rem 700 or stevens?

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bruno

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just curious as to what you guys think of these two actions. not familiar with the 700, but see alot of people here using them.
just wondering what the main differences are, and what work people are doing to them when building a precision rig.
also wondering how you square the barrel to the action?
any and all thoughts welcome.
 
The 700 has set the standard for a mass produced rifle for accuracy and strength and safety. There are more aftermarket accessories for them than anything else.

The design of the Remington 700 makes it the strongest, safest mass produced bolt action ever made.

More accurate rifles have been made using that action as a basis than anything else.

It still has one of the best factory triggers as well.

I kind of like them.
 
Remington is popular and cheap, very cheap in the states, which is why so many people start with them as project rifles down in the states, you can get them at walmart for only a couple hundred bucks, and momentum helps. Branding has helped it become the "de rigeur" rifle for tacticooling. That's not a jibe, I don't have anything against tacticool though I don't do it myself.

Savage is very very accurate out of the box. It's what they do.

Stevens is a decent rifle, and extremely, extremely cheap for what you get.

Benchresters have started using stevens to build ultra precise bench guns because of the floating bolt head design.

No matter what you buy, you'll get a decent rifle, and if you have the money and the inclination you can pimp it out to be far more accurate than any person would ever need for hunting or anything other than formal target shooting.

When it comes to a precise rifle, 98% or more of the mechanical accuracy will come from three things, bullets (buy good ones and handload), barrels (aftermarket and match chambered), and bedding (glass bedding). You need a good trigger for you to interface with the rifle. Talk to mysticplayer to find out more.
 
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stevens is the definite winner in the under $400 class
they are ugly but they work

I dont think the 700 needs any debate... solid and proven, very upgrade friendly
 
bruno said:
i was wondering what people are talking about when they say they are "trueing-up" the actions?
Click to expand...

All solid front locking bolt action rifles share the same problem, manf tolerance allows some misalignment between the lugs and receiver. between the receiver and the barrel. For those looking for the most accuracy, they will also concern themselves about the slop between the bolt body and the action during the firing sequence.

Rems require some machine work to get these alignments back true and for desired lug contact with the action. That is what truing in a nutshell is.

If you look in the Gunsmith forum, Guntech has a post and pics of his new mandrel truing set up. Will explain everything you need or want to know.

Some will even go to shimmed or fitted bolt bodies to remove any bolt movement during the firing sequence. Essentially, they have a superb tight lock up identical to pure custom actions. Certainly adds a few $$$ to the build cost.

I have used many Rems and other actions over the years but now use Savage and Stevens actions exclusively because their unique design doesn't require the same amount of work to make shoot.

I have used both shouldered and barrel nut headspacing with zero work done to the actions. All of the actions I have used, have near full lug contact and solid lockup. The floating bolt head allows me to get away with quite a number of 'sins' yet still leave a super accurate rifle.

The barrel nut install allows one to install prefit barrels in the comfort of their own home and have fantastic results (1/4 min is not out of the question).

I use the Savage/Stevens actions because they allow me to mix and match with little cost and performance equal to a fully prepped and shimmed Rem.

Not bad for a $300 rifle that results in a $200 bare action that just needs a quality barrel installed to shoot very well.

Jerry

PS, if looking for barrels and parts, give me a shout.
 
that post was very informative, but i don't qiute understand the floating bolt head and how it differs from the others. WHY is it better?
 
bruno said:
that post was very informative, but i don't qiute understand the floating bolt head and how it differs from the others. WHY is it better?
Click to expand...

Well, imagine that the remington design holds the case firmly, and so needs to hold the cartridge perfectly centered in the chamber, so the bolt and chamber aren't fighting each other.

Imagine the savage bolt head simply resisting rearward motion of the cartridge and allowing the cartridge to center itself in the chamber. It doesn't have to be perfect, because the "slop" in the bolt head adjusts itself to however the barrel chamber wants to hold the cartridge.

not a perfect explanation, but simple,.....nes pas?
 
The floating bolt head is not particularly better but does allow you to get away without the cost and prep work of a Rem/similar action. At least for those who consider shooting in the 2's (and possibly high 1's) accurate enough.

As I said, one of the desires when truing an action is to ensure each lug is contacting the action with as much surface area as possible. This helps to handle the rearward thrust of the fired cartridge.

Then you want the bolt face to be square with the chamber, again, to aid in controlling recoil forces.

As a solid unit, the entire length of the bolt body affects how the lugs and bolt face lock up. That is why squaring and shimming let's all the parts be aligned and stay aligned during firing.

If the rear of the bolt wiggles, it affects the front/lugs/bolt face thus changing alignment and/or harmonics which can have negative affect on accuracy (the BR guys can see this) AND can allow the cartridge to move during the firing process (bolt springing) making for fatter cases and lower workable pressures.

The average shooter and rifle will never see any accuracy benefits of the bolt shimming/truing. What they will see is higher operating pressures without the so called 'pressure signs'.

The floating bolt head 'separates' the bolt from the bolt body. None of the above affect the firing process of a Savage. Movement at the rear of the bolt has no affect on the lockup or position of the bolt head. Kind of like having a suspension.

If the action is a smidge off true with the bolt body, it doesn't matter as the bolt head will move to make contact with BOTH lugs. Simply has too.

Most Savage/Stevens built today are also built surprisingly true from the factory so any misgivings on the front of the bolt vs the action threads and chambers are small enough, you don't need to do any truing.

I am sure in time, as production volumes ramps up further and QC slips, there will be cries of woes where things are more out of whack then the 'slop' in the system can absorb. The joys of mass produced items. But till then, works great.

Maybe it will not happen....We shall see.

Another benefit is the barrel nut that allows the barrel to wiggle just a bit on its threads to center and square the bolt face with the chamber during install. Headspacing uses a guage which will do this alignment for you.

We are only talking a few thou here and there of give but that is pretty much the extent of the truing work done on a Rem.

Every little bit helps...

Jerry
 
Get a Savage 10fcp with either the McM A5 or the HS stock and you good to go. If you want a tac bolt knob, order one and install it yourself for $40, takes 5 min and no grinding or threading needed and you still have the original handle. Later on down the road, if you want to re-chamber for another cal. just change out the bolt head, ream out the chamber( same cal. bore) for less than $250.
That simple.
 
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