Remington 700 .308, what should I look for

[OlongJohnson]

I was going to post "The one that says Tikka," but not wanting to be a smart ass kept me from opening the thread.

The "Grand Opening Sale" is 15 percent off, which will make this about $295 shipped:

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/8688815

Howas are my other favorite bolt gun. A little heavier. Bank-vault like bolt handle throws and light, crisp triggers. Excellent reputation for accuracy. Toyota Landcruiser made-in-Japan build quality. If you can't deal with the plastic stock (the Lightning stock looks like the Hogue, but is hard plastic, not rubberized), with patience you can get a Vanguard 2 take-off shipped from Ebay for around $60-70. It's much nicer and the actions shoot very well from them.

Whittaker also has the Howa in 6.5 CM for the same price, and if you're not going to load your own, Hornady has made their ammo accurate and price-competitive in that cartridge.

[okie john]

I was going to post "The one that says Tikka," but not wanting to be a smart ass kept me from opening the thread.

The "Grand Opening Sale" is 15 percent off, which will make this about $295 shipped:

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/8688815

Howas are my other favorite bolt gun. A little heavier. Bank-vault like bolt handle throws and light, crisp triggers. Excellent reputation for accuracy. Toyota Landcruiser made-in-Japan build quality. If you can't deal with the plastic stock (the Lightning stock looks like the Hogue, but is hard plastic, not rubberized), with patience you can get a Vanguard 2 take-off shipped from Ebay for around $60-70. It's much nicer and the actions shoot very well from them.

Whittaker also has the Howa in 6.5 CM for the same price, and if you're not going to load your own, Hornady has made their ammo accurate and price-competitive in that cartridge.

All of this.

Hogue stocks are the long-gun equivalent of Glock OEM sights.

Also Google "broken Howa bolt stop screw". It was a problem for a while and may have been fixed.


Okie John

[SecondsCount]

I may trade into a Remington 700 AAC-SD in .308. It has this stock: https://www.stockysstocks.com/manner...r-xcr-xhr.html

I know nothing about bolt action rifles, so type slow.

Is there anything in particular I should inspect on the rifle? What's a reasonable price (assuming it's in good condition) for the rifle and stock (original stock is gone)?

If I just wanted to punch paper at the range and maybe hunt with it, is this a good choice?

If you have a pace that you can shoot out to 600+ yards on a regular basis, then I would buy it. 308 barrels last a long time so I doubt the one you are looking at is worn out.

As far as glass goes, I have one of the 4-16 Vortex HS scopes with the mil reticle and have shot it out to 1000 yards. Sure there is better glass but I am having a lot of fun for the $400 that I paid.

[OlongJohnson]

Also Google "broken Howa bolt stop screw". It was a problem for a while and may have been fixed.

It continues to be a problem. It's the one wart on Howas. The screw is defectively designed with a stress riser, and then made on a lathe of some kind (screw machine likely), putting circumferential grooves parallel to the stress riser. You can expect them to break.

One of the minor projects in my queue is to make a shoulder bushing and then use a rolled-thread, grade 12.9 socket head cap screw as the fastener. The additional protrusion will require inletting the stock for clearance, but I'm confident it will solve the strength issue.

I'm kinda surprised there isn't someone out there with a lathe selling this solution in kits for the low, low price of $35 or so, like the plugs for S&W revolvers.

[LittleLebowski]

I shot this at 75 yards on Thursday with my AAC-SD. Six rounds suppressed. Why 75 yards? Because I didn't feel like clearing a lane in the weeds to make it 100 yards. I was just checking the status of my first ever .308 reloads (and my first ever single stage press reloads). I'll do more formal testing of my reloads soon.

[NH Shooter]

It's a serious $$ trap. You think you can get into the game for a bargain, then come to the conclusion that it takes more to get consistent accuracy better than 1 MOA. I did the same as what you're proposing, starting with the 20" barrel version. A few years and about $4k later, the only remaining Remington parts are the receiver and the bolt (minus the handle). It now shoots consistently .5 MOA or better with Federal GMM factory loads, often in the .3 MOA range (I have yet to develop a hand load for it). Hold on to your wallet;

[Jared]

I may trade into a Remington 700 AAC-SD in .308. It has this stock: https://www.stockysstocks.com/manner...r-xcr-xhr.html

I know nothing about bolt action rifles, so type slow.

Is there anything in particular I should inspect on the rifle? What's a reasonable price (assuming it's in good condition) for the rifle and stock (original stock is gone)?

If I just wanted to punch paper at the range and maybe hunt with it, is this a good choice?

One trick I picked up with 700's was to turn the rifle upside down and work the bolt vigorously. The rifle should stay cocked. If not, someone has probably done some trigger work that's not up to par.

Like 870's and 1100's, I've got a real soft spot for older 700's. And just like the shotguns, you pretty much can't give me a new production model. It's your money, but if it were mine, I'd hold out for a Tikka.

[OlongJohnson]

If I was going to put together a custom rifle project, I'd start with a bare 700 action, then get a match-grade barrel configured to make it a Remage. For the most part, such a strategy eliminates the gamble of whether your little slice of Ilion heaven turns out to be garbage, and you don't pay for anything that isn't exactly what you want.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ducts_id/2385/


(This isn't my image, but Google finds it identically sized on literally ten different dealer sites, so I assume it's a Remington stock photo and believe this is fair use.)

[ranger]

I finally found a Bergara HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor in stock. Should be here this week so I can provide an update soon. I think the Bergara HMR in 308 or 6.5CM would be something to consider. I also got a Tikka T3 in 3006 for hunting (on sale when the T3X came out) - the T3 might be the choice for hunting.

[Jared]

If I was going to put together a custom rifle project, I'd start with a bare 700 action, then get a match-grade barrel configured to make it a Remage. For the most part, such a strategy eliminates the gamble of whether your little slice of Ilion heaven turns out to be garbage, and you don't pay for anything that isn't exactly what you want.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ducts_id/2385/


(This isn't my image, but Google finds it identically sized on literally ten different dealer sites, so I assume it's a Remington stock photo and believe this is fair use.)

This is also a decent idea. The 700 is sort of like the Glock of bolt rifles, parts galore. If I wanted a custom precision rifle, a 700 action is where I'd likely start. Problem is there's some really good factory options out there that make it questionable in my mind if the custom 700 is still as good an idea as it once was.

Another common thread with 870's, there a ton of really good older 700's out there. If you don't mind the oddball caliber, a 700 in 222 Remington makes a hell of a varmint rifle out to roughly 300 yards. I've had several triple deuce chambered 700's and they'd all stay sub MOA with a good handload. Somewhere I've got a 5x5 target shot with a standard barreled BDL in 222 with the average size for the 5 five shot groups at 0.5 in. That was at 100 yards.