Joining the long range brethren...

[Falcon]

After watching splat and gman take their cow elk at 750 and 650 yards this year, it convinced me I needed to buy or build a decent long range rifle and start practicing at 600 yds and beyond. It became apparent that I've been hunting short range (bow and slug gun) for too many years and the 200 yd range that I frequent wasn't going to cut it any longer.

Found this Patriot Arms Inc. made Remington 700 in 300 WinMag ridiculously cheap. Took the Leupold Mk4 M3 off my 308 and mounted it along with the bipod.

Joined a range near me with a 600 yard range and am going to find out which load it likes best.

[hagar]

Looks like a nice rig! I personally would put a Harris 25-C swivel bipod on it for hunting. It extends to 27 inches and allows you to shoot from it in the sitting position while sitting on a low stadium chair. Mine was absolute death on coyotes.

[B Wood]

Welcome to the long range side of life. I currently shoot a Sako TRG-42 in .338 Lapua.

Good advice on the Harris swivel bipod.....ALSO....get the PodLock system for it. You will thank me later.

http://www.snipercountry.com/inreviews/podloc.asp

[splattermatic]

(insert whistle) you da man !

looks like next year were gonna have to draw straws at who get's the first shot.

very nice dude !

i hope it shoots as well as it looks.....

you still gonna give me your old 300 right ....

[chromestarhustler]

i see one glaring mistake, no sunshade, and the whole rig isnt camoed. and you cant really get into long range shooting til you work up a load in .5 grain measurements and while trying to find optimal distance from the lands. hopefully is not a stock remmy barrel, they like to cut the lands way far out, what mods did they do to it? square the lugs? sleeve the bolt? blueprint the action?

come on man we need specs,

if it doesnt shoot as good as you hope darrel holland usually has a rebarrel and blueprint the action deal. he would be my first choice for any work.

how do you like that mk4 i always used nightforce.

[Falcon]

Yeah, I haven't bought one yet. Had this Mk4 M3 on an ex-Tacoma Wa, PD .308 sniper rifle I have and it tracked well. Will probably go with a Nightforce after I find the load it likes and really stretch it legs a bit.

I'm contacting Jered at PAI (changed name to APA now) to see if he can tell me more about it but it looks to have had the receiver trued,bolt lugs squared a 3/8" recoil lug attached. The 6-grooved barrel doesn't look factory and also has a muzzle brake/suppressor adapter. Rem. trigger breaks crisp at 2.5 lbs. Bedded HST PST026 stock in prairie grass camo. Has a pc of crap PRI base which has some issues and will go with a badger or nightforce mount shortly.

hagar/B Wood thanks for the Harris bipod/pod-lock recommendation and I'll add that to the christmas list of needs.

Splat, let me check with a friend of mine, if he doesn't want it (doubt he will)...we'll make a deal.

[chromestarhustler]

i usually use the badger steel rings and lap them. never used the nightforce rings started using the badger rings and never had a problem. so never tried anything else. only bad thing i found was the first scope i bought had the np 1rr recticle in it and i found it to be a little busy and distracting. i paid to have it changed out, which is one of my ticks, not every scope is avaible with every recticle, loved the scope hated the rectile.

[TerryN]

Very nice stick! You can bet that if Jered built it, it's GTG! I doubt he barrels anything that he doesn't blueprint the action on first.

[splattermatic]

be nice, and you can have a free elk hunt !!

[chromestarhustler]

when you get the new rings on and get to the range take some pics, real excited to see some groups. you gonna try the 168 smk load? or you gonna go heavier for the extra thump. if you end up not liking it send it to me for disposal.

[Falcon]

be nice, and you can have a free elk hunt !!

...and free ammo too?


csh, was thinking the heavy's like 208 Amax or 210 VLD's. Also,I misstated the issue it's the scope base that's the problem. The PRI base is too thin and allows the Mk4 rings to move around. It's not true to picatinny specs. What base do you use?

