Why no love for the Remington 700 Long Range?

[EotS]

Has Remington QC really fallen that far to where this rifle isn't a value?
A local GS has a Blued 300wm LR for $625,and stainless for $675.

Am I missing something? I know Tikka, Bergara, Howa and others are the rage, but the LR seems like a lot of gun for the $, especially given how eaisly it can be modded, and the action trued up by almost anyone for a reasonable price. That, and the B&C stock is pretty decent,yeah?

 

[Ranchhand]

It seems like a good deal to me but maybe ammo is the issue?
For a hunting rifle I think it would be fine.

 

[Animal357]

I would never buy a Remington. Far better rifles on the market

 

[Clob McStrunk]

Love mine

 

[308pirate]

Has Remington QC really fallen that far to where this rifle isn't a value?
A local GS has a Blued 300wm LR for $625,and stainless for $675.

Am I missing something? I know Tikka, Bergara, Howa and others are the rage, but the LR seems like a lot of gun for the $, especially given how eaisly it can be modded, and the action trued up by almost anyone for a reasonable price. That, and the B&C stock is pretty decent,yeah?

Remington's quality is so fucking awesome that the company no longer exists.

 

[Animal357]

Has Remington QC really fallen that far to where this rifle isn't a value?
A local GS has a Blued 300wm LR for $625,and stainless for $675.

Am I missing something? I know Tikka, Bergara, Howa and others are the rage, but the LR seems like a lot of gun for the $, especially given how eaisly it can be modded, and the action trued up by almost anyone for a reasonable price. That, and the B&C stock is pretty decent,yeah?

By the time you pay for truing the action and recutting the barrel to match (or putting on a good barrel) you would have paid more than if you bought a good rifle to begin with.

 

[hlee]

I've got 2 remington rifles. One is in stock configuration. The other has a magpul hunter stock, other than that it is in stock configuration as well. They are also old enough that they don't have that abominable trigger that is supposed to be user adjustable, but isn't. Scape off the goo they put on the screws and you have pull weight, sear engagement, and over travel adjustment at your finger tips. They open while on safe, so no they don't have THAT walker trigger. They are fine for what they were bought for- deer hunting rifles- and if you get a good one with a decent barrel they can be pretty good shooters. Both of mine are MOA with hand loads.

But, as 308Pirate said, there is a reason that Remington no longer exists as anything more than a brand name. And, buying a "premium product" as a project piece is a fools's errand. If you want a project, buy one of those 700 rifle/scope combos that the big box stores blow out on Black Friday.

 

[Romeo458]

I usually clean up surplus rifles, not sporterize, but restorations and get them accurate again. My brother gave me shot and said I needed less projects and to just go buy a new gun for once... naturally, challenge accepted.

Bought a new Remington 700 30-06, and after the misaligned crown, twisted stock and 1/2 inch deep throat was dealt with by way of a Brux barrel and a full rebuild it became a hell of a shooter.

 

[samnev]

Bought my last one a PSS in the early 90's. Great rifle. My brother and brother in law bought both bought an SPS in the the last fewer. I wasn't impressed. Neither one was a decent shooter.

 

[Vamike9]

Has Remington QC really fallen that far to where this rifle isn't a value?
A local GS has a Blued 300wm LR for $625,and stainless for $675.

Am I missing something? I know Tikka, Bergara, Howa and others are the rage, but the LR seems like a lot of gun for the $, especially given how eaisly it can be modded, and the action trued up by almost anyone for a reasonable price. That, and the B&C stock is pretty decent,yeah?

When 700s are good they are great, but the lack of QC paired with less innovation has left them dust covered.
Now with essentially no warranty service because of them folding, people aren't sure what's gonna happen?...
On the flip side, maybe they'll be collectors items someday.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[Johnny00K]

Everyone needs to own a borescope, a $60 Teslong will save you money in the long run. Run a scope down the barrels of Remington 700s built 40 years ago then run it into some from the 2000s, you will be amazed. It's almost like Remington has made it a goal of theirs to see how many gouges and cracks they can fit inside of a barrel.

