Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

[steelejones]

20years old never been out of the new box it came in. My dad came over today and handed it to me.

Any reviews on accuracy of these guns out of the box or if this would make a nice range gun for long range precision with some work ?

Curious your thoughts

 

[texastonk]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

I know they make a good deer rifle. 0.02

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Anyone else ? Could it be made into an accurate long range rifle or it just doesnt have it in it? Anyone have any experience with these?

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

I have alot of experience with the caliber. What is the barrel twist that it came with? That will make a huge difference in how heavy of a bullet you can run.

PM me with any questions.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[ean anderson]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

to make that rifle into a long range system you could bluepring the action and have a match barrel installed by a good gunsmith and get a nice scope than it probly would be a nice long range rifle. but stock as you got it probly not. the gun stock would shoot about 1 to 1 1/2 moa and the 7mm-08 round is a good mediam range caliber but not the best long range setup. the 7mm bullet by it's self is a very accurate bullet but fired from a 7mm-08 does not have alot of speed for long range accurate fire if you can not read the wind very well. but that would make a nice low recoil deer rifle.

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: earwigean</div><div class="ubbcode-body">to make that rifle into a long range system you could bluepring the action and have a match barrel installed by a good gunsmith and get a nice scope than it probly would be a nice long range rifle. but stock as you got it probly not. the gun stock would shoot about 1 to 1 1/2 moa and the 7mm-08 round is a good mediam range caliber but not the best long range setup. the 7mm bullet by it's self is a very accurate bullet but fired from a 7mm-08 does not have alot of speed for long range accurate fire if you can not read the wind very well. but that would make a nice low recoil deer rifle. </div></div>

Mine makes it to 1 mile with no problem. I don't know how much longer you plan to shoot.

162 Hornady BTHP at 2780fps
still at 1000ft/s at 1700 yards.

Are you planning on shooting to 2k? or farther?

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

I was thinking anywhere from 100-600 yards max. Also im not totally sure about the twist yet, I havnt even opened the box yet HAHAH

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Is it the HB Varminter model?? Or the standard BDL model??

Bottom line is that rifle straight from the factory is pretty tough to beat for out of the box accuracy. It is at the top in it's price range.

It is not a custom rifle. But from 100-600 yards the rifle should do well. Tom.

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

HogHead, I believe (havnt opened the box yet to read the manual) that its the standard BDL 7mm-08

 

[seanh]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

7mm bullets are great for accuracy...don't know where the other post gets that its not. You just have to hunt for them a little. This is why twist is important.

If you have a fast enough twist rate you'll open the door to bullets at are more accurate than .308's. Some of the Berger's come to mind.

I don't remember what they are...for some reason I think it was the same as the 7mag but don't recall. 1/9 maybe?

if you have a good cleaning rod with ball bearings in the handle you can figure it out for yourself.

you have a great gun that will open the door for quite a bit of reloading should you desire to. Shoot it and enjoy.

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Thanks Seanh,

Basically im new to shooting for precision. And so are my buddies who ill be competing against. One has a Tikka M595 7mm i think, the other has a winchester .223. I just wanted something in this area to begin with. I just have to learn and practice to be a better shooter than they are. As long as I start with a gun in their class im ok with that.

This is turning into a fun and exciting hobby. The science behind learning precision shooting is facinating to me.

But at the same time, I dont want to start off with a poor platform either. But if this was a decent platform, something where I could now save that initial investment of buying the gun and could spend that money on good upgrades that can help my accuracy, I feel im ahead of the game.

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

From what I can see online people are saying 1 in 9 for the twist rate. That should be able to accomodate a 175 grain bullet I believe.

 

[seanh]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

find out what twist rate you have. Do you know how to do that with a cleaning rod?

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seanh</div><div class="ubbcode-body">find out what twist rate you have. Do you know how to do that with a cleaning rod?
</div></div>


I do not

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

1 in 9 is a 168g max as the speed of the 7-08 can't push the heavier bullets fast enough to stabolize with that twist

1 in 9.5 is 162 max

1 in 11 is usually 150g

1 in 11.5 is 130g

That's why I went 1 in 8 I can stabolize even the 180g berger if I want.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[seanh]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

finding twist rate.

you'll need a decent cleaning rod...one that has ball bearing handle. You'll want one of these anyway, your local shop will likely have a Dewy rod.

the principal is simple. You put a patch on the end of a jag and push the rod a couple inches past the throat. now put a piece of tape on the rod making a flag. Now slowly push the rod down the barrel and watch the flag twist one full turn. The distance it took the flag to make one revolution is your twist rate.

