REMINGTON 700 - One of the Best All Around Rifles?

The government could buy whatever it wanted. They chose Remington for nearly 55 years. The soldiers using it generally loved the Model 700/ M40. Because it is the best.

Said with deep respect for your posts, rifles, hunting and opinions, that’s unfortunately not why the US gov buys it. Remington was the lowest bidder that could supply the volume requested on time, there was nothing more to it, it didn’t outperform the Model 70. In fact the standard issue Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle was what Carlos Hathcock made the vast majority of his 93 kills with which is the Marine Core kill record.

The reason Marines today shoot M40/700s is because of contract bidding. It’s cheap, easily produced in quantity, and accurate. It is an inferior rifle to quite a few on a quality basis however. But there are many things that aren’t the best that do the job well. We had two fresh-ex SEALs this season as clients who shared my opinion of the Remington M700, one is a name a few fanboys here would recognize. Not a Remington fan.
 
Remington 700... the safest and strongest 2 locking lug bolt action ever made... and usually more accurate than other mass produced rifles.
 
Said with deep respect for your posts, rifles, hunting and opinions, that’s unfortunately not why the US gov buys it. Remington was the lowest bidder that could supply the volume requested on time, there was nothing more to it, it didn’t outperform the Model 70. In fact the standard issue Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle was what Carlos Hathcock made the vast majority of his 93 kills with, for the Marines as well. The reason Marines today shoot M40/700s is because of contract bidding. It’s cheap, easily produced in quantity, and accurate. It is an inferior rifle to quite a few on a quality basis however. But there are many things that aren’t the best that do the job well. We had two fresh-ex SEALs this season as clients who shared my opinion of the Remington M700, one is a name a few fanboys here would recognize. Not a Remington fan.

If it didn't work well, it would have never lasted 55 years of military service.
Although I don't question the ex-seal story, the model 700 has a lot of fans in multiple generations of military service. And a few hunters that depend on it as well.
Every rifle has its cheerleaders. And it's opponents. It's the reason there is choice.
55 years of military service. And nearly 60yrs of sportsmen use. And it's still essentially unchanged. Its the best. Or at least one of the best choices.

Btw I like Ruger as well. And most others too.
 
I'm also a Remington fanboy, but out of box quality leaves much to be desired unless you move up to their higher end lines. If hunting is your only intended purpose, you can't go wrong with a Ruger M77 as others have stated. It has a very robust and proven mauser action, controlled round fed, and nice fit and finish for the price point.

However, for "best all around" bolt gun I still have to give it to the 700. The amount of aftermarket parts available for it eclipse any other. Gunsmiths that specialize in the platform are a dime a dozen. Is it perfect? No. But it is definitely the most customizable if you decide to go down that rabbit hole.
 
I'm also a Remington fanboy, but out of box quality leaves much to be desired unless you move up to their higher end lines. If hunting is your only intended purpose, you can't go wrong with a Ruger M77 as others have stated. It has a very robust and proven mauser action, controlled round fed, and nice fit and finish for the price point.

However, for "best all around" bolt gun I still have to give it to the 700. The amount of aftermarket parts available for it eclipse any other. Gunsmiths that specialize in the platform are a dime a dozen. Is it perfect? No. But it is definitely the most customizable if you decide to go down that rabbit hole.

If you have to find either an older, better made and higher QC model or a much more $$$ newer model + spend $100s-$1000s modifying it with aftermarket stuff...how great is it really?
 
For me boils down to ask a top shelf / 5-6 figure gunmaker to choose an action for your build, notta one will choose or put their name on a M700. For the same price you can have the action they will work on.

This is very true. Interestingly enough, I had a long conversation with a very well known American tactical/competition/accuracy gun smith who also has deep military roots. He builds 99% of his rifles on 700’s or their clones. But he made zero bones about telling me that a Model 70 was 100 times the action.
 
Do you reload? Get whatever style of Rm 700 you like but get it chambered in 300 Win mag, its been proven forever. Put a good muzzle brake on it and it kicks like a 243. If you want to shoot grizzly's or elephants load up some 200 or 220 grain bullets and hang on but you will only need one shot. You want to shoot deer down to ground hogs put 68 grains of IMR 4064 in the case then top it off with Hornady 110 grain V-Max . 3600 feet a second like your 22-250 but with lots of balls and no kick. 308 and 30/06 which i shot many years don't have the bullet weight spread of a 300. I've put 4 shots out of 5 in the same hole at 300 yards BUT then you gotta cool it down.
 
If youre looking for rugged and reliable the winchester model 70 beats the remington 700 hands down. Andvif you want some just as reliable and rugged as the winchester but in plastic grab a tikka t3x. The 700 is not the best choice in its given price range.......
 
This is very true. Interestingly enough, I had a long conversation with a very well known American tactical/competition/accuracy gun smith who also has deep military roots. He builds 99% of his rifles on 700’s or their clones. But he made zero bones about telling me that a Model 70 was 100 times the action.

Well thats a Crock Of SH*T ! A M70 - 100 times better then a M700 Yea RIGHT ! :bsFlag: Hes on :onCrack:

But i'm sure you tell me DIFFERENT Because Guys like me Just don't know SH*T ! Oh WELL ! :p RJ
 
Well thats a Crock Of SH*T ! A M70 - 100 times better then a M700 Yea RIGHT ! :bsFlag: Hes on :onCrack:

But i'm sure you tell me DIFFERENT Because Guys like me Just don't know SH*T ! Oh WELL ! :p RJ

Thanks for the unbiased insight...REMINGTON jim...

Some people...for whatever reason...take any negative word on "their" gun/s, extremely personal!!!
 
If you have to find either an older, better made and higher QC model or a much more $$$ newer model + spend $100s-$1000s modifying it with aftermarket stuff...how great is it really?

Actually really great if you want to do something other than leave it as received from factory. Nobody needs to purchase a McMillan stock to have an adequate hunting rifle, but it's nice to have access to their entire catalogue of profiles by using the 700 action, etc, etc.

I guess my point is "all aroundness" is synonymous with versatility, but maybe that's just my subjective view.
 
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