Please help with my Model 700 AAC-SD Build

[razor488]

I decided to buy a rifle to get my feet wet in longer range shooting. I decided on a Model 700 AAC-SD and put a 6-9 harris bipod on it. I didn't want to spend the money on buying another scope at this time so I took a Leupold 3-9 x40 off my winchester and put it on this... The thing is - I couldn't get my base and rings off the winchester so I just went to Walmart on the way to the range and put some cheap ones on for the day.

My question is - should I go ahead and buy a nice rail until I decided to buy a nice mil dot scope in the future? I hate to leave a cheap mount and rings on it, but at the same time I don't want to have to re-buy the same thing twice?

Larue tactical has a rail for around $75 but I am not sure what version to get? They have short and long action, and 20 MOA and normal.

Any recommendations for what I should buy in my current situation until I upgrade to a nice mil dot scope? I really like this Leupold that goes to 14x... It was around $1000 I believe.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Aloysius]

Short action 20 MOA base is what you want. Go ahead buy it now. Buy once, cry once. Then return the cheap stuff to Walmart.

 

[razor488]

What about rings? Since I will be buying a new scope in 6-12 months..

 

[strike33]

your best bet for rings would be to get 30mm rings with 1" reducers, that is if you plan on sticking with the 30mm Mark 4 in the future

 

[razor488]

Ya the scope I was considering is the Mark 4 LR/T 4.5-14x40mm

 

[Nisils14]

Get yourself that larue 20moa rail and then get yourself some worthwhile rings. Seekins, badger, NF, leupold, etc.

 

[TucsonAustin]

OP: the glass you have will work for now. However in your current situation I believe you should focus your funds on replacing your stock ASAP to actually free float the barrel. I have an aac-sd and as we all know it is not free floated especially with a bipod on the original stock. IMO saving money is fine but decent rings/base is important, and the rings more so. Also have you considered for $1000 a Bushnell HDMR 3.5-21? Its an older model but so is the Mark 4.

 

[ridenrunwv]

+1 on new stock and HDMR over the Mark 4

 

[razor488]

+1 on new stock and HDMR over the Mark 4

Have you guys ever looked at the TiborasaurusRex youtube channel? He has a TON of videos on long range shooting and for whatever reason he doesn't recommend buying a variable magnification scope until you get up in the $2k range.

his channel - SNIPER 101 - YouTube

His scope recommendations based on price - SNIPER 101 Part 22 - Scopes - Rex's BEST Picks - YouTube

 

[ptaylortx]

You might want to go ahead and upgrade the tupperware stock.

 

[Notso]

Go ahead and get some nice rings and base now. Highly recommend the Seekins 20MOA base and rings. Very affordable and they will be the last rings you will ever need. For that rifle, I think you want the Seekins LOW 30mm rings, but check with them to be sure.

Agree on the Tupperware stock - ditch it and pick up a used HS Precision that someone took off a 5R or something. I don't understand why Rem insists on putting that POS rubber stock on a good rifle.

 

[razor488]

Thanks for your help guys. Just curious - have you guys ever watched TiborasaurusRex' youtube channel? He has a ton of videos on long range shooting and he did a video on his best scopes per different prices ranges. For whatever reason, he seemed to be against variable magnification scopes until you get up into the $2k range. I would be curious to see what ya'lls opinion are of the scopes he picked out - his video is here

SNIPER 101 Part 22 - Scopes - Rex's BEST Picks - YouTube

 

[IamRoger]

If you don't upgrade the stock, take a look at the front of the stock. When I attached the Harris to mine, it touched the barrel. I had to get the dremel out to remove some of the stock to keep it free floating. I latter remove the crappy stock and replaced it with a Bell & Carlson Medalist. The replacement took me from a 1 1/2 MOA gun to a 3/4 or less MOA gun.