My new and first Remington 700

[Badboymelvin]

Nice rifle, is it the Xpro trigger? I’ve had some that were good and some that had to be swapped out with a Timney. I much prefer the old Walker trigger. That rifle will serve you well!
Cheers,
Cody

It’s the trigger that had the recall done on it - not sure if that’s the Xpro?
Luckily, mine was replaced by warranty before I took ownership of it.
Using the kitchen scales the trigger pull best I could measure it was 2kg.
That was actually better than I thought but still too heavy in my opinion...

 

[Badboymelvin]

https://xmprecall.remington.com/

SEE IF YOUR MODEL 700™ OR MODEL SEVEN™ RIFLE IS AFFECTED
If you own a Remington Model 700™ or Model Seven™ rifle with an X-Mark Pro® trigger, please enter your serial number below to determine if your rifle needs to be inspected as part of the recall:

Yep, mine was part of the recall - but luckily mine was replaced or fixed under warranty.
When they do this they put a little centre punch mark on the bolt release lever to let you know

 

[Badboymelvin]

Thanks for the comments guys.
As nearly everyone has mentioned, I’ll be swapping the trigger for something a little more user friendly...

It’s the only knock on the rifle so far...

 

[Badboymelvin]

Welcome to the "dark side", I guess you'll be fine as long as you don't shoot at anything that can kill you back.

Ha! I’ve got a Mauser 98 in .458WM for that!

 

[Von S.]

Hello Master Melvin,

Very happy for you getting that rifle in that caliber and round. And though the 308 is a fine accurate round from the factory in military surplus it is loaded about as hot as is safe. And though many a 06 gets loaded hot to 300 mag velocities with just minor pressure sign to attempt this with a 308 can cause a disaster.

Someone here offered a suggestion that "clipping" a few coils off springs in the trigger system will somehow make it better and that any " competent gunsmith" can do this to the factory springs. I would never do that to anyones firearm as to do so can create a very dangerous situation and give the Remington trigger even more adverse press that it doesn't deserve. It was never designed as a target trigger it is a hunting one.

Best of luck Melvin.

 

[SnowLeopard]

I have that rifle with a Hogue stock in Ghillie Green and X-Pro trigger. Not sure what is going on with your rifle but the X-Pro is adjustable down to 2.5 lbs. I have mine set at 2.75 lbs. Breaks like glass and does not affect the accuracy at that low pull weight. Love that rifle! 1/2 MOA all day long.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd post a pic and give a bit of a range report about my new - and first ever Remington M700.

I've never really been a fan of M700's, being more of a Winchester M70 guy - but I got this for an absolute steal and it looked pretty good in the ad, so I thought I take the plunge and venture onto the dark side!

My new rifle is a Remington AAC-SD 'Tactical' model and it's in .308 caliber.
Although a tactical model I plan on using this for deer hunting in Australia - and in fact I traded off my .300Wby so I could purchase it.

Now, while the .300Wby was and is an AWESOME caliber, the longest shot I've ever taken on a deer with it was 60m...
And although a great caliber, I just wasn't utilising it to it's fullest potential so when someone threw some money in my face wanting it, I let it go... albeit a bit sadly...
The last 2 deer I shot with it were a couple of small Fallow and I got them at the staggering long distance of 40m!
I remember saying to my guide at the time, "I could've done that with a bloody .308!"
And I could've too...
With half the muzzle-blast and recoil...
And a lot cheaper...

So here we are!

I purchased this Remington already fitted with the Bell & Carlson M40 stock and as soon I got the rifle home the first thing I did was put a spare Vortex Crossfire II 6-18x44 scope that I had lying around on top of it.
To be honest this scope is a little big for a hunting rifle, but it's what I had on hand and I can always swap it out for something smaller later on down the track.

All up with scope and a full mag, it weighs spot on 4kg (9lb) which although heavy for a .308, feels quite nice in the hand.
Because of the heavy-ish weight, recoil is very mild. In fact it's under half what the .300Wby was - and is about 1/5 of what my .458WM is shooting the 550gn!
It was actually really nice shooting a rifle that didn't try to KILL you every time you pulled the trigger...

Today saw me at the range to put it through it's paces - and it had big shoes to fill. I loved that Weatherby and this Remington - a rifle I had no prior experiences with, had better perform.

