The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

What's best ?
Remington 700 in
223/243 or 308 ?.

Mainly target shooting at 100 yards

Depends on what you seek......but consider future developoment in your shooting NOW to avoid short-term regrets in purchases.

308 will likely have much longer barrel life than .243

Accuracy should be good (especially at close range) in any choice provided you do load development thoroughly or buy quality factory ammo.

Consider a 6.5mm / (260 Rem) option...less recoil, better inherent accuracy (IMHO) and better long range ballistics than 308.... I like my 308 but would never have bought it had I come across the 260 Rem first.

Choices never easy but 308 needs to be pushed hard if going out to 1000 yds in future.

Others will naturally have their own preferences.

Our preference would also be for 6.5mm - though of a Swedish flavour (6.5x55)

.308/7,62x51 gets you out a good distance and factory/milsurp ammunition is always available. A 6,5x55 is cheaper to load for, will offer more accuracy and less recoil however a 6,5 Swede 700 is not going to be as popular as a .308 - something to consider when buying and selling.

The only 700 I have shot in .223 was hopeless for the owner but I quite liked it and .223 is so comfortable to shoot and will get to 600 yards with ease.

Although I could list a dozen better target rounds than the 308, the 308 has a lot of advantages for the novice.

Brass is cheap, it's an easy round to tune, it works with an amazing variety of bullets and powders and it's a very accurate round - out to 800 yards. Yes, it might run out of steam at 1000 yds with a short barrel but even then I've seen some great shooting Remingtons in 1000 yd benchrest.

Yes, the 6.5x55 Swede is marginally better but less choice of rifles.

Don't waste your time with a 223 or 243 - accurate target rifles can be built around these cartridges - but not by the likes of Remington.

Vince

Hi

get yourself a Rem 700 PSS in 308, 26 inch barrel will get u from 100 to 1000 yards.

You can play and modify to your hearts content i know ive done it

Alan

You cant go far wrong with a Rem 700 in 308.

I've just ordered my first rifle and I went with a Remy 700 PSS in .308.

It's having a few tweaks to make it work well for Practical Rifle, but I'm essentially shooting paper targets between 100 and 1000 yards.

There may be better rifles out there, but I figured it was as good a place to start as any for me.

time line on mine, as I said play to your hearts content :cheers:
Alan

As I bought it originally, it had been fitted with a tactical bolt handle and extended fixed magazine


Then I fitted a PES Mod


As it ended up with 10 shot mage conversion and Kartsen cheek piece and a CG two stage trigger


Eventually I decide to go all in for F-TR and had it rebarreled which eneded up in a different stock and it now looks like

Grass needed cutting in every picture....