I'm getting what is to be my first long range rifle in the next few weeks. I have my heart set on a .308 Winchester for a multitude of reason. I was planning on getting a Remington 700P (easily upgraded a few years down the road) and have read dozens of reviews. I haven't hear anything truly horrible about it, but was wondering if there were any reasons I should NOT go with this rifle. Thanks.
- Thread starter NorthWinds
- Start date
None. That rifle is good to go and a great rifle to build on. You will not be disappointed.
Thanks guys! Like I said, was just trying to be sure. Buy once, cry once. Actually might be getting an apprenticeship at a custom gun shop the next town over so might be able to do some work on it myself in the upcoming months.
I have actually, but with an extra $200 on the price tag I didn't see a huge advantage, as a 700P will be out shooting me for a long time yet. Besides that, the local gun store is getting a shipment in (their only one of the year I might add) of 700P's. However if the timing hadn't worked out the way it has I probably would have got one. The long range guy at that store ones one and showed me a video of him shooting steel at 1200 meters. With a .308. I was very impressed.
I've got a 700P. Quality control on it sucked. Scope mount holes didn't line up from the front to rear of the receiver, trigger sucks, the firing pin hole is sloppy large a even the mildest loads crater the primers badly, the chamber is sloppy with a ton of freebore. The trigger sucks, not the worst 700 trigger I've ever had, that would be a J-Lock era 700. I've got a couple of handloads which will shoot 3/4-1/2 moa no sweat but past 600 yards not so much. But it's still sloppy workmanship.
I read the comments about buy a 5R. It's a 700P with a five groove barrel, big freaking deal. Still the same quality control crap-shoot and unless it's screwed up even worse than my 700 it should still shoot 1/2 moa with a well tuned handload.
Problem is, unless you get one of the good ones they seem to turn out by mistake where everything is tight, true and square, you have to blueprint the damn things when upgrading.
You want something you can upgrade over time? Get a Savage.
I read the comments about buy a 5R. It's a 700P with a five groove barrel, big freaking deal. Still the same quality control crap-shoot and unless it's screwed up even worse than my 700 it should still shoot 1/2 moa with a well tuned handload.
Problem is, unless you get one of the good ones they seem to turn out by mistake where everything is tight, true and square, you have to blueprint the damn things when upgrading.
You want something you can upgrade over time? Get a Savage.
I got a 308 5r for $200 more than the 700p. I liked the stainless look instead of the all black. Had the gunsmith look it over, headspace was good, extractor and bolt face were good to go. I guess you have a 50/50 chance of needing work done....
@100 yards once zeroed I shot 3/4 moa and even ragged the same hole on the next 3 rounds.
good luck and have fun... sky's the limit if money is not an issue.... ?
@100 yards once zeroed I shot 3/4 moa and even ragged the same hole on the next 3 rounds.
good luck and have fun... sky's the limit if money is not an issue.... ?
700p is a great rifle, the advantage of the 5R is its ability to shoot a little heavier bullet. Something to consider if you want to get out to really long ranges and stabilize the heavier pills.
Thanks guys. My uncle is a gunsmith and going to give it a look over for me to make sure it's a "good" one. Blue printing was on the agenda though. Basically all the upgrades I want to have over the next few years:
AICS or similar, maybe a Manners T4 or MacMillan A-4/A-5
Match grade barrel
Truing (when I get the new barrel)
Bolt sleeved (when trues)
High quality trigger of some sort.
I'm still learning as I go so if there's something missing from this list feel free to point it out.
AICS or similar, maybe a Manners T4 or MacMillan A-4/A-5
Match grade barrel
Truing (when I get the new barrel)
Bolt sleeved (when trues)
High quality trigger of some sort.
I'm still learning as I go so if there's something missing from this list feel free to point it out.
A Sako TRG also runs a couple grand more than my budget at the moment...
Don't listen to the naysayers---fact is, the Rem700 is the basis for the USMC M40...Sniper Rifle, and has been for years. There are always those few that aren't right, even if you got a Sako or what ever other type these folks say you should get. I have a Rem 700P, it is in 338LM, but it was always a great shooter. It is even better now with a new barrel, truing and blue-printing, etc. Especially if you can get the chance to learn gun-smithing on your own rifle, what a great deal! I believe you will be very happy with your rifle.
5R 308, LTR 308, and SPS-T 223. All three shoot better then I do. If your LGS gets a shipment to pick from no reason not to be able to avoid the dog if there is one.
