Remington 700 Long Range vs XCR Tactical Long Range - Help me make an informed decision

[kegger22]

I am shopping for my first good bolt action rifle, and I thought I was pretty well set on the remington 700 xcr tactical long range in 300WM, but then I saw the regular remington 700 long range, which is also available in 300WM and is about half the price. The long range has most of what I was looking for, other than barrel fluting, so I am wondering it the xcr tactical long range is worth the extra money. I can get a pretty good deal on both rifles through my employer, so I am looking at about 400$ difference in price.

From remingtons website here are the key features of each

Remington 700 XCR Tactical Long Range

KEY FEATURES:

New Tactical Bell & Carlson stock in OD Green w/black webbing
Full-length aluminum bedding block, tactical beavertail fore-end and recessed “thumbhook” behind pistol grip for off-the-bench shooting performance
Black TriNyte® Corrosion Control System over 416 stainless steel for uncompromised strength and corrosion/abrasion resistance
26" varmint-contour 416 stainless steel barreled action with dish-style target crown, drilled and tapped for scope mounts
X-Mark Pro® externally adjustable trigger
Hinged floorplate magazine, Dual front swivel studs and rear stud
Barrel is free-floating with LTR-style fluting

Remington 700 Long Range

KEY FEATURES:

Bell and Carlson M40 tactical stock – solid urethane stock, combined with aramid, graphite and fiberglass
Aluminum bedding block for added accuracy and an extra swivel for bi-pod
26” heavy varmint barrel with matte finish perfectly matched to its high-velocity caliber offerings
X-Mark Pro® externally adjustable trigger system set at 3½ lbs., and featuring super-tight tolerances and mirror-like surface finishes
Magazine capacity – four standard calibers, three magnum

I am looking to top either rifle with a Vortex VIPER PST 6-24X50 FFP RIFLESCOPE MRAD, just not sure on which reticle yet.

 

[Jcub]

The fluting will take off 1lb at the most, both stocks are much better than a standard, but neither are top of the line.

It comes down to whether you want fluting, stainless action and a tactical stock for $400 more. IMO.

I'm also not speaking from first hand knowledge of either platform but my family and I do own some Remington's. I don't think 1 will be more accurate than the other. All the factory rifles I have come across in the last year are holding sub-MOA. None are shooting sub-.5 MOA, but are definitely accurate.

 

[kegger22]

other than the corrosion resistance is there any big advantage to going with a stainless action? I am not really worried about the weight, I don't plan on humping this around for miles on end.

 

[ot9111]

I was trying to decide between the 700 Long Range, XCR (not offered in 7mm mag), and Sendero in 7mm Mag.

After some research I went for the 700 Long Range, based on everyone I know who shoots Remingtons agree they are all very good out of the box.

I would rather spend the money saved, on better optics, trigger job, or suppressor/muzzle brake etc.

 

[briang7511]

I looked at all those rifles before going with the sendaro in 300wm. After the first trip to the range I had a brake and a timney trigger installed. I prefer the hs precision stock over the bell and Carlson. After 2 years of shooting I upgraded to a aics 1.5 and a broughton barrel with some accurizing. Now I liked the rifle before but I love it more now that I built it the way I wanted. I chose to have a heavy rifle as I will never carry it in the field. a muzzle brake is necessary with a magnum in my opinion if you plan to shoot a lot.

 

[GASSR20]

I've got the 700 Long Range in 7mm. I haven't scoped it yet, but saving for a Nightforce. I was looking hard at the Sendero and the XCR TLR as well, but couldn't justify the price difference and really wanted the 7mm. I really like the B&C M40 stock, especially the raised cheek peice and the blued barreled action too. Even though I haven't shot it yet, I'm very happy with the purchase.

 

[GASSR20]

Here she is, mounted and ready. It's been a slow project due to work and traveling, but that's been a good thing because it's allowed me to do plenty of research on ballistics and future reloading. I went with the Nightforce 3.5-15x50 with MIL-R reticle and mil turrets. Really good first impressions on everything so far. This is my first rig and I'm really looking forward to trying her out.

 

[2woppadoobie]

Kegger22, The XCR tactical is an excellent rifle. I have one in .308 and it functions & performs flawlessly too.

The 416 stainless steel action & barrel not only make it weather resistant, but it’s really easy to keep the bore clean too.
I found after running the barrel in the bore takes no effort to keep it clean and mirror like over your usual carbon type barrels.
I kept the original stock on it for now and have fitted a DBM and run Alpha mags.

P.S I need to learn how to upload pic's BTW

 

[Elite_KG]

No doubt XCR. Stainless and LTR fluting. Win/win.

 

[MindCrime]

Why not go with one of these Remington 700 Tactical Chassis Rifles. They are offered in .308/ 300 WM/ and 338 LM

Centerfire Rifle - Model 700 Tactical Chassis- Remington Centerfire Rifles


Here is a Link to one NIB and only $2299 Shipped Free.

Remington 700 Tactical Chassis 300 Win Mag 24" NIB : Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com

 

[CooperNV]

Physical check the trigger on the XCR, its listed as a Xmark pro, mine came with a 40x trigger. That was a couple years ago though.

 

[Millron]

Just my .02 cents worth but I would go w/ the cheaper of the two. In my experience w/ remingtons you run about a 50/50 chance of them shooting well. I've had a couple that shot great, others were not good. You might be turning the barrel into a tent stake long before you wear it out. If I had it to do all over again and I didn't want to go the full custom route up front I would buy the 700 long range, (replace the stock w/ a Mcmillan/Manners or chassis after you had a chance to get behind a few and figure out what you like), and replace the trigger, throw the xmark pro into the trash can immediately. Chances arethe gun will shoot pretty decent after this (might get lucky and it shoots good before two) The 700 Long range I think is one of the better buys out there right now when it comes to factory bolt guns. Once you get ready to fix it up you've already got a quality stock and trigger, you will just need to re barrel and have the Smith work the action over a bit. Take the money you saved up front and put them into optics. This is just based on my experience, others may disagree.

 

[kegger22]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback. Life has gotten in the way a little bit so I haven't made a purchase yet. I am leaning towards the 700 long range, and I think I am going to go with vortex glass for it, something in the 5-20 range, gotta figure out the budget for that. I am planning on leaving the stock and trigger alone for a while, I want to focus on getting the rifle, the scope and shooting the hell out of it before I look to do any upgrades.

 

[c1steve]

I would agree, go with the cheaper option. You may end up changing the stock and possibly the barrel, so pay less up front. However note that I have an XCR in 7-08, and the workmanship and accuracy appears to be much better than a typical SPS. It shot 3/4 moa initially, and after having the barrel cut 2" and professionally recrowned, it now shoots 1/2 moa. Otherwise no changes were made.

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