[Survey Punk]

Originally posted by chromestarhustler
you gonna try the 168 smk load? or you gonna go heavier for the extra thump. if you end up not liking it send it to me for disposal.

A lot of folks forget the 168gr SMK was designed for 300M competition. It can fly farther with excellent results but Sierra, and others, have fantastic bullets better suited to long range.
I'd start at 180gr and go up to 220. There are heavier but after that the twist may need to be tightened up a bit. Recoil may become an issue. You'll find a "happy spot", though.

JB

[hagar]

I agree, the 168 is barely a 600 yard bullet. Much better choices out there.

[Falcon]

sp,thanks for the advice.

The barrel twist is 1:10".

[chromestarhustler]

badger, but i never had a bolt break either like so many others, or other than nightforce i would go with GG&G i used them with my pentax.

wasnt aware the 168 was designed for 300m, i have seen it peform well at 500 yards.

perhaps when i finish my degree i can get that accuracy international i been drowling over, went to the range with ce a few weeks ago and a guy had a nice sako and AI. of course his was in 338 and i have to wait for a 408 or 416.

[Beepy]

I use the 168 SMK in .308 at the 600 yard line.... any farther in that caliber though I have to go with the 175 so really I just use the 175 now...

[splattermatic]

guys,
come on now, a 168 is barely a 600 yard bullet ??
hate to say this, but i call bullshit.
i shot a cow elk 2 years ago at 753 yards with a 150 grain barnes tsx out of my 300 rum, and it blew right thru her, causing major damage. a year before siggy, shot his cow elk at a bit better than 650 yards, same bullet but out of a 300 wsm. again, i blew right thru.

i think unless you've shot things at extended ranges, you shouldn't cast doubt on bullets, or their performance.

oh, and yeah falcon, free ammo. let's see 20 something rounds, at 3 bucks each this year ...??

[Survey Punk]

Not talking Bambi bullets, Splat.
Couldn't find squat on the web but I think the Sierra manual says their .308 168gr MK was designed ca. 1960 for Olympic competition at 300m. I shot a ton of 168's at the 6 myself before Sierra came out with the 175. Interspersed with those was wads of the old 173gr M72 ball you could get from CMP for almost nothing!
Damn, I'm getting old. Now all I got is this little pop gun and 77, 80gr bullets.

JB

[Falcon]

splat, don't think I'll need that many next year but...bring em just in case!

Just kidding...hope to have a good recipe and lots of long range practice with this rifle next year.

[splattermatic]

good deal....
i was talkin about this years ammo useage !!

[owlcreekok]

I tossed that idea around for a while, but discarded the proposition. I recalled that I won't walk past about 300 without getting ready fer a siesta. LOL

Naw, good lookin rifle. I envy ya. This past Monday, one of the young pup apprentices came in to my office and offered me a newish (6 rounds down it) Win 64 for $375. No scope, no mounts, .300 WM. I turned him down as I suspect his Dad bought it for him recently. Even so, I ain't takin advantage of the kid and I don't need a big ol' humper magnum.

[TerryN]

A lot of guys are using the Lapua Scenar 155s and Sierra Palma 155s for 1,000 yards in .30 now; they actually beat the 175s for wind drift and drop.

The reason that Sierra developed the 175 SMK bullet was input from the USMC about the 168 getting squirrely at 1,000-1,100 yards as it drops down through the sound barrier when fired in a .308. The 175 SMK turned their 1,000-yard capable M40-series sniper rifles into 1,200-yard capable rifles.

If they'd drop the .308 entirely and go with either.260 Rem or 6.5-284 Lapua, they'd really have something going! The 6.5s have much better ballistics at extended range than a comparable .30 does - assuming the right bullets.

[Rem700SD]

FYI that break is/was for a Gemtech TPRS can. I've got one on my .300
Any idea on the bbl twist rate?