REMINGTON 700 - One of the Best All Around Rifles?

I feel a compulsion to say “hate to say it” but truthfully I don’t. The Remington 700 is likely the worst mid range production rifle. It is an agglomeration of manufacturing shortcuts (soldered together three piece bolt, pipe receiver and sandwiched separate recoil lug, very ####ty safety and paper clip extractor).

For the same price ranges you can find a well built rifle, in particular a Ruger 77 or Winchester Model 70. Just the same the M700 can be accurate and will work, but it is not at all a shining example of a quality rifle. Its chief design point was utterly to be cheap and fast to manufacture. Your choice of .308 is solid.

This^
 
One thing the 700 has in its favour with no debate on the matter is the lock time. It’s mighty quick and why it has performed admirably in benchrest and such circles. There’s no denying M700s work and they’re easy to customize, I find proclaiming it the best a significant stretch however. It’s functional and generally very accurate, to play devil’s advocate.
 
The 700 was made in so many different varieties.
Blued, stainless, trinyte stainless, teflon stainless, titanium receivers
Single shot, BDL, DBM, ADL types
Varmint barrel, sporter, mountain rifle, fluted, VTR barrels
BDL, CDL, ADL walnut, plastic synthetic, laminate, thumbhole, Bell Carlson, HS Precision, McMillan, Brown stocks

And they even make a few in left hand still. Its hard to go wrong with a model 700.
 
Slugo said:
... the M700 can be accurate and will work, but it is not at all a shining example of a quality rifle. Its chief design point was utterly to be cheap and fast to manufacture.
Click to expand...

I think you are wrong... it's major innovative design feature was a new extractor system that makes the 700 the safest and strongest 2 locking lug bolt action in the world... and the next major feature was the round stiff action and quick lock time and accuracy benefit... and the trigger that the lawyers b i t c h about is still a fantastic trigger... The fact that the bolt is put together from pieces is because of cost saving and the poorer trigger today is because of lawyers. It was made to sell at a fair price and sell it did...
 
Have several M700's & M7's accumulated over the decades, all good rifles, all good shooters, most have taken their share of deer too..
The M700 is a solid platform used across North America for, Police, Tactical, Military, Target, Hunting and the list goes on..
 
I have had/still have a number of them. Some factory rifles, some customs. Can’t say anything bad about them. They are a simple design, endless aftermarket components/upgrades. New trigger isn’t terrible but even if it’s not your flavour, it’s easy/affordable to replace.
Can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with the bolt handle, in fact I’ve seen them beaten on with rocks and lumber at the range before due to foolish reloading practices. Amazed they stayed on.
They’ve also all shot really well.
 
Model 700 BDL's were my first rifles when I started pulling in regular paychecks. Loved them all back then in the 1970's and 80's.
The J-lock and the revised safety that doesn't lock down the bolt are the biggest mistakes Remington made with the 700.
I still have my old 70's vintage 270 wearing its third stock and I'll likely never sell that one.
However off the shelf today I'll take a Winchester Model 70 EW every time.
 
Stainless steel, synthetic stock Tikka T3(X) Lite would also be a very solid choice.
30-06 or .308, as you have your heart set on it.
If you live somewhere it rains a lot, a wood stock that gets soaked can throw your POI off by 5".
And you can use it as a paddle if need be.
 
Just to be contentious, I'm going to toss out one of my favourite slogans: .308, every other 30 cal did it better.:dancingbanana:

But seriously, to the original post, pick your price range and buy something you won't be afraid to use and abuse. I prefer stainless with wood. Yes it'll get nicked up, but that's character. If I had to recommend something, I know Tikka T3X has been mentioned and I'll second it. Always buy one step higher than you planned on and you'll usually never end up with that nagging feeling you wanted just a little something more. Usually one ends up spending more in the long run because you want an upgrade and have to take a loss on the original, or they just keep accumulating and breeding or something.
 
Duck_Hunter said:
I have had/still have a number of them. Some factory rifles, some customs. Can’t say anything bad about them. They are a simple design, endless aftermarket components/upgrades. New trigger isn’t terrible but even if it’s not your flavour, it’s easy/affordable to replace.
Can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with the bolt handle, in fact I’ve seen them beaten on with rocks and lumber at the range before due to foolish reloading practices. Amazed they stayed on.
They’ve also all shot really well.
Click to expand...

