I just picked up a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .308 and am new to the whole long range shooting thing. The rifle already has a scope on it. It's a Remington brand 4x12-40mm scope.

 

The barrels twist rate is 1:12 I believe. I never really put much thought into the twist rate of a barrel affecting the weight of the bullet that should be used. What weight bullet would be ideal for this twist rate?

 

Also, I wanna squeeze every last bit of accuracy out of this and was reading online that alot of people glass bed the action and free float the barrels. Would this even be worth it to do, as the range I shoot at only goes out to about 100 yrds.

 

Any recommendations for a good scope that won't break the bank? I don't think Im going to replace the one that's on it but if I decide to what's a good affordable scope?

 

Any other tips, recommendations, upgrades, ideas, whatever, are welcome.

Good rifle, the first thing I would do is get rid of the cheap plastic stock. It was the first thing I replaced on my 223. It will shoot well with it but if you wanted to glass bed it a boyds stock is a good place to start. Very affordable and good quality. 168's will shoot well out of it. I am a fan of Nikon optics as an affordable and durable scope.

 

And for accuracy the trigger needs to be tuned. Easy to do on a Remington trigger.

If you are only shooting at 100 yards then you really shouldn't need to do anything. a Remmy should be fine out of the box for 100 yards. Most 700's shoot MOA from the factory. Now if you want to tune it then the sky is the limit, as long as you have deep pockets. I would buy some ammo, then have some fun. You can always define your likes and dislikes after you shoot it for a bit.

Well, the rifle range I go to is up to 200 yards. I would like to turn this rifle into a sub MOA rifle. And, Jimmy, what exactly do you mean by tune the rifle?

Jimmy is right, 100 yards needs little or no modifications. If your looking to do some of the long range shoots in the general area then you will need to make some changes.

A new stock is a good place to start. Glass bedding isn't difficult, it takes time to do it correctly. Nikkon scopes are good. I also like redfield (owned by leupold but a fraction of the cost). Also make sure you have good mounts. Lots of trigger options from doing work yourself to replacing with a nice (also expensive) trigger.

Bipod? Lots of options there.

If we hit the range at the same time I'll bring my 700.

Watch the Cumberland rifleman and south jersey shooting club websites, they boh do long range competitions. SJSC has "Frozen Nuts" matches out to 300 yards every fall/winter.

These are a good place to see and touch many options. Even if you don't place it's a good place to learn. I'll let you know when I'm going to hit some.

I have the exact same rifle. Before I fired a single round I replaced the stock with an HS precision stock. It has an aluminum bedding block and the barrel floats right off the bat. This is my list:

 

Remington 700 SPS varmint .308

Buschnell 6-18x scope

EGW Picatinny rail 20MOA

Burris rings, with the 6 screws each

Scope lapped in, everything torqued to spec

HS precision pro stock, torqued to spec

Harris BRM-S bipod with podlock (make sure to put the feet on pill bottle caps for max accuracy from a bench)

Blackhawk cheek pad/bag

 

And, it does this with 5 rounds at 100 yards:

 

Jimmy is right, 100 yards needs little or no modifications. If your looking to do some of the long range shoots in the general area then you will need to make some changes.

A new stock is a good place to start. Glass bedding isn't difficult, it takes time to do it correctly. Nikkon scopes are good. I also like redfield (owned by leupold but a fraction of the cost). Also make sure you have good mounts. Lots of trigger options from doing work yourself to replacing with a nice (also expensive) trigger.

Bipod? Lots of options there.

If we hit the range at the same time I'll bring my 700.

Watch the Cumberland rifleman and south jersey shooting club websites, they boh do long range competitions. SJSC has "Frozen Nuts" matches out to 300 yards every fall/winter.

These are a good place to see and touch many options. Even if you don't place it's a good place to learn. I'll let you know when I'm going to hit some.

 

Let me know when you plan on goin out, Ron. I'm always free on Fridays and Saturdays.

 

I have the exact same rifle. Before I fired a single round I replaced the stock with an HS precision stock. It has an aluminum bedding block and the barrel floats right off the bat. This is my list:

 

Remington 700 SPS varmint .308

Buschnell 6-18x scope

EGW Picatinny rail 20MOA

Burris rings, with the 6 screws each

Scope lapped in, everything torqued to spec

HS precision pro stock, torqued to spec

Harris BRM-S bipod with podlock (make sure to put the feet on pill bottle caps for max accuracy from a bench)

Blackhawk cheek pad/bag

 

And, it does this with 5 rounds at 100 yards:

 

 

Is this the stock that you have? My link

Look like thats the one! MUCH better than the piece of trash it comes with. It doesnt float and it puts uneven pressure on the barrel IIRC. Someone did a side by side comparison at 100 yards once by shooting the rifle stock, then throwing on the HS stock and shooting. Shrunk groups by HALF. Insane. It is the first thing I would do to this rifle. I dumped the original stock on gunbroker for $20. Make sure to use a torque wrench to install it so that if you ever take it off you can torque it to the same spec and not lose zero. If you want to borrow mine you can come up here and use it.

OK, cool. I actually had that bookmarked. I just didn't know if it was free float or not. Thanks for the help. Keep the good info comin.

Oh, and Glenn, why the pill bottle caps? Never heard of anything like that before. Is it so the feet of the bipod slide?

So that they slide the same every time otherwise they will grab the bench and give you inconsistant forces/harmonics

 

The bottle caps will make your resistance much less, and also much more consistant

That's what I figured.

 

The barrels twist rate is 1:12 I believe. I never really put much thought into the twist rate of a barrel affecting the weight of the bullet that should be used. What weight bullet would be ideal for this twist rate?

 

With a 1 in 12" twist, your barrel should be able to stabilize bullets as light as 125 grs. up to the heavier 190 grs. Optimally, the middleweights (140 grs. to 175 grs.) should all work well, but there will always be some surprises, some pleasant and some that leave you scratching your head.

Had you guys given any consideration to the 700 model with the stainless steel barrel when deciding on your purchases?

If you are only shooting at 100 yards then you really shouldn't need to do anything. a Remmy should be fine out of the box for 100 yards. Most 700's shoot MOA from the factory. Now if you want to tune it then the sky is the limit, as long as you have deep pockets. I would buy some ammo, then have some fun. You can always define your likes and dislikes after you shoot it for a bit.

 

Aint that the truth. Two of my buddies each spent twice the cost of the rifle on upgrades and twice the cost on a scope.

Had you guys given any consideration to the 700 model with the stainless steel barrel when deciding on your purchases?

 

I did a trade with a member on the forum, so I didn't even really consider a Remington 700 until he offered it for trade.