OFG
OFG
Thanks guys. The M40 is one of the reasons I'm going with a 700 action. It is tried and proven. And learning gun smithing was EXACTLY my plan, I'm actually hoping to get an apprenticeship at a local store for a few months to show me the ropes. OFG I should have a few to look at, and the guys there are really good. If there's a problem with the rifle they'll work something out, even if that means chewing Remington out for sending them a bad rifle and getting a replacement sent. They stand behind their gear.
if you have the option to go with the stainless 5r, do it. Typically you'll get longer shooting sessions before heating of the barrel becomes an issue. It seems that the barrel steel is just better quality.
Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed every 700P I've owned, the only issue was group walking as the barrel heated. Other than that, they were awesome shooters. ((even with walking, they were better than MOA.))
In either case, you'll be happy...just work up a load and you'll get a precision shooter.
Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed every 700P I've owned, the only issue was group walking as the barrel heated. Other than that, they were awesome shooters. ((even with walking, they were better than MOA.))
In either case, you'll be happy...just work up a load and you'll get a precision shooter.
Last edited:
The only problems I've had with my 700P are 1. magazine/feed ramp are very rough and will scar the crap outta your bullets and brass until you sandpaper things. I just made up a couple of donor rounds and cycled them through over and over until it smoothed up a little bit. 2. it has a 26" barrel which I think it completely unnecessary for a .308. but barrels can be cut down.
Between it and the 5r, I think it's just a matter of personal preference which you will like best. The 5r has a slightly different stock, but still HS Precision with bedding block. The 700p's usually have a 40x trigger, which I prefer over the x-mark that comes on the 5r. The 5r has stainless and a 24" barrel, both of which I think are better than the 700p's parkerized finish and 26" barrel. As to the twist rate, the 5r is 11.25", the 700P is 1-12". The 1-12" is ideal for 168's, which is what I shoot most. But I think you will find most ppl saying that the 1-12" stabilizes 175's just fine.
Btw, my 700p is very accurate with a broad range of bullets. I've got plenty of .5"-.75" groups at 100 yds with the 168's.
Between it and the 5r, I think it's just a matter of personal preference which you will like best. The 5r has a slightly different stock, but still HS Precision with bedding block. The 700p's usually have a 40x trigger, which I prefer over the x-mark that comes on the 5r. The 5r has stainless and a 24" barrel, both of which I think are better than the 700p's parkerized finish and 26" barrel. As to the twist rate, the 5r is 11.25", the 700P is 1-12". The 1-12" is ideal for 168's, which is what I shoot most. But I think you will find most ppl saying that the 1-12" stabilizes 175's just fine.
Btw, my 700p is very accurate with a broad range of bullets. I've got plenty of .5"-.75" groups at 100 yds with the 168's.
Buy once, cry once is not an adage I would use for a stock Rem 700.
Yes: There is a potential problem with buying one and that is that YOU are the quality control. So if there's anything wrong with it it's up to you to discover it, claim it is out of spec., and send it back for repair or replacement. It doesn't happen very often but it does happen, and then you have paid for rifle that travels back and forth to the company instead of to the range. If you are in Canada that might be a concern depending on how hard it is to get warranty work done and how much paperwork is required to do that.
Chances are that you will get a good one, but I have seen warped actions from heat-treating after machining, chambers that are not round, base mounting holes drilled off center and barrels cut at the end of a long run on the same tooling. The chances that you will encounter any of these problems with a rifle will be reduced if you spend enough money to buy once, cry once.
Yes: There is a potential problem with buying one and that is that YOU are the quality control. So if there's anything wrong with it it's up to you to discover it, claim it is out of spec., and send it back for repair or replacement. It doesn't happen very often but it does happen, and then you have paid for rifle that travels back and forth to the company instead of to the range. If you are in Canada that might be a concern depending on how hard it is to get warranty work done and how much paperwork is required to do that.
Chances are that you will get a good one, but I have seen warped actions from heat-treating after machining, chambers that are not round, base mounting holes drilled off center and barrels cut at the end of a long run on the same tooling. The chances that you will encounter any of these problems with a rifle will be reduced if you spend enough money to buy once, cry once.
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice everyone. Graham, I'll keep that in mind for sure.
700p's have potential, or I just got lucky. With load development, mine has been able to post several 5 shot groups under 1.5" at 300yds. I run it bone stock and it shoots in the 190's per string in F/TR (600yds) when I'm on. I still get winded from time to time, but that's me and not the rifle. Best string to date was a 197. Not too bad for a rifle that I purchased for 800.
Last edited:
Similar threads
