Why almost no Remy 700 BDL's in .308 ???

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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
I don't have the money saved for a .308 bolt action yet... so I'm still looking around...

while I'll likely buy one of the new Mossberg MVP Varmint rifles, I really love all of my Remington 700 BDL's, so I often stray to Gun Broker & look for a 700 BDL in .308... I noticed, that there aren't many available ( like zero right now on Gun Broker ) there are 6-7... .243's, & 5-6... 7-08's, but no .308's... when I do see them, they command an extremely high selling price...

so is there a higher than normal demand, or did they make them in lower numbers ??? any reason why ( if they made less ), like they made them all with detach mags ??? still think .308 is a good hunting round, & the BDL platform is near perfect for the variety of shooting I do...

thoughts ???
 
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Jim243

New member
Interesting, you got my curiosity up with your post. I can understand you wanting the classic look of the BDL. But it seems that 308 is a caliber that is very rare for that model, of the calibers listed, 7 are discontinued and only 5 are available today (none of them 308). It is available in the VTR & SPS model 700's, but that is not what you seem to want.

As to the Mossberg MVP, it is not the same as a Remington, or even close in my opinion. The finish is coated not blued, the stocks that they come with are cheaper (either painted or laminated), the bolts sticker because of the way they pick up the cartridges from the mag. However, they are great at putting lead on target very accurately , there is no question about that. The adjustable trigger, medium bull barrel, adjustable length of pull system they use and who doesn't want a high capacity mag on their rifle.

It is a great utility gun, but not a collectors item.

Mine in 223 the MVP-Flex model. And yes, my next one will be in 308.


Jim
 
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M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
obviously there was no issue chambering, as there are .308 based cases in the .243 & 7-08 rifles... I see the BDL in .308 very rarely, & they command nearly always about double what a .243 or 7-08 are selling for...

perhaps those barrels all went into detach magazine actions ???

but yes... I do love the classic looks of a nice BDL
 
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hammie

New member
@Magnumwheel: Your post made me curious too. Like jim243, I just now went to the remington website and sure enough, no .308 chamberings are offered in the BDL, CLD, or CDL DM models. I was stunned.

I think the .308 is almost a perfect cartridge for North American big game. It is inherently accurate with just about any bullet/powder combination. Brass is cheap and plentiful, and the recoil is tolerable for most of us. To borrow and mangle a phrase from cheapshooter here, "If you know how many .308's you have, then you don't have enough." Although the same could be said for .223's. They're both SO useful.

And I, also, like the lines and features of the Rem 700 BDL. The bolt feels smooth and crisp. The push feed controlled round feed is a non-issue for me. Matter of fact I think the breaching of the 700 is much better and safer than the cone breach of the Win 70. I also like the back up iron sights on a hunting rifle.

The only thing I don't like is the Integrated Security System (ISS). The resulting "pregnant" bolt shroud destroys the classic looks of the 700. However, that's an easy item to change out.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
my only .308 is an M-14, so I think a .308 bolt rifle is sorely missing in my collection... I have a spot I saved in my bolt action corner of my gun room for a .308, & there are 5-6 BDL's in there, & they are some of the finest looking ( IMO ) of all my bolt rifles, & they are in some good company...

.308 would be the biggest of my short action bolts, & I agree it's capable of most any big game...

I honestly don't understand Remington dropping the .308 from this class of rifles ??? yup... I could get an SPS, or other, but it certainly wouldn't have the classy looks of a BDL with fine wood
 
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hammie

New member
...there are 5-6 BDL's in there
Click to expand...

@magnumwheel: Just curious. What are the chamberings of your Rem 700's? Well.. we know one is a .30-'06. (LOL)

It would be interesting to see what the responders on this thread have for remington 700's.
 
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jmr40

New member
The BDL and ADL were both discontinued several years ago and replaced with the CDL and SPS. There was enough demand for both to be brought back in limited production. You will see a handful of BDL's at places like Walmart etc., but only in limited calibers and 308 is not one of them They don't even list them on their website or catalog except for the occasional limited edition. The CDL is now the flagship of the 700's.

The ADL went down the same path. The SPS is the primary budget gun now, but they make a handful for big box stores. I occasionally still see one at places like Sportsman's Warehouse or Walmart.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
If I read the website correctly, the CDL is also not being made in .308 anymore either ???

I have a Custom BDL ( was chambered in 17 Remington ) barrel was shot out, so it was converted to 17 Fireball ( with ammo even more hard to find than 22 lr :eek: ) a heavy barrel ( slower twist ) 223, another custom ( originally chambered in 22-250 ) also shot out, that is now chambered in 6.8 SPC, a 100th anniversary of the 30-06 cartridge ( of course chambered in 30-06 ), & a 35 Whelen ... um... I think that is it for the BDL's :eek:

a couple of them here...

attachment.php
 
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eastbank

New member
i was in the market for a nice bolt action .308, a rem 700 if i could get one(i have a heavy barreled 700 in 308 and a m1a in 308). at a small gun shop i ask if they had any used or new rem 308,s in stock, the owner said he had no 700,s but just took a older rem 722 in .308 in trade and had not put out for sale yet. i ask to see it and he got it from the back of the store and i knew i wanted it, his price was 350.00 OTD. its a very nice rifle that had been glass bedded by a gunsmith with a ex stock and bore. with a 12x target leupold scope and match ammo used in my other .308,s it shot 3 shot groups at a inch or better from a good solid bench rest. i have found my nice rem .308 rifle, i hope you find yours, eastbank.
 
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hammie

New member
@magnumwheel: Nice collection. I particularly like the way they are displayed. I may borrow your idea.

I'm a fan of the fireball. I have the original .221 fireball chambered in a 700 classic.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
those are displayed in my gun safe room, so they are protected against theft & fire ( just didn't want someone trying to figure out where I lived, looking for an easy score :) )

the racks were my design, but, please, if you like them, go ahead & copy ( I've given a couple sets out for gifts ) if you have any specific questions, let me know... the mount system is also used ( slightly modified ) for handguns & my CAS shotguns... longer single shots & shotguns go on a vertical rack, so they don't take up so much wall space...

my "lil" 22 center fire is 2nd down on the left, a custom... fast twist ( 1 in 9" ) Ruger 77 22 Hornet, re-chambered to K hornet... I have a 221 Fireball in my Contender collection ( those cases are pretty hard to find right now as well... both the 22 Hornet & 221 Fireball ) BTW... there is a guy on Gun Broker going through all the work of forming 17 & 221 Fireball cases from 5.56 Military... necks are a match for Remington Factory... if you needed some more cases... I've been trying to bump up my ammo & component stock for these rifles, since the market is so crazy... I'm not proud of it, but I just bought 300 HSM rounds of 17 Fireball for almost as much as I spent doing the caliber change :eek: but they are loaded with the 20 grain Hornady bullets I'm currently loading, & I really needed the brass... if I didn't already have a big investment in R-P brass, I'd try some of the reformed 5.56 stuff
 
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Jim243

New member
I'll take the first, third & fifth down on the left (LOL). Fat chance of that (LOL).

Jim

Very, very nice collection.
 
M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
that would be my short action BDL's... custom 17 Fireball with a Burris 4.5 - 14 C-4 Wind Reticle scope, a heavy barrel 223, with a really nice stock, engraved Millet rings, & a 4.5-14 Burris predator quest scope... & my custom 6.8 SPC with a 3.5 - 14 mildot Nikon Prostaff 5... hmmmm... Thank you anyway... but I probably better hang on to those ;)
 
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