I thought I'd share the story of my first real prescision rifle, my new (as of September last year) Remington 700 XCR Compact Tactical in .308. It began life as this:
I quickly decided the factory stock was not for me and ordered an AICS 2.0. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to see or handle an AICS in person before ordering it...none of the local gun stores carry them. I was impressed with the quality of the stock but the weight and feel of it just didn't quite do it for me. While in the AICS I did take it to the range once and put 20 rounds downrange with results that were not too spectacular. This was my fault, not the rifle's. I'm a total noob when it comes to long range rifles. Here's the AICS:
While my friend was helping me get the scope and rings set up on the rifle (SWFA SS 3-9x42 with Badger alloy base and rings), I got a chnace to handle his McMillan A5 and A3. With the A3 it was love at first sight.
I instantly began planning my sale of the AICS and ordering an A3 (marbled in 60% light tan, 30% dark tan, 10% olive. Here is the McMillan:
I had achieved perfection. Hahaha. My dream rifle was complete. So off to the range with another load of Hornady 168 grain BTHP match ammo. I hadn't yet sighted in the scope but the groups were impressive. Aside from the flier it measured under .5 inches at 100 yards. And keep in mind, I'm a noob at long distance shooting. I was super happy with it:
I tried using a dime to cover them but you could see the edge of a couple holes so I used the nickel instead:
The other groups were of similar size, but only had 2 or 3 shots per group so I didn't bother taking pics. Needless to say, I was very happy with the rifle....until I was closing the bolt on the 21st round. It felt no different than the other 20 times I'd closed it until I pulled my hand away and found the bolt knob in my palm:
"Bummed" would be an understatement. I'd never known a bolt handle could come off until I got home and googled it. Come to find out it is exceptionally rare, and usually it is from using excessive force to get a spent case extracted. But I did read of at least one other guy who had his pop off during bolt closure, like mine did. Oh well, they can't all be perfect. After two calls to Remington customer service (the first one did not go well, the second, to a supervisor, did), they offered to send me a shipping label to send it back to them for a replacement of the bolt. I will be getting it off in the next few days and I'll update with the results when I get it back.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, this thread is not to bash Remington, the 700, or anything else. I am thrilled with how the rifle shoots, especially for a non-bedded, factory rifle. If I can manage to get a bolt that stays together (and I'd be lying if I said it didn't shake my confidence a little), I'll be very happy with this rifle.
I quickly decided the factory stock was not for me and ordered an AICS 2.0. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to see or handle an AICS in person before ordering it...none of the local gun stores carry them. I was impressed with the quality of the stock but the weight and feel of it just didn't quite do it for me. While in the AICS I did take it to the range once and put 20 rounds downrange with results that were not too spectacular. This was my fault, not the rifle's. I'm a total noob when it comes to long range rifles. Here's the AICS:
While my friend was helping me get the scope and rings set up on the rifle (SWFA SS 3-9x42 with Badger alloy base and rings), I got a chnace to handle his McMillan A5 and A3. With the A3 it was love at first sight.
I had achieved perfection. Hahaha. My dream rifle was complete. So off to the range with another load of Hornady 168 grain BTHP match ammo. I hadn't yet sighted in the scope but the groups were impressive. Aside from the flier it measured under .5 inches at 100 yards. And keep in mind, I'm a noob at long distance shooting. I was super happy with it:
I tried using a dime to cover them but you could see the edge of a couple holes so I used the nickel instead:
The other groups were of similar size, but only had 2 or 3 shots per group so I didn't bother taking pics. Needless to say, I was very happy with the rifle....until I was closing the bolt on the 21st round. It felt no different than the other 20 times I'd closed it until I pulled my hand away and found the bolt knob in my palm:
"Bummed" would be an understatement. I'd never known a bolt handle could come off until I got home and googled it. Come to find out it is exceptionally rare, and usually it is from using excessive force to get a spent case extracted. But I did read of at least one other guy who had his pop off during bolt closure, like mine did. Oh well, they can't all be perfect. After two calls to Remington customer service (the first one did not go well, the second, to a supervisor, did), they offered to send me a shipping label to send it back to them for a replacement of the bolt. I will be getting it off in the next few days and I'll update with the results when I get it back.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, this thread is not to bash Remington, the 700, or anything else. I am thrilled with how the rifle shoots, especially for a non-bedded, factory rifle. If I can manage to get a bolt that stays together (and I'd be lying if I said it didn't shake my confidence a little), I'll be very happy with this rifle.
