Gunsmithing Remington 700 Action Difference

[mjh30]

Is there a slight difference in the Remington 700 rifle actions prior to B prefix. I was going to get a Badger Ordinance mount and rings (USMC M40 copy) but it stated not to use with A prefix or older rifles. Since my rifle is five digit, I didn't think it would work, I have several older Redfield bases,{all with rounded corners} and two out of three seem to work. Probably will stick with the Redfield mount, but I just wanted to confirm there was difference in the older and newer actions. Thanks

 

[wilshire1412]

Re: Remington 700 Action Difference

There is a difference, the actions produced prior to @ 1974 have a lower rear bridge height. This means that any non prefix action and probably some A prefix are not the same dimensionally as the actions made afterwards. The really old 700 actions have a cut out at the rear bridge that appears like a clip slot, not all 6 digit actions have this apparently but the early ones do. If you have an early action a later type base can be used if you shim and bed the base to the action, this will take care of the difference in rear bridge height. Remington made a change in the actions that required a higher rear bridge around 1974.

 

[padronanniversary]

Re: Remington 700 Action Difference

hmm...what about a old school 40x ? 4 digit serial action ? Any ideas ?

 

[mjh30]

Re: Remington 700 Action Difference

Thanks, I wasn't sure if the rear was higher or lower, I have several different Redfield bases and it seemed that two appeared to fit the action better than the one that I wanted to fit, perhaps I can use a shim and bed it.Thansk for clarifying that info for me.