Stay away from Remington, Marlin and Norinco.
I must have had around 60 rounds of load development, sighting in and hunting. Also had a fair amount of cycling and dry firing but never really improved and I could bind the bolt up fairly easily. The windage and elevation adjustments or lack of is was my only issue really, minor in a hunting role I guess but reaching out with irons is fun especially In platform like this. Don't know what to say about the finish, was scuffed to hell after a litterly few hours. Their shiny stainless finish holds up way better. Aside from that it's an awesome rifle, I've just lucked out with all my stuff.
The newer remlins are good but you have to carefully check, inspect and function test them before leaving the shop unless the dealer has a written money back policy for defective products.
If a shop won't let you check a new Remlin and there is no written return policy WALK AWAY.
Having to try so hard with a gun brand is exactly the reason one should be avoiding them. Wanting a newer 700 so bad that you are willing to inspect a bunch of them before buying is the problem. There are plenty of brands a person could confidently buy sight unseen and stand a much greater chance of making a good purchase. Telling yourself these are still great guns whilst still recognizing the fact that you must pour through a bunch of boxes to find the properly finished/put together specimen is a bit counter intuitive, no?
Patrick
Interested in hearing your gripes with the M65. I've used and owned a few and they are fantastic rifles.
For me it was the ruger scout. Grittiest action I've ever felt. The only thing that could have made that thing cycle worse was if you'd poured a bag of sand into the action.
You buy a lowend shytey rifle, you get a lowend shytey rifle... the reason they sell it for $300 is because they spent even less to make it.... so, who is the authority on "quality" and "value?" When you pay $300 but expect "$1000 quality..."
It would be different if you paid $1000 but got $300 quality... that is a reason for griping.
I have never met an M70 or M77 I didn't like... I have met a couple M700's and A-Bolts that I didn't care for... but the worst was a Tikka M65.
Having to try so hard with a gun brand is exactly the reason one should be avoiding them. Wanting a newer 700 so bad that you are willing to inspect a bunch of them before buying is the problem. There are plenty of brands a person could confidently buy sight unseen and stand a much greater chance of making a good purchase. Telling yourself these are still great guns whilst still recognizing the fact that you must pour through a bunch of boxes to find the properly finished/put together specimen is a bit counter intuitive, no?
Patrick
This is a fail on so many fronts. D.
Care to elaborate? My point being that there are lots of other brands with far lower rates of problems and that a person would have a much better chance ofmaking a good purchase by sticking with those brands should they have to buy sight unseen,
Sure. Over the years, the 700 has outsold ALL other bolt action rifle models by a ratio of about 3:1 Percentages demand that there are going to be defects in any model of rifle, including some very expensive units.
Except for a short "glitch" during and just after the Cerebrus takeover, Remington 700's have had a solid reputation for accuracy, dependability and quality. Having owned over 100 M700 rifles in my lifetime,
Plus umpteen rifles of practically all makes and models, my experience leads me to believe that they are not near as troublesome as some would have us believe. M700 rifles have few that are on middle ground. A small
percentage of vehement "haters" and a large percentage of those who have and like them a lot. I have a t least 8 different makes of rifle in my safes. But 700's continue to dominate in numbers, and I do not
see that changing anytime soon.Dave.