I need help with a bolt-action rifle?

Question

I have been shooting guns for a while and am very good with them. However, I may be purchasing a new bolt-action rifle (Remington 700) that will require a Scope.

I am new to the scope business. Is operating a scope (sighting, maintaining sight picture, wind, elevation, distance, measurements) easy/simple? Will I be able to teach myself how to become good with my rifle and scope?

Any tips for newcomers to the long-distance shooting world are welcome. I love shooting and long-distance precision shooting seems very fun and interesting.

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Using a scope is straight forward. It will come with a book that explains how to adjust it. Its a natural feel really and it easy to get on to.

Answer 2

On the top of the reciever you will see 4 screws on the 700 this is where your Base will go [sometimes called rail, mount and various other things] you will most likely have to buy this due to the fact most scopes don't come with a Base.

When you have purchased your Base you will attach it to the top of the reciever, apply a small amount of Loctite to each s***w and secure it down, I prefer to let it "Cure" overnight. The next morning inspect inside the reciever for any excess loctite and make sure the screws have not over extented into the reciever, you can visually inspect this with a small flashlight, its imperative that you do this, if not your bolt will not slide forward  resulting in damage to your bolt.

Next you will fasten your rings to the mount. Be sure to leave these a little loose so you can adjust you scope for the proper eye relief. The rings will be of a 2 piece design. Attach the bottom part of the ring to the base and tighten just enough to grasp the mount, so as to be able to adjust your scope, frontwards, backwards and to even out the scope.

Take your top section of your rings and if they are a good quality set their should be 4 screws per ring. Appy loctite to screws individually and tighten in an X pattern on both rings. Don't tighten down tight yet, hopefully you will have a rifle rest of good quality so as to be level. With the rifle in the rest and level, place your cheek on the butt of the rifle lightly as if you were going to fire it. Adjust your scope to wear you either have to move it forward or backwards for a clear sight picture, make sure you that you do not see any shadows on the side edges or the top edges of the inside of the scope.

Once you have done the above, place your cheek on the the butt of the rifle and check for "camber" this is where your crosshairs are canted, what you want to do is slightly "twist" clockwise or counter clockwise to allign your crosshairs to where they are perfectly alligned vertically. The idea picture is to have them alligned so that they are true with the butt of the rifle. Then tighten down your rings slowly in an X pattern again. let them "cure" overnight.

Sighting in your rifle will be a little tricky, my preferred method is just getting it on paper first, meaning set out your paper target out about 25 ft you just want to get the scope sighted in on paper with the minimum amount of ammo, alot will disagree saying 50 to 75 yards but unless you have someone spotting for you then all you will accomplish is wasted ammo. Get it to hitting on paper at 25 ft then you can move out to 50 yards then 100 yards and so forth.

These are just the basics its just a little more complicated than just slapping a scope on and going out and expecting it to hit where you aim.

If it is to time consuming for you or you don't feel comfortable doing it your self, then a good armorer or gunsmith can do it for you plus bore sight it as well for a reasonable cost and can explain in better detail if you have questions, I have found its alot easier to learn by watching as to try to read all the technical details.

As far as long distance shooting just remember the breathing techniques as well as practicing as much as feasible, over time you will learn what works for you and things will come naturally with time. Good luck.

Answer 3

There are many different types of scopes.

For long distance shooting a variable scope with a large objective lens for good light gathering is best.

Here are some link to help you understand how to use them;

http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-choos...

http://www.binocularsdirect.com/ssrf.htm...

Go with a good well made scope and avoid the cheap ones. Many people spend as much on their scope as their rifle, sometimes more.

It should be; dust proof, shock proof, water proof and fog proof.

Answer 4

First of all...

DON'T put your eye too close to the scope, for the recoil will cut your eye.

Have fun...it's easier shooting with a scope, and I'm sure after a few practice runs you will think so too.

Answer 5

Beeds and METRO gave good answers with good links.

I would only like to add that before you shoot long shots learn to be very good at short range. Because if you cant keep a small group at 100 yards you will never have one at 300 yards.

And buy a good scope, those cheap ones will drive a man nuts!

Answer 6

It sounds like you're on the right path as a Remington 700 is an exceptional rifle.  I always recommend that if you are going to have a scope mounted have it done by a professional gunsmith as they will mount it 100% properly and also testfire it to make sure that it is accurate.  From there you will need to do a lot of bench firing to learn the rifle.  Use the same type of ammunition while you are learning how the rifle fires so that you have consistency.  You will eventually want to reload your own rounds so that you can get the precision that you want.  I love reloading, but just don't have the time for it.  In regards to scope operation, you may want to read up on some sniping books because they describe how the wind, temperature, etc will effect your shot.  The elevation and windage screws are easy to work, but getting your rifle dialed in can be a very complex process, but can be fun as well.  Good luck

Answer 7

Using a scope is simple, sighting it in, not so much. If you have ever shot a rifle before all you do is put the stock to your shoulder and look into the scope instead of the iron sights. Adjust the way you look into the scope until you can see everything including the crosshairs. Then all you have to do is put the crosshairs on the target, squeeze the trigger and don't blink or flinch. However, if the scope is not centered, you are wasting your time. Take it to a gun shop where you can have it bore-sighted, or buy a sighting laser and do it yourself. This is much better than chewing up hundreds of dollars in ammo.

Answer 8

HI.....Its not to hard to use a scope..... The first day out with your rifle scope combination be sure to start at 25 yards, then 50 and work your way up... Do not make the common mistake if starting at 100 yards. You will most likely miss and the problem comes in where you dont know where the bullet went. It most likely will miss the whole target paper and you wont know where your at-up-down-left-right-etc.... Start closer when sighting in your scope...

I like Nikon scopes -- Check these out and the informative video here....

http://www.opticsplanet.net/nikon-rifles...

How to buy a scope at OpticsPlanet..

http://www.opticsplanet.com/info/how_to_...

Heres some more info you wont want to miss.....

http://www.6mmbr.com/optics.html

Answer 9

if you've got any common sense instead of all book sense like most of these braggers on here its very simple

i learned all about it before the age of 10 by myself

of course thats all i know is common sense what book knowledge i have is minimal [not ashamed at all]

Answer 10

you should be able to teach yourself to work it, it's not that difficult, just make sure you know what k***s are what, and even if you do forget make an adjustment with one and see which way your shot is going.  as for sight picture and all that, it's a lot easier than iron sights, and the other factors you already have dealt with.  Just make sure you zero the scope at the recommended distance

Answer 11

you will be dealing with wind and other weather variable with or with out or a scope but unless you are buying a sniper rifle u really wont have to worry about it