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Remington 700 .308 models - which variations are good to start with?

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Sublimeon24s

Private
Minuteman
Nov 9, 2013
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Orlando, FL
Hey guys,

First post and 100% newb to bolt action precision guns. I am getting the itch to build a bolt action precision rifle and will be going with a Remington 700 chambered in .308, but Im noticing there are LOTS of variations / models of the 700. Are there some better then others out of the box when it comes to trigger / barrel / bolt / etc? Do they all accommodate the use of a magazine? Do some come with threaded barrels out of the box? What would you suggest are the top (3) 700 models chambered in .308 I should look for that are decent out of the box, and good platforms to build on as money allows?

Im not trying to be a navy seal or competition shooter, basically just looking to build a rifle that will be accurate enough to hit a 10" circle target beyond 500 yards

my local guntrader site seems to have varmints pop up a lot and ADL's every now and then, but these seem like they are the "lower end" of the 700 line up?

any advice to help me from making an impulse buy would be greatly appreciated
 
the 5R is a good value - 20 moa scope base, rings, harris bipod and a different trigger will put you at about 1600 before a scope

for magazine feed with inlet and spare mag about another 350

after that the thing to "build" is a range membership, 3000 rds and some instruction
 
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Unless you really need a threaded barrel, I like the LTR right out of the box, HS precision stock, 20" bbl and rather light and handy. You can go Varmint, Tactical, ADL and then spend time and money to end up with something like the LTR in the end. The 5R is also a good choice, with stainless steel action and bbl.

If you are already set on a McMillan, Manners, or a chassis, then any of the 700's should do fine. Just remember the Varmint style have the heavier barrel, i/e ADL varmint. vs the standard ADL that has the sporter contour barrel.



Edit:

As for your question above, marksmanship is external of the rifle. Some shooters can hit a 10" going with a Mosin Nagant or anything off the big5 shelf. The Varmint barrel action is the same as in the 700 Police, just different coating( both 1:12 twist), The tactical is the same but with 20" barrel. The AAC has a 1:10 twist and comes in 16 and 20" threaded. 5r has a 1:11.25 tiwst.

Either one you get, find which ammo it likes and shoot it till the cows come home.

The one you posted is a hunting rifle, with sporter barrel. You can get it to shoot, but after about three shots the barrel will heat up and the groups will/ may wander.
 
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Sublimeon24s said:
can a $600-700 rifle prior to scope hit a 10" circle at 500 yards with decent glass? (I.E the plain jane 700 varmint or the 700 vtr)

or even something like this?
https://floridaguntrader.com/index.php?a=2&b=368565
Click to expand...

absolutely they can hit that target ...................occasionally - how much ammo do you care to expend trying? learn early the rifle is not the expensive part of shooting (not the place to scrimp)

while the action is mechanically identical, the base models have crap stocks and with your FL humidity will rust immediately
 
My favorite .308... Remington 700 5R MilSpec

This rifle is the most accirate .308 out of the box ive ever fired!
 
Remington 700 .308 models - which variations are good to start with?

With a factory Rem 700, YOU are the quality control. You may get a good one; or you may not. I would roll the dice on a PSS LTR or a 5R.
 
A thread I made on my 20" tactical SPS
http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...846-308-remington-tactical-work-progress.html

I also have a 26" Varmint, the only difference is it is about 100 fps faster. Accuracy and precision is determined by the shooter... Both are excellent and with a little experience reading the wind one would have little difficulty hitting a 10" plate at 500. That said, the 5r’s appear to have a little more time put into them refining the finished product.
 
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Take a look at the 700P Police Tactical 1000.00 to1200.00 it comes with 26" Barrel H S stock good trigger 2# put a SWFA 3X15 700.00 20 moa steal full base rings your are good to go. I am just staring also. Good Luck
 
A 700 p ltr or a 5r I a good start. U won't have to replace the stock just bed it. Then a timeny trigger and rifle is gtg. Easily a 1k yrd rifle w very little work
 
Go buy a used 700 SA at a pawn shop, gun show etc. Sell the stock, and barrel on ebay. Now you have a action for around 300.00 Send the action to Longrifles for the group buy. Have varmint contour barrel of you choice installed. Pick up a used PSS stock or HS take off stock. Bolt it in, get a trigger job and now you are ready to go. All for close to the price of PSS with an oversize chamber, shitty trigger, etc. Put the rest of your money into some good glass and training.

Watch the classified ads-deals come up every week. Have cash in hand and an FFL ready to receive.

If you buy a factory PSS, you will over pay for the feature set and only spend more money upgrading it later...............Ask me how I know this?
 
Mine started life as a vls from a pawn shop. I paid 500 for it and went from there doing mostly budget upgrades till I shot the barrel out
 
I picked up a 700P. I was on paper at 1000 yards on the third shot.
 
