoot upright. Thanks in advance for any help

 

[sloughfoot]

It sounds like a typical bolt action hunting rifle is what you need.

 

[42769vette]

You really dont need anything special for what your talking about. If your wanting to upgrade it I would go with the 700, or the savage.

Outside of that about anything including a 22lr will work for target shooting out to a couple hundred yards.

 

[wheelchairshooting]

Ok thanks for the feedback

 

[cubbetm]

yup nothing long range about a couple hundred yards. just get a good scope and a 700 or savage.

 

[wheelchairshooting]

well thats to begin and learn would like to shoot a 1000 but that sounds mighty ambitious for me at the moment heck just relearning to shoot since my accident has been hard enough but thanks for the input i think the 700 is going to be my choice

 

[IndyGunworks]

Take a look at my .270 in the classifieds. Ill even throw in a .308 varmint BBL if you want. It will fit your criteria even if its not one of the nato calibers.

 

[Niles Coyote]

If you’re looking at Remington with 200y being the max for the rifle, any caliber will do. I started my centerfire addiction with a 270 Remington 700 BDL sporter and with reloads off a bench it would hold 2.5 inches on a bad day and often much closer to 1.75… Looking back I wish I had kept that rifle, LOL.

Looking at 200 yards as max I would advise you to get a 223 for two reasons, cost and recoil. Any of the Remington 223’s will work but if you look to extend your distance some day look for a 1-9 twist barrel. The standard is 1-12 and its fine for 40-60 grain bullets but as the range gets longer your going to want to use bullets designed for shooting greater distances like the 68-77 weight match projectiles and you will need the 1-9twist to stabilize those. Federal, black hills as well as others provide factory loaded ammo in those weights if you don’t reload. This would see you to at least 500y with good consistency and relative ease.

I have a 223 Remington tactical that I have taken to a full 1000 yards with my hand loads and some DIY customizations. But to be honest, going over 700 yards gets difficult. I really wish Remington would make a 1-7 twist barrel as that would allow some of the better 80 grain match bullets to be used, giving it true 1000 yard capability. For a while I know Savage made such a rifle but I am not sure if they still do… something to check on if you’re so inclined. Just be advised, you will be loading your own ammo to be successful at that kind of distance.

Depending on the model of Remington you buy you may want to change the stock once you push past two hundred. Replacing the trigger is also a worthy investment and a DIY task if you can handle a punch and light tack or jewelers hammer. Depending on your skill you can also tune a factory trigger to make them better as well. Some I have done have turned out well, while others needed tuning beyond what I am comfortable doing and those I replaced. If you choose to start adjusting your trigger just be sure to educate yourself first on how the trigger and all its associated parts work together and how to safety check everything before using. That’s about all I do to tune my Remington factory rifles for use on the 1000 yard range.

Remember a precision rifle is only as good as its weakest link. Many people will buy a 500-1000+ dollar rifle then top it with a 20 dollar base, 20-40 dollar set of rings and a box store (read cheep) optic and wonder why the rifle has trouble shooting 1 inch groups at 100 yards, holding a zero or tracking consistently when adjustments are made.

I am a firm believer that the optic is the place to spend some money cause that has the potential to stay with me for life as is. While during the life of the rifle it may get new stocks, action truing, new barrels… That scope and its mount make up your precision targeting and guidance system.

 

[philbert001]

You said You want something you can shoulder and shoot upright, (Offhand), then you say you want to get out to 1000 yards. In my eyes, they are somewhat contradictory. 1000 yard rifles are more often than not, a little heavy for shooting offhand. (Weather you are in a chair or not!)
Sounds like you need 2 new rifles!
Somebody had a Ruger gunsite scout rifle in the classifieds the other day. I would think that would be a great lightweight, general purpose rifle for you, and would no doubt get you to 5-600 yards all day, while being light enough to shoot offhand, or from a bench! It's 16.5" barrel would certainly help keep it maneuverable in the confines of your chair! And the detachable box magazine is always a perk!

 

[IndyGunworks]

You said You want something you can shoulder and shoot upright, (Offhand), then you say you want to get out to 1000 yards. In my eyes, they are somewhat contradictory.

