Getting another Rem 700P- am I just a glutton for pain?

[BigBrother]

So! Been years and years since I’ve been on here and precision shooting. I moved to a 2A-unfriendly place and my babies have been in storage since, but I’ve now moved and can have them again.

I’ve been going through the steps to transfer back to me (I transferred them to a friend when I moved) and started considering my good (bad) ol’ 700P.

This thing was an absolutely royal pain in the ass. I bought it new around 2008. It had what HateCA ended up diagnosing as most likely a timing issue (he never saw it but based on my experience.) Basically no matter how precise my zeroing was at 100, the thing would always print an inch and a half to 2 inches right at 300. I swapped virtually everything- rings, base, optic, the works -in an attempt to diagnose and fix it. Nothing. Oh and it’s not like it was marksmanship issues or anything- I had no such issues with any of my other rifles, not to mention the fact that I was setting this thing up in completely ideal conditions, prone, nothing mattered.

I’m fed up with the thing and was planning on selling the barreled action at a discount, with full disclosure, to anyone who wanted it on GB and keeping the stock, base, etc.

So I’m looking at 700P prices the other day and something dangerous catches my eye...

See I, like many I imagine, bought my 700P as a poor man’s M24 work/look alike. I loved it in concept. But as we all know it had some key differences.

Well damn, most of those are now gone. What do I see for the new model?

-24” barrel
-5R
-40X adjustable trigger

It’s like they basically bridged 99% of the differences I wanted changed.

So now we’re looking at an almost M24.

Suddenly my Stockholm syndrome flares up. Am I really about to commit myself to another relationship with big green? What do you all think?

 

[MarshallDodge]

I own several Remington rifles and wouldn't buy another. Two of them are 1990's era- 700VS and 700LTR, both in 223, and they both shoot well under an inch with my reloads.

Fast forward to my mid 2000s era 700P in 308. I have honestly never put it on paper, only steel from 200-550 yards and it did fine with 155 grain Noslers. The XMark trigger is mediocre and the stock fitment is wonky. Somebody ground down a couple threads on the action screw so something is off there.

Bergara would be my first choice in a factory built 700 pattern rifle these days.

 

[DocRDS]

Recovering Green Person myself...

Have we introduced you to the Bighorn Origin? Its like a remington, but like good (I know back in the day...)
Bergara, Tikka, Howa all make good rifles, but trying to do a poor man's m24--go semi-custom and make @TheGerman happy by not being poor

 

[blackblue]

Just send that one and have it worked over.

 

[BigBrother]

Hah, great responses. Is @TheGerman a builder? Been literally a decade since I’ve been on here...

 

[hafejd30]

I’ve owned 4 Rem 700’s in the past 10 years. SPS, AACSD, XCR LR and a GA built off a 700 action.

Still own the AACSD. It’s decent. I adjusted the trigger from the 8+ lbs it was from the box down to 3lbs. It shoots 1 - 1.5 MOA with Fiocchi ammo. It’s set up in a XLR evolution carbon chassis and makes for a very nice lightweight rifle. Used for deer. Had LRI flute and add a bolt knob a few years ago

The others left some to be desired. From ejection/extraction issues down to just not the accuracy I wanted.

If you want a cheap mans M24 then the 700P is close at a low cost.

Personally I sold my XCR LR Tactical and replaced with a Savage 10 FCP HS. The savage hands down was more accurate and has been very reliable compared to that XCR I had

I think there’s better ways to go then a factory 700P

 

[Mrindecisive]

I don’t know what you budget is but I would recommend getting a custom action that would accept prefits. Something like a zerrmat origin action (875), proof prefit (479) trigger tech special (189), krg bravo chassis 350. You’ll need some tools too. But altus shooting solutions will assemble it for you if you order all the parts from them for 35-40 bucks.

 

[TommyD11730]

The NIB 700p (in 308) I purchased last summer is a fine shooter. (Guess I got lucky) Truth be told, I shoot my 223 Model 12 more often as it sips powder.

I vote for fixing the one you own.

Good luck Sir.

 

[athanasios23]

I would send it to a builder and have them look it over. I think some gunsmiths offer an accurizing package. May fix your issues at a decent price. 700s may lack some features of standard rifles now but we all know what they can do after being worked over.

