Remington 700 Caliber Choice

[42769vette]

I just happen to have a new in the box Rem 700 deluxe classic in 223 remington (5.56 NATO) with 3-9 X 40 MM scope that's been in my gun case for several years. Never loaded....never fired. Would love to sell it. I bought it to target shoot and started shooting military pieces and never got around to using the rem..........

you should list it in the classifieds in another 44 posts

 

[Hookeye]

I run a 700 in .243 as my walking varmint rifle.

 

[patience0830]

My Dad recently purchased a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .243 and it's a real tack driver. He has started hand loading and can hold very good patterns at 200 yds. for being a beginner shooter. He is using standard glass, nothing fancy. Personally, I have a good stock of .223 ammo already, so if and when I purchase a bolt gun, it will be chambered in .223 to keep my ammo situation simple. I try to concentrate on being effective with the fire arms that I have rather than having a large number of guns of different calibers and trying to shoot well with each of them. My

Hopefully he's holding groups, not patterns at 200 yds. For the stated purpose, I'd go with the .243, maybe even reload and make it an Ackley improved. Grey Bull Precision has some interesting coyote footage on youtube. Dog at 1017 yds with a .243 and 105 grain VLDs.

 

[GREEN607]

I have to agree that if your eventual long-term use will be varminting and coyotes.... you don't need the .308 or anything that large/ expensive, where ammo is concerned.

My personal choices would be .243 and .22-250...... for both availability and accuracy of the two rounds.

 

[LPMan59]

you should list it in the classifieds in another 44 posts

 

[Yeah]

Grey Bull Precision has some interesting coyote footage on youtube. Dog at 1017 yds with a .243 and 105 grain VLDs.

Impossible. You need a minimum .338 Lapua, or more likely a .50 BMG, to shoot to 1000 yards. I read it on the internet.

 

[cwillour]

The 243 is a solid choice, maybe a 260 if you want to go out farther, but good 260 ammo can be hard to find if you do not reload.

 

[Leo]

"but good 260 ammo can be hard to find if you do not reload."

This is certainly true, I have been loading the .260 since before it existed and the wildcat was called 6.5 x 08 American. The .260 remington is a great round, and a great performer to 1000 yards with the 142 grn MatchKing. If you want a caliber you can actually find a variety of commercially available ammo, the .308 has a definite advantage.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I go from 5.56x45 to 7.62x51 because I like military calibers. You can get real nice commercial loads, but still fire the surplus pretty cheap. I do have a 7mmRM, though, couldn't pass the rifle up, though the ammunition bites you in the wallet.

 

[kludge]

Part of me says the .243 Win is the perfect choice for paper and coyotes out as far as your ethical shooting abilities can take them. The 6mm Rem even more so.

And part of me says that if your not careful you'll shoot out the barrel in 1500 rounds.

The .257 Roberts or even the .250 Savage (aka .250-3000) might be just the ticket.

The .223 Rem will do great on paper, at minimal cost, and will be fine for 90% of coyote hunting. The .22-250 will cover the other 10% of coyote hunting., a classic varmint cartridge, but in Indiana, probably not needed in most cases.

Going smaller the .204 Ruger is wildly popular for varmint and 'yote hunting, and no accuracy complaints either... Sound like a winner to me.

Or for something a little different, a "wildcat" .20 Practical. Also do-able as a second AR barrel. Sometimes you have to shoot more than one coyote in rapid succession.

So, after all that I guess my recommendation is...

The .204 Ruger, .257 Roberts, or .250 Savage... the quarter-bores can double as deer rifles (though not in indiana)... and the Rem 700 is probably only available (new) in .204 Ruger.

 

[Hookeye]

Eh, shoot it out and rebarrel, shoot it out again

 

[superjoe76]

Why choose? Get both .223 and .308!!

 

[netsecurity]

30-06 or .308. mine is the former, but i think 308 has a bit less recoil, not 100% certain though, since i dont own one. 30-06 has been around since 1906, and was used in the famed m1 Garand as a military load, and i think the browning machine gun. even though it is probably been all but replaced militarily by the .308 Nato, it should still be very abundant as one of the most popular hunting rounds. i just like the size of the shells to be honest, they arent as short as 308.