 

[Vamike9]

Everyone needs to own a borescope, a $60 Teslong will save you money in the long run. Run a scope down the barrels of Remington 700s built 40 years ago then run it into some from the 2000s, you will be amazed. It's almost like Remington has made it a goal of theirs to see how many gouges and cracks they can fit inside of a barrel.

To me the Bergara B14 is the way to go.
With that said, all of my 5r and LTR 700s are outstanding in terms of accuracy.
Although, almost every one had a canted recoil lug, and the Gen2 had chamber issues.
So, go with Bergara in my opinion.

 

[Marksman]

I bought a LR 30-06 as soon as they came out. It shot pretty well, but it fouled like nothing I've ever seen. It must have been lapped with 60 grit sandpaper from the factory.

I had the barrel re-bored to 9.3x62. Haven't shot it much since then, but do recall that the barrel still fouls horribly.

 

[Vamike9]

I bought a LR 30-06 as soon as they came out. It shot pretty well, but it fouled like nothing I've ever seen. It must have been lapped with 60 grit sandpaper from the factory.

I had the barrel re-bored to 9.3x62. Haven't shot it much since then, but do recall that the barrel still fouls horribly.

As I've heard John from 8541tactical say before,
usually Rem's higher end models like the Police, LTR, Milspec and Sendero perform better.
My Gen1 milspec is incredible, feels more like a custom rifle.
Gen 2 doesn't appear to have the same quality but is very accurate.

 

[Friday]

Out of the box Remington rifles are garbage. I only buy the actions. There barrels suck there triggers suck and there stocks suck. But there action to build off of is quite nice! I have one trued action and 4 that have not been trued and honestly can’t tell a difference in any of them other than the bolt runs a little smoother in the trued action, other than that they are all tack drivers.

 

[Vamike9]

Out of the box Remington rifles are garbage. I only buy the actions. There barrels suck there triggers suck and there stocks suck. But there action to build off of is quite nice! I have one trued action and 4 that have not been trued and honestly can’t tell a difference in any of them other than the bolt runs a little smoother in the trued action, other than that they are all tack drivers.

I wouldn't say that exactly, yet, the bdl, cdl and adl models have suffered.
My milspecs and LTR/Police models are beyond what many other manufacturers can compete with.
The triggers are horrible though, except the 40x in my LTR.
The X MARK Pro trigger is the worst trigger I've ever used!
I switch them to Timney.

 

[jb0311]

Google "remington 700 long range 300 win mag accuracy" and see what floats to the top. As to those prices, they are fair, but no steal. That is what I would expect them to be. Remingtons, even the top shelf, have common issues. One of them is not ejecting spent casings. I have a Sendero SF II I had to send off because of that. A $1200 rifle that was advertised as "most accurate Remington out of the box". Now, they picked up the bill on that but now that they are no longer around I wonder if that happened to me today if I would be on my own. Sure they have the potential to be good rifles after paying for X, Y, & Z to get them there, but as others have said, after that you could have bought a nice Bergara or Tikka.

 

[Vamike9]

Google "remington 700 long range 300 win mag accuracy" and see what floats to the top. As to those prices, they are fair, but no steal. That is what I would expect them to be. Remingtons, even the top shelf, have common issues. One of them is not ejecting spent casings. I have a Sendero SF II I had to send off because of that. A $1200 rifle that was advertised as "most accurate Remington out of the box". Now, they picked up the bill on that but now that they are no longer around I wonder if that happened to me today if I would be on my own. Sure they have the potential to be good rifles after paying for X, Y, & Z to get them there, but as others have said, after that you could have bought a nice Bergara or Tikka.

