Check out Cabela's bargain cave. They are having a great sale right now.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

What ever scope you get or where ever you go, get one in your price range but make sure that if it doesn't suit you for any reason after you shoot it, you can take it back for another.... Most places, good places, will do that.

Personally I like Leupold scopes.  The VX-II line isn't too expensive at right around $300.  They are damned dependable and Leupold stands behind their product with a life time guarantee.  I inherited some rifles from my grandfather that were topped with old original VX-I's that were at least 30 years old and they were getting a bit hazy.  I sent them in and Leupold sent me new comparable scopes free of charge, no questions asked.  That sold me. 

I've had less expensive scopes but found that sooner or later you'll pay.  I ditched my last cheap scope after I missed the opportunity on a really nice 10 pt that had the sun behind him.  As soon as I looked thru the scope all I saw was the great white light.  That doesn't happen to me with my Leupolds. 

i use a leupold 3.5*9*50 and as you know leupolds are not the cheapest but are great scopes. If i didnt have a leupold, i would probably go with the Nikon monarch series.. fairly reasonable and the next best thing if you dont have a leupold. cheaper, and reliable. i prefer the 3.5*9*50. it costs a little more than a 3*9*40 of course, but u can still get everything you want with a 3*9*40 nikon monarch series.. then again, all depends on what your price range.

i believe the monarch series 3.5*9*50 reticle is in the 400$ range, and the 3*9*40 is in the 300$ range. with leupold its probably 100-150 more in each.

I recently picked up a brand new Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5x10x50 to put on my new Sendero 7mag.I got it for $354.00 shipped on Ebay.It's an awesome scope.Don't waste your time with those really cheap scopes on a magnum,they usually won't hold up very long and fail you when you count on them the most.I personally would not put on one that is less than $200.00.

I would strongly recommend the best scope you can afford.  Leupold are very good scopes, and they're probably one of the better values on the market, especially if you get their lifetime warranty.  One of the best places to buy a scope is SWFA.  They usually have very good prices. 

You made a great choice of gun and caliber - Remingtons, based on my experience, are one of the most accurate out-of-the-box rifles made.  And, pound-for-pound the 7mm Rem Mag is one of the best all around cartridges.  There will be people that will argue the point but it has an edge on the .30-06 in that its much flatter shooting, and an edge on the .270 in that is somewhat flatter shooting plus you can shoot up to 150 gr bullets with very respectable downrange performance (you can handload 175 gr). 

I have a 3.5x10 40mm VXIII on my 7mm Remington Mag Sendero and wouldn't trade for either.  BTW, whatever you buy don't get fooled into thinking you need the larger objective lens for low light conditions.  If you buy a 3x9 40mm scope the exit pupil for the scope will be 40/9 = 4.4mm.  The pupil of your eye can dilate up to 7mm in total darkness (if you're young), but at the end of shooting hours its likely 4-5mm.  If so, then you're potentially wasting money when buying a scope with a 50mm (50/9 = 5.4) objective that your eye won't need.  At higher magnifications the need for a larger objective becomes more obvious. 

Ok, guys, thanks a lot. That sure gives me a starting point. I plan to keep this gun from now on.

wohaliburton, you seem to know plenty. Obviously the gun was used, and it has been aluminum bedded, the barrel recrowned and had a trigger job done on it. It sounded good at the time, but I was ready to do the trade anyway. What does all that stuff mean, and is it good?

Oh...I shoot a Browning A-Bolt long action in 7mm Rem. Mag with a Nikon Monarch UCC scope in 4x12x50.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

I got a Nikon buckmasters on ebay real cheap. They are one step down from the Monarch series but for a gun you wont shoot much they are really good for the price. 4.5x14x50 is what I got and I reallly like the nikon reticle thick enough to see it but thin enough to see the game. I have shot leupolds also and they are awesome but for the price you can't beat nikon.

On the Leupolds, what's the difference between the VXI, the VXII, and the VXIII besides several hundred bucks?

Kevin,

Here's what I know about what was done your rifle (and there are plenty of guys on this site that can tell you this as well). 

If you're rifle is a straight BDL then the modifications were likely done by a gunsmith and not at the Remington factory.  If the gunsmith that did them knew his stuff, all of the above are very good modifications. 

 The trigger job just reduces the pull required to fire the gun.  Remington triggers are not great (takes too much to pull them), so that's definitely a plus.  They've tried to change this recently with a trigger redesign but I don't know how that's ended-up.