 

[MK3XXX]

I don’t know what you budget is but I would recommend getting a custom action that would accept prefits. Something like a zerrmat origin action (875), proof prefit (479) trigger tech special (189), krg bravo chassis 350. You’ll need some tools too. But altus shooting solutions will assemble it for you if you order all the parts from them for 35-40 bucks.

Do this

 

[308Gunner]

Yeah I would send it to LRI and have them work it over, you will be money ahead. Not that a 700 can shoot, there is a guy in Hollywood that has had decent luck getting them to shoot mediocre groups when he doesn’t have to much coffee.

 

[m1match]

You yourself said the 700P that you have was pain in the ass. I don't know why, today in 2021, anyone would buy a Remington 700 for a precision rifle. In factory rifles, the Bergaras and the Tikkas are superior to anything that big green ever put out, hell I'd take a Ruger RPR over a factory Remington.

Having said that, since you already own one if you really don't want to sell it, I'd send it to LRI to have Chad look it over and figure out if it's worth saving. If it were me though, I'd get rid of it and start from scratch with a custom action, my preference would be a American Rifle Co. Nucleus.

Also FWIW, hardly anybody these days is using 40X triggers, you can buy excellent triggers from TriggerTech, BixNAndy, etc. essentially plug and play. And there are many excellent barrel manufacturers that a shop like LRI could install for you.

Finally, since you haven't been around precision rifles in a LONG time, although people still shoot 308s, if you show up at any local club match, almost nobody is shooting 308s. Most are shooting some variant of a 6.5 mm or 6mm cartridge, with the top national competitors mostly shooting 6mms of some kind.

 

[DocRDS]

Hah, great responses. Is @TheGerman a builder? Been literally a decade since I’ve been on here...

He's the guy that comes around and slaps us all with his jewel encrusted phallus and tells us all to stop being poor.

I will say everything "custom" is almost always a Remington 700 clone. But its time to bury ol big green. Was good while it lasted. Lurk around what are called "semi-custom" actions--they are like the bargin custom actions. You can build a killer rifle to custom specs ($2k or so) Bighorn Origin is the most famous and Arc Nucleus is another. Defiant Actions has one as well but I get the names mixed up. Anyways at the factory level Tikka is "The unofficial Hide choice" with a few holdouts for Bergara (like me). Howa is a barreled action you can get in a chassis for under $1k. THere is a a TON of good stuff, just too much to mention. There is even a M24 Clone thread--puruse that and see what they did.

Fark me forgot about Ruger RPR. Sry guys.

PS Welcome Back to the Money Pit!

 

[vinniedelpino]

The 700 is the '78 malibu of the long range shooting world. It's a solid foundation to build on, but at the end of the day it's still a goddamn '78 malibu. You'll probably end up swapping out the stock, barrel, trigger- pretty much everything but the action anyway at some point.

I'd go tikka, swap out the tupperware for an x-ray or bravo, shoot out the barrel and then screw on a prefit. Or just break the bank and go custom.

 

[DocRDS]

The 700 is the '78 malibu of the long range shooting world. It's a solid foundation to build on, but at the end of the day it's still a goddamn '78 malibu. You'll probably end up swapping out the stock, barrel, trigger- pretty much everything but the action anyway at some point.

I'd go tikka, swap out the tupperware for an x-ray or bravo, shoot out the barrel and then screw on a prefit. Or just break the bank and go custom.

HEY! I Owned a 75 Mailbu and it was THE MOST AWESOME CAR EVER

And also a POS, but it was AWESOME!

 

[Steel head]

The 700 is the '78 malibu of the long range shooting world. It's a solid foundation to build on, but at the end of the day it's still a goddamn '78 malibu.

SOOOOOOOO TRUE!
We were shooting this 700 out to 2600 yards last weekend.

A ‘78 with some bling.

 

[m1match]

HEY! I Owned a 75 Mailbu and it was THE MOST AWESOME CAR EVER

And also a POS, but it was AWESOME!

My wife used to have one and that car was a POS and burned a quart of oil avery 500 miles, but it ran forever, or at least until my sister in law who's a terrible driver crashed it.

 

[vinniedelpino]

SOOOOOOOO TRUE!
We were shooting this 700 out to 2600 yards last weekend.

