Remington 700 seeking advice

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

I have a Remington 700 BDL in .30-06 that is my go-to hunting rifle.  It's a great gun out to 300 yards, but I'm going to make some improvements on it so I can stretch it out to a 600 yard antelope gun. 

 

Already complete: 

 

- Replace factory trigger with a Timney trigger.  This thing is amazing.

 

- It already has a bipod, which I will transfer over to the new stock shown below.

 

To-do:

 

- Replace scope.  It currently has a Leupold VX1 at 3-9 X 40mm.  It's a good scope for up to 300 yards, but does not have a turret for long range and the magnification isn't quite what I need to reach out to 600 yards.  I'm going with this Zeiss:  https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021458259?pid=153697  The 24X magnification is more than enough for 600 yards, but maybe I'll reach out a little farther?

 

- replace stock.  I'm thinking of this one:  https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021680441?pid=861379

 

- Glass bed the barrel. 

 

- I've considered rebarreling it, but none of the new target quality barrels out there are chambered in .30-06!  Call me old fashioned (ok, maybe not with that stock I linked above), but I'm quite happy with the ballistics of the venerable old .30-06 and it will handle itself on an antelope as far as I want to shoot it.  So I'm sticking with the factory barrel for now. 

 

ON TO MY QUESTION:  The stock I'm considering (link above) is a fairly inexpensive modification.  Not only do I think it looks cool, but it has tons of adjustments so I can fine tune it to my body and my cheek-to-stock weld.  I honestly don't think I'll mind trudging up and down the mountains with this for elk or deer; it's not that much heavier than the factory stock and I'm not putting a bull barrel on it.  But this is going to become my go-to rifle for antelope at long range.  If I don't like carrying up and down the mountains, I can always go to one of my many other guns (Ruger M77 in .270 is getting the scope that is currently on the Remington 700!). 

 

But, what are your thoughts on this stock? 

 

[Buckshot Bob]

If the adjustability makes you happy buy it . Personally on a hunting gun I would rather have a non adjustable stock and adjust it to fit me , which is easy with fiberglass stocks 

I know this one doesn’t fit your particular gun but I’ve always been partial to these . The aluminum bedding block makes them very stable and you can fill or carve away glass as you like and re paint and then there’s nothing to go out of adjustment 

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1103164530?pid=692357

[Buckshot Bob]

http://www.bellandcarlson.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=1037

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

Not sure if you intended to say glass bed the barrel or you intended to say glass bed the action and free float the barrel, with laminate stocks these days the wood tends to be so full of binders they stay very stable and lots of times you can get away with just carving out your barrel channel so your barrel floats, perhaps some glass around the recoil lug area, laminate stocks are impressive stability wise

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

 

Bear with my logic here….

 

I think I’d go one of two other routes.

Get a Savage. I don’t particularly like the action, or gun weight, but the barrels are great and mine outshoots my Remingtons and Winchesters by a pretty fair margin. An adjustable cheek rest is an easy add on, but something to get knocked around. Rifles are $4-500 range. I paid $375 for one new with a $100 low end Nikon 3-9 on top. Bang flop. Does what it should. No frills.

 

The second alternative would be a Tikka T3 Lite adjustable. This is more of hunter minded rifle with an adjustable cheek piece that’s not obnoxiously hanging out there. The Tikka barrels have a reputation for accuracy rivaling custom barrels. The actions are very slick. I do prefer the 3 position safety of other makes over the Tikka 2 position. I really like the weight, balance and handling on these and have come so close to buying a couple in 260 and 6.5 Swede it’s not funny but other opportunities pop up and 86 my spending plans and I stick with what I have: a heavy 30-06 that’s a 3-350 yard gun.

 

And my boys Ruger Americans in 270 shoot very well. $425 brand new. I bought 3. Bear in mind, I have found in these sporter contoured hunting barrels accuracy is significantly diminished after 3-4 shots. My Savage’s best shot is always the 1st.