And it did.
It functioned flawlessly. Extraction and ejection was positive and feeding was smooth. And it was very accurate.

That's the good! Now the bad...

The magazine only holds 3 instead of 4 which is no biggie and didn't really bother me - but what did give me bother was the trigger... it is HORRIBLE. Although crisp enough it was very heavy. This made shooting small groups with it off the bench hard work.
But even before picking the rifle up I knew the trigger would be heavy as most factory rifles are in this day and age of lawsuits.
But I'll get used to it. Given enough time I believe you can get used to nearly any trigger.

The ammo I was using was the Australian Outback factory ammunition.
I specifically chose this ammunition as it's loaded with the Sierra Gameking 165gn projectile and I believe this is the best bullet weight in the .308 for the hunting I do.
It should work well on small Fallow and the Elk-sized Sambar.
At the 50m range it put 3 shots in a fraction over 1/4" - which I was really happy with considering the trigger.
Velocity from the short 20" barrel averaged 2630fps and I've got it sighted in:
1.5" high at 50m,
3" high at 100m,
zero at 200m
- 12" at 300m.
Luckily I have mil-dots on the scope and utilising these, shots out to 400m are possible although I have a self-imposed rule of not taking shots past 300m.

So there you go, I'm feeling pretty good about this rifle so far.
The bolt handle didn't fall off, rifle didn't self-discharge and the extractor didn't break.
The rifle had a 'quality' look and feel about it and it was accurate. It feels good in the hands and it looks fantastic.
This weekend we're heading off to try and bag a deer and that will be the final test for this rifle. I just know it's going to be wet, muddy and cold so there's no better test for it.

I'll keep you all posted on how it goes - and thanks for reading

Russ

@Badboymelvin
Put a timney trigger on it mate and problem solved.
My son used 150gn accubonds and 140grain outer edge in his 08 in Namibia with no worries.
Give the Outer Edge a go. They are made in Orange New South Wales.
They even provide load info for them
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

the triggers can be adjusted or replaced to give you a very nice safe trigger pull., i like 3.5-4 lbs trigger pull on my hunting rifles.

@leslie hetrick
I have mine set at 2.5 pounds, make it a bit easier for me for offhand shooting.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Very nice rifle. I’m also a fan of the 700. Great action with a lot of after market options available. I’ve never had one that I couldn’t get to shoot.

BD

@GA Hunter
That's why I like Savage rifle they just shoot straight from the box. Just a bit ugly in the action department.
Bob

 

[Badboymelvin]

@Badboymelvin
Put a timney trigger on it mate and problem solved.
My son used 150gn accubonds and 140grain outer edge in his 08 in Namibia with no worries.
Give the Outer Edge a go. They are made in Orange New South Wales.
They even provide load info for them
Bob

Hey Bob,

Thanks mate, will definitely look into the Outer Edge Bullets.
Thanks for the heads up

Russ

 

[CBH Australia]

Russ,
I purchased a Rifle Basix trigger back when the dollar was up and the brand was new. I think they are OK but no mention from others. .Rem 700 .223 varmint,
I would seriously consider Trigger Tech if I was putting it on a hunting rifle , All theoretical from research I haven’t used one.
I have some Tikkas, the next most highly customisable action after the Rem 700.
Tikka triggers are pretty good with some aftermarket springs readily available to get lighter pulls safely.
Good luck with the .308, they just work , I use one, they are pretty common in Australia as you would know. You will get ammo anywhere they sell ammo.

 

[JLF]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd post a pic and give a bit of a range report about my new - and first ever Remington M700.

I've never really been a fan of M700's, being more of a Winchester M70 guy - but I got this for an absolute steal and it looked pretty good in the ad, so I thought I take the plunge and venture onto the dark side!

My new rifle is a Remington AAC-SD 'Tactical' model and it's in .308 caliber.
Although a tactical model I plan on using this for deer hunting in Australia - and in fact I traded off my .300Wby so I could purchase it.

Now, while the .300Wby was and is an AWESOME caliber, the longest shot I've ever taken on a deer with it was 60m...
And although a great caliber, I just wasn't utilising it to it's fullest potential so when someone threw some money in my face wanting it, I let it go... albeit a bit sadly...
The last 2 deer I shot with it were a couple of small Fallow and I got them at the staggering long distance of 40m!
I remember saying to my guide at the time, "I could've done that with a bloody .308!"
And I could've too...
With half the muzzle-blast and recoil...
And a lot cheaper...