A ‘78 with some bling.
View attachment 7604795

I want to shoot that rifle off the hood of this thing. 2600 yards is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[Steel head]

I want to shoot that rifle off the hood of this thing. 2600 yards is nothing to sneeze at!

View attachment 7604801

Yea
I’d love to roll into some PRS or ELR match with that!

 

[BigBrother]

Jesus, things have changed in a decade, eh? I literally don’t think I recognize a single one of the acronyms or rifle makers you guys are discussing. Last I was ‘round these parts, it was all GAPs and US Optics and Surgeon actions!!

 

[fdkay]

Jesus, things have changed in a decade, eh? I literally don’t think I recognize a single one of the acronyms or rifle makers you guys are discussing. Last I was ‘round these parts, it was all GAPs and US Optics and Surgeon actions!!

I have 5 model 700's.
I'm not saying that they are the bestest of the bestest, but they work.
One was a 5R milspec, that was equipped with a very decent x mark trigger. That rifle was stupid accurate.
It is now my match rifle, with a rock 7mm-08 barrel in a magpul pro 700, jewel trigger topped with an Athlon Chronus BTR gen 2.
One was a 400 dollar ADL I bought at walmart. It's got a Schneider 5P barrel, timney trigger in a KRG Bravo.
One was an SPS tactical in .223, not a consistent shooter. It's now a .22 nosler with a shilen trigger in a KRG Bravo.
One was my Dad's match rifle in 6.5x55, the builder on that had left it with excessive headspace, I had that fixed and added a DBM to the HS precision stock (I'm keeping it as close as possible to the way my Dad had it).
Last one is a bone stock sendero in 7mm RM that I bought when they were first released (I was on a waiting list when they announced them).

All of the rifles, with the exception of the sendero have had significant work done to them. side bolt release, tactical bolt knob, trued etc...
They can turn into money pits.

Would I buy another one? Maybe, I've got the lathe and tooling, I can true the action face and lap the lugs myself.
Would I buy one as a basis for a custom that I was going to pay for the work? Probably not.
There are 700 footprint actions out there that would cost less to purchase with all of the improvements already added.
Would I go out and buy an HS Precision stock to a new rifle? No. Quality wise, they are fine. Ergonomically, they kinda suck.

Would I buy one if I really wanted a poor mans M24 (albeit short action)? Hell yeah.
Would I have an action I already owned worked on? Hell yeah. You've got the stock you want, you've got the action. There are plenty of gun plumbers on the hide that can help you out.
Personally, I think you might have an issue with the scope screw holes not being lined up. That would explain a 100 yard zero that ends up with a windage issue at distance.

 

[roostercogburn98]

My model 7 collection and I are over in the corner crying. Thanks

 

[sinister]

I have one last, lone 700 in the gun safe.

This one started as a factory 700 Varmint. I bought it new in 1994 for the Virginia hunting season after the canceled Haiti invasion. I had the action trued and bedded into the H-S stock, the barrel set back, muzzle threaded for a Surefire brake, and installed new bottom metal for AICS magazines and Jewell HVR-A trigger.

This is how it 10-shot grouped at 100 with 168 Match King hand loads:

This is how it scored the last hunting season I used it in Utah (348 yards by Terrapin laser at 10,000 feet altitude):

It's on its second barrel, a nitrided 26-inch 1-10 Bartlein (Remington Varmint taper) with an Area 419 brake, Geissele trigger, bedded in a KRG Bravo stock.

700s (and/or derivatives), like ARs, can lead to nasty-expensive habits.

The advantage you have with the action and stock you have is it's in-hand. The problem you have is it's the action and stock you have.

I say (especially with Remington) build what you want. I don't think you'll be satisfied with a mass-produced 700, 5R or not. I believe the 5R (like the M24) is also a heavy bastard. [Edited: never mind, it looks like the new one has the Varmint taper with flutes]

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

I owned a 700LTR in .308, with a McMillan stock.
That was a nice rifle.

 

[308pirate]

Jesus, things have changed in a decade, eh? I literally don’t think I recognize a single one of the acronyms or rifle makers you guys are discussing. Last I was ‘round these parts, it was all GAPs and US Optics and Surgeon actions!!

LOL reminds me of Rip Van Winkle

 

[fdkay]

Here is a video of Henry shooting a 5R milspec, in an HS precision stock with a fixed power 10X super sniper.

 

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

I really wanted a 700P (like many others I'd suspect, I thought it would be as close to an M24 SWS or M40 I would get...) - but I couldn't find one (this was right before the 2012 re-election of Obama bin Biden and the gun shops were insanity) - and I 'settled' on a 700 AAC-SD .308 20".

Let me start by saying, I am - was? - a huge Remington fan. Among US firearms manufactures , I always loved Smith & Wesson and Remington. Big time. I have had many Remington firearms that were all made post-Cereberus / Freedom Group. Each of them had problems out of the box. Some of them were fixed - like my pair of 597s - some Volquartsen parts and an hour of TLC at the table, they work *amazingly*. Some just never felt great to me - the vaunted 870 of modern times is not the 870 Wingmaster your Daddy or Granddaddy had in the 70s... - my 870 Tactical just never felt solidly reliable, wound up trading it (and selling the trade, which funded an awesome Rock Island 1911, not the point here.) - I absolutely love Remington but when they were spun into The Freedom Group, they just died a slow death.

My 700 AAC-SD was just straight-up a lemon. I put *A LOT* of time, money, and effort into it. It was just a terrible firearm. When you have reliability problems with a bolt-action rifle, you've got problems. Failures to feed, can't get the bolt to close on rounds, ejection problems, accuracy problems, it just was not the magical Remington 700 that I wanted because the Army & Marines used them!


I haven't bought a Remington since, would not unless it was some sort of super special deal or super special buy. They're not the same.

And I can actually explain why- there was a post on a forum about 8-10 years ago by someone who was a career Bushmaster builder and gunsmith. I'll try to make it as short as I can but he had excellent information. Basically, once Freedom Group "took over" Remington's day-to-day operations, they installed wholesale changes. One of the most crucial was inspecting firearms on batch basis instead of individual basis. They'd randomly take one of the rifle's from a batch of 100, inspect it, and if it was deemed acceptable, the batch of 100 was deemed acceptable. This would *really come back to haunt them* across their brands. Bushmaster itself wound up with several major problems and I remember like 2010-2011 Bushmaster went from one of the Top-3 "Always Buy an ABC AR! [Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt]" to firearms-forum-fodder and veritable junk according to many. The gentleman explained how the batch testing (which they pushed onto Remington and Marlin and Bushmaster etc.) really hurt them- In one case, they were getting dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of rifles with corrosion problems and/or warranty-requests because of poor finish. They didn't understand what was going on and this gentleman was asked to look into it. It turns out they had hired a young, totally-inexperienced kid who needed a job in replacement of a career gunsmith/builder. He had been minimally taught the processes he was to follow in his area of assembly - which included the application of something before the finish went on, which would make the finish "stick" so-to-speak. It was a crucial step. He thought it was stupid and time-consuming and extra work, like putting on two coats of paint when only one was needed. (Completely wrong). So he just stopped doing it. Nobody noticed. All those rifles went out for months until they started getting complaints, then suddenly they were swamped, because a young kid thought part of the job was stupid. Similarly, they had a problem with a senior staff, one of the most experienced and talented career master builder/gunsmith. They wanted him to retire (or quit...) and replace with a cheaper worker (like my man above...) - and so they changed his hours and had him come in extremely early. (Something like that. Maybe he worked a late shift and they switched it to the early shift.) - This led to a divorce (wife liked the fact he wasn't home at nights?) - and it became a brutal divorce and she proceeded to take him to the cleaners. This led to problem-drinking (which I totally understand) and with the new hours, he was coming in more and more hungover. Which led to mistakes on his own part, and complacency on inspecting other peoples mistakes. He knew the company wanted him to go, and his home life sucked, and so he just stopped caring... and when *another young worker* like my man above was installing some part incorrectly, he either didn't see it or didn't care, and didn't correct it. And again, one rifle in 100 is inspected, the entire batch is passed, but they all had some bad part (I don't remember exactly what it was.) - And again, suddenly they have a huge amount of warranty work on a specific part / failure, and they trace the source- the young worker was simply doing it wrong every day - not on purpose, he just was either mis-trained or untrained or not understanding - and it should have been caught and corrected, but it wasn't , and many many rifles left with that fault (and had to be repaired for free under the warranty etc.)

