Remington 700 ADL Varmint - A good base rifle to start with?

[safehaven]

I want to start a project building a Remington 700 in .308 in order to shoot some distances of 500 yards plus. I like to tinker, so I want to get a good base rifle that I can modify at my own pace. Things I would like to do at some point would be a stock, trigger, bedding, etc.

Walking through Dicks's Sporting Goods on Black Friday, I noticed they had a Rem 700 ADL Varmint (I believe Cabela's and Walmart sell on too). The final price after rebate was $400. Having never heard of the ADL Varmint, I went home to spend some time on google. There seems to be very little info about this model. It is even hard to find on Remington's website.

What I have found, it appears that the two main differences between the ADL Varmint and the SPS Varmint are as follows:

1. ADL as blind floor plate whereas the SPS has a hinged floor plate
2. ADL has no external trigger adjustment whereas the SPS does have external trigger adjustment.

Did I miss any other major difference?

The floor plate, I could really care less about. The trigger adjustment, however, does concern me a bit. It concerns me because I cannot find out why it is not externally adjustable. Is it not adjustable because it is being blocked by the stock, or some other reason? If the stock is in the way, will replacing the stock fix the issue?

Is the ADL a good building platform? Or do I need to look a little higher at an SPS Varmint or SPS Tactical, which are both in the $600 range? If the ADL is good to go, I'd rather spend that $200 difference on parts.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[briang7511]

i have 2 of these, my buddy has one as well in .308. we have both hit the steel at 1000yds with them. I have replaced my triggers with timneys. cant beat it for the price. My .308 i had the barrel cut down to 18in and a brake put on. I almost bought another in .243 but it was after the sale. All of the guns have produced groups around .75 to an 1 without a lot of effort. highly recommend

 

[redneckbmxer24]

It's a great option and many people have bought them as a base for a LR rifle. It's perfect for dropping in a chassis, chuck the stock and hardware in the trash and rock on. Or you can pick up a HS takeoff for $200 and a BDL trigger guard assembly for another $50-60.

 

[yellowXJ]

It's a great option and many people have bought them as a base for a LR rifle. It's perfect for dropping in a chassis, chuck the stock and hardware in the trash and rock on. Or you can pick up a HS takeoff for $200 and a BDL trigger guard assembly for another $50-60.

This. If you're going to drop it in a chassis or a stock with detachable magazine, you're not paying upfront for the parts of the rifle that are just going to get tossed.

 

[SporterII]

I just bought one in 223. Trigger is a newer[?] version of the - new trigger. Mine went to 3lbs and nice. Stock went to the trash and I had rings / bases. Basic Leupold coming and done. I say 400.00 and do it.