steve b Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) Hi My ticket for .223 and .308 will be here next week but I am not sure whether to go for detachable or fixed magazine in the .308 for stalking (woodland with a little high seat) I would prefer answers from stalkers as they will be speaking from experience and not guessing which they think they would prefer. Also how do you guys rate the remington 700 sps as a stalking rifle, I have picked these up and think the normal barrelled one would be my choice. My local gun shop have quoted 555 new and factory screw cut. I would also look to get a wild cat predator 8 moderator for it at the same time. All the best and would appreciate your feedback. Steve b Edited May 21, 2008 by steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) Oh and if you think you have any better suggestions for rifles then also let me know. Edited May 21, 2008 by steve b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moses Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 How much do you want to spend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) I can't stand hinged floor-plates. I had a Remington until last week that had one, and I really didn't get on with it. I don't think it's a very sophisticated means of loading ammunition. It is also annoying to have a handful of rounds dumped into the mud when the release catch gets snagged or knocked. Quietness of operation, and ease of changing ammunition are two other advantages of a box mag. I have a copy of Pete Moore's review of the Remington 700 SPS Varmint in front of me. It's available in the laughably bad 'What Gun?' annual. I can email you a copy of the review if you can't track it down, but the verdict is that the SPS is a good gun let down by a poor stock. Easily fixed though, with a minor outlay of cash. Personally I would go for a Tikka T3: accuracy straight out of the box - surely the fundamental criteria for an everyday rifle. I certainly wouldn't rule out Howa if the brand graced us left-handers with a version. Edited May 21, 2008 by Baldrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagerman Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) Nothing wrong with Rem 700 for the money but there are others to consider like Tikka, Howa or even CZ at a push. There is also a lot of very good 2nd hand rifles on the market in .308, which is a great all-rounder and I wouldnt be without one. Other mods to look at, PES (Very heavy) T8 (Rot out and are heavy) ASE (muzzle mounted but expensive) ive tried most of them but for me its an A-TEC. If you want a lightweight stalking moderator there isnt anything to beat em, but it aint cheap. The Compact moddy (Same as JetZ) they do is also very good, better than the ASE I think. The wildcat is really loud and heavy, I was surprised when I saw one in the flesh a while back. Ah, forgot to add about the floorplate or mag...pros of floorplate, you cant drop it or lose it, cons, cant think of any. Pros of mag, ok you can remove it, carry a spare, cons, you can lose them, drop them and at times ive found you cant load to touch the lands as the bullet hits the face of the mag. So its personal choice really. Edited May 21, 2008 by Jagerman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 I have about 800 to spend on both rifle and mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Nothing wrong with Remmy's Steve, I have a SPS Varmint in .243, which has seen some serious work, and I've never had a problem with the floorplate. I also have a custom 6.5x47 built on a Rem 700 action, again keeping the original floorplate, and never had any problems. I also have a Tikka .270Win with detachable mag, and that's fine also. It's all down to personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 It's all down to personal choice. Spot on Browning Detachable mag for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Detachable for me - I wouldn't look at a floorplate rifle. But as Browning says it's a personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Detatchable mag, no question about it. When you need to climb into your seat, just pop the mag out and get up there. When in, slap it back in the gun. When you think how often you need to climb up/over things during a stalk, you want to make unloading/reloading as simple as possible. I couldn't stand having to mess around with individual rounds each time, especially if I had cold hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdwillis Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 I bought a .243 remmingon 700 sps for stalking and foxes. I would have prefered a detachable mag, but thats the first time i have really thought about it. I bought mine new from trulock and harris in suffolk for £495, its not screw cut. 555 seems expensive (how much would it cost to screw cut)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 Jason Harris charges £325 to screw-cut a rifle and fit/supply a T8 (includes finishing work and proofing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 (edited) I'm slightly indifferent with my stalking rifles as I can honestly say as modestly as I can that I only ever fire 1 shot out of mine with the occasional follow up shot on rare occasions. however my Deer stalking rifle is a 375H&H and one shot from that in the boiler room tends to settle the matter very fast That rifle is a Remington XCR and it has a hinged floor plate and I do like how that allows me to hold the front of the rifle just in front of the trigger guard which is quite steady for me, my last stalking rifle Remington model 7 in 260rem it was the same. My long range rifle (another Remington) has had a Badger Ordnance M5 D/M bottom metal fitted and one thing about them is that there damn fast to reload, I do have to hold my hand forward of where I like but it's not a huge problem and it still makes a very decent stalking rifle, just a heavy one. I am tossing up weather or not I should get one for my 375H&H so that I can reload in a tight situation much faster (insert charging Buffalo here) but I'm still undecided at this point. But for Deer where the object is to shoot only one then I would stick with the hinged floor plate. Edited May 22, 2008 by SPEEDY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 The 555 was already screw cut thanks for the replies guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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