Couple of years ago, I came to this site for info on building a rifle. I decided on a 7-08, so I purchased a Remmy 700/Xmark trigger/sporter barrel and put it in a HS Precision stock/bedded and pillared. Messed with different ammo and the rifle shot Fed Prems Partition better than anything else, so I bought all the boxes of the same lot I could find. My groups run from .75" to 1 1/8". My question is, with limited funds what would be the next step to increase accuracy? True the barrel and bolt or start reloading(which will be a little more expensive) or _________, yall fill in the blank.I am even toying with the idea of putting a 30 cal barrel in it to shoot 308 ammo. The rifle will be used for hunting in the future. I have learned 1 thing, it would have been less expensive to buy 1 already built, but not as gratifying. All responses are appreciated. Thanx Calvin
- Thread starter lovemylegacy
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What scope are you using? Might be worthwhile to invest in a decent scope if you haven't already. After that, rebarrel to something heavier. Sporter weights can be pretty accurate, but you'll probably get POI shifts when you heat up the barrel. And yes, a .308 will be better for precision if you don't reload. There's plenty of factory 7mm-08, but most of it is hunting stuff. .308 has options like FGMM.
How much are you willing to spend? I'd rebarrel it to the caliber and contour of your choice with a Bartlein barrel. Sounds like you already have a decent stock. However, most all the HS stocks I've seen have bedding blocks, so why did you need to pillar bed it?
What's the end goal here? If it's just a hunting rifle - then just use it for hunting. 1MOA is plenty for 400-500 yard deer gun if you know your dope.
I would definitely invest in reloading:
a) your groups might significantly shrink
b) you can tailor your ammo for application
c) cheaper rounds = more rounds down the range = better shooter
I would definitely invest in reloading:
a) your groups might significantly shrink
b) you can tailor your ammo for application
c) cheaper rounds = more rounds down the range = better shooter
Temp9-I have a low end Vortex, I didnt mention this since it was on my to do list. Thanx Trevor300- The barrel is something I am considering, but its pushing a grand and almost a year in turnaround. The stock was on sale and I figured it couldnt hurt to get more bang for my buck. MoBoost-Yes it will be a hunting rifle only, I would like to get the bullet holes touching or almost touching on paper to reduce operator error. Reloading may be the ticket, wont take long to get my money back on it with the price of ammo today. Thanx yall are awesome. Calvin
a) If budget and timeline is a concern - buy a savage heavy barrel in 308, and practice, practice, practice - till honest sub-MOA becomes a norm. Buy a pre-fit barrel (in caliber of choice) and immediately enjoy your .5MOA rifle.
b) .3MOA (bullets touching) is an unreasonable goal - it is just not going to happen with 7mm-08. Cherry picking "this one time 3 round group" doesn't count. If you want "touching bullets" rifle - you need to look into benchrest type setup - short fat ultra-efficient 6s.
But if you are hunting - WHO CARES??? Honest .5MOA rifle will give you an honest 1000 yard hunting stick - and then you are in a whole different ballgame equipment and skill-wise anyhow.
b) .3MOA (bullets touching) is an unreasonable goal - it is just not going to happen with 7mm-08. Cherry picking "this one time 3 round group" doesn't count. If you want "touching bullets" rifle - you need to look into benchrest type setup - short fat ultra-efficient 6s.
But if you are hunting - WHO CARES??? Honest .5MOA rifle will give you an honest 1000 yard hunting stick - and then you are in a whole different ballgame equipment and skill-wise anyhow.
I used on a shilen prefit barrel from modway to rebarrel mine and it didnt cost near 1000 more like 400 with action trued
if you want a tac driver that will make the bullet hole touch each other id invest in a good optic, reload, and get a rifle built for that already.... i got a 700 police and its sub moa, i use it for hunting, and it gets heavy... so a good sling should be in the budget if for hunting.... see what it will cost you to blueprint and trueing the action...if you want a 308 get a 700 5r they already have a hs precision stock as my 700p does and the 5r rifling will get you good groups... 7mm-08 is a great caliber also for that i would reload for that caliber and do a load test and see which one works best also the fundamentals are key practice as much as you can
You should check out the LRI group buy for action trueing and rebarreling. Pretty good deal and quick turn around. I was planning on going that route until I bought my AIAE.
Yeah it would have been cheaper to buy a rifle for accuracy and scope it, but I wanted to build 1 like I wanted....it has cost me to. Thanx for the info, Calvin