I feel much the same way about the 700's I had over the years. They looked good, shot well and the Walker triggers were simple to tweek with care. The only real weak point is the extractor. If it and the channel it sits in is not kept clean & rust free, then malfunctions or breakage of said extractor can occur. My last 700 BDL in .17 Rem had the extractor snap in two after 4 shots at the range with Rem factory ammo. (New gun on initial testing.)

When I inspected the bits of the extractor, it proved to be of piss poor quality and finish. We be talkin' low end, hardware store quality metal here. A fresh extractor from Brownells fixed that bit after some careful smoothing & polishing of the piece to ensure reliable function.

Nice rifles the 700's be but pay attention to that dang extractor. That be why dangerous game hunters tend to pass on 700's.
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
I feel much the same way about the 700's I had over the years. They looked good, shot well and the Walker triggers were simple to tweek with care. The only real weak point is the extractor. If it and the channel it sits in is not kept clean & rust free, then malfunctions or breakage of said extractor can occur. My last 700 BDL in .17 Rem had the extractor snap in two after 4 shots at the range with Rem factory ammo. (New gun on initial testing.)

When I inspected the bits of the extractor, it proved to be of piss poor quality and finish. We be talkin' low end, hardware store quality metal here. A fresh extractor from Brownells fixed that bit after some careful smoothing & polishing of the piece to ensure reliable function.

Nice rifles the 700's be but pay attention to that dang extractor. That be why dangerous game hunters tend to pass on 700's.
Click to expand...

That dang extractor is what makes a 700 so good...

Obviously you had a problem and it happened almost immediately... but there are far more extractors working perfectly forever... if one does not fail quickly, it probably will work fine for a long time.

I have seen extractors fail in other rifles too. Remington is not alone in this regard.
 
guntech said:
That dang extractor is what makes a 700 so good...

Obviously you had a problem and it happened almost immediately... but there are far more extractors working perfectly forever... if one does not fail quickly, it probably will work fine for a long time.

I have seen extractors fail in other rifles too. Remington is not alone in this regard.
Click to expand...

Ye be right enough on that as far as a well maintained 700 goes, but I've seen, cleaned & fixed many 700's in the past that were ridden hard and put away wet so to speak. ;)
 
Have always liked the Rem 700's. Have never had an issue with a factory rifle, and have only ever had the trigger set to 3 lbs on these rifles. Also because they were the most commonly available in left hand, and all I have owned over the years have been acceptably accurate to very accurate. This is a good thing!
Do have 4 left handed 700's that have been customized with barrels chambered to cartridges not offered in the factory version., and/or restocked with aftermarket laminated stocks and one with a second factory laminated stock for nice weather hunts, but wears its original XCR stock for bad weather or rough country hunts. Had these triggers also set to 3 lbs. Have never replaced the factory trigger. Have never had an extractor problem. Nor a ruptured case.

That being said I also have 2 left handed Ruger M77's that have been customized to cartridges not offered by the factory, and one restocked witha full length laminated stock.
Also have 2 Winchester Model 88's that have been rebarreled to cartridges not offered by the factory.

Own and use rifles made by other manufacturers too. Sako, Tikka, Marlin. Like the CZ's too and will have a left handed one some day too. My Sako's are very accurate. The Tikka is supposed to be accurate with a certain load, but do not have any to try, and the load I have tried so far is minute of moose, but definitely not a MOA load in this rifle. Need to still try some other loads.

Each make and model have their pros and cons, and all are good for what I want them for. Some definitely have better fit and finish than others, while others have better triggers, bluing, smoothness of action, detachable magazines, etc.
Some have had their problems with their particular rifles of each and every make and model, but a few bad apples do not make them all bad.
Of those with problems, out of 5 million made and sold, has to still be a very small percentage.
Am I a fan of the SPS...no...doesn't make it a bad rifle...if it meets the owner's needs. Just not my taste.

At the end of the day, I am happy with all of them for their various qualities and capacities. And that is all that really matters.

If he has chosen his particular firearm to be a Rem 700 in 308, that is his decision, and we should all support him in his freedom to make this choice, and happy that he is buying a rifle that will meet his needs, and will enjoy using it out there hunting!
Best of luck! Hope you find the one you are looking for!
 
There will always be people who dislike a certain manufacturer and model. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Remington 700 rifle. It is the highest selling sporting rifle in history period. How bad can it be? You can talk to a lot of gun Smith's who work on this particular model with custom builds, and they'll all tell you there is nothing wrong with them. Isnt that right Guntech?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom