now i аm looking аt a 700 ADL varmint аt di cks sporting goods іn 308, аnd i wаѕ wondering ѕhουld i gеt thе ADL model οr a 700 sps model wich ѕhουld i gеt now i аm looking fοr target practice i wουld рυt a different scope οn іt аnd thе stock wουld јυѕt bе temperarly i wουld рυt a hs stock οn іt thanks nο stupid people pleaze i want serous аnѕwеrѕ
i аm nοt looking tο varmint hunt i аm looking fοr a nice ассυrаtе gun thats whу i look аt 700 varmints аnd ik thе price οf thе ammo i аm a reloader i hаνе аll mу stuff set up redding іѕ thе way tο gο
. 308 is a FINE round for deer, hogs and black bear but not so much for varmints. Decide on the round you want, then find the rifle that goes with it. For varmints, I prefer . 223 and . 22-250.
The 308 Win is not a varmint caliber. Heavy barrel 700’s in 308 are popular for any rifle/any scope competitions and for training police tactical teams.
You also will not like the price of ammo. You can’t take a nice rifle like this and feed it cheapo surplus ammo – it won’t be accurate with them. This rifle is specifically optomized for the 168gr Lake City Military Match Ammo and the 170gr NATO Special Ball. Unless you handload match ammo, have a buddy who is a long distance shooter in the military or police CERT Team member – this ammo is going to cost you an arm and a leg.
For ‘Target Practice’ you need a rifle that will allow you to fire 200-300 rounds a day for serious training – and not have any issues with a sore shoulder. You want a rifle you can hit the range at 7am and work with partial dawn light and no wind, then work with full light at noon, and still feel great about shooting more around 2-3pm in the afternoon when the wind starts to kick up. You are not going to do this – with this rifle.
Your ‘target practice’ rifle is not the same rifle you use for ‘competition’ – this is a competition rifle.
When you buy a nice match rifle – the barrel is only ‘match grade’ for the first 2500 rounds. After that – all the precision you paid an extra $400 for is gone – and unless you already are rated as an Expert or Master Class shooter. . . . . . . . . . . . it’s a waste of money to buy a match rifle when a standard rifle would have workd just fine for you.
What you want is a rifle in a caliber that is inexpensive to shoot – and – has limited recoil so you can concentrate on learning to become a better marksman – and not how to protect your shoulder.
Me – I have been a military long distance competition shooter for 20+ years. You will see me at the Alaska State Rifle Championships every June in Anchorage. Today, I have a Ruger Stainless Hawkeye M77 Carbine in 223 Remington. Cost me about $500. 223 Remington is not the best cartridge for long distance shooting – has allot of drop and the wind really pushes it around – but this is exactly what you want to learn with! With my match handloads + suppressor it puts 3-4 rounds inside the same hole at 200 yards and with the suppressor off it makes nice little shamrocks.
When I am at the range with my $500 Ruger and all my groups fit inside a quarter – and the guy next to me has a $1200 Remington 700 SPS with $800 Leupold Tactical scope – and his shots are all over the place. . . . . . . . there is shame. Gets worse when they have the ‘The Wife’ with them – and ‘The Wife’ knows a good group from a bad group. And The Wife knows how $$ you sunk into that rifle that you can’t shoot worth a darn.
That – and the difference between a $1200 match rilfe and a $500 standard rifle – you can’t tell the difference on a regular range. It’s not until to you move out to 500/600 yards to 1,000 yards they start to shine. Do you really have unlimited access to a 600 yard KD Range to use this rifle?
You really want a standard grade 223 bolt action rifle, with a nice side focus 4-14x scope, to learn how to shoot with. After a few years when you become really, really good with this rifle – then move to something better or different.
Good Luck
SPS is just the re-branding of the ADL line, of course with the injection-molded stock.
I have shot Remington 700’s for several years as a police SWAT sniper, but have switched to our current FN SPR A-1’s. I would recommend the SPS over the ADL. Whichever model of Remington you choose, I would suggest choosing a model that has: 1) a medium to heavy contour bull barrel, 2) the new X-Mark trigger which is fully adjustable, 3) a 26 inch barrel, and 4) a recessed muzzle crown. I believe the SPS offers all of these options, but I may be wrong. I currently reload my own . 308 ammo as well. I have experimented with duplicating the performance of Federal’s Gold Medal Match ammo with the 168 gr. Sierra Matchking. After numerous trips to the range, I found that my best combo was using Federal once-fired match brass, the Sierra 168 gr. Matchking bullet, Fed. Gold Medal Match primers, and 41. 8 gr. of IMR4895 powder. This yielded velocities the same as that of the Federal ammo, around 2450-2600fps, depending on your barrel length. This is by no means a maximum load, and was not meant to be.
I bought the adl at dicks last year. I put a Choate stock on it and a new scope and it now shoots between 3/4″ and 1/4″ groups at 100 yards. The only difference between the two is the magazine floor plate and the trigger. If you can get the sps for around the same price the trigger is worth it. If not save yourself the money and buy a new trigger down the road.