New Member -- Advice/Experience Wanted!

[Alibiiv]

Yes, thank you very much! I will most definitely stay with my current rifle, considering I know and love the gun so much. So from what I'm hearing, upgrade the scope and then find consistent rounds? Also, the Vortex Viper PST 4x16-50 would or would not be suitable for this 500-600 yard range? Sorry for my lack of knowledge...

Please do not be sorry about the lack of knowledge. You were smart enough, and energetic enough, and motivated enough to look for information on something that interested you. And....you are listening, I think that you are doing a great job. As for a stock, for the shooting that I do, I like the looks and balance of the walnut stock (old school). I have had really good success glass bedding my rifles from the front of the receiver to the first four inches in front of the recoil lug and then float the rest of the barrel channel so that the barrel does not touch the wood from that point forward. Right now I have read articles that have stated that this does not work, or there are better ways like pillar bedding. All I can say that for a $30 AcraGlas kit and some time in the basement with a Dremel tool and some small carving chisels, I can make a difference on how my rifles repeatedly shoot. It's important to remember that you can easily spend thousands of dollars on buying equipment and gunsmithing services. "xns10s" in one of the responses has really given you some great information on what you already have. The 7mm RemMag is a very versatile and respectable cartridge with a great bullet selection, and some great ballistics to go with those bullets.

 

[xsn10s]

Thanks for the kudos Alibiiv. I think at this juncture if his rifle is a shooter then getting practice and supporting equipment would be money well spent. Then after some more trigger time and experience he would be better educated on what HE actually needs.

 

[Alibiiv]

Thanks for the kudos Alibiiv. I think at this juncture if his rifle is a shooter then getting practice and supporting equipment would be money well spent. Then after some more trigger time and experience he would be better educated on what HE actually needs.

Thanks for the response back. This is really tough to get started in when you are new to shooting and don't know what will work and what doesn't. I have been shooting so long that I used to look forward to when dinosaur season opened every year!! And right now I am having some anxiety about building a rifle for myself. I was very fortunate in that at an early age I had a member of the Army rifle team take me under his wing and show me how to shoot and how to rework my rifles to make "them" shoot. I've pretty much set my mind on the .270 Sherman (.270 nostalgia), and contacted a smith to do the work, only to be told that he wouldn't do the work on my Ruger 77 action because it was an investment casting and the hardening was only case hardening. He stated that he feared that taking material off of the receiver to true it up would remove the case hardening and make the action unsafe!! Not what I wanted to hear at all!! So now back to square one!! I have a gun safe full of tang safety Rugers, (two of them are in .270 donors) and all shoot really well. I just want something that is different, thus the .270 Sherman. I'm planning on contacting Ruger tomorrow to get their spin on this?

 

[xsn10s]

Not to hijack but there might be other Ruger fans out there. http://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...ice-for-rebarreling-or-modifications.3793638/

 

[Brydawg512]

That's more than enough scope. I have that same scope and have shot it out to 1450 with great results. Recently bought a gen2 pst 5-25. No comparison between the two. Gen2 has way better glass

Do you think that the scope would be overkill? Is the gen 2 cheaper or is it a more advanced scope than the Viper?

 

[Brydawg512]

Any scope from a reputable maker in the 4-16X range give or take, that costs about $500 or more, will be adequate for your purposes most likely. Nikon, Bushnell, Burris, Leupold, Sig Optics, and Vortex all have good stuff in that range. More $$ is usually better, but benefits start to drop off exponentially as you approach the $800-$1000 range, and unless you want the most bomb-proof construction, you probably won't see much benefit in going above $800 in the ~16X magnification range.

As for the PST specifically, you probably don't need it, as illumination is not really necessary for hunting scenarios, and it usually costs an extra 20%. The Vortex HS-T line is good, and very reasonably priced (especially if you look for deals).

Beyond quality glass and robust build, the things you need to look for in a scope are...

1. Finger adjustable turrets. I like exposed turrets, but they can shift on you when hiking (see below about zero resettable/stop turrets).
2. Zero resettable turrets (ideally with a zero stop also). This allows you to set your zero, and easily return to it without counting clicks.
3. A measuring reticle (not just generic hold over "BDC" types). The reticles will be referred to as "MOA" or "Milling" reticles, and have hash marks for angular measurements (MOA or Milliradians). This allows you to do holdovers at some ranges, but more importantly, it will allow you to measure group size, and bullet drop and windage offsets, from the bench. The "BDC" or "Ballistic" reticles with aiming points at various yardages are better than nothing, but are "one size fits all", which means they rarely fit anything quite right.

You will also need a good bipod, a decent range finder in the "1000 yd" class, some shooting bags, and it wouldn't hurt to get a chronograph.

As mentioned already, I also think the rifle you have is probably just about perfect, so spend your money on the gear to support that rifle. Your budget should get you there, but as also mentioned, there's something to be said for "Buy once, Cry Once", so try and save up money, and be patient looking for deals and coupons. $700 on a scope, $400 rangefinder, $300 on "miscellaneous" would put you in great shape.