While this may be true I've owned about 5 that are great rifles.
One did have a clambering issue that was sent to Tritan Arms to correct, which ended up costing me!
Still, most of the guns only had minor issues but were very accurate.
I am not a fan of how Remington handled their business, but I am hoping it will change if in new hands soon?...
The most common issues I had were canted recoil lugs and the triggers.
Although, I do feel Bergara makes a better rifle.

 

[jb0311]

While this may be true I've owned about 5 that are great rifles.
One did have a clambering issue that was sent to Tritan Arms to correct, which ended up costing me!
Still, most of the guns only had minor issues but were very accurate.
I am not a fan of how Remington handled their business, but I am hoping it will change if in new hands soon?...
The most common issues I had were canted recoil lugs and the triggers.
Although, I do feel Bergara makes a better rifle.

Right, my Sendero is very accurate, and I have other 700s that are solid shooters. I don't think the issue with remington is, or was, that the 700 itself is junk, it is that the QC and recent tooling is crap. The issue I pointed out with the failure to extract a spent casing is very common. Just google remington 700 extraction issues and you could read threads for days on the subject. My problem wasn't with the factory remington extractor, but with the throat I would imagine. Cycled unfired rounds all day. Fire a round and the bolt locked to the point where it took a hammer to pull the casing out. I'm no gunsmith but if I had to guess I would think that the issue was in the reamer they used on my barrel, maybe just wore it down too much prior to using it on my rifle. The factory extractor (which wasn't at fault for my failure to extracts) has plenty of issues as well. Sure you can spend $175 to get LRI to install a m-16 extractor that comes factory on a Howa.

The issues you had are common as well. The bolt IMO is just a weakness from lugs to handles. Timing issues, handles snapping off, etc, etc.

I'm actually not hating on 700s. They are great rifles when you get a good one. But when I spend $1000+ on a factory rifle I would at least expect it to cycle properly. I knew somewhat of the QC issues when I purchased mine, but that was when they were still in business and I knew the warranty would be honored. I have no idea if that is the case still, and it would definitely shy me away from any new 700 purchases. There are just too many less risky options in that $1000-1500 price range now.

 

[Vamike9]

Right, my Sendero is very accurate, and I have other 700s that are solid shooters. I don't think the issue with remington is, or was, that the 700 itself is junk, it is that the QC and recent tooling is crap. The issue I pointed out with the failure to extract a spent casing is very common. Just google remington 700 extraction issues and you could read threads for days on the subject. My problem wasn't with the factory remington extractor, but with the throat I would imagine. Cycled unfired rounds all day. Fire a round and the bolt locked to the point where it took a hammer to pull the casing out. I'm no gunsmith but if I had to guess I would think that the issue was in the reamer they used on my barrel, maybe just wore it down too much prior to using it on my rifle. The factory extractor (which wasn't at fault for my failure to extracts) has plenty of issues as well. Sure you can spend $175 to get LRI to install a m-16 extractor that comes factory on a Howa.

The issues you had are common as well. The bolt IMO is just a weakness from lugs to handles. Timing issues, handles snapping off, etc, etc.

I'm actually not hating on 700s. They are great rifles when you get a good one. But when I spend $1000+ on a factory rifle I would at least expect it to cycle properly. I knew somewhat of the QC issues when I purchased mine, but that was when they were still in business and I knew the warranty would be honored. I have no idea if that is the case still, and it would definitely shy me away from any new 700 purchases. There are just too many less risky options in that $1000-1500 price range now.

Right, I had the same bolt issue which ended up costing me $.
That's when I bought my first Bergara.
Good info though.

 

[dirthead1]

Remingtons are all over the place. I had a Remington 700 Long Range 7mm RM. it was the most inaccurate rifle I’ve ever owned. I’ve had 870s that were more accurate.

To contrast, I recently purchased a 700 5R 308, and it’s an absolute hammer. I would put it up there with the most accurate rifles I’ve owned. The smoothness of the action is also night and day different from the Long Range 700.

As other have said, the triggers are horrible so just plan on changing that from the start.

