Remington 700

[outwestidaho]

Ok let me say I'm not basing any gun type. This is my experience only.
Every time I go on a hunt with a guide, whether Africa or America, Alaska whatever, I'm told what a piece of crap my 700 Remington's are. I have never had an issue with my 700s. Never had an extraction problem or accuracy problem EVER in 30 years. To date I have 6 of them. I recently let a friend talk me into buying a Winchester I couldn't get it to shoot. I spent countless hours reloading and shooting hundreds of rounds through it. Sold it ! Best group 3 inches at a 100. Went to a Weatherby, its currently being re barreled. I would have sold it, but its so bad I didn't feel right selling a gun with 6 inch groups at best. I even won 20 bucks from a Ph in Africa that claimed he could get my 700 in 375 H&H to accidently go off. He spent the better part of 15 minutes , trying to make it happen. Never could.

But and I mean a Big BUT , everything in my life seems to be a completely backwards from everyone else.
Had friends that said Emirates airlines were the greatest in the world to Africa. So wife and I booked last trip to Africa that way. Worst damn trip to Africa I've ever had.
So my Question is .......am the the only one that has just the opposite problem with guns that everyone else has ?

Like I say not bashing, I have a friend that has a safe full of good firearms that all shoot and perform well , but cant get a Remington to perform.......... not one !

 

[Cam Moon]

My gut feeling tells me you're going to find several supporters of the 700 on here.

 

[jeanes]

I have a Model 700 BDL in .270 Win. One shot kills on every whitetail and feral hog I have shot at with it. Groups about 1 moa. I love mine.

 

[Firebird]

I have several and have had pretty good luck with them BUT-they all have had triggers replaced and new sissy pads and I have them glass bedded as well.
The last one I bought had a bent barrel. I took it back to the place I bought it and we found several other, factory new out of the box with bent barrels. Wasn’t impressed with the factory rep who came out to look at them-he was useless.
it seems to depend what time period they were built it, I love the older ones. Remington does build a “cheaper” version Now which has hurt their reputation and there were some legit trigger problems which they absolutely resolved at great Cost to the company. Accuracy is there in some and not in others and is surely affected by the individual barrel, bullet and load. Some ph’s have issues with push feed as opposed to control round feed and eject but like you, I’ve not had trouble with it in the past. Never been charged by anything tho.
I’m kind of done with them but I own several that are awesome. . .

 

[Beretta391]

My wife shoots a 700 Mtn rifle in 280. Has been shooting it for over 30 years. 4 trips to Namibia, 1 to Romania and numerous deer, hogs, antelope and elk in the US. She has used Hornady 139gn GMX superformance ammo , a LeupoldVXR 4x12x50 scope,without the ability to dial it in !!! Never had a failure to fire or a jam. I keep telling her she’s using the wrong rifle, ammo and scope according to the internet!!! She just gives me that side eye look that only a woman can do!!! In Namibia she has harvested numerous springbok, ostrich, red hartebeest, warthogs, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, zebra and Eland. I think I will just keep my mouth shut. She maybe little but she still scares me a bit after 33 years of watching her shoot!!

 

[outwestidaho]

I have several and have had pretty good luck with them BUT-they all have had triggers replaced and new sissy pads and I have them glass bedded as well.
The last one I bought had a bent barrel. I took it back to the place I bought it and we found several other, factory new out of the box with bent barrels. Wasn’t impressed with the factory rep who came out to look at them-he was useless.
it seems to depend what time period they were built it, I love the older ones. Remington does build a “cheaper” version Now which has hurt their reputation and there were some legit trigger problems which they absolutely resolved at great Cost to the company. Accuracy is there in some and not in others and is surely affected by the individual barrel, bullet and load. Some ph’s have issues with push feed as opposed to control round feed and eject but like you, I’ve not had trouble with it in the past. Never been charged by anything tho.
I’m kind of done with them but I own several that are awesome. . .

I haven't bought a Remington in several years now. Your experience doesn't sound good.

