Well, I've had a bad case of the wants for a Remington 700 for a long time now. I ended up going with the 700 XCR (Extreme Conditions Rifle) Compact Tactical. For those not too familiar with this rifle, it is outwardly very similar to the Remington 700P LTR. I bought it in .308 Winchester, and it has a 20" fluted barrel. It comes with a green Bell and Carlson "Medalist" stock which features a full-length aluminum bedding block. The XCR comes with Remington's new 40-X trigger (which is the best trigger I've ever felt on a gun).
Differences between the XCR Compact Tactical and the LTR are the stock (Bell and Carlson vs. HS Prescision), and the XCR is stainless steel with Ionbond finish whereas the LTR is carbon steel with parkerized finish. In my humble opinion, the XCR action is much smoother than the LTR (I briefly owned an LTR in the past). All in all, I greatly prefer the XCR Compact and think I have found my ideal bolt gun.
In an attempt to keep this rifle fairly light, yet still bomb-proof (in case I ever take up hunting), I went with Badger Ordnance alloy rings and base instead of steel. The scope was a tough choice. I'm new to long-range shooting but I've always drooled over Nightforce scopes. Unfortunately I couldn't decide which reticle to go with and I was also low on cash. In a rare moment of logical thinking, I realized that if I couldn't even decide on a reticle I had no business spending $1,500 on a scope. I read lots of threads and reviews on scopes on various sites. I noticed that the SWFA "super sniper" SS 3-9x42 scope came very highly recommended in the sub-$1,000 dollar scope range. For a modest price of $550 (with the snipershide promo code), the SWFA SS 3-9x42 comes with a lot of good features. It has a 30mm tube, first focal plane reticle, mil-dot reticle with .1 Mrad turrets, etc. And according to reviews, good glass to boot. When I got mine I was very pleased with the feeling of quality I got from it.
To round out the accessories I bought an Eagle Industries stock pack (the new version which has the ammo slots inside the pouch instead of outside), and a TIS (Tactical Intervention Specialists) sling. Unfortunately the sling came with the wrong type of adapters so I have to return them and get the Talon sling swivels. For a case I plan to buy an Eagle drag bag. No, I don't <span style="font-weight: bold">need</span> a drag bag since I'm not a sniper, but they are very tacticool.
Once I get a chance to take it to the range I'll give an update. I'll also try to take some better pictures of it, these were the best I could do in 10 minutes while I had my wife's camera.
Differences between the XCR Compact Tactical and the LTR are the stock (Bell and Carlson vs. HS Prescision), and the XCR is stainless steel with Ionbond finish whereas the LTR is carbon steel with parkerized finish. In my humble opinion, the XCR action is much smoother than the LTR (I briefly owned an LTR in the past). All in all, I greatly prefer the XCR Compact and think I have found my ideal bolt gun.
In an attempt to keep this rifle fairly light, yet still bomb-proof (in case I ever take up hunting), I went with Badger Ordnance alloy rings and base instead of steel. The scope was a tough choice. I'm new to long-range shooting but I've always drooled over Nightforce scopes. Unfortunately I couldn't decide which reticle to go with and I was also low on cash. In a rare moment of logical thinking, I realized that if I couldn't even decide on a reticle I had no business spending $1,500 on a scope. I read lots of threads and reviews on scopes on various sites. I noticed that the SWFA "super sniper" SS 3-9x42 scope came very highly recommended in the sub-$1,000 dollar scope range. For a modest price of $550 (with the snipershide promo code), the SWFA SS 3-9x42 comes with a lot of good features. It has a 30mm tube, first focal plane reticle, mil-dot reticle with .1 Mrad turrets, etc. And according to reviews, good glass to boot. When I got mine I was very pleased with the feeling of quality I got from it.
To round out the accessories I bought an Eagle Industries stock pack (the new version which has the ammo slots inside the pouch instead of outside), and a TIS (Tactical Intervention Specialists) sling. Unfortunately the sling came with the wrong type of adapters so I have to return them and get the Talon sling swivels. For a case I plan to buy an Eagle drag bag. No, I don't <span style="font-weight: bold">need</span> a drag bag since I'm not a sniper, but they are very tacticool.
Once I get a chance to take it to the range I'll give an update. I'll also try to take some better pictures of it, these were the best I could do in 10 minutes while I had my wife's camera.
). My 5 shot group at 100 yards with 65degree temps, little to no breeze, 168 grain Hornady BTHP...it measures just under 1.5". nothing to write home about but most of that was my fault. The rifle is going to shoot great. I shot a 3 round group just before this one that measured well under an inch but it was on the cardboard so I didn't save it. This is going to be a great gun once I learn to drive it a little better. 5 rounds (looks like 4 but double check the middle hole):
