Long range, starting from scatch

[DesertBull]

You are not locked into one altitude or load with turrets.

[jeffro]

You are not locked into one altitude or load with turrets.

 

Are you talking about the custom turrets. IE matched to your load, and specs. Or just the turrets that come with the scope. IE target/M1s.

[DesertBull]

Custom engraved

 

1. The turrets can be swapped out very easily if you change loads.

2. The altitude range is appx 2,000 ft either way. IE if you set it up for 5,000 feet it's good for 3,000 - 7,000 ft.

3. You could get them engraved with MOA adjustments as well as clicks and be able to make adjustments to temp, altitude, etc without getting a new one.

 

Besides, it gives you an excuse to set up a new rifle if you don't wish to change turrets. New rifles are good.

 

[roninflag]

there are ways to build on a savage. if you post on longrange they can tell you. i only know about remington

[DesertBull]

there are ways to build on a savage. if you post on longrange they can tell you. i only know about remington

 

 

That would be my choice.

[huntermncb]

I just got done putting a rifle together off of a savage action. I built a 338 edge custom 28inch barrel. The nice thing about savage u can headspace and install your barrel with out a gunsmith. I ended up spending around 1300 for everything including a scope. i can post some pics later going out and testing some loads for the first time tommorow.

[roninflag]

desertbull- my understanding is they have almost as much aftermarket stuff for savage. go to longrange. com; they can send you to a site i think it is savageshooters.com .

[jwhunter]

I just got done putting a rifle together off of a savage action. I built a 338 edge custom 28inch barrel. The nice thing about savage u can headspace and install your barrel with out a gunsmith. I ended up spending around 1300 for everything including a scope. i can post some pics later going out and testing some loads for the first time tommorow.

 

+1 Let's see the pics!

[jwhunter]

desertbull- my understanding is they have almost as much aftermarket stuff for savage. go to longrange. com; they can send you to a site i think it is savageshooters.com .

 

Also check out sharp shooter supply

[HEADACHE]

for one, join the Snipers Hide website.... thats all those guys eat breathe and sleep over there.

 

Also A Savage, or a Remmy 700 are both great guns, with handloads and a solid scope they will both outshoot whomever is pulling the trigger. (more often than not)

 

If your pockets run very deep check out GAP guns. (Georgia Precision) or the like.

 

Higher priced optics companies will build you custom turrets, but you need to already have a rifle-hand/load-and chrono data for that to happen.

 

For lower priced, kick-butt scopes, check out the Falcon Menace series, the FFP is amazing for the price. Leupolds can be found very reasonable online used, or even fleabay. Huskemaw is really growing a cult-like following with their custom turrets per load.

 

The money is always the issue, BUT! Anyone can shoot incredible with a "middle of the road sniper rig" IF they have lot of practice!

 

 

 

 

[maximus]

Why not just buy a Remington Sendero, look at this video and this is a long distance shot.

 

[dieselroe]

Go rem and build up from there. I like the rem 700 tac with the shorter barrel. Snipers use it all day long out to 1000. its like 600 new. The stock on it would shoot fine to start. I have a Tika that shoots 700 out of the box. So it may just depend on you and the particulair rifle you end up with. That Rem 700 tac is awesome, but your looking at 900+ on a scope anyways so might as well plan on spending 2000-3000. Guys are saying 2000 but this must be without taxes...lol.

[roninflag]

Go rem and build up from there. I like the rem 700 tac with the shorter barrel. Snipers use it all day long out to 1000. its like 600 new. The stock on it would shoot fine to start. I have a Tika that shoots 700 out of the box. So it may just depend on you and the particulair rifle you end up with. That Rem 700 tac is awesome, but your looking at 900+ on a scope anyways so might as well plan on spending 2000-3000. Guys are saying 2000 but this must be without taxes...lol.

[roninflag]

while i like my leup mark 4; i have a couple other scopes that work real well. a bushnell elite i paid 400 for and a vortec i paid 260 for.

[Good]

For starters, I'm about to take off on vacation for 2 weeks hitting S. Utah fishing mountain lakes, hiking slot canyons, etc. So I hate to drop such a technical question and then run off, but I'd really like to see what you guys think about this.

 

I'd really like a serious long range rifle, with a scope calibrated to use turretts, like you see on Best of the West, etc. So I have a couple of questions.

 

1) Starting with the action, is the Rem 700 the absolute best for this kind of setup?

