My 700

[STS556]

This is the first time ever posting pics up of this rifle, or any other of mine for that matter. I built it a couple of years ago.

Its a Remington 700 in.243 with XLR Element chassis and a Nikon Prostaff 5 3-10x50 scope. It has the stock 26" barrel for now but eventually I am cutting it down to 22". I have read that 22" to 24" is the optimal barrel length for 243. Its taken all the deer in its crosshairs. The farthest I have shot a target is 488 yards. We set up yellow golf balls and had at it. The Nikon BDC reticle makes easy work shooting targets at those distances.
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[usmcveteran]

Beautiful rifle! How difficult is it to build a rifle like that?

[MilesTeg]

How was the build? Pretty hard pretty much just buying the right parts and assembling? I'm hoping to do my next target rifle in some sort of chassis. I'm a few years out for the build.

[STS556]

Its easier than building an AR. Way less parts. There is really nothing to bolt action rifles. Just check out Youtube videos, thats all you need.

I have been saying to myself for a while now that i need to change the trigger to a Timney. Soon that time will come.

[Cgrutt]

Looks great! How'd you do at 488 yrds?

[BigJohnH]

That is a sweet weapon!

[Meketrefe]

Nice rifle.

Regarding the length the 243 continues to accelerate to 30" with many loads. 22" would be fine for a 308" if you had to decide a 22 vs a 26".
The best thing is to test the loads you want and see if the loss speed is something is ok with you.
The 243 factory will not last more than 1000 rounds peak accuracy so you might want to wait and decide when rebarrel what twist, lenght and reamer
you want to use.

[STS556]

Looks great! How'd you do at 488 yrds?

A friend of mine has a Gunworks range finder that he says can go out to 2500 yards.

The Nikon BDC reticle is too easy to use. You use the app to enter the ballistics and distance and it does all the work for you showing which area if the reticle to put on the target. It is super accurate and puts the round right where you want it every time.

[STS556]

Nice rifle.

Regarding the length the 243 continues to accelerate to 30" with many loads. 22" would be fine for a 308" if you had to decide a 22 vs a 26".
The best thing is to test the loads you want and see if the loss speed is something is ok with you.
The 243 factory will not last more than 1000 rounds peak accuracy so you might want to wait and decide when rebarrel what twist, lenght and reamer
you want to use.

Thanks for the info. The stock barrel is just plain heavy. I was also looking to shave some weight somewhere. Maybe i will wait until the barrel wears out and look at some lighter barrels.

[Meketrefe]

NP.
Here is a quick estimation based on a typical bullet like lets say...

a hornday100gr sp and IMR 4831 or 4350 (estim. at 61K psi).

Barrel ... Speed in fps
30" ....... 3359
28".........3321
26..........3279
24".........3232
22".........3179
20".........3119

A Berger 105gr HPBT
30" ....... 3235
28".........3199
26..........3160
24".........3116
22".........3068
20".........3013

Of course, this can change a lot with brass, powders, rifling and bullets so it is just to get an idea.

Hornady lists their 95gr SST at 3,185fps. I suppose 22" but not sure.

Double tap lists the 95gr smk at 3150fps in a 22"bbl.
Bullet : 95gr. Sierra MatchKing HPBT
Ballistics : 3150fps - 2094 ft./lbs. - 22.0" bbl. Remington 700

I like the 243 and 250 but they lag behind a tad and barrels do not last long.
I am thinking the 7mm/08 is the best all around round. It does everything the 260 and 308w does but better.
The only exception are the 180gr heavies in 308 for big game and modest range like in Alaska. Other than that, the 7mm/08 beats all the others.
Even for varmints the 110gr are lightning rods and will shoot like the 243 and 260 but barrel life is so much better.

The 7mm/08 with a 110gr speer TNT brutal for varmints will do this..
22" .... 3282fps
24" .... 3331
26" .... 3374

Then for deer with a 120gr TTSX the 7mm/08 will behave very close to a 270 winchester!.
And for long range the 7mm/08 with a 168gr hpbt match bullet will beat the 243, 260, creedmore, and 308 itself.

...just something to think about

[GUNSICK]

You've been holding out on me! Nice rig!

[Jaywmustang]

Nice rifle.

[STS556]

I originally wanted a higher magnification scope for longer distances but where I hunt in Livingston Manor, you are lucky to get no more than maybe 50 to 70 yards of clearing without hitting a tree. So far the 10 power has been perfect.

[STS556]

You've been holding out on me! Nice rig!

Thanks!! You saw only a small sample of my collection. Most of my rifles are living freely in a free state.