 

[outwestidaho]

My wife shoots a 700 Mtn rifle in 280. Has been shooting it for over 30 years. 4 trips to Namibia, 1 to Romania and numerous deer, hogs, antelope and elk in the US. She has used Hornady 139gn GMX superformance ammo , a LeupoldVXR 4x12x50 scope,without the ability to dial it in !!! Never had a failure to fire or a jam. I keep telling her she’s using the wrong rifle, ammo and scope according to the internet!!! She just gives me that side eye look that only a woman can do!!! In Namibia she has harvested numerous springbok, ostrich, red hartebeest, warthogs, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, zebra and Eland. I think I will just keep my mouth shut. She maybe little but she still scares me a bit after 33 years of watching her shoot!!

Ha ha sounds dang familiar ! Had a PH stop his BS about 700s when my wife shot a springbok at 426 yards with her 300 win mag. She out shoots me continually . All 700s we have are dead nuts accurate.

 

[Ridgewalker]

My wife shoots a 700 Mtn rifle in 280. Has been shooting it for over 30 years. 4 trips to Namibia, 1 to Romania and numerous deer, hogs, antelope and elk in the US. She has used Hornady 139gn GMX superformance ammo , a LeupoldVXR 4x12x50 scope,without the ability to dial it in !!! Never had a failure to fire or a jam. I keep telling her she’s using the wrong rifle, ammo and scope according to the internet!!! She just gives me that side eye look that only a woman can do!!! In Namibia she has harvested numerous springbok, ostrich, red hartebeest, warthogs, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, zebra and Eland. I think I will just keep my mouth shut. She maybe little but she still scares me a bit after 33 years of watching her shoot!!

Beware the lady with only one gun! She probably knows how to use it!
Obviously your wife knows how to use it! And congratulations having a wife who hunts with you!

 

[Ridgewalker]

I’ve owned a bunch of Rem 700s and their cheap clone the Sportsman 78. All could shoot less than MOA and half inch quite frequently.

 

[outwestidaho]

Beware the lady with only one gun! She probably knows how to use it!
Obviously your wife knows how to use it! And congratulations having a wife who hunts with you!

Ha ha yeah that's the truth. Yes , well she was raised by parents that were commercial outfitters for 37 years here in Idaho. So she had a great resume ! LOL.

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I have 3. The newest being about 18 years old.
Only problem was the extractor did wear out on the newest one a couple years ago.

 

[mark-hunter]

I own certain number of firearms (not remington), and all perform well. (but I take care of them)

I am member of target shooting sporting club and also a member of local hunting club. So, I had a chance to try number of guns from friends, or at least see those guns in action on the range.This includes remingtons.

I have seen some guns malfunctioning or with poor accuracy. Various brands or makers.

So what is common to all malfunctioning guns?
What I have seen, 100%, is poor to zero maintenance.

Some owners think, if modern ammo is non corrosive, then no cleaning is required. To clean the barrel, it just needs to fire a round through it. Etc.

Zero cleaning, zero maintenance, hunting in all weather conditions, and after some years gun will malfunction or loose accuracy.

Having said that, I have seen or tried few remigntons 700 in various configurations, they all shoot well. New ones are with very hard trigger pull but they work, and they are accurate.

BTW L. Potterfield (Midway USA), has chosen remington 700 as his DG rifle for Africa.
US army uses rem 700 (m24) as sniper rifle, and also some law enforcement units.
What is better proof of reliability?

 

[fourfive8]

Seriously, I believe every word in the OP post. I've owned and messed with at least 6 different Rem 700s and 721s. A Rem 600 in 222 is the only Remington left in the safe. But, positive anecdotes unfortunately don't prove much while a single negative anecdote may be cause for real concern. It is not the 100 Rem 700s that don't fail at the wrong time, it is THE ONE that does. I too don't put too much credence in the stories of "accidental" discharge litigious claims about the 700 trigger. IMO there is something else involved with most of that. I will say that I never had a problem with a Rem 700 trigger, that does not mean I think it is the best nor shouldn't be changed out. Compared to an original design Win 70 trigger, the Rem 700 trigger in a hard use hunting rifle leaves a lot to be desired. Matter of fact any enclosed box trigger in a hard use hunting rifle leaves a lot to be desired. No way around it! If it is enclosed it will collect crap over time and that crap build up will over time greatly increase the chance for a trigger problem. Not the mechanical design at all... the problem is the basic box enclosure that becomes a gunk trap. On the other hand the original Win 70 trigger is a genius of design- adjustable, simple and no way really to trap gunk. Adjust a Rem 700 trigger the CORRECT WAY and mechanically it is a very safe and good trigger. Set it the wrong way and it becomes an instant liability. Even if adjusted correctly, it is still a gunk trap that is prone to those issues over time. And no matter the trigger, let a shade tree smith at it with half the knowledge required to understand the safe and correct function of a trigger and the design or brand matters very little.