Same exact thing would go on at Remington. Batch testing, lower-paid, lower-skilled (even unskilled at all)) workers hired to replace highly-skilled career masters, all efforts made to save money and generate more profit, less hands-on and eyes-on checking, much more problems.

In conclusion, while I am sure that many people own and love their 700s, I sure as sugar wouldn't buy another one.

 

[BigBrother]

I really wanted a 700P (like many others I'd suspect, I thought it would be as close to an M24 SWS or M40 I would get...) - but I couldn't find one (this was right before the 2012 re-election of Obama bin Biden and the gun shops were insanity) - and I 'settled' on a 700 AAC-SD .308 20".

Let me start by saying, I am - was? - a huge Remington fan. Among US firearms manufactures , I always loved Smith & Wesson and Remington. Big time. I have had many Remington firearms that were all made post-Cereberus / Freedom Group. Each of them had problems out of the box. Some of them were fixed - like my pair of 597s - some Volquartsen parts and an hour of TLC at the table, they work *amazingly*. Some just never felt great to me - the vaunted 870 of modern times is not the 870 Wingmaster your Daddy or Granddaddy had in the 70s... - my 870 Tactical just never felt solidly reliable, wound up trading it (and selling the trade, which funded an awesome Rock Island 1911, not the point here.) - I absolutely love Remington but when they were spun into The Freedom Group, they just died a slow death.

My 700 AAC-SD was just straight-up a lemon. I put *A LOT* of time, money, and effort into it. It was just a terrible firearm. When you have reliability problems with a bolt-action rifle, you've got problems. Failures to feed, can't get the bolt to close on rounds, ejection problems, accuracy problems, it just was not the magical Remington 700 that I wanted because the Army & Marines used them!


I haven't bought a Remington since, would not unless it was some sort of super special deal or super special buy. They're not the same.

And I can actually explain why- there was a post on a forum about 8-10 years ago by someone who was a career Bushmaster builder and gunsmith. I'll try to make it as short as I can but he had excellent information. Basically, once Freedom Group "took over" Remington's day-to-day operations, they installed wholesale changes. One of the most crucial was inspecting firearms on batch basis instead of individual basis. They'd randomly take one of the rifle's from a batch of 100, inspect it, and if it was deemed acceptable, the batch of 100 was deemed acceptable. This would *really come back to haunt them* across their brands. Bushmaster itself wound up with several major problems and I remember like 2010-2011 Bushmaster went from one of the Top-3 "Always Buy an ABC AR! [Armalite, Bushmaster, Colt]" to firearms-forum-fodder and veritable junk according to many. The gentleman explained how the batch testing (which they pushed onto Remington and Marlin and Bushmaster etc.) really hurt them- In one case, they were getting dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of rifles with corrosion problems and/or warranty-requests because of poor finish. They didn't understand what was going on and this gentleman was asked to look into it. It turns out they had hired a young, totally-inexperienced kid who needed a job in replacement of a career gunsmith/builder. He had been minimally taught the processes he was to follow in his area of assembly - which included the application of something before the finish went on, which would make the finish "stick" so-to-speak. It was a crucial step. He thought it was stupid and time-consuming and extra work, like putting on two coats of paint when only one was needed. (Completely wrong). So he just stopped doing it. Nobody noticed. All those rifles went out for months until they started getting complaints, then suddenly they were swamped, because a young kid thought part of the job was stupid. Similarly, they had a problem with a senior staff, one of the most experienced and talented career master builder/gunsmith. They wanted him to retire (or quit...) and replace with a cheaper worker (like my man above...) - and so they changed his hours and had him come in extremely early. (Something like that. Maybe he worked a late shift and they switched it to the early shift.) - This led to a divorce (wife liked the fact he wasn't home at nights?) - and it became a brutal divorce and she proceeded to take him to the cleaners. This led to problem-drinking (which I totally understand) and with the new hours, he was coming in more and more hungover. Which led to mistakes on his own part, and complacency on inspecting other peoples mistakes. He knew the company wanted him to go, and his home life sucked, and so he just stopped caring... and when *another young worker* like my man above was installing some part incorrectly, he either didn't see it or didn't care, and didn't correct it. And again, one rifle in 100 is inspected, the entire batch is passed, but they all had some bad part (I don't remember exactly what it was.) - And again, suddenly they have a huge amount of warranty work on a specific part / failure, and they trace the source- the young worker was simply doing it wrong every day - not on purpose, he just was either mis-trained or untrained or not understanding - and it should have been caught and corrected, but it wasn't , and many many rifles left with that fault (and had to be repaired for free under the warranty etc.)