Pick one of the heavy bbl 700s' whether its the SPS varmit/tactical, PSS, 5R, or other ones. They are all plenty good for a 10" target at 500. I've shot all mine out to 1K with no problems, I dont shoot mine much but have em at the range for others to shoot.If it comes with a cheap stock you can change that later if you don't like it. Xmark pro triggers get a lot of gripe around here but I'm actually a big fan of em. I got 2 from the factory that are just fine, but I've had a few that I had to get tuned up. Once Ive got em tuned they are just fine. My gap and surgeon rifles have em and it aint stopped me yet from doing things guys with jewells do and they will be much safer and a lot more reliable. I'm not sure of your budget but on the low end I would get a SWFA fixed 10 powered scope or the bushnell 10x scope. Either one of those will be a reliable scope that will teach you about how to keep track of turrets and you can learn to use holdover. Then if spending anymore stay with the SWFA or Bushnell (super sniper or ELITE) and youll be fine. Vortex has a lot of fans here too but I wont touch that one. I stick with the other 2 for a dozen rifles so far with no issues ever. Then go find some 168 or 178 Hornady ammo with either the amax or the bthp or some federal or Remington with 168 or 175 sierra matchking and youll be on the right starting path. There are many other options than that but you will have something easily upgradable, common, wanted for resale if it comes to that, and proven. I think that's your best bet. People here will help you out if you run into trouble.

Good Luck!
 
I'm researching a similar path in building a budget long range REM 700, and I wanted to ask about your scope recommendation; why 10X? Whay start with a 10X instead of a variable zoom scope?

I will probably opt for the SPS-V for my base...

RobertB said:
Pick one of the heavy bbl 700s' whether its the SPS varmit/tactical, PSS, 5R, or other ones. They are all plenty good for a 10" target at 500. I've shot all mine out to 1K with no problems, I dont shoot mine much but have em at the range for others to shoot.If it comes with a cheap stock you can change that later if you don't like it. Xmark pro triggers get a lot of gripe around here but I'm actually a big fan of em. I got 2 from the factory that are just fine, but I've had a few that I had to get tuned up. Once Ive got em tuned they are just fine. My gap and surgeon rifles have em and it aint stopped me yet from doing things guys with jewells do and they will be much safer and a lot more reliable. I'm not sure of your budget but on the low end I would get a SWFA fixed 10 powered scope or the bushnell 10x scope. Either one of those will be a reliable scope that will teach you about how to keep track of turrets and you can learn to use holdover. Then if spending anymore stay with the SWFA or Bushnell (super sniper or ELITE) and youll be fine. Vortex has a lot of fans here too but I wont touch that one. I stick with the other 2 for a dozen rifles so far with no issues ever. Then go find some 168 or 178 Hornady ammo with either the amax or the bthp or some federal or Remington with 168 or 175 sierra matchking and youll be on the right starting path. There are many other options than that but you will have something easily upgradable, common, wanted for resale if it comes to that, and proven. I think that's your best bet. People here will help you out if you run into trouble.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
 
My first bolt action 308, which I still have, is a Rem 700 sps varmint in an aics chassis. Nice gun, and with hand loads it will hold the 10 ring at 600 yards when I nail my wind calls. It will shoot 1/2-3/4 moa groups at 100 yards.

With that said, a nice custom barreled action can be had for $1000-$1200, that will be a guaranteed shooter with the right person driving it. Drop it on a chassis for another $800-$900 and you will be able to run with the leaders if your shooting skills are up to par.

Fixed powers offer a greatly reduced cost over variable power because there are less moving parts. A decent fixed 10x 12x or 16x can be had for under $300 where a variable will run 2x that for the same quality glass and turrets.
 
Thanks for the info guys, looks like im leaning toward saving some more for the 5R model.

Anyone have the VTR? I really like the way it looks. Is anything on it keep worthy out of box or would i pretty much want to replace everything on that model?

This rifle im building is basically a SHTF rifle to reach out longer distances then my AK's / shotguns / etc
 
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Go get a Tikka T3 Lite. They come standard from the factory with a nice trigger, smooth action, DBM, and side bolt release for $600-700 depending on if you get the stainless or blued model. Better yet would be a T3 Sporter, but it sounds like you don't want to spend that kind of coin.
 
I still have the same 700 PSS in .308 that was my original precision rifle. It is the 26" barrel model with the fixed magazine and the HS stock. With a Leupold MK4 4.5-14 and my handloads (or Fedral Gold Medal) it is very capable of your accuracy requirments.
Years back when I began shopping for a rifle and hearing all that was to be said about the 700 Varmint vs the PSS (that there is really no difference) I actually called Remington to find out what the difference really was. From what I was told the PSS stock is a better stock than what comes on the Varmint and Remington will guarantee 1moa with the PSS using Federal 168gr GMM ammo. They also told me that very likely the Varmint will shoot 1moa as well, but they don't guarantee that. You get what you get. After all that I bought the PSS and it is still one of my favorite rifles.
 
rdinak said:
Go buy a used 700 SA at a pawn shop, gun show etc. Sell the stock, and barrel on ebay. Now you have a action for around 300.00 Send the action to Longrifles for the group buy. Have varmint contour barrel of you choice installed. Pick up a used PSS stock or HS take off stock. Bolt it in, get a trigger job and now you are ready to go. All for close to the price of PSS with an oversize chamber, shitty trigger, etc. Put the rest of your money into some good glass and training.

Watch the classified ads-deals come up every week. Have cash in hand and an FFL ready to receive.

If you buy a factory PSS, you will over pay for the feature set and only spend more money upgrading it later...............Ask me how I know this?
Click to expand...

I will second this one. If your going with a Remington action, this is how you do it. The same action is in the $300 pawn shop special as the 5R. After you get your pawn shop special, have it trued and your barrel chambered ($360), a Bartlein barrel ($315), an old style 700 trigger off the classifieds ($40). Your looking at around the same for a custom barreled action that hammers as a stock remington... No brainer.
 
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