Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

[green338 2.0]

Hello shooters:

So, I'm in the beginning stages of a bot-action build. I'm wondering whether the Surgeon action is worth the extra money ($400 more) over a trued Remington 700 action assuming this:

Rem. 700 short action $420 (MidwayUSA)
Action truing $300
Badger scope base $140 (Botachtactical)

<span style="font-weight: bold">Total for a trued Remington action w/scope base comes out to $860 give or take
</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">On the other hand, a Surgeon 591 is going for $1,295
</span>
Is the Surgeon action that much better ($400 more) than an action from Remington? Am I missing anything? I'm using these actions b/c it seems like these are among the most popular on builds. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

You also forget to add that Surgeon actions come with an integral recoil lug, another plus. I have both blueprinted 700s and a Surgeon, and while I think the difference isn't big, the Surgeon wins out. I'm glad that I went with the Surgeon 591WSM on my last build instead of going with the blueprinted Remington. I don't think you'll go wrong either way, but Surgeons definitely demand more in re-sale value. Just my 2 cents.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Both shoot great. The 591 will have better resale down the road if you decide to sell. Probably $400ish more resale - meaning you owned the better action for free.

This is assuming the same builder for both.

 

[Grand]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Depends on the talent of your smith. Tac Ops builds trued 700s that shoot every bit as good as a custom action. But not everyone is that talented.

 

[green338 2.0]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Thanks for those that replied.

ZLBubba--You got me on the integral lug//resale value

turbo54--I hope I won't end up selling it, but it's always good to know that the rifle sustains its value over time.

Grand--I'm probably too poor for Tac Ops, but it's amazing what they do with the Remington 700 actions.

Surgeon is looking better and better

 

[RyanScott]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

The one piece bolt base of the Surgeon fixes a known defect of the 700. It also comes with a big knob. You also don't have to buy a big recoil lug and have it pinned. A Remington action is also almost guaranteed to be out of round. Surgeons won't be. The surgeon also has a left side bolt release. It's stiffer than a Remington could ever be, and your rail will never come loose.

 

[C23]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Easy choice. Surgeon 591 hands down.

You will always be thinking of the Surgeon if you spend all that money in a 700.

-Resale value
-Side release
-Precision machined,high quality action
-Less parts to fail on you
-Integral rail, so no more loose screws,bad alignment,etc
-Integral lug
-Interchangeable bolt knobs
etc


Worth every penny.

Regards

 

[Pusher591]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Always wanted a Surgeon so I got one and couldn't be happier with it.

 

[eldiablo]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

I recently bought a 700 action trued by the guys at benchmark. I had keith at pcr barrel it for me. It shoots every bit as good as my surgeon built by gap.

But the surgeon is a whole lot sexier!

 

[ggmanning]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

I have rifles on both and as said a good gunsmith makes accuracy potential equal. The Surgeon is smoother, feels more solid to operate and for me is worth the money unless I already have a donor 700.

 

[ranger1183]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

When you buy a new car do you spend your money on a cheap ass model that you have to find a mechanic to (hopefully) fix before it will even run right?

Or do you spend your money up front on a model that is well engineered and designed so it runs right straight from the factory?

It's your money after all. Spend it as wisely as you'd like!

 

[RugerSlinger]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

You also have to think about the bolt knob, bolt fluting, side bolt release and as others stated the pinned recoil lug. You could also look at stiller for the same price as the rem 700 trued. I had a 700 built and it is a hammer but the fit of the bolt isnt as nice as a custom action.

 

[cummins cowboy]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

I will not build another custom on a remington. to me it just doesn't make sense. there is no way to define trueing and blue printing of a remington 700. to different gunsmiths this means different things. to me and probably others it could mean the actions butchered and is worse off than without the truing. times have changed several years ago there wasn't that many choices of custom actions. now there is. look at it this way any money you put into the action will not be able to come back out at resale. I have had guns I never dreamed of selling but later decided to and the last custom I sold I got really beat up on the sale of it. of course it was on a remington 700 that was trued and reworked by a gunsmith that wrote the book on action truing and sells equipment to do it.

the surgeon does have advantages. the bolt is one piece I think. the recoil lug is actually machined into the action, goodness sakes why is this so difficult for the rest of the action makers to do?? it also has an intergral rail built into the action. this IMO makes the action ALOT stiffer all gun things. BAT and surgeon are the only actions that offer built in rail and built in recoil lug, the rest are posers.

 

[green338 2.0]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

First off, I really appreciate the feedback! Custom actions are not cheap. I have learned more in less than 12 hours from your comments than what I have read and seen in the past month or two. It is nice to get a real experience from actual owners. The more I am reading these comments, the more I am set on stepping away from the "old" Remington action and buying a custom action.

I agree with the rest of you; the Surgeon action having a pinned integral lug, 1-piece bolt, stiffer tolerances, and a built in scope base places an advantage over the Remington action, for starters.

In addition, the Surgeon action also comes with other nice features like the side-bold release, fluted bolt, and the interchangeable bolt handles.

Moreover, I agree that truing and squaring an action like the Remington could be subjective from one gunsmith to the next.

In this case, I truly believe you get what you pay for. Thanks again for helping me out with this decision!

 

[Lofty]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

Ive had both at the same time, shot 'em both back to back.

Accuracy wise my blueprinted 700 shot just as well. It didnt cycle as well....the Surgeon was smoother.

Other than that, couldnt tell the difference.

That being said, Id never build another 700 just due to resale value on a custom action being much better.

 

[Tomekeuro85]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cummins cowboy</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> the recoil lug is actually machined into the action, goodness sakes why is this so difficult for the rest of the action makers to do?? </div></div>


It takes a lot more metal because you have to start with a solid piece.. Therefore, more metal, more waste, and more time to cut it all away. But yea it's way better.

 

[nhm16]

Re: Remington 700 v Surgeon 591 action?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tomekeuro85</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cummins cowboy</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> the recoil lug is actually machined into the action, goodness sakes why is this so difficult for the rest of the action makers to do?? </div></div>


It takes a lot more metal because you have to start with a solid piece.. Therefore, more metal, more waste, and more time to cut it all away. But yea it's way better. </div></div>

That and the integral scope rail.