I disagree one hundred percent. Any accurate rifle regardless of how much extra weight is tacked onto the barrel can easily be a 1k performer. The biggest difference being the amount of time you have to wait between shots to let the thinner barrels cool.

We live in an equipment heavy world that leads people to believe that they NEED a certain look of gear to perform a certain task.

My .270 will outshoot many of the varmint style rifles we see on this board at 600 yards. Ask vette, he witnessed it.

I would have no problem ringing steel at 1k w/ my lightweight hunting rifle .270 if I put the proper type of scope on it, and would probably make just as many hits at that range as I would w/ my 3200 dollar custom long range rifle.

 

[03A3]

You've got some good advice.
There are a number of good rifles in .223 and .243/6mm Rem. Some (most) of them are fairly lightweight, and good handling guns.
The 22-250 is a great cartridge too. Of course these are not 1000 yard cartridges.
Then there are the larger cartridges such 25-06, the previously mentioned 270, the woefully under rated and ignored 280 Rem, and of course the venerable 30-06. These will obviously pelt you a little harder as far as recoil, especially in a lighter gun. They won't hammer you senseless by any means, but shooting a sporter weight rifle off of a bench will get your attention after several rounds fired.
I'm a 25-06 fanatic but mine are not sporter weight rifles. Not that there's anything special about the 25-06. It's but one of many good cartridges.
I haven't looked for a while but Ruger should have some nice bolt action guns in about anything you'd want. All of my newer centerfire bolt actions have been Rugers. I have older (real old) Remingtons, but I'm gunshy of their new offerings since Freedom Group has been running them. I may be over reacting there.
I haven't looked at any Winchester offerings in quite some time.
And I've never owned a centerfire Savage.
With your physical limitations you might try one of these smaller cartridges such as the 22-250/243 and see how it works out for you.

 

[45fan]

I can say that the older Remingtons are a solid platform, and even the hunting weight rifles that I have shot are plenty capable of doing everything that the OP is asking of them.

I have a newer Freedom Group era 700 in .308, a heavy barrel varminter that is every bit as accurate as my dads older '06, probably even more so. The only thing about the newer Remingtons is that there are places that production has cut corners, and visually the lower end models arent quite as refined as the older ones. My dad recently purchased a new 300 RUM, and it is every bit as nice as its 30 year old twin 30-06 that my dad bought years ago.
From what I have seen, the biggest change in the newer Remingtons is that they have made changes that cut costs, keeping the price within reach of as much of the market as possible, while still offering rifles that are the equal of the older ones, if the customer is willing to pay the price for them.

 

[03A3]

I can say that the older Remingtons are a solid platform, and even the hunting weight rifles that I have shot are plenty capable of doing everything that the OP is asking of them.

I have a newer Freedom Group era 700 in .308, a heavy barrel varminter that is every bit as accurate as my dads older '06, probably even more so. The only thing about the newer Remingtons is that there are places that production has cut corners, and visually the lower end models arent quite as refined as the older ones. My dad recently purchased a new 300 RUM, and it is every bit as nice as its 30 year old twin 30-06 that my dad bought years ago.
From what I have seen, the biggest change in the newer Remingtons is that they have made changes that cut costs, keeping the price within reach of as much of the market as possible, while still offering rifles that are the equal of the older ones, if the customer is willing to pay the price for them.

That's good to know. I've heard several complaints about newer Remingtons, but I also realize that like so many other things we often hear about the bad ones, and not so much about the good ones.

 

[philbert001]

I disagree one hundred percent. Any accurate rifle regardless of how much extra weight is tacked onto the barrel can easily be a 1k performer.

Not the point I was making, but OK. I wasn't saying it's impossible. I was saying that he's describing 2 types of shooting, best performed by 2 rifles.

If you are a crackshot at 1000 with a hunting rifle, more power to you! I'm not, and as an admitted newer shooter to high powered rifle shooting, I doubt the O.P. is either!

I was merely stating the fact that if he wants both capabilities, he's best off starting at one end or the other! Does he want a rifle to hunt with, shoot offhand, OR from a bench? Then a lighter shorter barrel might be where to start. Wanna go straight for 1000? Then a heavy longer barrel might be where to start, but you'll be sacrificing offhand capability.
All I was saying!

But, everyone is a critic. Should I remember to hit the" ", every time it's obvious that it's my two cents!?