I will say that with my pack, gear, boots, etc I would have preferred a lighter, more slender rifle in Colorado last year over my old Winchester 30-06. The appeal of a lightweight rifle in anything from 25-06 up to 300 win mag/wsm became apparent over heavy wood and laminate stocks. (All of these calibers do the same thing- punch holes in thin-skinned game. No one is particularly superior to any other in doing that when utilized appropriately).

 

I’m not sure what kind of hunting you have in mind. And I don't have much western hunting experience. On a hunting rifle out west, some one may chime in different but 16x scope would be about my max, just so long as it could take a beating and hold zero. Heck, 3-9 is perfectly fine for 300-400 yards on large game, vital zones are so generous. 

 

Those big target scopes add not only weight but bulk. I hiked over 9 miles one day last year elevation change of over 2000’ mostly through mud and muck. Oftentimes bushwhacking and climbing grades with 3-4 points of contact. Winchester 30-06 with a birch stock and a cheap  Nikon 3-9. Im guessing 10.5 -11 lbs? You feel every ounce  of weight you carry trekking like that, and the gear and my at that time was 230 lbs. Im close to 245-250 now. With clothes, boots, gun and pack- add 25-35 lbs or more. A stroll through the antelope plains may be different.

 

For the $1400-1500 your talking about spending, I think you could keep your Remington as is and get a second, purpose built hunting rifle with great optics built for the abuse of the hunting fields, and possibly dabble with another caliber strictly for long range varmint, predator and pronghorn hunting such as the 25-06.

Broken down it’s like this: $800-900 or so in a new rifle and a Vortex or Leupold in the $500-$725 range.

 

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

Your Remington 700 is an excellent rifle for your antelope hunt your question is about your stock and my answer is to use the stock that you want to use and glass bed it from one end to the other.  This after almost 30 years of hunting antelope and shooting prairie dogs in Wyoming and West Texas.  Good luck on your hunt.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 hour ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

 

Bear with my logic here….

 

I think I’d go one of two other routes.

Get a Savage. I don’t particularly like the action, or gun weight, but the barrels are great and mine outshoots my Remingtons and Winchesters by a pretty fair margin. An adjustable cheek rest is an easy add on, but something to get knocked around. Rifles are $4-500 range. I paid $375 for one new with a $100 low end Nikon 3-9 on top. Bang flop. Does what it should. No frills.

 

The second alternative would be a Tikka T3 Lite adjustable. This is more of hunter minded rifle with an adjustable cheek piece that’s not obnoxiously hanging out there. The Tikka barrels have a reputation for accuracy rivaling custom barrels. The actions are very slick. I do prefer the 3 position safety of other makes over the Tikka 2 position. I really like the weight, balance and handling on these and have come so close to buying a couple in 260 and 6.5 Swede it’s not funny but other opportunities pop up and 86 my spending plans and I stick with what I have: a heavy 30-06 that’s a 3-350 yard gun.

 

And my boys Ruger Americans in 270 shoot very well. $425 brand new. I bought 3. Bear in mind, I have found in these sporter contoured hunting barrels accuracy is significantly diminished after 3-4 shots. My Savage’s best shot is always the 1st.

I will say that with my pack, gear, boots, etc I would have preferred a lighter, more slender rifle in Colorado last year over my old Winchester 30-06. The appeal of a lightweight rifle in anything from 25-06 up to 300 win mag/wsm became apparent over heavy wood and laminate stocks. (All of these calibers do the same thing- punch holes in thin-skinned game. No one is particularly superior to any other in doing that when utilized appropriately).

 

I’m not sure what kind of hunting you have in mind. And I don't have much western hunting experience. On a hunting rifle out west, some one may chime in different but 16x scope would be about my max, just so long as it could take a beating and hold zero. Heck, 3-9 is perfectly fine for 300-400 yards on large game, vital zones are so generous. 

