Looking for advice

[zombies-R-real]

I am trying to decide on which course or path to take with a rifle selection. I would like to start shooting distances of 1000 yards and greater. I am mostly a competitive handgun shooter and my long range rifle experience end at about 600 yards. I have multiple high quality hunting rifles and AR's but I would like to have a deticated long range tactical rifle. I have a 300 ultra mag in a Remington 700 Sendero. I bought this rifle during the bigger better faster stage and have only put about 50 rounds down the tube and after that it has been a safe queen taking up room in my safe for years. Now to the question, is the Remington something that I can use to build on or call it what it is "a hunting rifle" and buy a Savage BA110 in 338 Lapua. First just let me say, I am an avid reloader so the cost of ammo is reduced for the 338 and really wont be much more in cost than the 300 ultra. I have also been looking at AI AE's in 308 in a used platform because of the high price tag. The current rifle that i use for my long range shooting is a DPMS LR260 topped with a SWFA SS HD 5-20X50 FFP MIL/MIL scope. So I have at least broken in to the new wonderful world of MIL's.

I'm sure people have asked this question a 1000 times on here but most of all my personal friends and acquaintances are competitive handgun shooters. So tare me up as you will but, I respect the members on this forum or i wouldn't have asked.

Thanks guys.

 

[Shanerbanner10]

I would say look into re-barreling that 300 ultra. Your other choice is just find a damn good load for that 260. It will definitely get there. I shot a 6.5 grend. today at 700 without a problem.

You don't need a large boar rifle to get to 1000 accurately. Is a 308 the best rifle for the job, heck no. However, it is great for learning the long range stuff!

 

[Straight Shooter]

Bust out that Sendero. Try some 230 grain Bergers in that 300 RUM with RL-33. A client of mine is having incredible luck with this combo.
Retumbo or H50BMG in 32" 300 RUM? - Page 5 - Long Range Hunting Online Magazine

 

[George Az]

You are blessed and have a lot of options rather than starting at zero. You have two rifles read to go - get some. Bust out that Sendero. Is it a hunting rifle? Yes. can it shoot? it depends on YOU. As I read your post you also have a .260? OK, you are way, way, ahead of most folks. Start working on a load. Start practicing.

Before you run out a buy a Savage, I would think real hard about rebarreling the Remy anyway. There are loads of folks right here that can turn that into a tack driver. Bartlien barrel or Schnieder, or many many other choices. You are really ahead of it. If you don't want to beat yourself to death wth the magnums - 6.5 x .284......

 

[briang7511]

I have a sendaro in .300 wm which I started shooting about 2 years ago. Its a great rifle to get started with. I have a couple .308 as well but the 300wm is hands down getting too easy to hit targets out to 1000 yds. I use the 230 bergers sparingly, due to cost, the 208 hornady bthp or amax work just as good and much cheaper. im saving the 230s for the day I go out past 1000. Some small advice, your going to want a brake, and get the hornady bullet comparison tool so you can set the bullets accurately off the grooves. the bergers like to be anywhere from .010 to .030 off the grooves on my rifle. the 208s I set to .030 off. I also replaced the trigger with a timney set to 2lbs topped off with a nighforce with a moar reticle. I personnaly like the moa marks over mildots better. Any questions as you go along feel free to ask. I started out by trial and error before if found help here on the hide. Much easier to ask for help.

 

[zombies-R-real]

Thanks for the info. I will defiantly look into this load as I really have no load development for this rifle yet. I have not shot more than 3 boxes of factory loads out of it. I do have a set of Forster dies for it though.

 

[Assault116]

If I were you, I'd get to work with that Sendero, and by the time you have burnt that barrel down you'll have learned a ton. Then rebarrel it with a good barrel and have the action trued up. Add other tweaks to the package as you see fit. Chassis, trigger upgrade, ect. Take the money you'd spend on that 110 BA and put it towards a first class scope and rock solid mounting system.

 

[zombies-R-real]

briang7511, I like the rifle but the problem is the recoil. I would defiantly have to have a brake installed on it. Its not bad for the intended use but as a long range finesse gun, i think that that type of pounding uncompensated would be more detrimental down the road. I have heard allot of good things about the BA110 and the recoil reduction produced by the muzzle brake.

 

[Straight Shooter]

The 110BA in 338 Lapua is still a 338 Lapua. Braked it still kicks you around a bit. That Sendero is far more than just a hunting rifle. Put a NF 20 minute rail on it, Jewel trigger, Holland brake, 5.5-22x56 NXS NPR-1 and you have a serious long range hammer.

Check the energy specs on the 230 grain against the 300 grain out of that 110 BA. If you don't like the Sendero you will hate the Savage.

 

[briang7511]

the brake I had installed is a Williams gunsight tactical brake, you can find a pic in many catalogs or their web page. they just happen to be an hour away from me why I chose them. they did an awesome job and it reduced the recoil to that of a .308. I probably shot 250 rounds before I got to a load to work. Big learning curve over the .308. Once I got the gun working as It should I cant shoot it enough. I try to limit myself to 50 rounds at an outing but I have shot as much as 75 to 80. once you compare the ballistics to the 338 with those 230gr bergers they are close. the 300 is a little more cost efficient. if your going beyond a mile then the 338 is your better choice. you mentioned that you are just getting into long range shooting, just my .02 but working your way up to that caliber may be worth it. I started out with a .308 at 600 yds and I thought that was far. then we moved out to 1000. then I bought a 300wm.

 

[zombies-R-real]

The 110BA in 338 Lapua is still a 338 Lapua. Braked it still kicks you around a bit. That Sendero is far more than just a hunting rifle. Put a NF 20 minute rail on it, Jewel trigger, Holland brake, 5.5-22x56 NXS NPR-1 and you have a serious long range hammer.

Check the energy specs on the 230 grain against the 300 grain out of that 110 BA. If you don't like the Sendero you will hate the Savage.

Thanks Straight Shooter! I just looked at the Holland brake and it looks really nice. I think I will take your advice on this. I can do the brake and the rest of the upgrades to the Sendero and give it a try. Worst case if it doesn't work out I can use the scope and base on a replacement rifle. Just curious on your thoughts of the BA110 and the durability of the Savage.

 

[zombies-R-real]

the brake I had installed is a Williams gunsight tactical brake, you can find a pic in many catalogs or their web page. they just happen to be an hour away from me why I chose them. they did an awesome job and it reduced the recoil to that of a .308. I probably shot 250 rounds before I got to a load to work. Big learning curve over the .308. Once I got the gun working as It should I cant shoot it enough. I try to limit myself to 50 rounds at an outing but I have shot as much as 75 to 80. once you compare the ballistics to the 338 with those 230gr bergers they are close. the 300 is a little more cost efficient. if your going beyond a mile then the 338 is your better choice. you mentioned that you are just getting into long range shooting, just my .02 but working your way up to that caliber may be worth it. I started out with a .308 at 600 yds and I thought that was far. then we moved out to 1000. then I bought a 300wm.

Thanks for the info. Have you tried any other VLD bullets in your load work up? Also what specs are you running on your loads as far as powder, primer, neck tension, oal? I think i will give the Sendero a shot. I do like the tactical chassis of the Savage. Shooting a rifle with a pistol grip is easier for me and I seam to have better trigger control and a smoother pull with one.

 

[Straight Shooter]

I have never owned one. They are really hit and miss quality wise. They are known to have oversized chambers and real problems with extraction most likely from the sloppy chambers. Other than that I pretty much do not like Savages. They just look, feel cheap, clunky and usually just don't function all that well. I have shot a bunch of them in my line of work and they can be accurate but they are not any more so than any other factory rifle.

My current 338 Lapua is a Custom built by me. Stiller Tac338 single shot. Jewel 15 ounce trigger, 30" custom profile PacNor 5 grove 9.5 twist barrel with Holland's newest brake on it. It sits in a McMillan Adj A5. It's a sweet heart. Sub 6" groups at 1050 and around 1" at 500 yards.

I fixed up a SFII Sendero in 300RUM exactly like I described for you about 5 years ago and the naked rifle sold for $1200. It shot great. Best was 3" at 885 yards. My buddy had to sell it when his vision failed to the point he can't use rifle scopes anymore. He then moved away. I really miss my friend Norm.

If you end up needing to rebarrel the Sendero I would just sell it and move to a pure custom made exactly the way you want it.

 

[bodywerks]

briang7511, I like the rifle but the problem is the recoil. I would defiantly have to have a brake installed on it. Its not bad for the intended use but as a long range finesse gun, i think that that type of pounding uncompensated would be more detrimental down the road. I have heard allot of good things about the BA110 and the recoil reduction produced by the muzzle brake.

Would like to know your resources on "the good" of the 110ba. I've read about 5 bad for every one good. Having owned one I speak from personal experience. Mine had major bolt lift and extraction issues, Lapua or hornady brass, didn't matter(hornady was worse), and it was a 2 MOA rifle at best. I thought it was me, but I sold it and had a custom 338 built. It's a quarter minute rifle and no bolt lift issues.

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[Danco411]

I'm the oposite of Straight Shooter. I think the Savages are wicked cool and extremely functional and accurate. Since you already load for the .260 that would be my choice. Exceptional bullet choices and great out to 1200 and beyond. You culd rebarrel your Sendero or buy a Savage LRVP in .260 and be done. The modularity of the Savage rifles can't be beat as well as the price. I have a 12 in an XLR chassis that will shoot with the best of them.

 

[bodywerks]

I love savages, too. Just not the rifles chambered in 338 Lapua.
I love how everything is diy, be it bolt handle replacement, barrel replacement, whatever. Two of my three go to rifles are savages, but neither are stock by any means...

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[briang7511]

Thanks for the info. Have you tried any other VLD bullets in your load work up? Also what specs are you running on your loads as far as powder, primer, neck tension, oal? I think i will give the Sendero a shot. I do like the tactical chassis of the Savage. Shooting a rifle with a pistol grip is easier for me and I seam to have better trigger control and a smoother pull with one.

if your still using the stock trigger you will want to upgrade. Mine is a timney set to 2lbs with the nickel finish and its a flat blade. Made shooting groups a lot easier and I personally love the flat blade trigger. I have 3 of them all on rem 700s. I have not tried vlds. only hornadys, sierras and the 230 hybrids. My load is 74gr of H1000 with a 215m primer. I use either a 208 amax or bthp, or the 230 berger hybrid with that charge. estimate the fps around 2850. I even had the sierra 200gr btsp grouping at 1000 with that powder charge. Now that load may seem light but in my gun I have a tight barrel or chamber that causes higher pressures. that is the max load for my gun. Part of my original problem in load work up is I couldn't even find factory ammo that would work. all factory ammo was too hot. even the federal gold medal match. That's where that start 10% low and work up comes into play. Best I can figure is 4 gr off max book recommended is my max load. Oal I don't know, could check, but I just set them all .030 off the grooves and they group around .75 to 1.00 inches at 100. My gun likes to be cleaned about every 25 to 40 rounds, accuracy just falls off by 2 or 3 feet at 1000yds

 

[jakelly]

My friend's father bought one of those 110 BAs, because he wanted to shoot a mile. That rifle has been a lot of fun...for me. It has upheld almost every pearl of wisdom my friend and I tried to share with him before he bought the thing. I got to watch it financially beat the fool out of my friend's dad (I think he had ~500 rounds of "load development" on that first barrel). I got to watch the salesmen explain how the rifle shoots bullets that correct themselves once they "settle down" and how the groups @ 300 would probably be the same size as the groups @ 100. Got to watch him squander every thing he "saved" punching some really well spaced holes in 8.5 x 11 paper. Got to listen to Savage respond to his complaints by carefully explaining they don't build "custom" quality rifles and sub MOA was one time ever not "all day". It is quite a shooter today, 2 or 3 muzzle brakes and at least 3 barrels later (last one he just bought a custom). Good times!

+1 to everything Straight Shooter has told you, including selling your rifle and not building off of it.

 

[zombies-R-real]

Thanks to all for the replies. I can say its safe to say that you have all talked me out of the BA110. Call it a brain fart or whatever. Straight shooter has given me some direction to move forward. I am going to add the break to the gun and send some rounds down range. I have a Burris Black Diamond scope on it right now and can shoot out to 750 yards on my back yard range. I think I am going to keep trolling the classifieds for a used AI AE MKII or MKIII. Its easy to get sucked into the Savage because of the looks and the price. I think there is a spark in all of us when it comes down to touching off some of these big cannons. I see it with handguns too, when I hand one of my race guns to a guy that is working his way up the latter and he shoots a stage with it and comes back with a smile from ear to ear.