Remington 700

[LightningMcQueen784]

Hey guys (and girls),

To those of you do have shot them, I've been thinking long and hard about acquiring a Remington 700... I've had an airsoft version of the M24 which was fun, but I've been itching to get a nice long range rifle. What are your thoughts on them? likes and dislikes?

Do any of you currently own these babies? I'm gonna be at the MachineGun Madness on Sunday, and would REALLY appreciate it if someone could bring one so I can get a feel for it (not actually firing it, but shoulder it, get a feel of the action, etc.).

Thanks!!
LMcQ784

[mauser]

Great gun, you can't go wrong.
The Remington 700 action is VERY popular for making custom guns for competition. There's a reason for that.

[RocketFoot]

Awesome gun! The action is a smooth as a woman's thigh but not quite as dangerous! What caliber you lookin' for? I have one in 7mm Rem mag

[arrrrgh15]

Mine's been good to me.

Like Mauser said, it's a good base for a custom/comp gun.

[Tomcat088]

lol, Remington 700's are nice and what I prefer. Winchest model 70's are great rifles also, but these days since FN makes them now, they're a bit steap. It also makes it hard to find the old ones because people grabbed them up as collector's pieces. Savage makes some good bolt guns, also. I don't think their actions are quite as smooth, and there's certain triggers and things that you can't get for them. Because of the bolt design, you also can't have the action "coned". This is a nice feature that can aid in feeding, but nothing that is necessary or that would make one more accurate or safe than the other. One thing I don't like about the savages is that they don't have a "half cocked" position for the bolt. On a remington if the bolt is halfway down, the trigger cannot be pulled, but on a savage if the bolt is half cocked and you pull the trigger, the rifle will discharge and the bolt handle falls down.

Rocket, if you think a Remington 700's action is smooth as a woman's thigh, you need to cycle a BAT sometime. Not that Remingto 700's aren't smooth, just saying that some of those custom actions are unbelievably smooth. Note that they wouldn't work well for harsh or dirty conditions.

LightningMcQueen, keep in mind that there are tons of "flavors" of remington 700's. There are sporter and hunting version, tactical version, heavy varmint style rifles, all kinds. Either way, the actions are quite nice, tons of accessories for them, and you can always build up and improve one.

[4XLT]

like others said you cant go wrong with a 700, armed forces sniper rifles are based on the 700 platform also , they use .308 and .300 win mag calibers .

my personal preference would be the .300 winchester magnum, it can shoot a farther distance with more power on target than the .308, but with more recoil.

[st.marys]

I picked up a used one a few years back and refinished the stock, and used a gold fill kit and filled in some of the markings in gold. it turned out way above my expectations. i topped it with a nikon pro staff and it's absolutely one of my favorite rifles. i only paid $150 for the gun, and right i wouldn't even sell it. it's a pretty old one, since the safety is the one that is either on, or off. No middle safe so you have to take it off safe to unload the gun. it's in 30.06, and it shoots any ammo well.

[CoyoteJack]

I have a 700 in .308 made in 1965. The only repair it has ever needed was an extractor spring a year ago. It has had a considerable amount of ammo run through it (I enjoy target practice almost as much as hunting) and never failed to put meat in the freezer when I do my part. The number of them in use both civilian and otherwise is a good sign of their reliability and accuracy. There is little bad to be said about them.

[LightningMcQueen784]

Thanks, guys!

I know there are lots of "flavors" of them... still deciding. But the fact that I have decided on .308 kinda narrows it down. Now, would one chambered for .308Win take the 7.62NATO round? I chose that because it performs well, and there's plenty of ammo out there. I know other 30cal ammos do really well too, but they're really expensive to shoot.

I'm glad all of you owners love your 700s... and I love how customizable they are too! Like you all said, the action's been around for years, the armed forces, Law enforcement agencies, hunters, and competition shooters all trust their lives on it. That just shows how reliable and dependable this firearm is as long as you take good care of them.

So does anyone have one that they'd be willing to show me at this weekend's shoot? I know there's a difference between a regular action and a short action for the .308 and .223 rounds, but being able to get a feel for either of them would be nice! (better than nothing, right?)

Also, what are your thoughts on bipods? are they nice for hunting? aside from mobility, what's the difference between a bipod and using sandbag? Sandbag sounds more sturdy to me... but am I wrong in that assumption?

Thanks again in advance!
LMcQ784

[arrrrgh15]

Short action will accomodate .308. I think some would say the shorter action is stiffer and therefore more accurate. As far as cheap, last time I did the math the match grade stuff was over a dollar a pop. I try to stock up on it when funds are available.

Carrying around a sandbag in the field would get a little tiring. When I'm pissing around at the range and shooting to zero I use a sandbag. For me it's a little more stable. In the field I use the bipod or pack for shooting prone.

Good luck with your rifle search/purchase.