New Remington 710-Throw away rifle

[JK]

I was just looking at the Remington web site (www.remington.com) and saw their new 710 centerfire bolt action rifle. It has several new features such as the bolt locking into the barrel. The barrel is pressed in. What concerns me is the fact that this rifle can only be worked on by Remington. If you shoot out the barrel can it be rebarreled at a reasonable price or is it a throw away? More and more Gunmakers are doing stupid things to their firearms such as the above. There won't be any of these modern rifles around that are worth a damn to pass on from generation to generation. I am writing Remington to advise them that I will not buy any of their products made in such a fashion. I urge everyone to do the same and not to buy these types of firearms. Part of the joy of owning fine firearms is knowing that I can pass them to my son and grandson and know that they will have a valuable, finely made, repairable firearm, not some piece of junk only suitable for use as a tomato stake.
Thanks for letting me get my rant out-John K.

 

[James K]

Hi, John,

With due respect, I disagree.

I think Remington may well have something. Most hunters fire less than a box of ammo a year and at that rate, worrying about burning out a barrel is plain silly. The price of good sporting rifles has gone up to the point where the average guy can't afford one.

It is better to make a rifle inexpensive and keep a gun owner, even if the rifle is not made to last centuries (and who says it won't), than to have the prospective hunter look at the cost of guns and take up watching soccer on TV.

I remember the boohoos when the Germans made the "stamped out" P.38, when Ruger came out with the "cheap stamped" Standard Model .22, when Remington made their "cheap plastic" Nylon 66, when Ruger began to use castings to make revolvers and rifles, when Glock made that "cheap trashy plastic" pistol. A string of failures? I think not.

Nuff sed. At least Remington is being innovative and not sitting back and demanding more gun laws to protect their market.

Jim

 

[RiverRider]

Resistance to change is probably a trait we all share as shooters and gun owners...

Recall that the Model 788 was Remington's economy rifle, an alternative to the more expensive 700 (or was it the 725 back then??)...the 788's reputation for accuracy is stellar, and I have read a theory that Remington discontinued the 788 because it made the premium model look not-so-good.

Maybe the 710 will be a great rifle. Then again, maybe not. Time will tell.

 

[Battler]

About what is the street price of the Rem 710? A Rem 700 ADL 308 can be had for <$400. That's what it'd cost to shoot less than a couple of thousand good rounds through a barrel.

Is this gun even cheaper? IMHO - good idea. To change a barrel right, heck, it takes a couple of hundred these days to get a gunsmith to fart on your gun, let alone cost of parts/barrel etc. I say bring on the cheap barrelled actions


Battler.

 

[JK]

I guess I'm just one of those guys who likes rifles made tha old fashon way. Remember the Remington Viper .22? It has an ejector made of spring steel, and when it breaks, you send the rifle back to Remington for a new trigger housing assembly which costs $100.00. You can't just replace the ejector. There is a way to fix it but most people don't know how and either replace the entire trigger housing or junk the rifle as it is not worth spending $100.00 on. More and more parts are factory only supplied which increases the cost because of shipping (especially handguns). This is the type of thing that worries me. It is a rip off to the person who buys an economy rifle which turns out to be junk as soon as it needs repair. I don't know how the 702 will hold up. I guess that remains to be seen. Any way, I see where you guys are coming from, but I think I also have a point. Good Shooting to You All - John K.

 

[RiverRider]

My guess is that if the 710 is to become a "throwaway" action, it won't be around long.

Everyone relax. No one has announced that Remington will discontinue the 700. I'll bnet money that the 700 is here to stay for a long, long time.

 

[IamNOTaNUT]

Jim Keenan -

What's wrong with watching soccer on TV? I remember last year when one of the women took her shirt off. It started one heck of a controversy in the sporting world, but she WAS wearing one of those sports bras. Good looking woman too, if I recall correctly . . .

 

[Southla1]

Biggest problem with her taking off her shirt is BECAUSE she was wearing that bra! . OK, OK , to the 710 if the barrel is pressed in I see no reason why it cannot be ''sweated out'' and a new one machined to the right size and ''sweated in''. Another point is that if proper loads (mild) are used, and proper barrel cleaning done that rifle can last several life times even with a fair amount of shooting.

 

[RugerNo3]

The bolt on the 710 uses 3 lugs and locks into the barrel. Methinks not many smiths will be redoin' them. It makes for a reasonably priced rifle that the 5shot a year deerhunter will love. The only thing is its in the antique 06 & 270. Keeps the cartridge faithfull happy. good knockaround gun for the truck.:0

 

[Robert the41MagFan]

Take a real close look at the 2001 Remington 700 and you will see stamped features on some of the parts, just like the new 710's. Was very disappointed when I saw this!

Robert