Beginning long range shooting in nor cal?

[glock_monster]

I have a Remington 700 sps .308 I was looking into making a long range rifle . Currently looking at mdt chassis. Maybe a 5-25 scope ? Anybody in sac area that might not mind me tagging along or know anywhere I can get some training for long range shooting?

[ShaunBrady]

Sacramento Valley Shooting Center
NorCal Practical Precision Rifle Club
CS Precision

SVSC hosts LR classes a few times a year.
NPPRC holds regular matches and an annual LR seminar. I'm not sure what all they have for a web presence these days, but their forum had LR shooting information in a more concentrated form than the general web.
CS Precision will help you move in a direction better suited to your goals and budget.

YouTube has some good stuff, but it's buried in a lot of really bad stuff.
The NSSF stuff by Ryan Cleckner is a good example of instructing fundamentals.
The MDT videos are well thought out. The same for the ones from CS Precision.

Some professional help would be a really good idea right now.

You're heading off on a tangent with that particular rifle. There was a time when a varmint or tactical R700 in 308 was a good entry point into long range shooting, but they're long past. The build it as you go thing is death by 1000 cuts and a continuing distraction while you try to learn the shooting side. It could work, but it won't be the easiest or cheapest way to do it.

MDT is a chassis company with a complete line up. They're well regarded. Which chassis to start with and how you configure it depends on your budget and what you think you'll be doing with it. I started with a M700 Varmint in the 90s. Those roots continue to color the decisions I make on technique and equipment. You're a clean sheet. I suggest you have someone help you start in 2025 and move forward from there. A professional, not the first helpful idiot that'll give up their contact info.

There are also decisions to be made on the scope before magnification. I'd start with FFP, exposed turrets, some sort of Christmas tree reticle, at least 75ish moa of travel, a zero stop and at least 20 moa in the base. With a chassis, you move to AR ergonomics. AR height rings will give a better shooing position than mediums that put the scope just above the barrel. That's me, an F Class shooter would have another list. 5-25 might work, but 16 up top is plenty if it gives more travel.

[glock_monster]

Sacramento Valley Shooting Center
NorCal Practical Precision Rifle Club
CS Precision

SVSC hosts LR classes a few times a year.
NPPRC holds regular matches and an annual LR seminar. I'm not sure what all they have for a web presence these days, but their forum had LR shooting information in a more concentrated form than the general web.
CS Precision will help you move in a direction better suited to your goals and budget.

YouTube has some good stuff, but it's buried in a lot of really bad stuff.
The NSSF stuff by Ryan Cleckner is a good example of instructing fundamentals.
The MDT videos are well thought out. The same for the ones from CS Precision.

Some professional help would be a really good idea right now.

You're heading off on a tangent with that particular rifle. There was a time when a varmint or tactical R700 in 308 was a good entry point into long range shooting, but they're long past. The build it as you go thing is death by 1000 cuts and a continuing distraction while you try to learn the shooting side. It could work, but it won't be the easiest or cheapest way to do it.

MDT is a chassis company with a complete line up. They're well regarded. Which chassis to start with and how you configure it depends on your budget and what you think you'll be doing with it. I started with a M700 Varmint in the 90s. Those roots continue to color the decisions I make on technique and equipment. You're a clean sheet. I suggest you have someone help you start in 2025 and move forward from there. A professional, not the first helpful idiot that'll give up their contact info.

There are also decisions to be made on the scope before magnification. I'd start with FFP, exposed turrets, some sort of Christmas tree reticle, at least 75ish moa of travel, a zero stop and at least 20 moa in the base. With a chassis, you move to AR ergonomics. AR height rings will give a better shooing position than mediums that put the scope just above the barrel. That's me, an F Class shooter would have another list. 5-25 might work, but 16 up top is plenty if it gives more travel.

I really appreciate the info . I was just leaning toward my r700 aac sd tactical because I have one collecting dust . Do you have any suggestions on rifles ? I'll definitely check out the places you mentioned I'm highly interested

[the_tunaman]

Sac Valley is THE place!!! I miss it badly!

[ShaunBrady]

I was just leaning toward my r700 aac sd tactical because I have one collecting dust . Do you have any suggestions on rifles ?