 

[athanasios23]

It's a shame remington went to shit. My first rifle was a Remington 700 LSS in 243. Took my first deer with it. Bought back in 03. It's my favorite rifle do to sentimental attachment. Its by no means my most accurate rifle. Just had trigger tuned, glass bedded, and some of the inside of the stock needed to be sanded to be completely free floated. Probably wouldn't have even of bothered if I wasn't so attached to the rifle. But if I got the opportunity to go buy a new hunting rifle I'd probably go buy a Sako, tikka, or maybe a Winchester.

 

[XLR308]

Just buy a Kelbly Atlas or similar and never look back.
Remington 700 actions are really good once you spend basically as much as a custom action having them blueprinted and installing all the extra shit that should have been done to them in the first place.

 

[Halfnutz]

I have 1 700, it is from APO and more than sufficient. I think Remington 700 is what keeps good smith's well in the $$ (just a guess and never a knock against good smiths) and for good reason. A bargin gun would have to have the cost of blue printing and a rebarrel included in the cost vs a custom action and a barrel.

 

[XLR308]

I have 1 700, it is from APO and more than sufficient. I think Remington 700 is what keeps good smith's well in the $$ (just a guess and never a knock against good smiths) and for good reason. A bargin gun would have to have the cost of blue printing and a rebarrel included in the cost vs a custom action and a barrel.

Not if you buy a Tikka, no blueprinting required and they are made precisely enough you can get shouldered barrels for them without all the hassle.
I sold my rem 700's and never looked back and have zero regrets.

 

[Halfnutz]

Not if you buy a Tikka, no blueprinting required and they are made precisely enough you can get shouldered barrels for them without all the hassle.
I sold my rem 700's and never looked back and have zero regrets.

I dont own a Tikka bit a friend had an older one that was great outta the box. I recommended one to a coworker and had the first trip to the range with it. With 1st and 2nd impressions as well as hide reputation I would not hesitate to own or reccomend one.
10+ years ago my gunsmith told me to buy a Remington and bring it to him to "fix" or buy a Savage and wear the barrel out. Even with all the Savage hate, I think he was spot on.

 

[XLR308]

I dont own a Tikka bit a friend had an older one that was great outta the box. I recommended one to a coworker and had the first trip to the range with it. With 1st and 2nd impressions as well as hide reputation I would not hesitate to own or reccomend one.
10+ years ago my gunsmith told me to buy a Remington and bring it to him to "fix" or buy a Savage and wear the barrel out. Even with all the Savage hate, I think he was spot on.

I only have one Tikka that i traded a Mathews bow for to another forum member here.
My intensions were to strip it down and use the action for a build but after shooting it i dont think that will happen until the barrel is toast.
I still own three savage rifles but no remies.

 

[Halfnutz]

That GS prompted me to buy 3 Savages, one still stock 22-250 and two heavily modified 308 and a 300WM, neither of which I would readily part with, either for monetary nor sentimental reasons. It was a 2nd hand SH edition APO that got me to buy a Remy. If it wasn't the SH edition it would have for sure been fully blueprinted and rebarreled at probably minimal.gain.

 

[wpeach1912]

Well considering Remington is now defunct, probably not worth buying. The 700s were great actions/rifles 20 years ago when there was much fewer competing rifle makers and Remington was still capable of performing quality control. But now with available rifles with much nicer actions and more features like Tikka, Howa, Weatherby, Bergara, and Ruger that have actual quality control, 700s are irrelevant in my mind. Also, aftermarket actions like the Mack Bros SS and Bighorn Origin are way nicer than the 700 and only cost a little more.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

My first "long range" rifle was a Remington 700 Varmint. 1989
Matched with a Leupold scope, to me it was the duck's nuts.
The last Remington I bought was the LTR in .308.
That had a McMillan stock.
Tikka and Sako pretty much displaced my Remington phase.
Remington just died in the arse.
The company had a great history, but fuck me, they just started churning out shit and expected their name to carry them through.
Now all I use is Tikka, Sako, and AI.
Still, thanks for the memories, Remington.