 

Those big target scopes add not only weight but bulk. I hiked over 9 miles one day last year elevation change of over 2000’ mostly through mud and muck. Oftentimes bushwhacking and climbing grades with 3-4 points of contact. Winchester 30-06 with a birch stock and a cheap  Nikon 3-9. Im guessing 10.5 -11 lbs? You feel every ounce  of weight you carry trekking like that, and the gear and my at that time was 230 lbs. Im close to 245-250 now. With clothes, boots, gun and pack- add 25-35 lbs or more. A stroll through the antelope plains may be different.

 

For the $1400-1500 your talking about spending, I think you could keep your Remington as is and get a second, purpose built hunting rifle with great optics built for the abuse of the hunting fields, and possibly dabble with another caliber strictly for long range varmint, predator and pronghorn hunting such as the 25-06.

Broken down it’s like this: $800-900 or so in a new rifle and a Vortex or Leupold in the $500-$725 range.

 

 

Pard, the point of this project is to accurize the gun I have, not buy another one.  Plus the scopes you're recommending are not suitable for the application I'm looking at.  I already have one of those, and it's going on my deer rifle that is a 300 yard gun.  I'm talking about going 600 yards on the Eastern Colorado plains (I actually said this in my original post -- this is for antelope).  The scopes you recommend don't have a turret in that price range.

[Sedalia Dave]

5 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

- I've considered rebarreling it, but none of the new target quality barrels out there are chambered in .30-06!  Call me old fashioned (ok, maybe not with that stock I linked above), but I'm quite happy with the ballistics of the venerable old .30-06 and it will handle itself on an antelope as far as I want to shoot it.  So I'm sticking with the factory barrel for now. 

 

The great-grandpa of the 308 is 30-06. Buy a 308 barrel and have it rechambered to 30-06.

[Buckshot Bob]

If you do decide to re barrel, I’d encourage you to send it to someone to tru the action maybe even put in a sako style extractor . Their are plenty of places for a quality bbl . Krieger cut rifled bbl’s are excellent . If you stick the money into a bbl you might as well try to get the guns full potential 

https://kriegerbarrels.com

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I had a 700BDL in 7mm Magnum.  One of the best guns I ever owned right out of the box except for a variable power scope. I have often wished I had it again.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

I am NOT a huge fan of the 700 , nor any push feed action , 

 

 I like Mauser style control feed actions , harder to set up , but I feel they have less issues the push feeds do 

 

 good luck on the hunt 

 

   CB 

[Buckshot Bob]

Back to the bbl option, I know a few people who have used these guys and been very happy 

https://mcgowenbarrel.com

[JD Lud]

Well for my 2 cents, rem 700s have been hit and miss.  You could spend 1,000 bucks on it and not change its value or accuracy at all should you ever sell it.

 

You could spend the same on a new Tikka that will shoot lights out from the get go, while not requiring a lot of time and money that may not produce any real results.   This would allow you two different set ups with the capability to grab one for 300 and in and one set up for longer range, maybe even a caliber change?
 

I personally think 24 power for 600 yards is more than needed for medium game.  Lots of great options with holdover or dial reticles.

 

sorry if you still don’t want to go this route and you might not want to hear it but it’s my honest advice.   Good luck either way!

 

 

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

35 minutes ago, JD Lud said:

Well for my 2 cents, rem 700s have been hit and miss.  You could spend 1,000 bucks on it and not change its value or accuracy at all should you ever sell it.

 

This is an older gun, probably from the 1980s or so.  There is nothing miss about it.

[Rip Snorter]

I had a 30-06 Win 54 re built, as expensive as a nice new rifle.  I did it because I wanted an unusual Ackley Improved Wildcat that I could not get to play with any other way.  Though 30-06 is a great and versatile cartridge, there are others better for what you want to do.  You would still have your current rifle to do what it does well for you.

[Buckshot Bob]

55 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

 

This is an older gun, probably from the 1980s or so.  There is nothing miss about it.

