7mm mag

[tyler1215]

I would like to get into long range shooting. I have a Remington 700 7mm mag. Could I turn this into a decent long range gun or am I better off selling it and getting something else. 750 - 1000 yards is where I'm trying to get to

[AZAV8ER]

Are you talking hunting, target shooting or ringing steel for fun?

[tyler1215]

I would use it for hunting 

[PRDATR]

Perfectly capable of every bit of 1000 yards. I watched a guy take a Bull at 885 a couple of years ago with a 6.5 PRC that went 20 yards and fell over.

[PRDATR]

I have a 700 that is almost 30 years old and put a Manners stock on it and had it bedded. With 168 Berger HSM that shoots .5 MOA out to 400 yards which is all I have taken it to so far.

[lancetkenyon]

7RM is plenty for elk out to 1000 with the right bullet.

I would bet your barrel is a 1:9.25" twist rate, which might limit your bullet choices to take full advantage of heavier, higher BC bullets for the task.  I would look at the Berger 175 Elite Hunter with a minimum 1:10" recommendation.  I have had great luck with them in other 1:9.25" twist 7mms.  Good BC, still fairly high weight, and you can expect decent velocities from them.  

It is the SHOOTER that makes the difference and is the determining factory on what the distance limitations should be.

[jdown]

Amen Lance. But reality is that too many people just dial it up pull the trigger. Miss, hit, wound, whatever... I've seen way too many examples. 

[Dr.308]

The only thing I would bring up is the barrel weight. If it is a light hunting barrel, the 7rm with a good bullet can definitely work to a grand and farther but you will have to keep your shooting tempo down, like shoot no more than 3 rounds and wait a few minutes to let the barrel cool down. It’s a lot of fun to buy new gear but I’d rather see shooters spend their time and money on training with what they have instead of chasing the next dream gun. I know Rio Salado in East Mesa doesn’t let you shoot magnums on their steel range which only goes to 550 yards. At Cowtown Range up by Lake Pleasant we let you shoot up to 50bmg and have 5 long range platforms that have steel out to 800-1100 yards. Archangle Range out by Mobile goes out a mile but you have to bring your own targets and steel. And they often have sustained crosswinds up to 20 mph. C2 Tactcal has some precision rifle and long range hunting courses held at Cowtown in April and October. C-2, Cowtown and GPS Defense Sniper School all let you schedule private or small group courses that focus on what you want to work on instead of the standard courses which are based on the Military and FBI Sniper Courses. There are a lot of good schools in the valley, I just mentioned the ones I work with. When looking at a school make sure the instructor was actually a working sniper. Ignore NRA, Designated Marksman, Contractor or “I was in the military”. Military personnel have DD-214’s to prove they went to sniper school. Police snipers will have a certificate from the sniper school they attended. We require this proof when we interview new instructors and you should too. 

[recurveman]

Your gun and caliber are fine.   It's the connection between the rifle and the ground that is typically the issue.   

[roninflag]

what is your 200 yard group size? most factory barrels are finicky . Among  best factory rifles I have shot are Remington senderos.   I hunt with my senderos, including bighorn sheep.  my Remington 700s with Krieger barrels achieve it easily.  

[roninflag]

when I occasionally  shoot  in F-class matches  (500-1000), nothing better than shooting against factory barrels. 

[Dr.308]

F-Class rigs are really impressive and they get to a crazy level of accuracy. Most of our students shoot most of the courses prone and stick with Harris bipods on the front and rice bags on the back. A lot of our hunters work with bog-pods, shooting sticks and the occasional hog saddle. We try to stick to using stuff they are going to carry in the field.  We see a wide range of long guns from Howa's and Rugers to Surgeons and AI's. I'd say about 3/4 are using Vortex glass. In 3 days most of our students are about an inch or better at 100 and getting consistent hits out to 700-800. Less than half get consistent to our farthest target at 1100 yards. Definitely not F-Class shooters but they are on their way. My school gun right now is a production Remington in 6.5 Creedmore and I use Hornady's match factory load. It's a 5/8" gun so I'm ok with it. I did have to get rid of that horrible X-Mark Pro Trigger.  

 

[tyler1215]

Thank you all for the info. I actually haven't ever even shot this gun. I bought it a few years ago with the plan of when I could afford a long range scope making it a long range gun. I am now ready to buy the scope but was starting to question the caliber. To be more realistic I'll probably be looking at 500 to 750 yard shots on deer/antelope, from u guys and what I've read elsewhere this gun should be just fine

[roninflag]

Remington is a good place to start. adjust the trigger, or have it adjusted. depending on what vintage 700 you have. I have a jewell,  a timney and 3 shilen triggers ; and several factory triggers. you need a good scope that has repeatable adjustments. the 168 berger is a good bullet to start with, . most long range shooters reload . that gives you control over the components and seating depth. 

[roninflag]

my experience with sporter weight barrels is - they are more finicky to load for to achieve the accuracy, easier and cheaper to buy a sendero or 700 long range ( less expensive and heavier) ; by the time , you factor in the time and money to get a good load for a  sporter.  even great if yo are shooting factory ammo.    when you consider a Krieger barrel installed is 500-550; a factory sporter barrel 50-55 installed. kind of like the difference bertween a 2500$ engine for your impala and a 25,000$ engine. one decimal place. different performance.