2) Caliber: Sure it's gotta be on the large size, but is it 7mm, .300 or somewhere in between? (7mm STW, 200 WSM, all kinds of options).

3) Trigger: Savage came out a while back with the "accu-trigger" and my cheap Savage 110FP in 35-06 shoots clover leaves. Do you really need to spend big $$ on a custom trigger setup when OTC guns have such good triggers these days?

4) Scope - I want to have a turrett setup, where you just range the target and dial the scope in. I know you don't have to buy a Nightforce or Huskemaw to achieve this. From what I can gather, Leupold will tailor match turretts to your load.

 

You could go to the source of "long range hunting" and buy a nice setup, that's inevitably a Rem 700 action, Huskemaw scope, 7mm Rem Mag, all that, but for around 5K.

 

So, I'm wondering if a guy could pick up solid Savage 114 or Rem 700 CDL, build custom loads, and buy a Leupold scope with their turrett system and still get the kind of long range capabilities of the $5K rifles. I know it will take a lot of patience and practice, but I'd like to build one of these rifles, and not break the bank.

 

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry if I'm slow to repond to any questions. I won't be back at my computer desk until around the 17th of July.

1 and 3- No offence Remmy guys, but Savages are superior in this day and age. Floating bolt head for accuracy and the ability to work on it yourself completely means spend that money on other things than a smith to work on it. Savages flat out shoot in comparison to companies that have not evolved with the times. Any and all Remington factory triggers are junk in comparison to the Accutrigger. To get a good trigger on a Remington it must be replaced. And, replacing a Remington trigger with a Timney is $130, whereas the Savage 110 Timney is $90. The one I'd pick is the competition trigger from Sharp Shooter Supply (SSS) for $97. (12 oz to 2 lbs pull. I recently picked up a 110 7mm Rem Mag without Accutrigger for $200 and plan to install this trigger when the current build is done.)

 

If you get one with the accutrigger- keep it. It whoops anything Remington has stock and even the "heavy" version found in the 116 and 111 are still user adjustable down to 2.5lbs or so- way good enough for a hunting rifle.

 

When and if the barrel goes south, if you like to shoot eventually it will, like tires on a car, swap it out. You may need to instll a different bolt face for the new cartridge- but that's a 10 min job on a Savage and you can go back and forth between faces once you buy them at like $40 apiece. No go on a Remington. On a Remington you either need a smith to machine out the bolt face to magnum if you go from standard 308 bolt face of ~.470 to a magnum bolt face of ~.540 and there's no going back. Also, a different extractor will probably need to be installed at that time of the Sako or M16 style. To go back to a smaller bolt face you need a whole new bolt which is in the $300 range unless you buy one used, but then it still needs to be timed to your action by a smith.

 

If you can find a 112 long action(difference between long action and short action is 3 digits vs. 2 digits. Long action is 112 where as the short action version of the same model is just 12) it has the medium Accutrigger for varminting- 1.5-6 lbs adjustability. My brother just bought a 112 BVSS in 300 Win Mag new for $680 shipped. Stainless, heavy barrel, mid Accutrigger, nice pretty stock, everything. He's going to buy a 7 Rem Mag barrel and "switch barrel" the gun depending on what he's hunting.

 

2- caliber- IMHO- Deer- one of the 7mm mags shooting 180g Bergers (or 168s depending on caliber chosen). Elk- .338. The ballistics of the 7 mags and the 338s are better than even the best 30 calibers. If you want long range on elk, the 338 or bigger is the only option, again IMHO, and probably will be your HO too when you compare ballistics. IMHO, the elk deserve at least that much.

 

4- The BDC turrets are a good idea for once you have a load worked up. They are simple and quick. I am just going to shoot standard MOA or Mil systems though, personally. I think my next optics purchase will be a Leica CRF 1600 LRF, then a Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x scope. The Vortex warranty is second to none.

 

All that is logical to my mind.

 

All that said, I'm currently trying to save up to build a Remington 700 into a lightweight carry gun in 338 RUM that will lob 300g Berger bullets at Coues Whitetail as far as I can see 'em. I'm installing the recoil pad on this gun tonight (my first, hope it turns out well). Then I'll work on the Savage build after I've paid a smith to do the Remy. Again, no offence to Remington guys, I just feel the Savage is superior to just about everything right now. Remingtons can and will shoot great, but most need some smith work to shoot well, of course with exceptions. Savages just flat out shoot, especially with handloads.