New Remington 700

[45onbrd]

Bought my first .308 bolt gun this week. I've been researching for the past six months, and I thought I had my mind made up on an FN PBR-XP(Winchester 70) but ended up buying a Remington. This is a special edition Remington 700 SPS Varmint with a 20", 1:10" twist, Fluted and Threaded barrel. The gun ran just under $740 after tax but I have a mail in rebate for $40 so it will end up being $700.

This rifle right now is just a starting point as I have several upgrades in mind. I put my Harris Ultra-Light 6"-9" bipod on it, bought a cheap Weaver base, and stole the Vortex Diamondback 4-12x off of my 10/22 and mounted it with some Warne rings I had laying around (after rediscovering how much of a PITA these rings are to mount, I quickly remembered why they were just laying around).

First order of business is going to be getting a decent scope on top. I'm leaning towards a Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 with the mil-dot reticle. Any other recommendations for a decent mil-dot scope in the $700 range are welcome. I'd also like some input on rings and bases. I want a 20moa base and have been eyeing a Seekins Precision but I'm not sure about an aluminum base. For rings, I like the look of the Seekins rings, and they would work well with the aluminum base if I decided to go that route.

Second upgrade has to be doing something about this X-mark trigger. The trigger isn't terrible, no noticeable creep or overtravel, and it's not gritty, just heavy. I haven't measured the pull yet, but if I had to guess I think the pull is around 4.5#'s with the adjustment all the way down. Has anybody improved an X-mark? If I decide to trash the trigger, what's everybody's favorite aftermarket M700 trigger?

Third modification is going to be the stock. I'm pretty set on either an HS Precision or Bell & Carlson Medalist. Most of what I've read claims the B&C is every bit as good as the HS, just $100 cheaper. This will still be a "walking gun" so I don't want adjustable lop or comb, and prefer a grip that isn't completely vertical.

Of course there are all the little touches that will be done. I have a Tac-Ops cheek pad on order. Eventually I want a larger bolt handle. Maybe DBM is in the future but I'm OK with the floorplate for now. I'm thinking about adding a Muzzle Brake to eliminate as much flip as possible. Ideally I want the rifle to be portable, under 11lbs fully dressed, but still be able to reach out and touch something at 600-700yds.

I managed to get to the range and sight in the new rifle and shoot a few groups. I shot two boxes of Hornady American Whitetail at 50yds to sight in and foul the barrel a little. After getting a feel for the rifle I set up targets at 100yds and shot some groups with the four types of ammo I had left. My best group was with Federal GMM 168gr SMK that measured .408" center to center. The Federal GMM 175gr SMK's shot almost as good at .562" (It's actually a 6 shot group in the pic as I pulled the second shot). Hornady 165gr SST Superformance shot just over 1" and that was with me flinching a little (these bastards hurt). Nosler Trophy Grade 165gr Accubonds shot a .818" group (these are my current hunting load).

Overall, I'm very pleased with this rifle. After hearing reports of Remington's lack of QC, I was a little nervous but thankfully I got a good one! The X-Mark wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It is a very predictable trigger but still a little heavy for my tastes. Now I need to get a bunch more ammo and head back to the range to see if this thing really is a shooter or was it all just sh!thouse luck? I noticed that with the Accubonds, it looks like vertical stringing which could be due to the cheap stock and the fact I was using a bipod vs a bag.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

It looks like you've got a shooter. You should be able to take the Xmark down to 2.5lbs. If you want to replace it I'd go with a timney or a old style Remington.

 

[briang7511]

Just for your knowledge since your in MI, dick sporting goods has a 700 adl which usually is on sale for about 450$. Ive got a couple and so does my buddy. Its kinda late now but if you are looking to upgrade the base rifled action in the adl model is dirt cheap and they all shoot. We commonly shoot them to a 1000 yds down at youngslongshot in Indiana. I like the timneys with a flat blade set to 2 lbs. The one on my hunting rifle is set to 3 lbs. Easy to drop in yourself and can be ordered from the factory pre set. Be sure to check options and accessories for sale and be patient there are some good deals. No sense buying new stuff if this is your first rifle cause you will probably be bitten by the bug and soon enough you will be ordering a custom rig. Again be sure to check around the forum for advice on a builder. Not sure where in MI you are but Magna port in Harrison twp cut down a barrel to 18in and put a brake on it for me. Did a real nice job and turn around was quick about a week.

Just a piece of advice make sure you specify threads as different shops will put on what ever they like. Magna port put on a 3/4-24 in (I think) thread and I had a brake done by Williams gun sight in Davidson, they put on a 5/8-28. I would recommend a 5/8-24 as it is most common. Both companies did an excellent job. turn around at Williams was a little slow about 8 weeks.

 

[briang7511]

As far as optics and a base, I prefer the nightforce base. It is steel. Optics just buy as much as you can afford and be sure to buy the right model for what you are doing with it. There are a lot of fine offerings in your price range. Rings on cheap side the burris tactial extreme are pretty dam nice for 50$, high end cant go wrong with leupold or nightforce, seekins they all are good. Optics planet has a 10% discount site wide right now. If you want a high end nightforce you probably wont beat that deal with 10% off right now. Also check mile high shooting mention your 5% disc., and eurooptics.

 

[Niles Coyote]

First order of business is going to be getting a decent scope on top. I'm leaning towards a Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 with the mil-dot reticle. Any other recommendations for a decent mil-dot scope in the $700 range are welcome. I'd also like some input on rings and bases. I want a 20moa base and have been eyeing a Seekins Precision but I'm not sure about an aluminum base. For rings, I like the look of the Seekins rings, and they would work well with the aluminum base if I decided to go that route.

Having both the PST 4-16x and SWFA 3-15x42 they would be my recommendation, I may lean more toward the SWFA as I get more time behind it though... Seekins rings are great.

Second upgrade has to be doing something about this X-mark trigger. The trigger isn't terrible, no noticeable creep or overtravel, and it's not gritty, just heavy. I haven't measured the pull yet, but if I had to guess I think the pull is around 4.5#'s with the adjustment all the way down. Has anybody improved an X-mark? If I decide to trash the trigger, what's everybody's favorite aftermarket M700 trigger?

I've tried rifle basix and then timney, I prefer timney and thats all I buy now, but... you can make a noticeable improvement to the xmark by replacing a spring and just follow the adjustment instructions here

Trigger Springs|Aluminum Pillar|Pillar Bedding|Gunsmithing

Third modification is going to be the stock. I'm pretty set on either an HS Precision or Bell & Carlson Medalist. Most of what I've read claims the B&C is every bit as good as the HS, just $100 cheaper. This will still be a "walking gun" so I don't want adjustable lop or comb, and prefer a grip that isn't completely vertical.

I have a HS Precision and a few B&C's (m40 and light tactical models), I prefer the B&C. Both models (lights tactical and m40) work well for a carry rifle for field and range. While “feel” is very subjective, the B&C just “feels” like a stronger and higher quality product in my opinion but your opinion may be different...

When I had my 20" R700 Tactical set up for hunting the finish weight was around 9.25-9.5 pounds excluding the scope. It was stocked in the B&C light tactical with a DNZ game reaper 20 MOA mount. With a 3.5-10x40 Mk4 attached it finished out at ~10.5 pounds... light and handy

 

[MG-70]

That's great shooting for the factory plastic stock, heavy trigger, and a rifle that hasn't been broken in. You can lighten the trigger, it's easy, and pretty decent once adjusted. Try different stock shapes before buying. Scopes are very personal, but I'd say buy a good one so that even if you upgrade the rifle, you'll be able to use the scope.

Congratulations!

 

[p5200]

There should, be a second pull weight adjustment screw if you remove the barreled action from the stock. They just added the external screw on the trigger but, don't mention the internal screw which was the way the first x-mark triggers were to be adjusted. Using both screws, I managed to get the screw head down into the trigger instead of sticking out and have a nice crisp trigger a little over 2lbs. on my Lyman digital pull gauge. They used a different thread locker on the internal pull weight screw than they did the others they are locked really tight but, the pull weight screw wasn't hard to break loose but, YMMV

 

[morganlamprecht]

ill second the SWFA optic suggestion...i have a 5-20HD, fixed 12x and a 3-15 which i got off samplelist.com for $500...all are great for the money

 

[dannyr3_8]

good info on trigger thanks sorry don,t mean to jack thread

 

[JB02]

Rem700 5R takeoff stocks pop up here from time to time; they have an aluminum bedding block and are pretty functional. Good call on the stock pack. Triad has some good ones too.

I love Vortex scopes. For your price range, I say it's a tossup between the 4-16 and the 3-15 SWFA.

Vortex or Seekins rings will work just fine. NF are good too, but more expensive.

An EGW base is a good lower cost substitute, but make sure you get the torx screws (they're only like $5) because the standard hex screws have been known to strip.

The trigger recommendations here have been good. If you can't get your x-mark set the way you like it, I advise a Timney 510-U preset from the factory to your specs and then sell your stock trigger. A good trigger will be the single best improvement to your shooting. Something to consider is to maybe send in your barreled action to get your trigger tuned up and also a muzzle brake fit up; from what you said above, that would probably go along way to curing any recoil flinch.

For aftermarket bottom metal, when you're ready for it, look at PTG stealth or CDI for a lower cost option. Go with Surgeon if your willing to splurge a little bit for something nice. You'll need a gunsmith to fit these into a B&C or HS Precision stock.