The barrel recrown supposedly helps with bullet stabilization as it leaves the barrel, helping the accuracy.  The Model 700 Senderos (as well as the PSS and others) have that done at the factory. 

Most of the aluminum-bedded guns I've seen have come from the factory too.  The action is set down in a aluminum bedding block so that when you screw the action/barrel into the stock it makes for a close tolerance fit, dampening action and barrel vibrations and thereby increasing accuracy.  The smiths I know usually work with fiberglass for bedding the action, in much the same manner. 

Two things I'd suggest when you start shooting: First, before you do anything I'd clean the snot out of you rifle.  A lot of folks don't clean their guns well and that can give you fits with accuracy, especially with hot rounds like the 7mm.  Try to get a brass rod too so you won't affect the rifling.  They're not easy to come by anymore and graphite might be another option.  As well, I'd run some copper solvent through it.  Copper build-up can really affect your accuracy.  Second, since it seems to me that most guns in a given caliber don't shoot all bullet weights well.  I'd get several weights/loads and try them out and see which does best (if you can, you might want to talk to the previous owner and see how the gun shot to save you some time, as well as the number of rounds put through it).  I'd also try to clean the barrel after every 10-20 rounds until I got a feel for when accuracy starts diminishing due to powder residue et al. 

Hope this helps.

Kevin,

The VXIII and VXII have clickable adjustment knobs while the VXI does not...the old VXIIs didn't either. I've had an old VXII before and believe me the extra money is worth it for the clickable adjustments since the friction knobs had a tendency to move then grab at a point...and if it didn't grab at the right point it was a major pain to try to get it to zero right. The new VXIIs have better coatings than the VXIs and the VXIIIs are better than the VXIIs. Coatings bet back to light gathering ability.

Thanks David. That does sound cool. I hope it's stupid accurate, but if it is, it's going to be wasted on me.

The previous owner told me that the Hornady 139 gr. Moly heavy mag was the round that shot the best for him. That's cool, I like the Hornady stuff.

I'll give that puppy a really good cleaning before I shoot it. Thanks for all the help. Now I am all exciterated.

So, the VX II wouldn't be a bad choice on a 7 mag?

The VX-II would be a really good choice.Leupolds are great scopes.Kevin,in the scope market and anything else,you get what you pay for.You have to look at it like this.At the price of ammo these days,if your shooting a lot of it just trying to site the darn thing in,add that to the price of a cheap scope.Now say you go on a hunt and the darn thing fails you,add that to the price of a cheap scope.Send the thing back to the factory for repairs a few times because it's a piece of crap,add that to the price of a cheap scope.Need I say more.Just suck it up and lay the money down.A good scope is a great investment and holds it's value just like a good rifle.Good Luck with your 7mag,I've been shooting one for the past 15yrs and it's a great caliber.

David and Mike, and others:

I am looking at pricing, and I have to slide the purchase of the scope past the banker when she's not looking, less she'll pop me right on the top of my head with a stick.

A VX II 3-9x40mm with the wide duplex is $299.00.
A VX I  3-9x40mm with the wide duplex is $219.00.

Is there really that much difference with the friction thing vs. the clickable thing? I don't plan to be sighting this thing in very often.

Kevin,

Yes there is a significant difference, at least in my experience.  The friction adjustment seems to never get it quite right.  You will adjust it to where you think it should shoot, but the ones I've had will move a little once you've shot a few times THEN stay put.  Pretty frustrating to get it right.  And, it seems to me the friction adjustments move more over time.

Let's face it, all scopes will move a little at first, but the clickables seem to keep zero much better.  And, if you don't shoot your gun often that's pretty important.

Mike's dead on - you get what you pay for with a scope. If you can't see your target, or can't feel confident of where the bullet will go when you pull the tirgger, regardless of how good the rifle is you don't have much of a rig.  I'd recommend a VXIII but if you're pinched from the 'banker' I'd go with a VXII.

Well, it really depends on what you really can afford. The scopes these folks are recommending are very good but for my finances, these are too high. I would recommend Simmons as an alternative. Not the cheap ones in the plastic bubble packs but they have others in a box that are very good quality for a decent price. I bought a Simmons 44 mag scope last year and it cost me just over $100.00 and it has a lifetime warranty and is fogproof, waterproof and shock proof. Of course like I said if you can afford $300.00 to $500.00 there are plenty of nice scopes out there. Leupolds, Nikon and Bushnell all make some very nice scopes. Get the best you can afford as it will definitely pay off in the end.

"Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can" Git-R-Done!

I too am a Leupold fan.  I use a VX-II 3x9x50 that I wouldn't trade for anything.  My son uses a VX-II 3x9x40 that also has never dissappointed him.  I would rather have a cheap rifle than a cheap scope, so much like  some of the other advice, I would scrape together all I could to get something worthy of the animal you will be shooting.  Even if you don't shoot much, it would be once to many times, if your scope fogged up or got knocked off easily, when that deer of a lifetime comes in your way.  Because believe me, it will happen when you least expect it.....

I have spent lots of money on nightforce, zeiss, and leupold, from 1.5x5 to to 5x20.

There are many comments above I fully agree with.

Leupold VXII, VXIII and Zeiss have taken a lot of dings and still shoot great.

I also have a VX7, great scope, I wouldn't buy it for a general hunting gun.

Hunt Hard. Fish Smart. Explore Texas.

Thanks for all of the help guys. I found me a used Leupold VX II 3x9x40 and I am going to give that thing a go. The price was right, and this way I get a lot of scope for my money!

My wife's not going to kill me to death now!

That should do just fine for you Kevin.You got a good scope to work with now.Good Luck to you.

Sounds great Kevin...you won't go wrong with a good Leupold.  Let us know how you do.

Kevin,

I spent 7 years on my department's SWAT team as a sniper.  As such I burned 1000's of rounds thru my rifle and knew it intimately.  Our rifles were Remington 700 Tactical which is essentially a Sendero.  These rifles come from Remington's custom shop.   We topped them with Leupold Tactical (VX-III) 3.5x10x40 scopes.   

So the rifle you have isn't far from what the "professionals" use.  I'll try to answer some of your questions like David H. did. 

Trigger:  Adjustments for "creep" and pounds.  Creep is distance the trigger moves before the firing pin is released.  I prefer little to no creep.  Then you can adjust the amount of force or pull to cause the trigger to release the pin.  I prefer something around 3 to 5 pounds.  

Muzzle Crown:  This is the very tip of the barrel.  It's the last point of contact the bullet will have with the barrel before it begins flight.  If the crown is oblong or worn more on one side than the other it may effect the flight of the bullet. 

The most common cause of crown damage comes from cleaning.  Many folks will clean their rifle from the muzzle.  Don't do it.  Remove the bolt and clean from the chamber forward.  Use the proper sized ramrod and one that is made of a material (or coated with a material) that will not damage the crown if contact is made.  

Always use a good quality cleaner.  I use Shooter's Choice because you won't get the "Hoppe's Hop" with first round after cleaning.  To clean, first run a cleaner soak patch through the bore and then a brass brush several times, followed by seveal passes with a wet patch again.  Let is soak a few minutes then run the brush followed by another wet patch and finally dry patches.  Repeat until the dry patches emerge clean and dry. 

Bedding is important to keep all the parts of the rifle fixed solidly together as one unit.  It's also important that the barrel not contact anything while firing, including the stock.  To check barrel to forestock clearance run a dollar bill between the barrel and stock.  If the dollar passes all the way up to the chamber then you are good.  If not, the stock needs some trimming. 

Aluminum bedding is just as good as glass bedding.  The aluminum block is inserted into the stock and the screws that attach the stock to the receiver pass through the block.  This  means that the receiver is attached to the block rather than the wooden or sythetic stock. 

As for the scope, get the VX-II.  Adjustment is much better and the coatings are better.  Remember my earlier posting about cheap scopes "washing out" when looking toward the sunset/sunrise.  These coatings help prevent that problem.  40 mm front objectives on quality scopes will allow you to see well beyond legal shooting light.  No need for the 50 mm and the additional $$$.   We used our tactical rifles/scopes in rural night time operations just fine.  Besides you can mount the scope lower and thereby obtain greater accuracy.  You want the scope as close to the bore line as possible. 

Thanks Mike.

One more stupid question: How do you take the bolt out of a 700 BDL?

I used to have one, and took the bolt out all the time to clean it, but I can't remember how. My son's Vanguard has a button you push. I thought I remembered that you pull the trigger, and it comes out, but on this one, it doesn't...

If its like my Sendero there's a little flat, square button-type release  just in front of the trigger, between the trigger and the front end of the trigger guard.  Push it while working the bolt back and the it should come right out.

Well, there you go. I went an looked, and you are right. The little button is right in front of the trigger. Push it, and the bolt comes right out.

Thanls once again David!