Guys who build from Remington 700, need help

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Chago

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Ok my last question before I decide to build and what to build from.

Those of you who start with the Remington 700 and build upon it. Which model are you getting? and are you getting at least MOA results out of the box?

I know my old tikka t3 did all day long. That is why I am leaning towards getting a tikka for my build. But I love how the 700 has so many options. I am satisfied with MOA, I got years before I can shoot any better anyways. Will any 700 model give me that? because for now I only plan on changing the stock and adding nice glass. Any barrel and trigger upgrades will happen later.

Thanks
 
I have now had 7 700 models, most of which have been various versions of the "cheap" sps models and have never had over MOA in any of them, once the right ammo had been selected or loaded. I think the police and sendero have the highest followings, but many are started off the sps actions as well. As far as custom or semi custom builds go, Mine is an SPS varmint at the base of it and once hand loaded is capable of sub half-MOA and is capable of MOA or less with any quality ammo I have fed it with very few exceptions and still with the factory barrel I might add (that gets changed soon too!). I believe that virtually any action you choose from the 700 family, once blueprinted, would exceed most reasonable expectations and, in more cases then not, far exceed the average shooters skill and allow them to grow with the rifle until something less the then a Bernard or Pierce simply won't do..........

As far as factory rifles go, I have preference for the 700p ( comes with very nice stock and trigger set up) in any caliber, and the R5 are solid favourites. Any of the models should do fine though.
Have fun!!!
 
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^^ I've had close to 1k rounds through my .308 AAC SD and never had issues getting MOA or under. Comes down to the shooter and the ammo. Avoid the Hogue over-mold stock if you want a true free-floated barrel. Overall though you'll likely never have any issues with a R700 action no matter the chambering.
 
I can honestly say that I've never shot one of my Remington's as they showed up from the factory. They are always bought as donors. Good luck.
 
i started with a 5r, it shoots 5/8ish MOA with 175SMK hand loads. i literally just had the barrel pulled off yesterday in favor of an aftermarket. more so for that 700s tend to be throated long and i wasnt able to mag feed and still get the same accuracy i was when i single feed .. Tikkas are great actions, i contimplated building mine up, but from what i recall the actions taper down at the front, and dont handle super long / heavy barrels hanging off them to well due to the decrease in material thickness.

id recomend dropping atleast enought money for a stainless rem700 action. youll thank yourself down the road later when you decide to build off it, sure beats having that grainy black coating they put on things like the sps tac
 
I've got an AAC-SD in 308 and my shooting buddy has the SPS Tactical. Both shot MOA right out of the box with Winchester PowerPoint. Shoots even better with handloads.

Like the other guys are saying, if you go this route you will need to replace the so-called Hogue "stock" that comes with the gun. It is truly a piece of crap.
 
The 700's have a reputation for being capable shooters out of the box aside from the odd factory lemons that really don't pop up very often anymore. With handloads and a moderate shooter they are a .75 moa good time. Some can even manage .5 moa but don't go expecting that. I understand you are very interested in building an AR inspired precision rig, I'd just like to suggest researching what experienced LR shooters use and dont be surprised when you start liking the looks of a McMillan stocked rifle or similar. If you start chasing tight groups your interests will surely shift and things you found to be unattractive will start to look beautiful. As for your goals, any 700 SPS model bedded into a half decent stock will meet them. As you get your practice in and really start learning you will be able to decide what you want to upgrade first. Good luck to you and welcome to the addiction. Bet ya can't own just one!
 
Boys, thanks for all the advice. I've asked two hundred questions trying to convince myself to buy a Remington. But I just can't. Call me a brand whore, whatever you want. I just hate that action. I went today to the local gun shop (brought the wife with me for my Xmas gift wink wink).

I handled the Remington's of every variety and just didnt feel good about any. I was gonna buy it just cause everyone else has it. I own a 270 tikka t3 hunter with wood stock. I've had a guy bugging me to buy it for a while now as I really don't use it. It's my paper gun but I really wanted 308 for my build. I don't hunt with it either as I prefer my BLR. So I handled the tikka stainless in 308. And to me it was a easy choice. Nothing like that action and I know with complete confidence I'm getting a action and barrel that can shoot better than me all day long. Ill sell the hunter now.

So a stock upgrade and nice glass and I can go do some big shooting. And really practice. I'm sure I can go shooting at 500 all day with that barrel. Then when I start getting serious I can look at upgrading barrel and triggers.

Thanks everyone. Ill post some before and after pics when I decide what stock I want. Expect another 200 threads on that topic to come lol
 
i shoot a 700 sps with a rifle basix trigger and a brake and manage just over half moa at 100 with hand loads and was able to shoot sub moa with factory ammo while completely un modified. shes got about 1400 rounds down the throat now and still easily shoots sub moa out to 200 which is as far as my range goes
 
Due to the modern economics of mass production, you will be hard pressed to find any USA manf massed produced rifle that runs smooth and silky out of the box. You can get as much variation from rifle to rifle as you can from brand to brand.

