I just picked up a .308 Remington 700 with 24" barrel. I mainly plan on shooting at Koko but I do have membership at Schofield so 1000 yards is not out of the picture. A Nightforce 3.5-15x50 scope was recommended since I will occasionally be shooting far. Do you think this is overkill? Also what do you recommend for the rail and rings? Should I be going with a 20 MOA rail or is that not necessary with a Nightforce?
Nice choice in rifles and nice choice in scopes! Scope is not over kill. Leave the break off and shoot F-class at Puuloa when a match is going on.
It will give you a real idea of the accuracy of the rifle and the shooter. It'll teach you to read the wind and get the dope on known distances. You'll need at least a 20MOA rail for 1K. This will keep the scope's adjustment lower on the scale, and you'll not run out of elevation if the need arises. Pick rings with the right height for your stock. The height should allow you to get a good solid consistent check weld on the stock, and not have you straining your neck, but high enough to give you clearance for the front objective.
I had built a rifle specifically for F-class at 1000 yards for Puuloa, but sadly they wont let us shoot 1K there.
So, I have not fired this rifle at long range yet... However, in my research I have found out much on shooting accurately at long range. Your ammo must stay supersonic at that distance if you wish to hit anything at that range with any consistency. If you don't reload, you'll need at least the 175 grain SMK (in factory ammo) and enough FPS to keep the bullet above the speed of sound for that distance. The loads that I developed in anticipation of competing in 1K matches are pretty warm, and also the rifle has a 30" barrel, to squeeze as much velocity out of the powder as possible. I wish I could test my ammo and rifle at long range on paper one day...
[/whining]