RangerPark
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Near Edmonton, AB
I'm 6 out of 6 problem free Remington 700's in the last 3 years. Still own 4. All have been great rifles out of the box.
Has Remington stepped up the quality in its rifles of late?
- Thread starter greg11
- Start date
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
I just built up a PRS rifle in 6.5 CM with a factory barreled Rem 700 action. The only thing I did was rebush the firing pin hole. Too much primer pucker, so I made it with the smaller firing pin diameter of .062" so I can drive the pressures up a bit. The bolt lugs were true and required no work from dialing it in the bolt jig.
The SPS type finish needs a little smoothing up, but that's just cosmetic. All pillar bedded with AM mag setup in a A5 stock waiting for warmer weather.
The SPS type finish needs a little smoothing up, but that's just cosmetic. All pillar bedded with AM mag setup in a A5 stock waiting for warmer weather.
RangerPark
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Near Edmonton, AB
The 4 I have on hand all bear the "REP" stamp, which if I'm not mistaken means they came out of the KY plant.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
That would be their standard proof mark.
It will be in the full name and description stamped on the barrel with the chamber and such.
There will be the location of manf.
Thanks
Jerry
RangerPark
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Near Edmonton, AB
Barrel codes show years of manufacture were 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017. The location appears to be Ilion, NY.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
RangerPark, thanks for the info but it looks like Rem is going to keep producing 700's at their NY facility for now. Thought the move should have been completed by now?????
Glad to hear you have some good ones.
Jerry
Glad to hear you have some good ones.
Jerry
I've had 12 or so Remmy 700's from 70's vintage to current models in short and long actions. All have been varmint/heavy barrel variants, and I have yet to have a bad one. Some have been better than others, but no actual issues and all shot well (for a factory rifle)..... Must just be lucky.
Remington never (*) used serial numbers to identify the date of manufacture of it's firearms, they however stamped a date code (spelled out below) by the first letter meaning the month and the last letter the year of manufacture.
BARREL DATE CODE - stamped exposed on LH top rear of barrel after 1920
the following will only be stamped where applicable
#2 Part order barrel (not originally assembled to firearm)
#3 Service section received
#4 Return as received
#5 Employee sale
R.E.P. On the RH side of the barrel will be a Magnaflux, Remington proof & a test mark
If a gun is returned to the factory as a fire damaged, or blown up firearm, the factory will stamp it as a prefix to their date code with a #4 on the barrel and return it un-repaired. Then if the gun is ever subsequently returned to a warranty center or the factory by ANYONE, they will refuse to work on it as an unsafe firearm.
The above information was taken from Remington's own information sheet, so if your gun may not conform, then I am also at a loss in explaining.
(*) On 8/9/99, they stopped stamping the barrels with the date code. They however continued to mark the date code on the end flap of the shipping box for shotgun barrels however. They planned on using just the serial numbers to tell when the gun was manufactured. So there was a 2 year gap in rifle date coded barrels and the normal consumer, or gunsmith would have to contact the factory for this information. They then saw the error of their ways apparently because of being inundated by phone calls and resumed stamping the date code on the barrel on 10/1/01.
You will notice the year code repeats itself, but over 20 years difference, so even if it was used on the same model, in all likelihood sights or stocks would be different which would indicate the different date. You will also notice the month code spelling out BLACKPOWDERX, this is a common code in the firearms industry. Also some letters were left out if there was a chance of misidentifying a date. Also they jockeyed year letters to a new starting point in 1980.
If you find marks on the underside of the barrel, they will more than likely be fitters or assembly marks, which mean nothing as to dating the firearm.
I have seen one EARLY 740 S/N 54,9XX that has a barrel date coded May of 1969, which apparently had been sent back to the factory and rebarreled with a original 740 barrel instead of a 742 which was in production at that time.
To find general manufacturing dates it may be best to go to the Blue Book of Gun Values, which does give manufacturing dates of most models.
An issue that people need to be aware of, is that many Remington firearms such as the 870 series of shotguns can have their barrels easily changed or replaced. So, if the barrel is not original to the specific firearm in question the date code may be meaningless. Also if there is a custom or aftermarket barrel installed it will not have these factory codes.
