new shooter

[wrightbone]

hello! i am new to shooting and new to this sight.  i am very interested in shooting long range.  my friend has a remington 700 308.  it is very nice and i like it, however it has many additional features.  i want to shoot long range 300+ yards and my friend said i could use his reloader for 308 until i get started. i was wondering what model and caliber  is most popular.  i know my friend is partial to remington, but i want to know what options i can research.  he also tells me that the optic is the big part.  any help on what optic to look at would be great. Thanks, Wrightbone

[Kurt L]

I like others will say every body has a favorite thats why they make so many just like ford ,chevy,etc.
I have had weatherby very nice guns hate the free bore.

Remington makes a fine product also, I like them/some hate them.
on and on Savage is to be good ,never had one.
I would go with what you like,if ya like your buddies Remington and like shooting it thats what I would get unless you are talking the big money bench guns but I think the 308 tactical or police model and heavy varmit guns by remington have a good track record.
308 is know to be an accurate caliber.
Scope I would get the biggest you can afford.
I have a 8-25 Mueller and i like it ,it's not a big L i know but but works for me and i didn't have to rob
the bank to afford it. before I get flamed yes I would love a scope with the big L on it but can't afford
at this point.

[LONGTOM]

Welcome to the wonder world of shooting.

Most any of the major MFG. make really good products.
That is mostly what you like.
I prefer Winchesters but have some really good shooters from the other companies as well.
As far as caliber goes it depends on what you are going to do with it, be it deer hunting, varmint hunting, or just shooting paper & tin cans.
Your friends 308 is a fine choice and would do all of the above along with a bunch of others.
For deer anything from the 25-06 on up will work for the distance s you are talking.
I like the 270s myself.
For varmints it's hard to beat the 223 or the 22-250.
I like and use both but I also like the 204.
Again about any of the calibers will work for varmints with the right bullets.
As far as optics goes, again most any name brand will do just fine.
Don't pass up the cheaper ones just because they have a cheap price.
A good Bushnell in a 3-9 or 4-12 does a fine job as do most of the others.
I am sure others will give you their opinions as well.
These are just my thoughts from over 43 years of shooting.
What ever you end up with the main thing to do is practice and lots of it.


LONGTOM

[Swampman]

If you can't find one of these.

http://www.snipercountry.com/InReviews/Rem_M700_StainlessSpecial5RMilspec.asp

Then one of the other heavy barreled Remingtons would be good.

Savage makes a cheap .308 Tactical rifle that seems pretty accurate too, if you can tolerate the Accu-Trigger.  I can't.

[Graybeard]

Ah such a wise friend you have. Follow his lead and go with Remington.

[wareagleguy]

Funny you bring this up.  I just got out a bunch of rifles today and started shooting.  I got a used Savage heavy barrel that I hope to be my long range shooter.  From my first shooting session the Savage out did everything else.  Here is a list of rifles I shot today.

Remington VTR 308 - Nikon Monarch 2.5 x 16 mill dot
Savage 308 - 26" bull barrel - Leupold VX III 3x10x40
Tikka T3 Lite 30-06 - Busnell 4300
Sako Finnlight 270 - Zeiss 3x10x44
CZ 550 - 6.5 X 55 - Zeiss 3x9x40

The Sako and Tikka shot well and well as the Remington VTR.  This is the rifle I hope to hunt with this year.  It shoots very well but so far all the rounds it likes are so long I am not able to get the rounds in the mag. 

With all my heart I believe the 6.5 x 55 is the best round I have ever had the pleasure to shoot.  I NEVER have a bad range day with that rifle.  I just can't say it enough.  If you reload the 6.5 is the king in my book.

The Savage 308 (my first round at the beach) was amazing with 5 shots touching.  The Remington was about the same with a little larger group.  I didn't measure but the Savage is going to be somewhere around 1/4 MOA and the VTR is about 1/2 MOA.  I think when I find "THE LOAD" the VTR is going to be sweet.  If you want a carry gun the VTR might be the one.  If you were going to sit and shoot a country mile I think the heavy Savage is going to be hard to beat.  You just are not going to want to carry it far.

For long distance I would say the 6.5 x 55 is going to have an edge over the 308.  I know many will jump on this but I took three deer last year with the CZ and all three were 400 + yards and one was right at 500 yards.  Now this is shooting from a bench not walking around the woods hunting.  The only way you are going to get the full features of the 6.5 is to reload.

With all that said you will be happy with the 308 and a Remington.  It just isn't the only option and there are other choices that are just as good and cheaper.  If I could only have one rifle it would be without question a 6.5 and maybe something in CZ, Tikka or Sako but would consider Remington.

[charles p]

Remington gets my vote.  It is what a rifle should be and if you want to tweak it, most any gunsmith can do the work for you.  No problem with trigger work either.  Price is right also.  I've got rifles from most all the manufacturers, but I keep coming back to Remingtons.  All mine wear Leupolds as well.

Keep excess lube out of your bolt and everything will work as designed.

One thing about a Rem.  You can sell the parts for more than the whole.  A Rem receiver will bring almost as much as a new rifle.

[Brithunter]

Right if I were you I would try to get the chance to handle and shoot as many differnt makes/types as I could then choose the one which feels best for you. Fit is more important than some think.

Most of all have fun and let us know what you end up getting  .