Improving a new rifle's accuracy.

[matador1]

My father in law is a big rifle collector. Luck for me, he refuses to buy more anymore safes. So as he buys, he purges. When he purges, I recieve! This week he gave me a Remington Model 700 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Edition in the 7mm Ultra Mag with a Meopta 3-12 56mm. Nice little gun. I was thinking I would like to do some stuff to this one to make it as accurate as possible. I've never been a big rifle guy so I don't have a ton of ideas.
What would you do to improve this gun if it were you?

[mudsucker]

Do not know much about rifles but want to know if your wife has a sister?

[Blackduck]

How does t shoot now? That is a lot of powder behind that bullet. 90+grains. That makes it hard to hold on to sometimes. Not really recoil but muzzle flip and torque. Setting the trigger lighter and a muzzle break will make it easier to shoot and consequently tighten the groups. I would shoot a few federal/barnes or accubonds through it and see how well it groups. 1"@100 would be nice.

[DUCKAHOLIC]

I dont know that I would sink alot of money into a model 7....

Just my .02

[matador1]

I dont know that I would sink alot of money into a model 7....

Just my .02

Sorry, my mistake, it's a 700.

[matador1]

How does t shoot now? That is a lot of powder behind that bullet. 90+grains. That makes it hard to hold on to sometimes. Not really recoil but muzzle flip and torque. Setting the trigger lighter and a muzzle break will make it easier to shoot and consequently tighten the groups. I would shoot a few federal/barnes or accubonds through it and see how well it groups. 1"@100 would be nice.

I haven't got to shoot it yet, will let you know. I had thought about trigger and muzzlebreak already, thanks. What about bedding or floating?

[Anatidae]

Congrats on the rifle.....'sounds nice.

I'd definately shoot it first........and remain objective (as you are aware) of whether any lack of desired bullet placement is a product of the rifle or the shooter.

Then, I would pursue improvements. Rifles are basically 4 parts - stock, action, barrel and trigger assembly.There's absolutely nothing wrong with the 700 action - it is a proven design. People may just prefer other actions for their own reasons.

I have been out of rifle 'stuff' for 20 years - 'wouldn't really know what's on the market or the new technology behind it.

I would suggest (prior to 'fine-tuning' a rifle) that you shoot several different brands of ammo in varying loads (bullet weights and types). Some loads just shoot differently in some rifles. We've only known a couple of rifles that shot anything you ran through it, well (one of those was a Ruger #1 in .270 - go figure). I'm not sure how much variety there is in the 7mm Mag, now - there wasn't much when I was 'in it'. The heavier/longer bullets tend to be less accurate (stable), but you might find something in the 117 - 130 grain that might perform well. If you reload, I would try a recipe for a slow-to-mid powder burning rate and keep velocity down around 2700fps. If you can't get a group (with your personal shooting ability) inside 200 yards, there's no reason to aspire for accuracy at greater distances, so bullet drop (i.e. velocity) proabaly wouldn't be 'as' critical.

[Seymore]

A lot of factory guns now are more accurate than the average shooter. Meaning they can do more but for the shooter. A trigger job I think is the single best improvement that can be given a rifle followed by hand loading. Model 700's have drop in triggers from both riflebasix and timney. Beyond that you can get into bedding and free floating but I would bet that barrel is already free floated. Another thing you can do is cryo the barrel. I don't know whether this helps or not but I have a friend who are into long range shooting say it does. He's a former sniper and won't take a shot unless it's over 500 yards now so he's not your average shooter. I've seen him drop deer at ranges pushing close to 1,000 yards where I couldn't even see the dang thing. Cryo changes the molecular composition of the barrel and evenly disburses the atoms making for a more consistent barrel. I think this type of stuff is getting beyond the average shooter.

[lomaxmsu78]

Just to add what little .02 I have

I have a 7RUM and it loves the Nosler Accubond bullet. Some buddies and I shoot F-Class, so I have access to a place were we can reach 1000+ meters. When you go and shoot your rifle go on out farther than 100-200 meters, if it doesnt shoot the way you would like it to, there is an awesome smith out of Utica Ms. You would be amazed what a trigger and bedding job would do for you. You are more than welcome to come and sling some lead with us, when we get together and shoot,

[BR549]

My father in law is a big rifle collector. Luck for me, he refuses to buy more anymore safes. So as he buys, he purges. When he purges, I recieve! This week he gave me a Remington Model 700 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Edition in the 7mm Ultra Mag with a Meopta 3-12 56mm. Nice little gun. I was thinking I would like to do some stuff to this one to make it as accurate as possible. I've never been a big rifle guy so I don't have a ton of ideas.
What would you do to improve this gun if it were you?

That gun really doesn't need a whole lot unless you really want get serious. It should already be floated and have a block in it. Just a good basic job of trueing your action and a good trigger job will suffice in most instances. You will have to handload to get anywhere though. Factory ammo is just not consistant enough. That's a hell of a caliber and will stabilize a 140gr bullet well. That's all you need out to 600 or so. But again you will have to handload!

[black dog]

Adam, give Blake a call & he can tell you your options.
http://1000yardhunter.com/

[matador1]

Took it to Surplus City today and shot it in the indoor range. This a tackdriver! With every move of the scope the holes were touching. Very impressed. Can't wait to stretch it out some.

[cwink]

Took it to Surplus City today and shot it in the indoor range. This a tackdriver! With every move of the scope the holes were touching. Very impressed. Can't wait to stretch it out some.

I acquired a Model 700 in 30-06 from my Uncle. Put a Nikon Protaff on it and took it the the range. I wasn't even trying real hard to group and had 5 bullets touching at 100 yards. Those guns are inherintly accurate. Now here is your chance to get into handloading.. It is fun and makes a big difference.

[matador1]

Took it to Surplus City today and shot it in the indoor range. This a tackdriver! With every move of the scope the holes were touching. Very impressed. Can't wait to stretch it out some.

I acquired a Model 700 in 30-06 from my Uncle. Put a Nikon Protaff on it and took it the the range. I wasn't even trying real hard to group and had 5 bullets touching at 100 yards. Those guns are inherintly accurate. Now here is your chance to get into handloading.. It is fun and makes a big difference.

What can you expect to spend to get started handloading?

[skywalker]

Lee anniversary kit is around $100, Lee dies around $45, powder (1lb approx $25), box of primers (qty 100 approx $3), brass (free if pick up at range) and bullets (qty 50 approx $20).

Looking about $225 to get started meagerly, but it works and is a great deal of fun.