You end up with varying degrees of "close enough, good enough".

From here, the Rem 700 becomes a nice platform for custom work. Here a quality custom builder will do all the many tweaks and changes to improve, smooth and tighten up the receiver. Now you end up with something that feels and runs well but that is with varying degrees of $$$.

Savage reach similar, if not better levels of refinement with less investment. But they are still pretty clunky out of the box.

Both brands do shoot well when properly bedded, trigger adjusted, quality ammo/handloads fed.

If you want a Tikka like donor, have a look at the Ruger American. Surprisingly very nice features and doesn't need a whole lot of TLC to function nicely. One of the better hunting weight factory triggers. Feeds and cycles very smoothly - way beyond its price point. Accuracy was sub MOA so more a function of ruger grade barrels then anything else. I am sure with a quality barrel and some TLC, it can make a very nice varmint/hunter.

Tikkas are certainly very nice but the options to change is no where near as great. Just depends on what you want to end up with.

Have fun with your build.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Due to the modern economics of mass production, you will be hard pressed to find any USA manf massed produced rifle that runs smooth and silky out of the box. You can get as much variation from rifle to rifle as you can from brand to brand.

You end up with varying degrees of "close enough, good enough".

From here, the Rem 700 becomes a nice platform for custom work. Here a quality custom builder will do all the many tweaks and changes to improve, smooth and tighten up the receiver. Now you end up with something that feels and runs well but that is with varying degrees of $$$.

Savage reach similar, if not better levels of refinement with less investment. But they are still pretty clunky out of the box.

Both brands do shoot well when properly bedded, trigger adjusted, quality ammo/handloads fed.

If you want a Tikka like donor, have a look at the Ruger American. Surprisingly very nice features and doesn't need a whole lot of TLC to function nicely. One of the better hunting weight factory triggers. Feeds and cycles very smoothly - way beyond its price point. Accuracy was sub MOA so more a function of ruger grade barrels then anything else. I am sure with a quality barrel and some TLC, it can make a very nice varmint/hunter.

Tikkas are certainly very nice but the options to change is no where near as great. Just depends on what you want to end up with.

Have fun with your build.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Lol I must have pm you while you typed this lol
 
i own lots of built rifles on 700 actions both sps and 700 bdl long short and magnums they are great guns but had to be blue printed and the trigger changed out etc. the best shooting rifle i have is built on a tikka t3 action and is a 260ai, nothing was done to this action other than its bedded in a mcmillan a5 stock i tuned the trigger down to 2lbs, changed the bolt handle and shroud. all of these mods can be done yourself with pretty much just an allen key. you can't go wrong with either action you choose but if you like to do it yourself the tikka is a better choice imo.
 
I have a 700 p that Rick at Alberta tactical tricked up for me many years ago. It shoots sub moa today and has been a pleasure to shoot
 
Well if you're going to go that route, personally I would keep the hunter stock, and sell 270 with the plastic stock. They are all universal fit on T3's. Then Bed the stock with a SS recoil lug - you could also get a Boyds and do the same... bed from lug all around to the tang so that you don't create any action binding and do the pillars... Tune the bolt. Then I would suggest getting a metal trigger guard so you can reproduce torque settings. Then you'll have the best that gun can do without swapping barrels to a custom barrel.

I did that with 5 Tikkas, and it cost a small fortune (before Boyds, decent stocks were 400-1000$) to get then to shoot almost as good as the Rem 5R I have now.

Don't get me wrong, Tikka is a wicked hunting rifle - smooth action and the best trigger on a factory rifle IMHO - but if you want a 1/2 MOA paper puncher, just go buy a Cooper or a 5R or a Tikka Sporter (for example) and be done with it - and much cheaper in the long run!

Tikkashooters has all the required stuff.

I must have had bad Tikkas, as none of mine EXCEPT the 223 Varm would even come close to MOA - 4 brand new ones, at best (4 of them) they were, from factory, 2 MOA rifles and shot worse once the barrels warmed up. After I sent one back to Stoeger for them to make it right as per their guarantee, and a 6 month wait, and they did nothing, not even test fired it!!! I sold them all but the 223 on that principal.
 
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My personal advice is to build off whatever you feel comfortable with. If you dont like the Remingtons, dont try and force yourself to like them. I'm not a fan of the Savages but there are still tons of nice ones out there guys have done up.
I currently own in the ball park of 15 Remington rifles, most of which have custom barrels on them. Strangely enough, my main hunting rifle is a Remington 700 with the stock everything (barrel, trigger, etc) but just with an upgraded stock.
It shoots amazing once I found the magic handload and it brings home deer for me every year so its hard to argue with that.
 
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