Same exact thing would go on at Remington. Batch testing, lower-paid, lower-skilled (even unskilled at all)) workers hired to replace highly-skilled career masters, all efforts made to save money and generate more profit, less hands-on and eyes-on checking, much more problems.

In conclusion, while I am sure that many people own and love their 700s, I sure as sugar wouldn't buy another one.

Fantastic. This one here may have finally sealed it for me. Thanks so much for your help all!

For whatever this contribution is worth, I had a similar, super informative conversation with a Remington guy sometime between 08-11, someone whom I think I found by semi-random traversing of the phone queues at Remington customer service. Still have his info somewhere. Unbelievably knowledgeable and friendly guy who explained to me *why*, exactly, the M24 proper, at like 90% the same rifle as a 700P, costs 10X more. Inspection. It was all about inspection and validation. Nothing having to do with materials (well, ok, obviously if you buy the SWS you’re paying for glass and some parts as well, but you get my point.) It was really interesting to hear how this fundamentally equivalent rifle was built and tested completely separately from the rest. I guess this is probably old hat for many on here, but I suppose at the time I thought it was on the basis of limited supply or government contract or Air Jordan price gouging, but it was literally just the fact that these *particular* little 700s, with their few extra roll mark letters, had to have the shit inspected out of them. Makes sense, I suppose.

 

[canezach]

I bought my first Remington 700P back around 94 from the AAFES-run gun shop on Fort Hood. It shot fantastic with handloads. Fast forward to 2005 and I'm getting divorced, so in a moment of cash-depleted panic, I sold it. Biggest mistake of my life, but I wouldn't know that until about 2013 when I wanted to get back into shooting long range matches. Naturally, I bought another 700P. YUGE mistake. The action felt gritty. The trigger was meh. The plastic stock was very slightly warped so it ever so slightly touched the barrel. It shot about as good as you'd expect; 1.5" groups on its best day. I end up having it trued, rebarreled, change the stock to a chassis, swap the trigger and it is now probably the most consistently accurate rifle I have... after spending more money on it to get it to shoot than I would have if I had gone with a custom build. There's nostalgia and then there's throwing good money at bad.

Edit: typo

 

[MarshallDodge]

Exactly. My friend went through the same thing, spent 800 on a new barrel and having the action trued on 5R 223 that shot 2" groups with match ammo, on top of the $900 he spent for the rifle.

The gun now shoots fantastic but it should for $1700.

 

[jcmullis2]

I guess I’ve been lucky. I have a half dozen different 700p from the early 90s thru around September last year. My “C” prefix 223 is the best made of them. However the one I bought a few months back shoots sub .5moa with factory ammo and it has the new style tactical bolt knob and uses the heavier gauge 8-40 scope base screws.
I paid less than $800 for the one several months back. The ones on gunbroker are going for a bunch more nowadays. I would by a Defiance Tenacity, a prefit barrel, TriggerTech trigger, and a stock/krg chassis before I paid the $1600 buy now price I seen the other day for a NiB 700p. Good luck

 

[diggler1833]

I've got a 1991 made 700 BDL in .30-06 that is smoother than my Bergara Premier by a noticeable amount, and amazingly accurate for what it is with a good handload...like consistent .4 -.5 range. All I've done to it is lighten the trigger to 3lbs, bed the action, and remove that stupid pressure pad and bed that part as well.

My last two Remington 700s have both shot well, but are gritty and try to bind on you for no reason. No way I'd get a new one. The factory trigger went from something you could tinker with to get nice, to a part that is essentially a mandatory replacement.

 

[hafejd30]

If you could get an older Rem 700p (if those exist) that to me would be a good investment. Pending you know when purchasing that it shot well. My AACSD I mentioned above is a very smooth action. AI smooth? No but FN SPR smooth Yes!

That said my lgs has mentioned getting Rem 700’s in the past couple years that the bolt wouldn’t close on a brand new rifle. Another local shop got a couple that the barrel wasn’t rifled. So quality control before bankruptcy was very poor

 

[BigBrother]

If you could get an older Rem 700p (if those exist) that to me would be a good investment. Pending you know when purchasing that it shot well. My AACSD I mentioned above is a very smooth action. AI smooth? No but FN SPR smooth Yes!

