Are all remington actions created equal?

D

Dain

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
22   0   0
Before I get overwhelmed with replies about custom actions based off a Remington 700 design, which I know are far superior, let me clarify my question.

Are all factory Remington actions created equal?

Are actions on more expensive rifles better than cheaper rifles, or is a Sendero action the same as an SPS action?

I also understand there is a difference between stainless and non stainless action, but would ask the same question about these actions separately.

The reason I ask is I am looking to buy a rifle for a donor action for my first rifle build, is there an advantage to buying a higher priced rifle if I am going to change the stock and barrel anyways.

Thanks in advance for all you who can help.
 
The major differences is in the amount of polishing and the type of blueing or baked on whatever. If your building a target rifle it should still have the threads corrected and the lugs lapped and whatever else the builder recommends do.
 
Design wise yes they are all the same , the difference comes from material / cost to machine the material . A stainless action is a better material but takes a bit longer to machine . Hence the price difference over say a black coated sps tac. Type of action. But if you talking a stainless action on a sendero vs a stainless action from say a 5r , no they are the same

If your strictly just after an action and plan to part every thing else with out shooting the rifle maybe look into contacting Gary from big horn sales . Last I talked with him about a reamer , he had both stainless and non stainless 700 actions in stock. If I recal correctly the stainless were around 550 ..
 
I have found old actions and new actions have one thing in common... either of them can have close tolerances or not so close... the exterior finish on older ones seem better for the most part... the exception are the Titanium actions... they seem to be more accurately and nicely made through out...

All 700 actions can be used to make a very accurate rifle.
 
Start with your finished rifle and work backwards.

if you are looking at a full meal deal custom where every part is likely to be massaged, then it really doesn't matter.... unless there is something mechanically wrong.

But if all you want is to put on a new barrel or install a different stock, the closer you are from the factory rifle, the less the overall project will cost.

Since there are zillions of Rem 700's around, cycle some to see how quality has changed over the years. See what you like and don't. Make decisions on the stuff you are going to change to meet your custom goals

One of my favorite factory rifles was a Rem classic in 222. What a gem. Just got a donor SPS of current manf and it is really easy to see how things have changed to make a price point.

Jerry
 
"...I know are far superior..." No moreso than any other rifle. M700's have that reputation due to having been used by the U.S. military years ago. Win M70 actions work well too.
"...if I am going to change..." Nope. Better to find a beat up used rifle or one in an obsolete chambering.
"...a donor SPS of current manf..." Low end, entry level, rifle. Not as well made for that reason.
 
Thanks to everyone for your answers so far, you have answered my question but I might as well lay my cards out on the table and get your input.

My school of thought on this is.

Bass pro has a Remington 700 ADL Combo on sale for $ 499.97 until Christmas. This rifle comes with a bushnell 3-9 x 40 scope, rings and base.

My thought is that I could sell off the scope, barrel and stock for a couple hundred bucks and get my donor action for around $ 300.00.

Am I on the right track, or are there better options.

I am planning on building this rifle myself from the ground up, I have never done one before, but have done my own bedding and other tasks. I understand the risk and am prepared to eat the cost of any failures, this is just something I need to try. I think that is something that this crowd will understand. I am just happy to have the support from this online community while I do it.

Thanks again
 
I did something similar but used an SPS action and bolt which I trued up , and after selling off the barrel and stock the action was a tad over $300 and it shoots very well. Of course as with most things involving building your own rifle the economics do not add up but I enjoy the process and find the end result rewarding.
 
I have had quite a few 700's go through my hands. In my experience the SPS action is a waste of money if it stays the way it comes from the factory. The higher priced BDL and CDL's and the rest are WAY smoother. If yourè doing a build and true the action, I`m pretty sure you can get the SPS to work. The finish isn`t nearly as nice. If your OK with a matte black bolt as opposed to a jewelled one.
 
Like everything off the production line, was the action built first thing on a Monday morning or the last one on a Friday afternoon? Condition of the tooling may make differences in the tolerances etc.
 
There is one thing I have to give the new Remington receivers credit for. The threads on all of the rifles I've worked on are true. Even the cheapest line of the 700 actions are true.

The same can't be said for earlier 700 actions. I've run across more than one that had to have the threads recut to make them square to the receiver face.

The one thing you can't take away from the early 700 and 721 receivers is the quality of their finish and the smoothness of their bolts. In many ways, even though they are a simpler design than may of their competitors, they were way ahead of their time.
 
bearhunter said:
There is one thing I have to give the new Remington receivers credit for. The threads on all of the rifles I've worked on are true. Even the cheapest line of the 700 actions are true.

The same can't be said for earlier 700 actions. I've run across more than one that had to have the threads recut to make them square to the receiver face.

The one thing you can't take away from the early 700 and 721 receivers is the quality of their finish and the smoothness of their bolts. In many ways, even though they are a simpler design than may of their competitors, they were way ahead of their time.
Click to expand...

That has not been my experience. New or old, I seldom have found a 'true' thread. The majority not far off, but not true. Bolt faces are seldom 'flat' or true either. But even in the worst tolerances a 700 will out shoot the majority of other factory actions.
 
guntech said:
That has not been my experience. New or old, I seldom have found a 'true' thread. The majority not far off, but not true. Bolt faces are seldom 'flat' or true either. But even in the worst tolerances a 700 will out shoot the majority of other factory actions.
Click to expand...

I wasn't talking about bench rest quality "true", hunting rifles don't require that degree of accuracy and I agree with you as far as bolt faces go. I also find the locking surfaces on the lugs are not exactly the same either. Same goes for the locking lug recesses in the receiver. Lapping is usually necessary, on new or old.
 
ultimate_monkey said:
Design wise yes they are all the same , the difference comes from material / cost to machine the material . A stainless action is a better material but takes a bit longer to machine . Hence the price difference over say a black coated sps tac. Type of action. But if you talking a stainless action on a sendero vs a stainless action from say a 5r , no they are the same
Click to expand...

Thats VERY interesting - Stainless actions take longer to machine - do you know why that would be ? I am asuming now that stainless steel barrels take longer to machine also ? Can you share some more knowledge on this . Thks RJ
 
The stainless alloys used in barrels and actions are not the same. Stainless barrel steel cuts very nicely. The material is more expensive, but the machining is easier.
 
I remember reading in Precision Shooting years ago that all Remington 700 actions were created equally. These where the days before the 700 SPS, stainless and Ti actions were introduced. They all started off on the same assembly line. The actions with the tightest tolerances were set aside for the Remington Custom Shop to be made into 40X's. The 700 actions went on to have "Remington 700" roll stamped on the action and the other actions went down another line and were engraved "Remington 40X".

Even the 40X's were not perfect, the one I had still needed to be trued up the first time it was rebarreled. The gunsmith that I had do the work said the action was pretty good but still needed a couple thou off the action face, bolt face and threads to true it up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom