Long range bolt gun

dee · Feb 25, 2009

Thinking about building a long range bolt gun leaning towards 7 mm Remmington magnum but not sure what action to start with want to know what anyone here has used and feedback.

Texas1911 · Feb 26, 2009

How long is long range? I personally would recommend a .308 for anything out to about 800 yards, and a .300 Win Mag out to 1000. Use a 175 gr. to 210 gr. bullet depending on loading.

What is your budget?

robocop10mm · Feb 26, 2009

The Remington 700 action is by far the most popular but not the best action for such a build. True long range shooters 800+ yards favor Winchester, Mauser, Sako and Tikka actions over the Rem.

The Rem can be made to work (just ask the Military or a recently deceased Jihadist) and parts are readily available. It depends on what kind of performance you are looking for and how thick your wallet is.

TAZ · Feb 26, 2009

I will second what Texas1911 has to say. I will however add that in addition to max range, you will also want to take into consideration what youre planning on hitting at those ranges and what effect youre wanting.

My personal fav is 308. Ammo is readily available in a lot of match and hunting loads. Its a mild round to begin with, but out of a heavier gun its very comfortable to shoot. If youre punching paper youll be ok out to 1000.

As for the action. Remington 700 is probably the most widely used platform with LOTS of spare parts. If you have the bidget and want to go truly custom Surgeon Actions have a good following. GAP also has their own custom design, the Templar that they build on.

If youre a tinkerer vs. gunsmith, a Savage may be a good option. They are prety acurate out of the box. Cost bunches less than most others out there. They have a decent selection of accessories. And re-barrelyin is a do it yourself job with the barrel nut design. Just nead a good set of headpace gauges and the ability to use them and a torque wrench.

CharlieBear · Feb 26, 2009

Any of you guys shot or have shot a .338? Any experience on these ballistics? Even possibly a .338-378wby?

mcss383 · Feb 27, 2009

If you are talking long range as in 600-1000yds, look into the 260 Remington. It is better than the 308 or 300 win mag at those ranges thanks to the long, slender wind bucking bullets. Don't expect screaming velocities, but it retains its velocity and doesn't drift nearly as much as the .30cal bullets.

I have been drooling over a Hill Country Rifle in 260 Rem.

TAZ · Feb 27, 2009

mcss383 makes a good point re the 260 especially in the Ackely Improved version. Terry Cross has had good success with the round in competition and builds a mean rifle. Good combo if youre a reloader, but finding commercial ammo is not possible to my knowledge.

As for the 338, I had an opportunity to get behind a TGR42 in 338LM. It was fun to shoot and I have drooled at the concept of getting one for myself. However, when you look at the economics of it its expensive to get into and then feed. Also, unless youre going after some seriously hardened targets or regularly reaching out past 1000 its overkill.

Texas1911 · Feb 28, 2009

mcss383 said:
If you are talking long range as in 600-1000yds, look into the 260 Remington. It is better than the 308 or 300 win mag at those ranges thanks to the long, slender wind bucking bullets. Don't expect screaming velocities, but it retains its velocity and doesn't drift nearly as much as the .30cal bullets.

I have been drooling over a Hill Country Rifle in 260 Rem.

I concur, the .260 seems to be a growing trend. If you have a good budget and want to reload then I'd look into it for sure.

RamseyRed · Mar 3, 2009

mcss383 said:
If you are talking long range as in 600-1000yds, look into the 260 Remington. It is better than the 308 or 300 win mag at those ranges thanks to the long, slender wind bucking bullets. Don't expect screaming velocities, but it retains its velocity and doesn't drift nearly as much as the .30cal bullets.

I have been drooling over a Hill Country Rifle in 260 Rem.

I had a 260 Rem AI built last year. After prepping cases, fire formed 260 Rem cases as follows: Rem Magnum primers; 16grs to 16½-¾grs of UNUQUE; Cream-of-Wheat or similar cereal to fill case to where straight neck starts and top off with Crisco. The Crisco is to keep the Cream-of-Wheat from falling out when loading or tipping a case over.

44.5 grs of H4250, Berger 140 grs VLD bullets consistently shoots ½-¾ MOA at 200 yards. I have not moved back to a longer range yet as access to that distance is somewhat restricted on our range.

dee · Mar 5, 2009

Sorry had computer problems but probally out to around 600 yds max not many long distance places up here but I've been looking does anyone have any experiance with the REM 798 its a mauser 98 var. buy remington thinking maybe .30-06 since I allready have an older one I just would rather keep it as a safe gun.