Long gun advice

[Ws71890]

New to long guns. Was looking at the remington 700. Was curious if that was a good firearm and what peoples experiences with them.

 

[Ggreen]

It is a good firearm. We live in the land of plenty and there are plenty of other good bolt guns out there too. But if you get a 700 you are getting a good rile.

 

[singlesix]

Purpose? Hunting, long distance target shooting, etc. Take a look at Savage, another overall good brand.

 

[Mgderf]

The Remington 700 line has been a good rifle for decades, literally.
My uncle has one chambered for .25-06 that he bought new in 1962.
He plans to use it this year to take a deer.
This will be his first time hunting in 40 years!

 

[indyjohn]

I've been a Remington rifle snob for decades. My long range (>600 yds) bolt gun was a Remington 700 PSS in .308. It demonstrated consistent accuracy with quality retail ammo, it got better with handloaded rounds.

 

[KJQ6945]

I've been a Remington rifle snob for decades. My long range (>600 yds) bolt gun was a Remington 700 PSS in .308. It demonstrated consistent accuracy with quality retail ammo, it got better with handloaded rounds.

I knew I liked you for a reason.

 

[indyjohn]

I've been a Remington rifle snob for decades. My long range (>600 yds) bolt gun was a Remington 700 PSS in .308. It demonstrated consistent accuracy with quality retail ammo, it got better with handloaded rounds.

I knew I liked you for a reason.

Back at ya.

Shoulda never sold that gun. Had a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 6.5-20x50mm on top and eventually an Accuracy International AWCS stock. Shot it on the Atterbury 1K yd range one time.

 

[indyjohn]

I've been a Remington rifle snob for decades. My long range (>600 yds) bolt gun was a Remington 700 PSS in .308. It demonstrated consistent accuracy with quality retail ammo, it got better with handloaded rounds.

Back at ya.

Shoulda never sold that gun. Had a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 6.5-20x50mm on top and eventually an Accuracy International AWCS stock. Shot it on the Atterbury 1K yd range one time.

Anschutz target sight set as backup.

 

[Dead Duck]

....and they also make a .338 Lapua Magnum.

 

[two70]

Unless you really, really must have a Remington 700, you can get a nicer rifle for the same or less money, IMO. Last I checked, you could still find wood stocked Tikka T3s for ~ $500 with a little online shopping. There are also new Browning X-bolts for $500 minus a $50 rebate good through the end of the month available on Gunbroker. Bergara rifles are available for about the cost of a middle of the road 700, Rugers, Howas and Savages are available for a bit less. It all depends on your intended purpose and how much you want a Remmy.

 

[LarryC]

I have an older Rem 700BDL in .243, it is an excellent rifle. However they are many great choices today in other brands as two70 has posted. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the choices he has mentioned. I also have older rifles like a Winchester .308 lever, Marlin and others.

 

[JettaKnight]

My only complaint with the Rem 700 is that the pre-X triggers are super finicky. I bought a used one that had the trigger weight dialed way down - it would fire when you closed the bolt.

 

[T.Lex]

You can't go wrong with a 700, really. Just make sure to do your research on what model will be close to what you want, right out of the box. (You'll likely end up tailoring it to your specific needs/desires.)

When I was looking for a bolt gun, my budget was less. I don't "need" all that a 700 brings to the table, so was willing to compromise. There are some solid budget bolt guns in the market, too, if you want to save some money.

 

[natdscott]

Anschutz target sight set as backup.

D%#n, John. You sold that? Ouchy... Me? I'd delete that photo!

....and they also make a .338 Lapua Magnum.

...not that they should. I won't be lying down behind one.

My only complaint with the Rem 700 is that the pre-X triggers are super finicky. I bought a used one that had the trigger weight dialed way down - it would fire when you closed the bolt.

Jetta, there is NOTHING wrong with the Walker trigger. It is not finicky when used within it's design parameters.

Whoever messed with yours should have stuck to something they knew about instead of di$#ing with something as important as a rifle trigger.

The Walker is not a trigger that should be taken down below about 2 lbs, and the sear engagement ought not be set extremely fine. It doesn't have enough levers to be set to very low poundages.

What it WILL do, with just a little careful work and refinement, is reliably and safely hold back an extremely crisp break of about 2.5 pounds with a short, butter-smooth take up, and as little or as much backstop as you prefer.

On a different note. Since I haven't definitively proven that, in field conditions, I can outshoot a 4.8 lb Service trigger, I don't know why every TomDick&Harry seems to think their Remchester needs to have an 8 oz break...

-Nate

 

[Hookeye]

My only complaint with the Rem 700 is that the pre-X triggers are super finicky. I bought a used one that had the trigger weight dialed way down - it would fire when you closed the bolt.

The factory spring on the Walker is too short and of few coil, has minimal working range. You change that and you can make them light and safe.
Too many set the trigger where they want it, not where it can safely be set.
Changing the spring allows you to do it right. Brownells sells the kit for 10 bucks.
We had plenty of springs at work (had to experiment on type/length).
Due to slop in parts/housing...........you can only go where you can safely go, there is not set rule of X amount of turns or weight.
Some can be set lighter than others. Those that can, get moved to varmint rifles. The heavier ones go on deer rifles.
It's not rocket science, but old 700 triggers are nice and safe........if people know what to do.

Unfortunately most do not, and CNBC ran with the ignorance and made a show about it.

I still see folks cram rounds violently in and out of the chamber, on rifles with hinged floorplate mags.

SMDH

 

[Hookeye]

Bought a Model 7 a guy set the trigger too light, and a 600 that was mis adjusted to be super weird/scary/dangerous.
Spring changes and proper setting, w screws locked in position after........they were mighty fine.
The 600 was the sloppy one, 28 oz.

Guy was interested in that rifle and I told him test the trigger. It tripped when he closed the bolt and he loudly exclaimed I didn't know WTF I was doing.
So I countered with a loud defense of "get your GD finger off the trigger".
Yup,. used to heavy triggers, he had a bad habit of having his finger on there, when working the bolt (or other?).
I watched him screw up.
I then gave a demo of how safe the rifle was, slammed the hell out of the bolt, safety cranking and bouncing it off the floor. No trip.
But you put 28 oz on it and she'd go.
And that to me is a deer trigger.

Not everybody has the same level of touch,or awareness of where their damn fingers are.

They should be playing golf.

 

[Hookeye]

I had a 700 BDL .243 (1974) that was a 1.75" gun w factory ammo (100yds). I free floated and bedded it, and factory ammo was at an inch.
Handloads cut that to under .5"

Too shiny.

Got a 700 ADL synth at Galyans. Same handloads, but the rifle had the recoil lug bedded, free floated and the forend hollows filled w epoxy to stiffen.
It did .6 right off the bat and eventually w neck sized for that rig .5 (with 4 of the 5 into .330). I shot two 5 shots groups back to back like that.

My current ADL synth does .75" w factory ammo. Just a yote rig, I say screw it. It has had the bbl free floated and stock stiffened. Wears an X mark pro.
Its light enough I guess, have not scaled it. Not shooting for a while it seems light. 10 shots later it seems way heavy.

LOL

My 7mn mag BDL was a 1.2" rig with handloads. Good enough.
My .300 mag BDL was 1" w factory ammo.

The 7 mag had bbl free floated, that the only stock work.
The .300 winmag I floated and bedded. Shoulda kept that one, it had gold tiger striped walnut end to end.
But IMHO, the .300 (even back then when younger)........is the rig you shoot when you wake up on the right side of the bed.

7 mag way more comfy in recoil.

 

[Hookeye]

I paid 300 bucks for my like new 700 ADL synth.
Paid 200 for a used like new Leupold 4-12X AO.
Am happy with the rig


It wears a 3-9X now and will be getting an HS stock.

I had it out a couple yrs ago and it opened up to 1.5".
Was all pissed off, everything seemed tight.
Got home and went to pop it from the stock.............and plastic POS trigger guard had cracked.
Bought a steel one, torqued it............back to .75" rig w factory ammo.

So a 700 synth can be made into a good rig, if you do some stock work and drop another 35 bucks for an ADL steel guard.

 

[Hookeye]

I bought a Savage Axis, tweaked it and it shot great. But overall feel, stock dims and action..........like chewing tin foil.
Dislike the thicker 110s in looks too. So back to 700 I went.

Had a 700 Varmint synth blued fluted in .22-250. W the HS stock and heavy bbl, and 12X Leupold...........it shot well but flipped as bad as my first ADL w 3-9X.
Heavy guns are nice, get less shooter input (more forgiving).....but they suck on long loops in the fields. Balance also takes its toll.

I am sold on sporters for walking varmint rigs.
My Model 7 stainless w HS stock had a very lightweight bbl..............I dumped it and kept the 600. But then said screw it and just kept the ADL.

22" bbl gets ya some blast, but is more handy IMHO than a 24". Synthetic stock is the way to go. Looks...........suck. But they look the same after quite a few bonks

A gentlemans varmint rifle, like for PD or chucks..............yeah, get something with killer wood (my choice would be a Ruger #1B).

For yotes, in and out of trucks...........synth bolt rig.

 

[Ruger_Ronin]

No love for the Ruger m77? Have one in 30-06 I intend on hunting with this year.

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