Rem 700 action or other

lone-wolf

lone-wolf

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The rifle i have in my head is a 223 rem700, wood stock, ~18" barrel, and a aics dbm

Pretty much just for range and coyote hunting, 300yrds max and not likely to ever see that outside the range.

Am I giving up a lot going for a factory rem700 vs aftermarket? Love the idea of a 60degree bolt lift myself.

But a cheaper rem700 action might let me get a nicer barrel.

What should I be prioritizing here?
 
Id keep an eye on the EE. In 223 the action doesn't really matter, in terms of rigidity. When it comes to accuracy think Barrel, bullets, bedding. In that order. Remington action custom barrel/twist for the bullet you want to shoot. I like to shoot 77/75gr bullets so 1/7.5 is my choice. It will also do 55.
 
What's your budget? Lots of nice actions available these days with alot of features. Remington actions don't feel very good in my opinion. I'm sure there are nice ones out there and you can spend money on them to make them better, but it's still a Remington action. If you ended up with something that has swappable bolt heads it would open you to more flexibility down the road. I have multiple barrels for multiple actions and switch them out depending on my interest or shooting type.
 
For me the barrel is most important, bedding second, stock third, action last. I sold a few 223 remmy rifles that were built on the engraved 17rem actions that went out of fashion. Owners are very happy, two of these used by local fox shooters shot out their barrels and got re-barrelled with 18" stainless 1/8 Bergara barrels that seem to shoot extremely well. I really like the rem action but one needs to do some changes, for me a nicer bolt knob a Triggertech trigger and stock change.
edi
 
oneadam12 said:
At 300 yards with decent ammunition it’s not going to matter what action you use.
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This is very good advice.

Remington actions are just fine. They're old tech but still very viable. I have several rifles that are very accurate and the Remington 700 as well as the 721 are in that mix.

One rifle you may also want to look at is the Tikka T3 or T3X. The Remington 700 I had, chambered for the 223 and shot into a half moa with a custom barrel was edged out of the safe by a factory Tikka T3X, which has a tighter twist and shoots a wider variety of bullets.

When push comes to shove, the Tikka, which is more expensive than the Remington 700 on initial purchase, is cheaper after all is said and done.
 
As Bearhunter said above, the Tikka is hard to beat for what you shell out for it. You could always find a used T3X in 223 with the fast twist and have the barrel clipped down to the 18.5" you desire and it would most likely be a nice light handy laser .
 
I wouldn’t spend any money trueing a 700. If you’re going to do that just buy one of the entire level customs. You will have more value in the end.
Lots of good factory actions out there that will do what you want. Tikka, howa, bergara. You will be into a barrel job for around $1k, a factory tikkas price looks pretty good when you start adding it up and you won’t shoot it out for a long time, it will likely shoot as well as a custom especially at the range your looking at. If you do go this route make sure to get the 1in8 twist barrel.
Joe
 
All great advice here! Warmest thanks! And this is from a .223 long booolit fan boy!!

All I can afford is a factory 9” twist Remmy 700 so the 68’s do it for me out to 600m

Cheers! :wave:

Barney
 
I am a huge fan of quality match barrels... their performance usually exceeds the factory barrel with handloads. If peak accuracy is the goal, then match barrel is my budget priority with the action being a distant second.

As factory action QC improves, the custom action becomes more of a nice to have... if you have a specific competition or weight goal, then a custom may offer you exactly what you want. For a generic bang stick, it will do more for appearance and ego vs holes in fur or paper. Barrels are where accuracy lives.. the action just has to get ammo into the chamber and make it go bang.

For the needs you have suggested, any factory action will 'work'... but what do you WANT? Custom stuff can raise costs huge real quick... if budget limited, then a fancy action is not where I would spend the money.

The Tikka is a fantastic out of the box hunting option. If you don't want to muck about with parts, just get one of these and enjoy.

Jerry
 
I've been working on putting a.243 together the last 5 or 6 months. I've never been a Remington Fan and somewhat reluctantly bought a brand new 700 action only. I'm not sure if there is any quality difference between buying an action only vs a whole rifle but so far i'm impressed with it. the adjustable factory trigger that came with it seems nice as well. We will see how it performs once its all together.
 
HOSSONE said:
I've been working on putting a.243 together the last 5 or 6 months. I've never been a Remington Fan and somewhat reluctantly bought a brand new 700 action only. I'm not sure if there is any quality difference between buying an action only vs a whole rifle but so far i'm impressed with it. the adjustable factory trigger that came with it seems nice as well. We will see how it performs once its all together.
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There seem to be a lot of Remington bashing lately but I feel it is still and excellent choice. In a 2 locking lug action there is no bolt action made as strong and safe as a 700 is with the factory enclosed extractor system. A great action for hand loaders. Have a quality barrel installed and I'll bet you will have a rifle capable of shooting in the .300's with the occasional group in the .200's.
 
Rem 700 actions are basic and easy to work on. There is a plethora of aftermarket parts and tooling for them. There is nothing wrong with the 700 action and loads of very accurate rifles have been built on those actions.
 
Last winter I threw together a 700 and I have zero regrets about it. Purchased a 22-250 SPS from the EE, IBI had a Black Friday sale on a limited selection of barrels, ordered a 308 spiral fluted barrel from them. Ordered a XRS from MDT's Black Friday sale. Installed a Triggertech Special. Have limited rounds through it, but it looks/feels/shoots great, and at a similar cost to most factory target/varmint rifles. Shooting Federal GMM 175's so well I haven't bothered handloading yet .

Recently picked up another SPS varmint model in 223, dropped it in a HS precision stock I found cheap on the EE. Initial load work up looks good. If there's similar sales on this year I'll probably end up going the same route as the 308.

I'm a lefty, so 700's offer the best variety of stock options for me. I do have a Tikka T3X in 223, it shoots excellent and wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one. It's a Lite though so it's more of a carrying gun than a range gun.
 
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