Added to the trigger issue and somewhat related to it is the safety design. Hands down- no contest the three position Winchester 70 safety is superior to most all if not all modern safeties. The most common upgrade, beside the trigger, on most all bolt Mauser variations is the addition of the Winchester 70 wing type three position safety. That little lever blocking the internal trigger sear on a Rem 700 safety is not in the same league of design and may account for some of the ADs reported by 700 owners. Let a half knowledgable gunsmith set the over travel and sear engagement adjustment a little too cozy on a Rem 700 trigger, cock the striker, put the safety on safe position, lightly set finger on trigger, push safety to OFF- Bang! The mechanics of that scenario are pretty easy to understand. Or adjust the over travel and sear engagement in the same manner, cock, drop the rifle on hard sruface in a certain way and BANG! Also, not hard to understand. Adjust most any trigger with too little sear engagement and too cozy over travel in that manner and expect similar results.

Even the basic design weakness of the safety is not the problem in the 700 as it is designed.... if the trigger is CORRECTLY adjusted. IMO the most obvious weakness that everyone knows about and talks about, in the 700 and other similar models, is the extractor. What makes for a nice easy dump one in under stress and push feed it home design also makes for a weak extractor design. Over time and with an unknown lifespan, that system really becomes compromised- either from breakage of the little half moon clip with extractor nub or AGAIN gunk getting under that captured half moon clip and causing function failures. An OK upgrade to the Rem 700 type extractor is the M16 or Sako style extractor conversion. The biggest issue with the M16 or Sako extractor on a 700 is the location of the extractor may cause a potentially big problem with angle of ejection where empties are flipped at too high an angle and won't cleanly clear scopes, mounts or turrets.

After having and customizing and rebarreling and shooting the various Rem 700s or similars, I can say with confidence they are easier to blueprint, work on and "accurize" than all the Mauser-based bolt guns like the Win 70. Therefore they do tend to be more accurate on average because of that. But take a Win 70 or basic Mauser action and put the effort into correctly mounting a quality barrel onto it and making sure the lugs are trued up and plumb to the axis of the action along with the bolt face and what little max accuracy potential that is given up to the cylinder in a cylinder Rem action is more than made up for with the reliability as a hard use hunting rifle. If entering the world of DG rifles- reliability then becomes the most important attribute of a rifle. No bashing here either just calling it as I see it and have experienced it.

 

[Beretta391]

My wife shoots a 700 Mtn rifle in 280. Has been shooting it for over 30 years. 4 trips to Namibia, 1 to Romania and numerous deer, hogs, antelope and elk in the US. She has used Hornady 139gn GMX superformance ammo , a LeupoldVXR 4x12x50 scope,without the ability to dial it in !!! Never had a failure to fire or a jam. I keep telling her she’s using the wrong rifle, ammo and scope according to the internet!!! She just gives me that side eye look that only a woman can do!!! In Namibia she has harvested numerous springbok, ostrich, red hartebeest, warthogs, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, zebra and Eland. I think I will just keep my mouth shut. She maybe little but she still scares me a bit after 33 years of watching her shoot!!

My wife laughed when I read this post to her. Then I got the side eye and she said you shorted me Kudu, Waterbuck,Oryx and blesbuck!! I said I would correct it quickly!!!

 

[outwestidaho]

Seriously, I believe every word in the OP post. I've owned and messed with at least 6 different Rem 700s and 721s. A Rem 600 in 222 is the only Remington left in the safe. But, positive anecdotes unfortunately don't prove much while a single negative anecdote may be cause for real concern. It is not the 100 Rem 700s that don't fail at the wrong time, it is THE ONE that does. I too don't put too much credence in the stories of "accidental" discharge litigious claims about the 700 trigger. IMO there is something else involved with most of that. I will say that I never had a problem with a Rem 700 trigger, that does not mean I think it is the best nor shouldn't be changed out. Compared to an original design Win 70 trigger, the Rem 700 trigger in a hard use hunting rifle leaves a lot to be desired. Matter of fact any enclosed box trigger in a hard use hunting rifle leaves a lot to be desired. No way around it! If it is enclosed it will collect crap over time and that crap build up will over time greatly increase the chance for a trigger problem. Not the mechanical design at all... the problem is the basic box enclosure that becomes a gunk trap. On the other hand the original Win 70 trigger is a genius of design- adjustable, simple and no way really to trap gunk. Adjust a Rem 700 trigger the CORRECT WAY and mechanically it is a very safe and good trigger. Set it the wrong way and it becomes an instant liability. Even if adjusted correctly, it is still a gunk trap that is prone to those issues over time. And no matter the trigger, let a shade tree smith at it with half the knowledge required to understand the safe and correct function of a trigger and the design or brand matters very little.

