I am planning to do a build on a Remington model 700 platform in 6.5 Creedmoor. I am looking at KRG Whiskey 3 chassis with a Trigger tech Diamond trigger so not worried about the stock trigger or stock. I am trying to decide between the new 700 Long range and new 700 SPS Varmint. Both are new production models with 5R riffling. The main difference is the long range has a concave target style barrel crown but both have a 26" heavy duty barrel. So my question is which one of these guns would you suggest for a build like this? This is my first build and first bolt action rifle so this is all new to me. I don't know pricing but I assume the long range will be a couple hundred dollars more then the SPS Varmint. Thanks for the help!!
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Model 700 SPS Varmint VS 700 Long Range for a build
- Thread starter lmhayes108
- Start date
I recommend the several hundred dollars less option and put that savings into a new barrel
Buy the cheaper of the two If you plan on changing the stock and trigger anyways. They will both shoot about the same after your changes. If your budget is a little flexible, look at Tikka or a custom action and a prefit barrel.
I've got a couple custom 700's and one that's about to be. If I had it to do over again I'd have bought a custom barreled action from the get go.
Not sure about the new remingtons but right before they went under I wouldn't even take a chance on a new rifle from them. I hunted cheap used rifles just for a donor action.
Not sure about the new remingtons but right before they went under I wouldn't even take a chance on a new rifle from them. I hunted cheap used rifles just for a donor action.
I voted for the SPS since you plan to change out the stock anyway.
That being said, I went through this recently and ended up buying a custom action instead.
I started doing the math on buying a lower end tikka and then changing the trigger and stock and barrel... Ends up being about a wash.
In the long run, I think you'll have a better product for about the same price and won't be throwing parts away.
That being said, I went through this recently and ended up buying a custom action instead.
I started doing the math on buying a lower end tikka and then changing the trigger and stock and barrel... Ends up being about a wash.
In the long run, I think you'll have a better product for about the same price and won't be throwing parts away.
Buy an Origin action, pick a barrel from a good company, and have a smith fit it. You will know it will shoot, won't cost that much more, you won't have unused parts lying around junking up your closet, and you have a very nice upgrade base.
I voted Varmint , looks like the extra cost of the long range is the stock . I have/had a bunch of heavy barrel .308 Rem 700s . They shoot/shot fine but the bore on some looked pretty rough for new production . I would shoot it and scope the bore before you spend too much on it . Like Spife said , you can always put the savings into a new barrel .
Hey, and I'm being serious, I have never owned a "custom" action. Do you still take your barrel to a Smith to have it fit up? I really thought that the whole benefit of the pre-fits was so anybody with a vice, a torque wrench and a go/ no-go gauge just about couldn't screw it up. Is that not the rundown?
You can remage just fine. I have done a handful like that myself, one of my current match rifles which is a custom has a barrel nut and they have been every bit as accurate as my shouldered. Most of todays custom actions can have a shouldered barrel cut and mailed to your door, shouldered prefit that you don’t adjust vs the rem/savage nuts that you set yourself.
What I think they are saying is that if you are going to invest funds into an action spend it on a nicer action since you’ll be throwing half your purchase away with the factory option. Just something to thing about.
The customs feel better to operate but my remage/savage nut barrels do just as well in the accuracy department.
Yup, I believe lot of them are DIY with the right tools and a pre-fit barrel... I just put together my first custom action myself. I hit the Easy Button though and went with a Terminus Zeus quick change and a Proof barrel. Seriously, all you need is a small torque wrench. Goes together in a minute.
I used my SPS. The chassis turned it from a 1.5” @ 100yards to .5”. The factory stock was awful. Only thing different about it is the Timney trigger. The action is smooth, it feeds from the plastic AICS type mags, and is accurate enough for me and the silhouettes. Enjoy not spending Barrel and Smith money, if you can
What chassis is that ?I used my SPS. The chassis turned it from a 1.5” @ 100yards to .5”. The factory stock was awful. Only thing different about it is the Timney trigger. The action is smooth, it feeds from the plastic AICS type mags, and is accurate enough for me and the silhouettes. Enjoy not spending Barrel and Smith money, if you can
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Just spend the money on this while it’s on sale for $999, and save the headache…
Get the 24” barreled option. It’s already threaded with a matching thread protector. Get a TriggerTech Diamond for it, and then drop it in your chassis. GTFG with zero smith work, hassle, or headache.
CHRISTENSEN ARMS RIDGELINE 6.5 CREEDMOOR BARRELED ACTION | Brownells
The heart of the famous Christensen Ridgeline FFT is now available as a foundation for your build. Compatible with a short action ...
www.brownells.com
I have 3 CA rifles, and they are well-built. Essentially, they’re a custom 700 clone action, that’s extremely smooth with tight tolerances not requiring smith work. Both of my Ridgelines shoot in the 0.3xx” range with handloads.
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REMINGTON for the win.
I have factory Remingtons that will do that, one from 1961 with thousands of rounds through it .Just spend the money on this while it’s on sale for $999, and save the headache…
Get the 24” barreled option. It’s already threaded with a matching thread protector. Get a TriggerTech Diamond for it, and then drop it in your chassis. GTFG with zero smith work, hassle, or headache.
CHRISTENSEN ARMS RIDGELINE 6.5 CREEDMOOR BARRELED ACTION | Brownells
The heart of the famous Christensen Ridgeline FFT is now available as a foundation for your build. Compatible with a short action ...www.brownells.com
I have 3 CA rifles, and they are well-built. Essentially, they’re a custom 700 clone action, that’s extremely smooth with tight tolerances not requiring smooth work. Both of my Ridgelines shoot in the 0.3xx” range with handloads.
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Yeah and it's from 1961. When they still made good rifles. Anybody know the production history on the 700 LTR ? Mine has a 20" barrel with three wide flat flutes in it and it came in a sort of compact hs precision stock that was solid black. Not sure when it was made but I bought it used at least 15 years ago and it's a solid .25 moa gun with factory 168 fgmm. But, I had a couple and saw several more of my friends rifles towards the end of the old remington that did good to shoot 2.5 moa. Not sure what the new remington is turning out.
Just had too much bad luck with them to trust any of the new production out of them yet. The new 700 alpha does interest me but I'll wait and see how they pan out before I buy one.
Good for you… I do too, and a safe full of customs built off of 700’s. But that doesn’t change the fact that the newer Remingtons have lots of well-known issues, QC problems, shitty finishes that rust, their barrels are hit-or-miss (pun intended), and need to be completely reworked by a professional gunsmith to get them “Right”. You’ll spend more money buying a 700 and having a gunsmith blueprint it, then just buying the barreled Ridgeline action, that already comes with a headspaced & threaded $750 carbon fiber barrel. That’s a no-brainier!
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Those 3 wide-flute LTR’s were built in the early 2000’s. We used to sell the shit out of those at the gun store 20 years ago…And 700 PSS (26” non-fluted) rifles, too. Every customer came back saying they were tack-drivers. I have several old Sendero-SF rifles I bought new back then that shoot lights-out.
The only new(er) 700 I’ll buy with any faith, is the 5R Milspec series, or any of the models that come with heavy factory 5R rifled barrels. Other than that, I won’t touch one for over $500, because I’m just going to pull it apart and blueprint it, and I don’t want to spend as much on a factory 700, as I could have just buying a custom action to begin with.
I probably picked mine up in 05 or 06 so that sounds about right. It shot a .071 for four shots and a .252 for five a year apart. But it's Achilles heel is it only has a 12 twist barrel in it and it doesn't care for anything over a 168. It's starting to open up now though and the bore scope says it's days are numbered. I've got a 9 twist lilja I think I'm going to try and fit to it.
