Gunsmithing Reviving an old Remington 700

[Jeremybj]

Hey everyone,

I am helping a buddy rebuild his grandpa's Remington 700 he gave to him. It is about 40 years old chambered in 30-06. We are gonna turn it into his "new" hunting rifle.

I am wondering if this old barreled action will fit into a new sps(factory) takeoff stock. Another question is can I put a new X-mark trigger group in the rifle?

Pretty much it is a barreled action and we are gonna build from there.

Any new parts, aftermarket or factory, going to be not compatible with that setup?

 

[x ring accuracy]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

Best choice is to scrap it and send it to me. I will dispose of it

 

[Hink]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

If it's chambered for 30-06, then it's a long action Rem700. If you go to replace the stock and bottom metal, you'll need a long action stock. Same for the scope base. There are plenty of good manufacturers, do a bit of research and you can find good quality without spending a mint.

As far as the trigger, there are some that actually prefer the old style Remington factory trigger. If the trigger is adjusted properly, it can be very safe and still lighter than factory as well. The x-mark probably will fit into the action, but it will cost money that you really don't need to spend.

It sounds like you have a good foundation to start from, so don't spend a lot of time trying to fix what ain't broke.

 

[Jeremybj]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

The trigger on it has a VERY clean brake, but it is heavy, like probably 5 pounds heavy. Is it hard to lighten the pull?

He has the hinged floor plate, that we would just assume carry over to the next rifle, but are they all the same fit and stuff?

I found a take off SPS stock for cheap that we intend to migrate this stuff over to as long as the bottom metal will fit......

 

[Hink]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

As long as your 'new' stock is a long action, both the barreled action and floorplate/spring/follower should fit just fine.

As to the trigger, it's not difficult to adjust. There's a set of instructions here http://www.quarterbore.com/library/articles/rem700trigger.html but you take responsbility for any adjustment. If you're planning on a hunting rifle, a 5 pound trigger probably isn't a bad thing.

 

[Driftwood]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

Why an SPS stock? We are talking the tuppaware wonder aren't we? Personally, I would rather have a wood stock that doesn't flex like the new SPS stock do. If the stock on the old rifle is cracked or broken, I would either look for a better synthetic stock or find a wood stock that you can use or refinish. If it belonged to his Grandpa, I would refinish and restore the rifle. If its just an old one that his Grandpa bought for him, then I suppose it really doesn't matter, but I don't see an SPS stock as being an upgrade to anything except not having a stock at all. I wouldn't bother changing the trigger either. The old style Remington triggers are very popular and well known to gunsmiths. If it hasn't already been worked on most competent gunsmiths can make the old stock trigger work very nicely.

If you want to "fix it" have a gunsmith check the crown and if necessary recrown it. If the stock is intact and usable, you can bed the action and make sure the barrel if free floated. If the stock just has some "character" I wouldn't mess with it, but if you want it to look new, you can always refinish the stock. I really like the look of the oil rubbed stocks and it would be a fairly simple project you could do yourself. I doubt the barrel has been shot out given the caliber, but you could always have a gunsmith look at the rifling throat and chamber. I would take the rifle out and shoot it if you have not. You can always reblue the action and barrel if the finish is missing. You may be trying to fix something that isn't broken. The chances are it will shoot as well or better than a new SPS. It certainly will be better built. I would take a 40 year old Remington 700 over all SPS offerings and most of the other off the shelf factory Remingtons.

 

[Cascade Precision]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hink</div><div class="ubbcode-body">http://www.quarterbore.com/library/articles/rem700trigger.html </div></div>

^^^This. I did this yesterday and I am no longer looking at custom triggers. Just take your time, read each sentence twice, then get your tools and read again.

If you aren't comfortable doing this, my smith typically charges $40 to do it.

 

[gunnergirl81]

Re: Reviving an old Remington 700

Whats wrong with the stock on it? Years ago we had a guy who wanted his ADL converted over to BDL, a one piece rail, new barrel, and a hogue stock (right when the overmolded block bedded came out). If I recall the receiver was a mid/late 60's and the stock was fine checkered with a metal buttplate and grip cap that looked like new. Anyway, we did all the do and in the end he gave us the "worthless to me" wood stock. It sat in the stock-pile for a while and when we were getting ready to move it went up on ebay. The final bid was $175 give a take a few bucks, and we we're told that we let it go cheap.

Why don't you post some pics and fill in the details. Let the knowledge base here offer some advice on wether or not your making an improvement or destroying a collectible.