Added to the trigger issue and somewhat related to it is the safety design. Hands down- no contest the three position Winchester 70 safety is superior to most all if not all modern safeties. The most common upgrade, beside the trigger, on most all bolt Mauser variations is the addition of the Winchester 70 wing type three position safety. That little lever blocking the internal trigger sear on a Rem 700 safety is not in the same league of design and may account for some of the ADs reported by 700 owners. Let a half knowledgable gunsmith set the over travel and sear engagement adjustment a little too cozy on a Rem 700 trigger, cock the striker, put the safety on safe position, lightly set finger on trigger, push safety to OFF- Bang! The mechanics of that scenario are pretty easy to understand. Or adjust the over travel and sear engagement in the same manner, cock, drop the rifle on hard sruface in a certain way and BANG! Also, not hard to understand. Adjust most any trigger with too little sear engagement and too cozy over travel in that manner and expect similar results.

Even the basic design weakness of the safety is not the problem in the 700 as it is designed.... if the trigger is CORRECTLY adjusted. IMO the most obvious weakness that everyone knows about and talks about, in the 700 and other similar models, is the extractor. What makes for a nice easy dump one in under stress and push feed it home design also makes for a weak extractor design. Over time and with an unknown lifespan, that system really becomes compromised- either from breakage of the little half moon clip with extractor nub or AGAIN gunk getting under that captured half moon clip and causing function failures. An OK upgrade to the Rem 700 type extractor is the M16 or Sako style extractor conversion. The biggest issue with the M16 or Sako extractor on a 700 is the location of the extractor may cause a potentially big problem with angle of ejection where empties are flipped at too high an angle and won't cleanly clear scopes, mounts or turrets.

After having and customizing and rebarreling and shooting the various Rem 700s or similars, I can say with confidence they are easier to blueprint, work on and "accurize" than all the Mauser-based bolt guns like the Win 70. Therefore they do tend to be more accurate on average because of that. But take a Win 70 or basic Mauser action and put the effort into correctly mounting a quality barrel onto it and making sure the lugs are trued up and plumb to the axis of the action along with the bolt face and what little max accuracy potential that is given up to the cylinder in a cylinder Rem action is more than made up for with the reliability as a hard use hunting rifle. If entering the world of DG rifles- reliability then becomes the most important attribute of a rifle. No bashing here either just calling it as I see it and have experienced it.

Good read Thanks !

 

[Gemsbok45]

I have shot a lot of game with My 700.Never a problem! Chevy or Ford!

 

[colorado]

I have a Model 700 BDL in .270 Win. One shot kills on every whitetail and feral hog I have shot at with it. Groups about 1 moa. I love mine.

I have the same. Bought it in Dallas in 68, killed dozens of elk 9 black bears, finished off two grizzlies as a guide with it. Many deer, javelina and praire dogs. No failures to feed or eject, shoots nickel sized groups at 100 yards. Handloads are 150g Partitions at 3000 fps, 90g Sierra HPBTs at 3500 fps. Gave it to my son, he got his first elk with it too.

 

[Nyati]

I have a 700 Mtn in .243W, which I use for Roe Deer. No issues with it.

 

[Adam S]

I don't have extensive experience, but my only 700 in .22-250 shoots sub-MOA and has never had one malfunction or problem in the 21 years I've had it. I've been very happy with it.

 

[Rob404]

I have a Remington 700 BDL chambered in 35Whelen and I just bought another in 7mm Rem Mag.that I'm Refinishing the stock on. The Whelen will shoot a Baseball size groups at 200Meters, I expect he 7mm Rem to do the same