Thank you for all of that information, this actually gave me some information that I wasn't quite understanding and do now. I will admit, I need to learn how to use the turrets, what they do specifically, and when/how much to adjust them. I just did a quick search on the Vortex Viper HST 4-16x44, and it looks like it meets the criteria that you listed above. Now, what does the whole "4-16x44" stand for? Is it 4 to 16 power (unsure what the 44 stands for)? And a scope like this would allow for 500-600 yard shots? Also, do you have any bipod recommendations? I have a cheap $40 bipod currently, and I am definitely not impressed by it's quality. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Brydawg512]

The 7MM Rem Mag is a GOOD Elk- Moose caliber IMO,.. I'd buy; (1) a GOOD Scope,.. 4.5X X 14X Burris', are very reasonable and plenty of Scope, to 700 Yards, on Big Game ( or, similar ) The Burris 3x - 15X 30MM Veracity, is even nicer ( 2) Reload 154 grain Horn Interbond's, 160 grain Nosler Accubond's or 168 Berger Hunting Bullets for, plenty of "punch" to 700 Yards on Elk ! All the Bullets stated have, fairly flat trajectory, with, LOW recoil off, a Bipod, Sticks or, Pack ! (3) another MUST HAVE is, a GOOD Timney or other good Trigger for the Rem. M-700, set at about, 2 to 2.5 Pounds for Hunting (4) Glass BED the Rifle, as stated by others or, pay a "good" Gunsmith, to do it and "free float", the Barrel.
(5) Practice "Field positions" after your loads are VERIFIED, at the ranges necessary and then,.. PRACTICE some more, until you can hit a 10" Steel Plate, at 400 yd's sitting on a Hillside, over "Sticks" , every time ! ( I use Hunters Specialties, the wood, $15.00 ones) with, my Pack rested, on my Chest, under the Rifle's "Toe" firmly supported. And then, practice to 700-750 yards over, the Pack/ bi-pod with, good "Toe" Support ( I use a Hollands Field rest ). You will also NEED to learn Wind reading, Skills as the Wind,.. is usually blowing when, Elk Hunting ! PS I only like a moveable top Turret as, the side "windage" Turrets, get bumped, quite often! And YES, "Zero" at 200 yards as, the 7 Mag is a Flat shooter with, medium weight, Bullets ! Good luck and have FUN !

Thank you! Yes, I have no problem practicing so many, many hours will be spent with the rifle most definitely. Unfortunately, as of now I have no way to do reloading. Are any of the rounds you listed suitable for "out of the box" use? I completely understand that there is going to be a potential variable if I do not load them myself.

 

[xsn10s]

https://www.opticsplanet.com/meopta-zd-4-16x44-rd-30mm-waterproof-riflescope.html

 

[Brydawg512]

Me again here. I'll probably get some feedback on this one, but it's my two cents worth. I like Leupold scopes, have a gun locker with about 15 or more them. I have VX IIIs for the most part, sort of a middle-of-the-road price range. What I do like about them is that they carry a lifetime warranty with them. I recently purchased a used Ruger 77 with a 3.5-10 VXIII scope on it. The scope was a bit cloudy and really needed to be upgraded. For me the scope was worth what I paid for the rifle because I knew that I can send it back to the factory for repair. My thoughts here are that there are a number of used scopes on sites like Gunbroker or Guns International and some are at a very reasonable

I will be sure to take a look at those websites. I will agree with you are say that I have been very happy with my Leupold despite an occasional fogging issue with the glass.

 

[xsn10s]

 

[Brydawg512]

Please do not be sorry about the lack of knowledge. You were smart enough, and energetic enough, and motivated enough to look for information on something that interested you. And....you are listening, I think that you are doing a great job. As for a stock, for the shooting that I do, I like the looks and balance of the walnut stock (old school). I have had really good success glass bedding my rifles from the front of the receiver to the first four inches in front of the recoil lug and then float the rest of the barrel channel so that the barrel does not touch the wood from that point forward. Right now I have read articles that have stated that this does not work, or there are better ways like pillar bedding. All I can say that for a $30 AcraGlas kit and some time in the basement with a Dremel tool and some small carving chisels, I can make a difference on how my rifles repeatedly shoot. It's important to remember that you can easily spend thousands of dollars on buying equipment and gunsmithing services. "xns10s" in one of the responses has really given you some great information on what you already have. The 7mm RemMag is a very versatile and respectable cartridge with a great bullet selection, and some great ballistics to go with those bullets.

Great, thank you much! I am extremely excited to build, practice, and use this rifle. It has been a blessing getting all of this help from knowledgeable people as yourself.

 

[xsn10s]

I posted the video in case you're going to go high end scopes. That Meopta glass has been compared with top tier glass. Here is my pushfeed M70 30-06 with factory McMillan stock. It wears VariXIII 2.5-8 with Premier mildot reticle. I've shot out to 800 yards easy. My friends have shot it and easily hit small water bottles at 450 yards. It's my go to rifle. Old school drop cards taped to the stock.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Do you think that the scope would be overkill? Is the gen 2 cheaper or is it a more advanced scope than the Viper?

5-25 is overkill for your purpose. They make a 3-15 model in the gen 2 that would work well

 

[L.Sherm]

5-25 is overkill for your purpose. They make a 3-15 model in the gen 2 that would work well

Why is it overkill?