Remington "700"

[j.chappell]

So, a lot of people are always advising others to purchase a 700 over another rifle because they are customizable.

So, tell me what can you do to a 700 that you cannot do to any other bolt action rifle?

J.

 

[jmr40]

If you have enough time and money, nothing. It is just that more custom parts are available and there are more people who know how to work on them.

 

[j.chappell]

Thank you. I will admit that there is a greater choice of aftermarket parts. Instead of 3 or 4 triggers you have a million, instead of 15 or 20 stocks you have a million.

I just don’t see any big deal. I am partial to Ruger and have never felt as if I were handicapped when building a rifle.

A quality smith goes a long way. You don’t need a lot of aftermarket this and that when you have someone that knows what they are doing do the work.

J.

 

[FredT]

R vs. Rem

I have never found the Ruger rifles to be as accurate out of the box as the Remington 700s.

 

[jmr40]

I'm not the type to fight over one brand vs another. I own Remingtons, Rugers, Winchesters, and Tikka rifles and have owned at least one of most everything out there in the past. All have their good and bad points. I bought my first rifle in 1974 and was a dumb teenager who bought what the guy at the hardware store reccomended. A 30-06 Remington ADL. Still have the rifle although in now has a Brown precision stock on it. The only thing I have found to be more accurate are my Tikka's. I've bought and then sold several Remingtons since then because they just did not perform as well as my older gun.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for how Rugers are built. I own 2 stainless synthetic models and have found them to be plenty accurate for hunting. Maybe not the 1st choice for competition. Right now I am really torn between Tikka and Ruger for my favorite. I wish I could combine the Rugers ruggedness with the Tikkas light weight and accuracy.

 

[j.chappell]

I have had better luck with Ruger than I have Remington. But what I am talking about in this thread are modifications.

J.

 

[j.chappell]

jmr40,

Very good points.

Oh, and although I am not a Remington fan, I would buy just about any Remington made in the 70's.

J.

 

[Brad Clodfelter]

j,

I had a Ruger 243 synthetic stock model 77 with the black zytel stock. It was a shooter at first. But one day about a year after I bought the gun the barrel decided to quit shooting as good as it did. I don't know why it did, but I traded it on another gun. I have always had good luck with Remington 700's which you know that I am partial to. They just seem to fit in my hands, and they shoot very well for me. My Rem 700BDL 25-06 shoots very well. And I have never had a problem with ejection from the tiny extractor that Remington uses. I think the bolts on the 700BDL's are very nice. Every one I have owned was extremely smooth. The 700BDL 7MM Rem Mag didn't shoot as good as the 25-06, but that was more to the barrel heat and not really the barrel. The first 2 shots from the 7MM Rem Mag were always deadnut. The Sendero 25-06 would stack bullets at 100yds. It was one of the best shooting bolt guns I ever owned. I could shoot 5 shot groups inside a nickel with Fed Premium loads. And that was shooting without letting the barrel cool. I believe I could of shot 5 shot groups inside a dime had I let the barrel cool some on shots 4 and 5.

I guess a lot of folks just feel like I do about the 700 bolt guns. So do the smiths that seem to build custom guns by using the 700 action. They are like I said the most popular bolt action amongst the hunting crowd since their introduction back in the 60's I believe.

 

[FrankenMauser]

... Try to sell it for a decent price at a gun shop, because they already have 95 of them in their 'used' rack? ...


I have nothing against the 700. It's a great rifle. But... it's like buying a Ford Taurus. Everyone has one, the market is saturated, and you lose money because of it.

 

[j.chappell]

I was really turned off by the last 700 I bought.

I was in the market for a new varmint rifle and bought a Remington 700 VS SF in 220 Swift. I ordered it along with a Burris Signature 8-32.