Confounding the issue a bit may be the fact that Remington Arms stamps their final inspector stamps and assembly (product) codes in the immediate area of the date codes. So it may be difficult at times to determine exactly what is what. With that in mind, and considering a lot of variables. If a specific Remington firearm has a serial number, Remington Customer Service is always the first source which should be checked for date of manufacture as they would be the definitive source. There are no publically accessible databases for Remington serial numbers.
With the hundreds of different Remington models produced over the past 200 years, it can sometimes be difficult to determine the age of your firearm.
Overview
Since serial numbers were not required until 1968, your firearm may not have a serial number. For models without a serial number, we may be able to determine the age by the 2-3 letters that are stamped on the barrel. If your firearm does have a serial number, if you will call or email us the serial number and model number we can determine the approximate age of your firearm.
Contact Remington through their Help Center by e-mail at info@remington.com or call their historian at 1-800-243-9700 Mon-Fri 9-5 EST.
Copied from http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20Articles/remington_barrel_date_code.html
BARREL DATE CODE - stamped exposed on LH top rear of barrel after 1920
the following will only be stamped where applicable
#2 Part order barrel (not originally assembled to firearm)
#3 Service section received
#4 Return as received
#5 Employee sale
R.E.P. On the RH side of the barrel will be a Magnaflux, Remington proof & a test mark
If a gun is returned to the factory as a fire damaged, or blown up firearm, the factory will stamp it as a prefix to their date code with a #4 on the barrel and return it un-repaired. Then if the gun is ever subsequently returned to a warranty center or the factory by ANYONE, they will refuse to work on it as an unsafe firearm.
REMINGTON MANUFACTURING DATE CODE
stamped on LH top rear of barrel, 2 or 3 digit, (month first, year after) these will normally only be the last letters as seen below,
with the whole list shown here ONLY if it had been returned for repairs
The anchor shown here with the date code is just a symbol, as many different inspector marks will be seen
The anchor shown here with the date code is just a symbol, as many different inspector marks will be seen
The above information was taken from Remington's own information sheet, so if your gun may not conform, then I am also at a loss in explaining.
The factory says all barrels are date code stamped, well I have found some that are not, or if they are, are so erratic stamping that trying to decipher them is impossible.
The photos below may help a bit. Both were taken off Remington 760s, with the one on the left, a 30-06 that I bought new October 10, 1954. This has been rebored to a 35 Whelen Improved. The one on the right again a 30-06, but with a shorter barrel that I made into a knock around quad rifle with pivot mounts.
| Here the R represents November, & the ZZ would be 1953. The fourth digit being a 3 is inconsequential being an assembly number. There is no inspector mark on this side. | Here the first (LH) mark is the final inspector mark, the O represents July, the R would be 1968. And the F again being an assembly number. |
| 
|
| JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
| B | L | A | C | K | P | O | W | D | E | R | X |
| 1920 = L | 1930 = Y | 1940 = J | 1950 = WW |
| 1921 = M | 1931 = Z | 1941 = K | 1951 = XX |
| 1922 = N | 1932 = A | 1942 = L | 1952 = YY |
| 1923 = P | 1933 = B | 1943 = MM | 1953 = ZZ |
| 1924 = R | 1934 = C | 1944 = NN | 1954 = A (JAN. AA) |
| 1925 = S | 1935 = D | 1945 = PP | 1955 = B |
| 1926 = T | 1936 = E | 1946 = RR | 1956 = C |
| 1927 = V | 1937 = F | 1947 = SS | 1957 = D |
| 1928 = W | 1938 = G | 1948 = TT | 1958 = E |
| 1929 = X | 1939 = H | 1949 = UU | 1959 = F |
| 1960 = G | 1970 = T | 1980 = A | 1990 = K |
| 1961 = H | 1971 = U | 1981 = B | 1991 = L |
| 1962 = J | 1972 = W | 1982 = C | 1992 = M |
| 1963 = K | 1973 = X | 1983 = D | 1993 = N |
| 1964 = L | 1974 = Y | 1984 = E | 1994 = O |
| 1965 = M | 1975 = Z | 1985 = F | 1995 = P |
| 1966 = N | 1976 = I | 1986 = G | 1996 = Q |
| 1967 = P | 1977 = O | 1987 = H | 1997 = R |
| 1968 = R | 1978 = Q | 1988 = I | 1998 = S |
| 1969 = S | 1979 = V | 1989 = J | *1999 = T |
(*) On 8/9/99, they stopped stamping the barrels with the date code. They however continued to mark the date code on the end flap of the shipping box for shotgun barrels however. They planned on using just the serial numbers to tell when the gun was manufactured. So there was a 2 year gap in rifle date coded barrels and the normal consumer, or gunsmith would have to contact the factory for this information. They then saw the error of their ways apparently because of being inundated by phone calls and resumed stamping the date code on the barrel on 10/1/01.
| *2000 = U | 2006 = D | 2012 = J | 2018 = P |
| *2001 = V | 2007 = E | 2013 = K | 2019 = Q |
| 2002 = W | 2008 = F | 2014 = L | 2020 = R |
| 2003 = A | 2009 = G | 2015 = M | 2021 = S |
| 2004 = B | 2010 = H | 2016 = N | 2022 = T |
| 2005 = C | 2011 = I | 2017 = O | 2023 = U |
If you find marks on the underside of the barrel, they will more than likely be fitters or assembly marks, which mean nothing as to dating the firearm.
I have seen one EARLY 740 S/N 54,9XX that has a barrel date coded May of 1969, which apparently had been sent back to the factory and rebarreled with a original 740 barrel instead of a 742 which was in production at that time.
To find general manufacturing dates it may be best to go to the Blue Book of Gun Values, which does give manufacturing dates of most models.
An issue that people need to be aware of, is that many Remington firearms such as the 870 series of shotguns can have their barrels easily changed or replaced. So, if the barrel is not original to the specific firearm in question the date code may be meaningless. Also if there is a custom or aftermarket barrel installed it will not have these factory codes.
Confounding the issue a bit may be the fact that Remington Arms stamps their final inspector stamps and assembly (product) codes in the immediate area of the date codes. So it may be difficult at times to determine exactly what is what. With that in mind, and considering a lot of variables. If a specific Remington firearm has a serial number, Remington Customer Service is always the first source which should be checked for date of manufacture as they would be the definitive source. There are no publically accessible databases for Remington serial numbers.
With the hundreds of different Remington models produced over the past 200 years, it can sometimes be difficult to determine the age of your firearm.
Overview
Since serial numbers were not required until 1968, your firearm may not have a serial number. For models without a serial number, we may be able to determine the age by the 2-3 letters that are stamped on the barrel. If your firearm does have a serial number, if you will call or email us the serial number and model number we can determine the approximate age of your firearm.
Contact Remington through their Help Center by e-mail at info@remington.com or call their historian at 1-800-243-9700 Mon-Fri 9-5 EST.
Copied from http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20Articles/remington_barrel_date_code.html
ScottMisfits
CGN Regular
I have had three Remington’s, new ones. One of which I had to sell for financial reasons. Zero issues and a little over 1/2” 100 yard groups. The second one is about 3/4” groups. Still working on loads for it but still sub MOA. The third shoots cheap PowerShok right around 5/8” groups.
The two rimfires, I had a bolt holdback spring fail but other than that, zero issues.
Three shotguns, all new, zero issues.
The two rimfires, I had a bolt holdback spring fail but other than that, zero issues.
Three shotguns, all new, zero issues.
Stay away from Howa, the only reason i say that is ... the quality of stainless they use is terrible. Hike for 8 hours in the rain and your gun will be orange. Drove me crazy ...
i think for budget rifles Tikka is probably the only option these days. Those light wieght ones are with in a 1/4 lb of my custom 700 TI for around $1000, probably far less used.
Still love my Rems ... but you usually have to put money into new ones imo. I put mcmillan edge stocks and jewel triggers in all my 700’s,I would never sell one. Currently lookimg for a Long action magnum 700 TI. I know im at the end of a long list.
Will add ... i bet those new mountaim 700’s are sweet. Bed the factory action/stock, and put a trigger in ! Good to go !
Jerry ! Lol, ill be in touch for a proof research in the new year
tikka t3 stainless can rust the same ...
Potato boy
Regular
- Location
- North of the mountain
I just purchased a LH varmint 308 off of EE, it was as new, it shoots American Eagle in 1.5 moa and WW 1 moa. The trigger is surprisingly decent. I have no issues with it at all. I’m sure with handloads it will print sub moa
