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View Full Version : Got the SPS broke in


BigSlick
12-26-2009, 10:51 AM
Took it out in the cold, ran what I had left of factory rounds I accumulated over the last no tellin how many years.

One shot, clean, repeat x 5

Two shots, clean, repeat x 5

Five shots, clean repeat etc.. x 4

My arse is wore out from runnin da rod.

I needed to get the brass off the left over stuff anyway, figured no use in wastin any of what little powder I have left or any of da uber cool SST's.

A blatant reminder how much factory ammo sucks. Best of the bunch, Federal red box 150's - just over 1½" at 110 yds.

Coulda just been me, but I was usin a good rest, good bags, sittin on top of a 4" concrete bench, rock solid as hell. Dialed up enough to see the target and about 8" around it.

It might be good enough ta put some meat on the table, but no way I'd be happy with that long term.

So, I took da last 4 rounds of a load dat worked real good in da last 30-06 I had an tried em, figured I needed ta work up anyway, so I might as well get rid of em.

47.8gr H4895
WLR
Winchester brass
3.240

Got em all right on an inch with a dirty barrel.

Not a miracle, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

The X-Mark trigger breaks real nice, but was a touch heavy out of da box. I backed it off ta da 3 lbs minimum setting and it felt a lot better.

Remington says they set em at 3½ lbs at da factory and I think that is purely wrong. After takin the trigger down all the way it felt a LOT lighter, much more than ½ lb.

It still ain't perfect, but it breaks great, absolutely zero creep and has a real good feel to it, just a lil heavy. I'm gonna work with it a little and see if I can get used to it, if not, it's gone.

The stock has got to go, no way around it. It feels funky. LOP is good an all, and it shoulders great, but the grip is too small for me ta comfortably settle my big paws on... gotta go to a palm swell of some sort. I feel like I got too long a fingers and nowhere to put the rest of my hand between the grip and the trigger.

Bringin it to ready sets my middle knuckle on the trigger naturally.

I gotta say one thing though, the trigger face is outstanding, excellent contour and feel, almost da best I ever felt. Once I can get my fingers and grip settled right, it is gonna be nice.

The recoil pad is el cheapo and fit like crap if ya take a hard look at it, but it is very effective. Shoot soft as a whisper.

I'll start workin up next time I'm home, but, I gotta say overall I like the SPS a lot. Just gotta work the stock thing out and see how that trigger feels after a little meaningful bench time.

I planned on swappin da stock anyway, I was just hopin maybe not. It might be a little better with gloves, but gloves won't make my fingers any shorter, and it a always bug me, so it gonna go.

Overall fit and finish is great, nothin crappy on it at all except the neoprene recoil pad. I'm a go to another stock, so it ain't a big deal.

I'm happy with it ;)

creophus
12-26-2009, 04:00 PM
Where's the pics Slick?? Glad you're happy.

ISUSteve
12-26-2009, 09:54 PM
Which SPS did you go for?

BigSlick
12-26-2009, 10:25 PM
Std model, stainless.

Just wanted a base gun to (possibly) use for something more serious, if the urge/need/option arises.

Mainly to have a long action, in the greatest bolt gun caliber ever made, to mess with. I sold my last one a while ago, been dealin with the jones on me ever since.

I'll mainly use it as a load development / range gun, with a little hog an whitetail hunting for the freezer. May end up being turned into a varmint rig. As you know, '06 isn't the best pure varint caliber out there.

But, it is the most flexible caliber I load, so I figured a base gun to start, wring it out good, see where my results take me. I'm pretty jacked about workin the SST's, lotta new stuff since I last looked at bullet du jour hype.

It may turn out to be just a load workup and freezer filler gun. If so, I'm happy with that. If I can find any suprises with the current bullet offerings and some new workups, may turn into something a little more all around and see some varmint use. If so, I figure the base gun is the best option to start with when building something a little more serious.

MakeMineaP99
12-26-2009, 10:38 PM
I can't highly recommend the Houge enough. Priced aggressively and one great stock. Not pretty, but neither is any composite.

If you're going to be hunting white tails, it's hard to beat a 150-168 Ballistic Tip over a generous charge of RE-19 which is Nosler's "accurate" load in the sixth edition. Tailgunner has shot more than a few deer with this load out of his custom Mark X and turned me onto it.

I'm not real familar with the triggers Rem is using these days. I've played with the old ones, "non-adjustable", and cleaned them up. You might look into cleaning it up yourself before you shelt $100-200 out for an aftermarket unit from Jewell et al if you feel so inclined.

BigSlick
12-26-2009, 11:26 PM
I been workin with Rem triggers for years, and can usually get a decent feel/let off out of one with a little careful work and maybe a spring change or very carefully cutting part of a coil.

Remington is plastering their warning about 'only a factory authorized repair station or licensed, qualified gunsmith' doing the mod work on any and everything with these triggers.

I think it has to be in part a result of some of the issues with a small batch of 700 triggers back in '02-'03 firing when the safety was supposedly engaged. One of the lawsuits must have settled and Remington is still stinging about it. That's pure speculation on my part, not fact, just a hunch/opinion. I am assuming some lawyer decided a minimum 3lb break and a wad of warnings were mandatory.

I took the stock off, the new triggers don't appear to be a hell of a lot different from the old versions except the external adjustment, but, I haven't opened it up (yet). Two screws, poxied in, plus the external adjustment. As you know, most of the (now) old school versions had three internally adjusted screws.

The stock trigger is border line acceptable. Just good enough to make ya think maybe, but not light enough for me to be 100% happy with it. It has absolutely zero, and I do mean zero, take up, creep or garbage of any kind. One simple click, that's it.

If it was just a touch lighter I would be 100% happy with it, but, I was thinking with every pull 'it shoulda broke by now' then... finally, a perfect break.

If I can't get it any lighter than it is, it's gonna bug me every time I pull the trigger. I'm going to check around on Monday to see if any smiths local know there is a difference between original X-Mark and new version. I'm not in love with the idea of dropping any bucks on trigger work, but I will if it's necesary and I can't do it myself.

I ordered a Hogue for this about two weeks ago ;) It ain't high dollar, but I like the feel of em and the price is right. For what I'm going to do with this gun, it will be great.

ISUSteve
12-27-2009, 06:22 PM
My SPS came with a Hogue, but just the piller bedded one. The stock flexes if you put it on a bi-pod and touches the barrel. Most guys toss theirs out; I hogged the forend out until it didn't touch anymore. Its not ideal, but it works. I'm looking at upgrading stocks in the future, but not yet.

Did you get the pillar bedded or full-length bedding block?

BigSlick
12-28-2009, 02:19 AM
Full length, Model 70003

Figured it was gonna be easier in the long run ta just go with what I want. For the bucks, it's a hell of a deal compared to McBros and HS. $177 bucks delivered

http://www.hoguestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=654_14&products_id=172

http://www.hoguestore.com/images/products/70001L.jpg