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by John McQuay
03.04.11

Hardly a week goes by when I am not asked the question "what is a good beginner rifle". This question arises over and over. The answers given usually only lead to more questions.

This will be the first installment of the Budget Precision Rifle Build. We will be starting with a factory fresh Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD. The first steps will be installing and zeroing the optic. We will then progress through getting the most out of the factory platform. Once we have documented the accuracy the basic rifle is capable of, we will begin upgrading components until the system has reached its accuracy limit.

The goal of the series will be to demonstrate to the new precision shooter a point he can start at and a path he can follow to hone the rifles accuracy as his capabilities grow.

Where to start?

There are many rifles on the market today that will fill the need of a beginners platform. Our intent was to choose one that will allow for almost unlimited improvement. I also wanted to choose a system that I was intimately familiar with. When building any rifle system for competition or real world use you have to emphasize its strengths and reinforce its weakness. After looking at offerings by Savage, FN USA, Winchester and others I settled on the Remington 700 for the first series.

The Remington 700 has been with us for a very long time. It has been the selected platform for Marine Corps, Navy and Army Snipers in one form or another since Vietnam. It has served hunters and outdoorsman for longer than that. While it is not without its drawbacks, it is a very well rounded platform. The Model 700 is generally accurate out of the box and has limitless potential for modification. Almost every variety of stock, trigger and scope mounting options can be sourced to truly customize the rifle to the shooter and the purpose. You can go from relatively cheap to insanely expensive with a couple clicks on the internet. Moreover the Remington 700 is a rifle that is familiar to any shooting school in the country. Experienced Armorers and Gunsmiths are readily available just about anywhere you go.

Model?

Once we narrowed to down to platform and cartridge, the choices got a little easier. Our goal was to start with a rifle on the low end of Remington's offerings. This would allow for a low entry cost and room to modify the rifle to the shooter. Very frequently a shooter will purchase a rifle and then quickly replace the stock for one that fits them better. A large percentage of a factory rifle's cost is in the stock. When looking at the bottom of the line Remington 700 SPS-V and comparing it to Remington's Premier Police rifle, the 700P, the only substantial difference is the stock. The SPS-V comes with an injection molded plastic canoe paddle. The 700P comes with a fiberglass and aluminum H&S Precision stock. If the shooter knows they will be replacing the stock, then it is only prudent to save some cash and get the lower end rifle.

Our choices came down to the 700 SPS-Varmint, 700 SPS-Tactical and 700 SPS-Tactical AAC-SD. Each of them offered their own advantages over the others. The SPS-Varmint comes equipped with a 26" 1:12 twist barrel. This means that the bullet will make one complete revolution for each twelve inches of barrel length. The 1:12 twist barrel is ideally suited to the 168gr Sierra and other similar match bullets. It will shoot heavier bullets as well, but you start to get to the edge of the rifles intended performance envelope. The SPS-Tactical comes with a 20" barrel and a 1:12 twist. The shorter barrel sacrifices a little velocity but allows for easier handling and a smaller package to store and transport.

The SPS-Tactical AAC-SD is equipped with a 20", 1:10 twist barrel. This is a first for Remington in the Varmint Contour barrels (as opposed to the lighter hunting weight). The 1:10 twist is theoretically better suited to 175gr and heavier bullets. The 175gr Sierra Match King is a favorite for long range shooters. The shorter barrel makes it portable while still having enough length to propel factory ammunition to 1000 yards with reasonable velocity remaining. The SPS-Tactical AAC-SD also comes from the factory with a threaded muzzle. This allows for the attachment of a number of devices including brakes, flash hiders and sound suppressors.

All three of our options come from Remington with injection molded, plastic stocks. The SPS-Varmint comes with a standard black or green plastic version. The SPS-Tactical and AAC-SD come with a Hogue Overmolded stock with aluminum bedding pillars. Most shooters will replace these stocks as soon as funds allow, so they were not really a factor in the deciding process.

The Winner.

When the pros and cons were added up the Remington SPS-Tactical AAC-SD came out as our winner. The 20" barrel is totally sufficient for 1000 yard tactical competition. The shorter barrel means less weight and an easier time maneuvering through obstacles. The 1:10 twist should let us accurately shoot 175gr bullets and experiment with some heavier, sleeker bullets in the future. The threaded muzzle will allow us to later attach a brake or sound suppressor without the added expense of a gunsmith's time. The cost is negligible when compared to the other options.

The Testing.

One of the goals of the build series is to document the accuracy improvements of any changes. This should give the reader a better idea of if the increase will be worth the expense. Some changes will be ergonomic and won't have a great deal of impact on accuracy, but will increase the bond between shooter and rifle. It's much easier to shoot a rifle accurately when you are comfortable on it.

For now, the goal is to fire four to five, five shot groups at 100 yards after each change. This is a great enough distance to show meaningful change, but close enough to prevent wind from muddying the results.

The Process.

Along the way we are going to try to concentrate on the project as a total package. We want to explain why we do some of the things we do and how to do them. Hopefully you enjoy and benefit from the process.

We will post each new stage below with a link to the full article of review for that addition. We will also have accompanying videos for some of the stages.

The Budget.

The budget for the first setup is going to be one thousand dollars. That is a bit tight, but doable. Once we have gotten a rifle that is accurate and can be taken to the matches, we will toss the budget out and start replacing parts one at a time. I hope to keep a running tally of all the costs associated with the rifle.

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