So here we are!

I purchased this Remington already fitted with the Bell & Carlson M40 stock and as soon I got the rifle home the first thing I did was put a spare Vortex Crossfire II 6-18x44 scope that I had lying around on top of it.
To be honest this scope is a little big for a hunting rifle, but it's what I had on hand and I can always swap it out for something smaller later on down the track.

All up with scope and a full mag, it weighs spot on 4kg (9lb) which although heavy for a .308, feels quite nice in the hand.
Because of the heavy-ish weight, recoil is very mild. In fact it's under half what the .300Wby was - and is about 1/5 of what my .458WM is shooting the 550gn!
It was actually really nice shooting a rifle that didn't try to KILL you every time you pulled the trigger...

Today saw me at the range to put it through it's paces - and it had big shoes to fill. I loved that Weatherby and this Remington - a rifle I had no prior experiences with, had better perform.

And it did.
It functioned flawlessly. Extraction and ejection was positive and feeding was smooth. And it was very accurate.

That's the good! Now the bad...

The magazine only holds 3 instead of 4 which is no biggie and didn't really bother me - but what did give me bother was the trigger... it is HORRIBLE. Although crisp enough it was very heavy. This made shooting small groups with it off the bench hard work.
But even before picking the rifle up I knew the trigger would be heavy as most factory rifles are in this day and age of lawsuits.
But I'll get used to it. Given enough time I believe you can get used to nearly any trigger.

The ammo I was using was the Australian Outback factory ammunition.
I specifically chose this ammunition as it's loaded with the Sierra Gameking 165gn projectile and I believe this is the best bullet weight in the .308 for the hunting I do.
It should work well on small Fallow and the Elk-sized Sambar.
At the 50m range it put 3 shots in a fraction over 1/4" - which I was really happy with considering the trigger.
Velocity from the short 20" barrel averaged 2630fps and I've got it sighted in:
1.5" high at 50m,
3" high at 100m,
zero at 200m
- 12" at 300m.
Luckily I have mil-dots on the scope and utilising these, shots out to 400m are possible although I have a self-imposed rule of not taking shots past 300m.

So there you go, I'm feeling pretty good about this rifle so far.
The bolt handle didn't fall off, rifle didn't self-discharge and the extractor didn't break.
The rifle had a 'quality' look and feel about it and it was accurate. It feels good in the hands and it looks fantastic.
This weekend we're heading off to try and bag a deer and that will be the final test for this rifle. I just know it's going to be wet, muddy and cold so there's no better test for it.

I'll keep you all posted on how it goes - and thanks for reading

Russ

Felicidades por el rifle.
En cuanto al gatillo, no es un problema. En mi rifle lo modifiqué cambiando un par de muelles lo dejé tipo de sistema al cabello, muy suave, se inclina una mosca y dispara.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Russ,
I purchased a Rifle Basix trigger back when the dollar was up and the brand was new. I think they are OK but no mention from others. .Rem 700 .223 varmint,
I would seriously consider Trigger Tech if I was putting it on a hunting rifle , All theoretical from research I haven’t used one.
I have some Tikkas, the next most highly customisable action after the Rem 700.
Tikka triggers are pretty good with some aftermarket springs readily available to get lighter pulls safely.
Good luck with the .308, they just work , I use one, they are pretty common in Australia as you would know. You will get ammo anywhere they sell ammo.

@CBH Australia
Chris I bought a rifle Basix trigger for my savage Whelen. It was easy to install and adjust to 2 and a half pounds. The instructions and you tube made the process very quick and simple.
Bob

 

[MS 9x56]

700's are like adult Lego's. Lots of aftermarket parts: stocks, triggers, bottom metal, etc. Im a fan of 700's but always say swap the trigger. Makes all the world of difference. I used to run Jewel and Timney but Ive switched all to Trigger Tech's in my 700's. If available by you, give them a look. Best hunting trigger Ive used to date.

I guess that is one of the reasons I have never owned a 700. I just figured if you need to change all those things out might just better buy a different rifle. I have a Remington model 14 that I love. I had a Remington 722 in 308 but the stock did not fit me well so I traded it for a Ruger 77 RSI model in 243.