Some say to push the rod to the end of the barrel, careful not to come out the barrel, then place the tape on the rod at the back of the receiver and pull backwards. This gives you a more accurate place to measure from.

I've explained it as simple as I can, if you have more questions, ask, we'll be glad to help.

Do find yourself a good rod...carbon fiber, bearing handle and a good bore guide. You'll be glad you did later.

 

[former naval person]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

FWIW...the rifle the op describes is a hunting rifle, pure and simple. If he wishes to desecrate it by shooting it, he'll reduce the value by half. If he wishes to honor his fathers gift...it is one of the best hunting rifles he could hope to own. I'd keep it, scope it, and hunt with it; and thank my father each time I used it. If he wants a "sniper" rifle...sell it as is and get a build. JMHO

 

[steelejones]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Thanks for the reply Former Navel Person,

That was actually the point of my OG post. Im concerned about the platform I begin my quest on. And dont care to spend a bunch of money on this, if its not going to do as I want.

With that being said, I do NOT hunt anything. Im purely a bench shooter who is interested in learning more, shooting more , and becoming as accurate as I can with a gun that I can afford. Afford, is being I dont want to spend much more than 1k on a gun minus the glass. My thought was, that if this platform would work, and I got the gun for free, I saved the cost of the gun, I could use that for parts to help make me a better shooter.

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Get a set of reloading dies, a press and components after u find the twist rate. 400.00

get any bell and Carlson medalist for a Remington 700 SA. ~200.00

get a good trigger and have it installed in your case 200.00

Spend the rest on a one piece scope base and rings and optic 10 or 16x42 SWFA SS

If you do your part and learn reloading for that 7-08 you'll spank them all.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[TravisB]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Clean it then shoot it and see what happens. The only way I know to check it for accuracy.

 

[tylerw02]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

Don't ruin that rifle by trying to turn it into a precision rifle. Either keep it mint, or enjoy it as a good hunting rifle.

If you want to get serious about learning precision shooting, pick up a newer 700 Varmint or "tactical" .308 Win to learn on.

 

[ean anderson]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

I never said that the 7mm-08 was not a accurate round at long range. it is one of my favorite accurate short range calibers. I stated that it is not THE BEST round for long range. I was giving advice to a new shooter stating that the round in question was not a good round for a newby to be shooting at long range. true is has not gone subsonic at 1700 yards but starting out at that speed would get pushed arround alot by the wind. for most people unless you shoot that caliber ALOT at long range you would be hard pressed to be able to shoot it very well at any range past 600 yards in lets say a 10 mpy full value wind. I have shot my friends very accurate custom made 7mm-08 and love the gun. I actually own a Remington Sendero 7mm ultra mag that I shoot very well past 1000 yards and love the 7mm bullets with a passion. they are by far the best caliber I think. not trying to argue with you just giving my experiance of the caliber at shooting long range to a new shooter.

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Thoughts on a Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 20yrs old

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: earwigean</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I never said that the 7mm-08 was not a accurate round at long range. it is one of my favorite accurate short range calibers. I stated that it is not THE BEST round for long range. I was giving advice to a new shooter stating that the round in question was not a good round for a newby to be shooting at long range. true is has not gone subsonic at 1700 yards but starting out at that speed would get pushed arround alot by the wind. for most people unless you shoot that caliber ALOT at long range you would be hard pressed to be able to shoot it very well at any range past 600 yards in lets say a 10 mpy full value wind. I have shot my friends very accurate custom made 7mm-08 and love the gun. I actually own a Remington Sendero 7mm ultra mag that I shoot very well past 1000 yards and love the 7mm bullets with a passion. they are by far the best caliber I think. not trying to argue with you just giving my experiance of the caliber at shooting long range to a new shooter. </div></div>

earwigean,

Rather than accusing you of "doubling down" on stupid, perhaps what we have is a simple "failure to communicate".

Please define what you consider "long range and short range".

Please understand that the majority of shooters here are tactical shooters, and long range tactical matches tend to max out @ 1000 yds. If you think the 7mm-08 is inadequate past 600 yds, I shudder to think what your opinion is of the 308 Winchester as a LR number? 400 yds max I'm guessing....

Also, many shoot in excess of 2000 rounds per year, when tends to dim enthusiasm for LR rounds such as the 7mm Rem Ultra Mag which eats barrels, like fat girls eat twinkees.

Also it would be helpful for you to describe your vast LR experience, which might well be extensive enough, for you to provide a worthwhile opinion on what is and what is not a suitable LR cartridge for a newby.

Thanks