 

[Halfnutz]

Funny. In 1989 all the way into the 90's that's exactly what I wanted but couldn't afford. Buy the time I thought I could afford it, it was shit and I was told to go to a "Mickey Mouse" engineered Savage FP10.

 

[Vamike9]

My first "long range" rifle was a Remington 700 Varmint. 1989
Matched with a Leupold scope, to me it was the duck's nuts.
The last Remington I bought was the LTR in .308.
That had a McMillan stock.
Tikka and Sako pretty much displaced my Remington phase.
Remington just died in the arse.
The company had a great history, but fuck me, they just started churning out shit and expected their name to carry them through.
Now all I use is Tikka, Sako, and AI.
Still, thanks for the memories, Remington.

I'm pulling for Remington to make a comeback with new ownership eventually.
My Savages and Rugers are accurate but not even close to the 700 actions.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

I'm pulling for Remington to make a comeback with new ownership eventually.
My Savages and Rugers are accurate but not even close to the 700 actions.

Have you tried a Tikka or Sako?
Might be pleasantly surprised.
I do hope Remington rises from the ashes..... but fear that's about as likely as a Qanon report being factual.

 

[Vamike9]

Have you tried a Tikka or Sako?
Might be pleasantly surprised.
I do hope Remington rises from the ashes..... but fear that's about as likely as a Qanon report being factual.

Yes, I own a Tikka and 2 Bergara rifles.
I haven't tested one of the Bergaras yet but looks to be very well made.
I guess I just love that Remington has been around so long and was an American company.

 

[lash]

Lol. Reading this is fun. Especially ially all the people that think you have to trash the barrel etc before shooting it. And those that only shoot other brands but yet rag on Remington like they know...

I bought one of the Rem Long range in 30-‘06 for $600 and it shoots great. Hits consistently and well out to a 1000 stock with factory ammo. Looking forward to see what hand loads will do. Yes, I did put in a Timney trigger, but that’s it.

Oh, yeah, I also own Tikka, Arc custom, Stiller custom and more. But I have more sense than to rag on something just ‘cause it ain’t what I own.

 

[Johnny00K]

I guess I just love that Remington has been around so long and was an American company.

I don't know how much I consider New York to be part of America.

 

[Vamike9]

I don't know how much I consider New York to be part of America.

That's true...

 

[hafejd30]

The only thing left of Remington that’s worth anything is the platform. Lots of aftermarket support. The QC has gone to shit past that.

I’ve owned several in the past couple years (new production) and savage, Ruger etc put them to shame. Mine would barely hold 1 MOA with reloads or FGMM.

I can’t see any reason to even consider buying one with Rems current situation and the availability of other rifles/actions

 

[pirate6134]

My first center fire rifle was a Remington 700 BDL in .243. It was purchased in 1968 and I still have it. It shoots pretty good with the ammo it likes and has not had any modifications at all.

 

[Runnineh]

While my Remington la shoots lights out now, it took a long time to get through the pains of their qc.
Mine wouldn't extract cases. I called Remington, and they sourced it to a shop who said all that was needed was the chamber polished. Allegedly they did it, but didn't test it. Sent it back, still didn't extract.
Called Remington, repeat all, same outcome.
I finally took it to my local smith. After a lot of discussions, mostly revolving around installing a m16 extractor, he pulled another bolt, and it looked as though the bolt face was not recessed the same depth. Sure enough, mine was .025 short. He had to have it specially done because he didn't have the tools for something like that. Ended up working great.
That's the last Remington I'd buy. Good riddance to their demise.

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

There will always be newer advances in technology and quality.
It's a shame Remington wasn't able to compete.
There are some beautiful examples of what they once were.
I think you will see the action around for years to come.
It's like the Rolling Block, will forever have its place in history.