I'm partial to the RPRs. 6.5CM would be my suggestion for a starter caliber. Among other things, I like the 3 lug actions for their feeding. Not having a lug to climb over smooths the transition from the magazine. More clearance between the bolt knob and scope is nice too. Entry level LR training is often done prone off of a preloaded bipod and squeeze bag. Having the bottom of the forend and back of the stock parallel with the bore simplifies getting the gun to track straight back. Minimal drop at the recoil pad also helps this. I also like the long enclosed forend. It gives a lot of flexibility on bipod positioning and the closed top reduces hot barrel mirage. A 15ish pound 6.5CM gives enough recoil that you'll need to learn some form, but less than the 308. My thoughts are the attrition rate for new shooters is too high with the 308. Everybody is hero with a 6, but the price with factory offerings is barrel life. One of the clever bits about the 6.5CM is they only cashed out the barrel life most people don't use.

You could do a minimalist effort with that R700. Add a cheek riser, a brake and go for it. They're easy to get buried in. Don't be surprised if it needs bedding and opening up the barrel channel to shoot. A chassis does not reduce the likelihood of needing bedding with stock actions. The dimensional and alignment problems are in the action. Add a chassis, a couple magazines and a bolt, now it costs as much as the RPR if you ignore the cost of the base rifle and can't find a deal on the RPR.

For a hobbyist learning to shoot to ~1K, this is a decent scope at this price.

Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen 2 Rifle Scope 5-25x 50mm EBR-2D MOA

Not as much so at full retail. In general, at this point, yesterday's news on scopes is where it's at. I have a couple of the Mil versions. They're full featured and I like that reticle. Their vertical travel is on the short side at 70 moa, but it'll easily work with a 20 moa base and get a 308 to 1K.

You're in an area with a large LR community. It'd be a good idea to check out a couple matches and visit CS Precision before you buy anything else. Instructors also prefer compliant clean sheets to newbies stuffed full of internet wisdom.

[smoothy8500]

I have a Remington 700 sps .308 I was looking into making a long range rifle . Currently looking at mdt chassis. Maybe a 5-25 scope ? Anybody in sac area that might not mind me tagging along or know anywhere I can get some training for long range shooting?

Have you signed up for the Nor Cal LR class? It's a great class, low stress-very helpful for the novice shooter. I know a couple shooters that attended in the past and had a good experience.

https://practiscore.com/ncpprc-may-3rd-2025-intro-to-long-range-shooting-clinic-clone/register

[Switchbarrel]

Sacramento Valley Shooting Center
NorCal Practical Precision Rifle Club
CS Precision

SVSC hosts LR classes a few times a year.
NPPRC holds regular matches and an annual LR seminar. I'm not sure what all they have for a web presence these days, but their forum had LR shooting information in a more concentrated form than the general web.
CS Precision will help you move in a direction better suited to your goals and budget.

In addition, if you look on the Sac. Valley website calendar, select Range 12 and you can see the practice days. Both the benchrest and Highpower/F-Class groups have informal practices. You might reach out to one of the
contacts listed for those groups and inquire about going out to watch or bringing what you have with some 175/180 grain Sierra's/Bergers loaded up. Just need to know your velocity, have a 100 yard zero and enough elevation
in your scope to reach the distance they're shooting that day (600 or 1K yds). They can help you get on target from there.

I shoot benchrest at known distances so I don't need an FFP scope, I prefer the second focal plane with a lot of power. I've shot matches at 12x (Nightforce BR) when the mirage was really bad and also at 50x (Sightron SVSS ED and
Nightforce Competition scopes) when I'm first relay, cool morning with no mirage.

Whatever discipline you choose (didn't see anything specific mentioned) will dictate what kind of setup you'll want. I'd just get my feet wet with what you have before spending any real money (stock, barrel/chambering, scope, etc.).
If you don't already have one, get a tapered base, maybe the Burris rings with eccentric inserts for more elevation and go shoot what you got. Get some first hand experience so you can make informed decisions. You'll find your limiting factors.

-Rick

[ShaunBrady]

Mea Culpa

We assume from a few bits of information that their interests are similar to our own and they'll follow an arc similar to ours.

I do think if we moved away from the M700 308 as a recommended long range starter rifle, we'd retain more shooters. The rifle wouldn't be FTR compatible anymore though. The bookend is everybody is a hero with a 6, but you'll need to replace a barrel before you've learned what a shot out barrel looks like. That leaves 6.5s and 7s with case capacities similar to the 308. 6.5CM is the most common example. Enough recoil to start learning fundamentals but manageable for more people.

In addition to the solid 100 yard zero, recent velocity data and enough travel in the scope/base setup, when you go to a practice day, ask leading questions and don't try to explain what you think you already know. The next time you show up, make sure you followed up on at least a couple of their suggestions. You might wind up with a helpful idiot for your first mentor, but you'll be off the internet and down to just 1. Classes are renting mentors for a day or two and it's likely the instructors will have more experience communicating the fundamentals in an orderly way.