Help me decide what to buy

[smitty81]

I am looking to get a new varmit rifle. I am deciding between a remington 700 VTR and a remington 700 SPS varmint. I am left eye dominant and prefer left hand rifles but am comfortable shooting right handed rifles as thats all I had growing up.

I kind of got it down to what caliber i would like. I like the new 17 fireball and the 204 but the prices of componets and ammo are quite a bit higher then what i would like. I like the long range trajectory and the velocity of the two calibers. I think that the caliber i would like is the 223 as there are more products availabe for them such as bullets. I can reload to suit different game. The 204 and the 17 fireball only have 2 or 3 different bullets to choose from.

Now on to the rifle.

The sps varmint is available in left hand in the 17 fireball, and 223.
The reason that i dont like the sps varmint is because the barrel twist rate is only 14 on the 223. I think i would want a 1-9 twist so i can shoot the heavier gr bullets. It would be great if i choose the 17 though............still havnt completly decided on the caliber.

Now on to the VTR.

Its about a pound lighter and i am intrigued about the triangular barrel. This is suppost to be a target/tatical rifle so they advertise tighter groups.
The barrel twist rate is a 1-9 on the 223. The main reason that i dont choose this rifle is because i would prefer to get a left hand rifle......but like i said, i am comfortable shooting right handed rifles.

The game i will be shooting is from rabbits up to coyotes and possably deer but chances are i will not shoot deer with it. I would just like to know i can stabilize the heavier-longer bullet if i want to.

So...........what do you think? The 1-9 twist or the 1-14 twist? What caliber would you choose?

Do any of you have any expierence with either of these models of rifles?

This is a toss up for me............Please help me decide.

 

[JD338]

I have had 3 runners with the 50 gr BT at 3750 fps out of my 22-250, all were quartering on shots into the shoulder. For this reason I want heavier bullets for coyotes.
If it were me, I would go with the 1:9 twist in either a 223 Rem or 22-250 for a coyote rig. The 1:14 twist is iffy with the 60 gr bullets and a no go for the heavier/longer bullets.
Since I shoot right handed, I would also go with the VTR.

JD338

 

[Powerstroke]

Smitty,

I was like you and really liked the idea of the .17 Fireball. ( Hornaday to include Berger both make a decent selection of bullets for the .17 ) I have a .17 Rem 700 that is a fun round to shoot. I find it not the best choice ( with the bullets I've had experience with ) for yote size animals. FAST little bullets.... I've seen things shot that didn't even know they were hit. Some of the other bullets out there however may have changed that with better explosive expansion.

I replaced my AR with .223 VTR earlier this year. I haven't had a lot of devolpment or trigger time with this one, but you are correct on the 1:9 twist for the .223 version. I've shot 52grn SMK's, 50gr B-tips, 55gr B-kings, 75gr A-max's and now have shot a few 60gr B-tips. The 60grn B-tips appear to be the ones I'm going to work with due to seeing the best results so far. I really like the feel of the VTR and the shorter barrel over the SPS version. ( Haven't looked, but didn't think the SPS had a 1:9 twist in the .223 ) ??
NOTE: The triggers are not what I'd consider "Terrible" as is, but they are what I would consider " TERRIBLE " to adjust.
If you're thinking a possible Deer with it in the future I have nothing against small calibers being used, but the 22-250 would certianly be my first choice over the .223.

Good luck on the decision and let us know what you decide.

 

[froggy]

Smitty- I've got a .204 and absolutely love the caliber. I use it for everything from sagerats to bobcats and coyotes. As far as bullets, there are lots of options for the handloader. Nosler, barnes, sierra and berger to name a few. However, if I even thought I might someday want to deer hunt with my varmint rifle I would choose a .243 win.
In fact, there are so many cougars in my neck of the woods these days that I may upgrade to a .243 for my coyote hunting so I'm not undergunned.
Let us know what you decide.
good luck.

 

[smitty81]

I think im going to get the sps in a 22-250. Since i choose 22-250, i just as well get the left hand one like i want. I do like the VTR rifle better then the SPS but i think in the long run, i will be happier with a left han rifle. With the 22-250, i can use all the 223 bullets also and achieve the ballistics i want.

Just one question............the 22-250 has a 1-14 barrel. Can the 1-14 barrel stabilize the bullet because of the higher velocities over the 223?


thanks for your input guys.

 

[JD338]

smitty81

Good choice going with the 22-250. You can run some pretty good velocities and yes this will help to a point in a 1:14 twist.
I have the 700 VLS and get excellent accuracy with both the 50 gr and 55 gr BTs. Varget and RL15 gave me the best accuracy with good velocity.
I did try the 60 gr BT but it would not stabilize with the 1:14 twist. I also got sub .5 MOA with the older 60 gr PT. I bought some seconds earlier this year but they have a slightly different ogive and they do not shoot that well in my rifle.

I did post information on my loads back in the spring as well as how they performed on coyotes, you can use that for reference. Let me know if you need any help.

JD338

 

[Charlie-NY]

I am also left eye dominant even though I am right handed. I have right hand and left hand bolt action rifles. Without a doubt, I much prefer a right hand bolt gun when shooting lefty from the bench or while shooting varmints prone. It's just much easier to load and unload the rifle.

As to the 14" twist - I wouldn't really take it in the 22-250 either, at least not with heavier bullets in mind. Some 14" twist guns don't even shoot the long 55gr bullets well. The 12" twist should be the slowest twist on factory guns IMO.

My vote goes for the RH VTR rifle. The .223 will be much cheaper and easier to feed. The barrel will also have much longer life than the 22-250 if you intend to shoot it a lot.

 

[Powerstroke]

+1 with JD,

Probably a wise decision going with the LH version to begin with. Going to the 22-250 in the SPS, you'll probably benefit slightly too with the two inches of longer barrel.
My 22-250 is always pretty much my go to rifle, but like JD stated with the 1:14 twist about the heaviest I shoot are 55 grainers.
Can't really say I've seen a yote walk away from it yet when I do my part. :grin:

 

[FOTIS]

+2 with JD