 

[Vamike9]

While my Remington la shoots lights out now, it took a long time to get through the pains of their qc.
Mine wouldn't extract cases. I called Remington, and they sourced it to a shop who said all that was needed was the chamber polished. Allegedly they did it, but didn't test it. Sent it back, still didn't extract.
Called Remington, repeat all, same outcome.
I finally took it to my local smith. After a lot of discussions, mostly revolving around installing a m16 extractor, he pulled another bolt, and it looked as though the bolt face was not recessed the same depth. Sure enough, mine was .025 short. He had to have it specially done because he didn't have the tools for something like that. Ended up working great.
That's the last Remington I'd buy. Good riddance to their demise.

That was very similar to the chamber issues I had with my Gen2 5R LA.
Ended up costing me money as well.
If Remington gets their act together I'd definitely look at what they have, however, it'll take a lot positive change.
Right now Tikka and Bergara seem to be doing it the right way.

 

[HousePlant]

I was considering one, given their price. But then I got to feel one up at a gun shop and it felt cheap, like a Savage Axis. I bought a Bergara HMR Pro instead. Excellent, spoil-you-level awesome action and barrel quality. More accurate than I am. Heavy, though... not my first western hunt choice.

 

[308pirate]

I can’t see any reason to even consider buying one with Rems current situation

We'll have to wait and see what Roundhill Group does with the firearms portion of what was Remington.

Supposedly they have every intention of reviving the firearms manufacture under the Remington name, licensed from Vista Outdoors who purchased both the ammo business and the Remington trademarks.

I wish them good luck and only hope they achieve three things

• Convince the union to work together to make excellent firearms
• Give their engineers and toolmakers the time and money they need to setup manufacturing processes that will assure quality. Quality is not inspected and tested into a product. Quality is created during the manufacturing process.
• Do a cold, rational review of all their firearm designs and one by one either fix all the issues that prevent quality manufacture or kill the design entirely.

 

[athanasios23]

I'd really like to see remington get it together. Update their action and trigger. Develope a manufacturing process that dosent cut corners and puts out a quality product. I'd like to get myself a nice remington 30-06 hunting rifle. But I'm only buying one from the 80's or older. Im sure I'll find one on the used gun rack one day.

 

[308pirate]

Develope a manufacturing process that dosent cut corners and puts out a quality product

The processes were there, just the organization as a whole did not give a shit about following them or doing them correctly.

Note, I'm not saying individuals didn't care. I'm sure many did all the way to the end. But collectively Remington stopped giving a shit quite a while ago.

 

[308pirate]

Where's the OP?

I guess his question was answered.

 

[Johnny00K]

Yeah, WTH??? He said the R word (not cool), got us all stirred up and then bounced. I'm guessing he bought the LR (against our sound advice) and has probably been at the range trying to figure out why he can only get 2.5" groups. "Maybe I'm just not steady enough, I need a lead sled", "I guess this gun just doesn't like Hornady bullets, yeah that's probably it", "I bet if I take this action to a smith and have him true it up and bed the stock it will be a tack driver", "MY GOD I HATE REMINGTON" Any bets on whether or not this is currently happening with the OP?

 

[MikeRTacOps]

Hmmmmmm I'm over here Thinking Things LOL

Mike R.

 

[lash]

Yeah, WTH??? He said the R word (not cool), got us all stirred up and then bounced. I'm guessing he bought the LR (against our sound advice) and has probably been at the range trying to figure out why he can only get 2.5" groups. "Maybe I'm just not steady enough, I need a lead sled", "I guess this gun just doesn't like Hornady bullets, yeah that's probably it", "I bet if I take this action to a smith and have him true it up and bed the stock it will be a tack driver", "MY GOD I HATE REMINGTON" Any bets on whether or not this is currently happening with the OP?

Or, if he was like me, he picked one up, dropped a Timney trigger in it and is enjoying himself at the range as we speak with well under 1moa groups and banging steel way out there.

Look, I’m not remingtons fan boy, but you guys sound like the poor kid at the dance who got dumped and so now hate all women.

<shakes head>