That said my lgs has mentioned getting Rem 700’s in the past couple years that the bolt wouldn’t close on a brand new rifle. Another local shop got a couple that the barrel wasn’t rifled. So quality control before bankruptcy was very poor

Jesus that’s some scary stuff.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I grew up with a few Remington 700’s, and while they were all good shooting factory rifles they don't hold a candle to what you can have with a custom action and prefit.

depending in budget, but you could go origin, proof prefit, trigger tech and a chassis and be very happy.

 

[sinister]

I really wanted a 700P (like many others I'd suspect, I thought it would be as close to an M24 SWS or M40 I would get...) ...

My 700 AAC-SD was just straight-up a lemon. I put *A LOT* of time, money, and effort into it. It was just a terrible firearm. When you have reliability problems with a bolt-action rifle, you've got problems. Failures to feed, can't get the bolt to close on rounds, ejection problems, accuracy problems, it just was not the magical Remington 700 that I wanted because the Army & Marines used them!

For whatever this contribution is worth, I had a similar, super informative conversation with a Remington guy sometime between 08-11, someone whom I think I found by semi-random traversing of the phone queues at Remington customer service. Unbelievably knowledgeable and friendly guy who explained to me *why*, exactly, the M24 proper, at like 90% the same rifle as a 700P, costs 10X more. Inspection. It was all about inspection and validation. It was really interesting to hear how this fundamentally equivalent rifle was built and tested completely separately from the rest. I guess this is probably old hat for many on here, but I suppose at the time I thought it was on the basis of limited supply or government contract or Air Jordan price gouging, but it was literally just the fact that these *particular* little 700s, with their few extra roll mark letters, had to have the shit inspected out of them. Makes sense, I suppose.

The Army specified how M24s should group under certain circumstances (GI ammo, ranges, temperatures, extended climate exposure, contract maintenance, etc.). Had they NOT met those agreed-to government contract specifications, Uncle Sam could have sued them. Perhaps also penalized them, and, at worst, prohibited them from ever competing on a United States federal or military contract again, ever.

The Marines hand-built M40s in the Precision Weapons Shop at Quantico.

To think you're going to get M24 / M40 performance out of a random off-the-rack rifle you bought in a big-box store is a compliment to your optimism. You might get close if it was a custom-built 700 or 40X out of the Remington Custom Shop, but you're adding cost again.

 

[canezach]

To think you're going to get M24 / M40 performance out of a random off-the-rack rifle you bought in a big-box store is a compliment to your optimism.

"A compliment to your optimism"

 

[BigBrother]

But I wasn’t looking for drop it off a mountain ruggedness or a stock that could take a 7.62x39 and barely flinch . I was simply looking for a 1/4-1/2 MOA (with platinum-coated diamond bullets, i.e. SMK) rifle with about the same quality as any good consumer firearm, which would really have fit my needs to a T. And in *that* they even failed. But no, certainly no illusions of government contract-level specs.

 

[BigBrother]

Also, just occurred to me- God did they drop the ball on this. They basically had on their hands, for about thirty years, the Air Jordans of the sniper rifle world. You’d think these idiots would, like any mfr with two gray cells, make a civilian version of the 24 so we could all “shoot like Mike”. Put everything on it that would make sense and/or cosmetically appeal to a consumer- put on a 24” 5R barrel, put on a similar HS-P stock with the adjustable length of pull butt stock, give it their best trigger, hell, even put on the (virtually pointless) iron sight bases, you know, give the people the same exact look and profile, charge a healthy premium, and BAM- customers out the door.

No, instead these idiots make these rifles that sort of kind of resemble it: one with a 26” non-5R barrel whose length as far as I can tell makes no sense and with whatever trigger they’re sticking in everything else, and then (this one really made no sense to me and pissed me off) some weird sideshow rifle (the “5R”) with the barrel we really want but in some God-awful 1990s Windows background-colored stock and a horribly mismatched stainless steel finish, requiring you to immediately replace the stock and refinish the damn thing (which many did) to bring it back to a decent look.

Now finally after all these years they realized they should’ve done it. You know, when the 24 is a relic and practically just nostalgia-fodder.

Guess the green machine no likey the green.