The rifle looked good, functioned well but it wouldnt shoot worth a hill of beans. I tried all the factory stuff I could get my hands on, then I started loading for it, still nothing better than 1 1/8". Then an older fella I worked with told me to reduce my loads a little, so I did. The darn thing wouldnt shoot under 1" till my loads were running middle of the road 22-250 velocities. I didnt want a 220 Swift that I had to play patty cake with to get it to shoot under an inch so I sold it.

I know, I probably just got a bad one but it really turned me off.

J.

 

[Inspector3711]

Hmm.. I have a 1 year old VSSF in .22-250 that will shoot sub .500" groups. I have a LVSF in .223 that it has taken a year to zero in on the right load for but it is capable of .500" groups as well.

 

[j.chappell]

Hmm.. I have a 1 year old VSSF in .22-250 that will shoot sub .500" groups. I have a LVSF in .223 that it has taken a year to zero in on the right load for but it is capable of .500" groups as well.

"Hmm.." What does that mean? Do you doubt me? Hey I don’t hate 700's I have a few older varminters that I would never part with.

This thread wasn’t to get into how accurate your 700 is it was intended to answer the question as to why everyone seems to think that the 700 is so much more customizable than any other bolt action rifle.

J.

 

[Brad Clodfelter]

j,

I think he was just stating that his shot well. Your right that you must have just had one that the barrel wasn't probably made to par like most of the Remington bull barrels are that are put on the Senderos and varmint type rigs.

I can't tell you to try another someday, but hopefully you will get to shoot a friends, or maybe a co-worker or someone you meet at the range who has one that shoots like it should.

 

[BLS700]

I've made the mistake before of saying I chose a 700 because of being able to customize it. To my knowledge I don't think there's anything you can do to a 700 that you can't do to other rifles. And from what others on this forum have said there are easier rifles to work on such as the Savage's. I just think that its the amount of choices available in a wide variety of price ranges. If you want to upgrade, say for example the stock, you aren't limited to only high or low end products. You can choose what fits your budget. I agree with the point that a good quality gunsmith goes a long way. Parts that don't fit right don't help.

 

[Alleykat]

I hate Rugers; love 700s. Just made at least as much sense as the initial question!

 

[j.chappell]

I hate Rugers; love 700s. Just made at least as much sense as the initial question!

Really, a statement you made in regard to what you love and hate makes as much since as me asking why people consider the 700 to be more customizable? Please explain.



J.

 

[Inspector3711]

Right... I was just saying that I have had good luck with the Remingtons I own. I though the LVSF was just average and struggled to shoot groups much under an inch until I recently found that it likes bullets that are set back .040".

 

[Inspector3711]

I just reread your post before my intitial reply J.... As I mentioned above, I thought my LVSF was a turkey. Handloading for it turned out to be key. I couldn't find factory ammo that it liked. That was what I was trying to point out with my statement. I should have been more specific.

 

[j.chappell]

until I recently found that it likes bullets that are set back .040".

I too have come across this, not in a 700 but in one of my Encore barrels. It shot ok but really came into its own when I backed them off by .035". Funny how it goes against what we have been taught.

J.

I just reread your post before my intitial reply J.... As I mentioned above, I thought my LVSF was a turkey. Handloading for it turned out to be key. I couldn't find factory ammo that it liked. That was what I was trying to point out with my statement. I should have been more specific.

No problem at all.

J.

 

[223 shooter]

So, a lot of people are always advising others to purchase a 700 over another rifle because they are customizable.

So, tell me what can you do to a 700 that you cannot do to any other bolt action rifle?

Well , any rifle can be upgraded or customized , you are correct.

However , as Ruger was mentioned above , one may have a more difficult time finding a custom riflesmith that works on Ruger rifles , upgrades like match barrel installs or action truing. One of the websites I visited the smith even stated he did not work on Ruger , may have been the bedding that he would not perform.

For my own upgrades I like that I can find a Jewell trigger for my 700 that I can install in a few minutes and provides a true benchrest quality trigger.