Remington 700 Sendero SF II
I have lightweight rifles for hunting deer at short ranges, perhaps up to 300 or 400 yards. I have a luggable precision rifle which is theoretically suitable for long ranges (1200+ yards). I wanted to have a medium-weight rifle capable of taking deer and elk at medium ranges: up to 600 yards. The solution seems to be a heavy .30 caliber bullet with a high ballistic coefficient fired at fairly respectable velocities out of a gun with at least ½ MOA accuracy. In my opinion, the ideal total weight of rifle and scope for this rifle is 10 lbs.
Practically speaking, this is the rifle I will use when I am planning to hunt over big open fields.
The Remington Model 700 Sendero SF II meets my weight requirements. It weighs 8½ lbs. without optics, has a fluted 26" heavy-contour barrel, and is stainless steel with an H-S Precision fiberglass stock with full-length aluminum bedding blocks. The rifle comes with no accuracy guarantee, however it is intended to be quite accurate for a factory rifle, and it is generally reported to be ½ MOA accurate with handloads.
| Caliber: | .300 Remington Ultra Magnum |
|---|---|
| Barrel: | 26" Heavy Fluted, Stainless Steel, 1:10" RH twist |
| Action: | Stainless Steel |
| Stock: | H-S Precision fiberglass, full-length aluminum bedding blocks, twin front swivel studs |
| Trigger: | X-Mark Pro single-stage |
| Scope: | Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 w/MOA FFP reticle |
| Weight: | 8½ lbs w/o scope |
I purchased this rifle in 2020. It appears to have been manufactured in 2015.
Trigger
The trigger pull on this is far too heavy. I got it to adjust down to like 4 or 4½ pounds. With as much recoil as this gun imparts, I don't want to be struggling with a heavy trigger.
Probably the trigger to get is the Geissele Super 700 Trigger.
I don't see the point in attempting any more load development until I have an improved trigger in this rifle. Also, some Federal 210 primers.
Optics
I had initially thought that a 14x scope would be just right for this rifle. I would have no problem lining up cross hairs on the vitals of a deer at 550 or 600 yards using a 14x scope. However, I am now looking at a potential of 850 yards. Therefore, I opted for a scope with higher magnification.
I have the Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 FFP with the MOA reticle, which looks great on paper and reviews quite well. I was very impressed with the glass for the price in the Vortex Crossfire II I have on my Howa. I can't complain about the price.
Warne Mountain Tech 7222M rings
Warne V402/476M bases
When the time comes, I will almost certainly zero this rifle at 200 yards.
Load Development
When I initially examined ballistics to do the job, the 200 gr. Sierra GameKing appeared to be the bullet for the job. Since then however, Hornady and Nosler have both come out with bullets designed for long range hunting, having high ballistic coefficients and being designed to expand at low velocities.
The bullet for the job appears to be the 200 grain Sierra GameKing. I have been very happy with the accuracy of the .358" SGK. If fired with a muzzle velocity of 3000 fps, it will retain 2000 ft-lbs of energy at 550 yards and 1500 ft-lbs of energy at 750 yards, and it will reach the target with fairly low wind deflection. The cartridge for achieving that velocity is the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum.
Update: Hornady is now making 200, 212, and 220 grain ELD-X bullets, which have very high ballistic coefficients (.597, .673, and .650 respectively) and are designed to expand for hunting.
| Bullet | BC | MV | 1500 ft-lbs | 2000 ft-lbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hornady 200gr ELD-X | 0.597 | 3000 | 800 yds | 550 yds |
| Hornady 212gr ELD-X | 0.673 | 2950 | 850 yds | 600 yds |
| Hornady 220gr ELD-X | 0.650 | 2875 | 750 yds | 550 yds |
| Sierra 200gr GameKing | 0.560 | 3000 | 750 yds | 550 yds |
| Nosler 200gr Partition | 0.481 | 3000 | 650 yds | 450 yds |
| Barnes 200gr T-TSX | 0.546 | 2940 | 700 yds | 500 yds |
| Barnes 200gr LRX | 0.546 | 2940 | 700 yds | 500 yds |
| Barnes 200gr TSX | 0.550 | 2940 | 700 yds | 500 yds |
| Nosler 190gr AccuBond LR | 0.597 | 3100 | 750 yds | 550 yds |
| Nosler 210gr AccuBond LR | 0.661 | 2950 | 800 yds | 550 yds |
Hornady 212 gr. ELD-X (3077)
Nosler 210gr AccuBond LR (58317)