There’s probably not another center fire bolt gun that has more aftermarket options. Your biggest problem is choosing from everything available to you . Have fun shopping 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Cyrus, as this is a favored personal rifle, by all means do what you want and make it like you want it.  You're doing this for yourself, and not with an intent to make it "saleable" to some unknown soul in the future.  And you can always add other rifles to your collection if you want to.

 

Personally, I think your choice of scope is outstanding and the stock is intriguing as all get-out.

 

That said, I'm inclined to give a nod to @Buckshot _Bob above on his comments regarding hunting rigs and in particular the Bell & Carlson stock.  

 

Over thirty years ago I acquired a Yugoslavian Mauser, and against the "advice and counsel" of many well-meaning associates, set out to sporterize it.  My choice of stock at the time was a Bell & Carlson, and I'm still quite happy with it.  Like you, I also went with a Timney trigger - excellent choice!  Now, my extras:  I had my local 'smith, John McRae of Vallejo, modify the bolt with a Model 70 style handle.  The military sights were removed, and he drilled and tapped it.  

 

Here's the cool part - I asked  Mr McRae to install two-piece Buehler mounts and rings, and a two-position Buehler safety.  I still grin when I recall Mr McRae immediately saying "Well, sure!  I'm having lunch with Maynard on Tuesday; I'll call 'em and have 'im bring the parts!"  It seems that Mr McRae and Maynard Buehler had been life-long friends - and Buehler lived only about twenty miles away.  (His house is actually well-known even today)  

 

Sadly, both McRae and Buehler passed many years ago... I'm honored to know that my rifle was Mr McRae's last project, and that it has a small connection with Mr Buehler himself.  

 

But it is MY rifle, and it's exactly how I wanted it, and I'm still plumb tickled with.

 

As you will be with yours!

 

Hardpan's Mauser:

 

                         

 

 

[Buckshot Bob]

I’ve always liked Buehler and Tally rings and bases but my favorite is Control. To me they just look sleek . And I love the adjustability. You can sight in your windage with the mounts so you have full adjustability in your scope for windage 

http://conetrol.com

And I just find the B&C stocks hard to beat , especially for a Remington, allot of times you don’t even need to bed them in order for them to shoot fantastic, that aluminum bedding block is great . 
The 700 is like a 10/22 or a 1911/glock there’s so many aftermarket options you can make it exactly what you want it is be . 

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

Shoot it after your build, at 600 yards and shoot it until you are comfortable with it. Your proposed Build will work well, even if there are numerous other ways to reach your goal.  I would free float the barrel and bed the action.  If it doesn't shoot well with the barrel free floated you can add a slight amount of material at the tip of the forend to put upward

 pressure on the barrel.

[sassnetguy50]

On 7/3/2022 at 11:47 AM, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

I have a Remington 700 BDL in .30-06 that is my go-to hunting rifle.  It's a great gun out to 300 yards, but I'm going to make some improvements on it so I can stretch it out to a 600 yard antelope gun. 

 

Already complete: 

 

- Replace factory trigger with a Timney trigger.  This thing is amazing.

 

- It already has a bipod, which I will transfer over to the new stock shown below.

 

To-do:

 

- Replace scope.  It currently has a Leupold VX1 at 3-9 X 40mm.  It's a good scope for up to 300 yards, but does not have a turret for long range and the magnification isn't quite what I need to reach out to 600 yards.  I'm going with this Zeiss:  https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021458259?pid=153697  The 24X magnification is more than enough for 600 yards, but maybe I'll reach out a little farther?

 

- replace stock.  I'm thinking of this one:  https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021680441?pid=861379

 

- Glass bed the barrel. 

 

- I've considered rebarreling it, but none of the new target quality barrels out there are chambered in .30-06!  Call me old fashioned (ok, maybe not with that stock I linked above), but I'm quite happy with the ballistics of the venerable old .30-06 and it will handle itself on an antelope as far as I want to shoot it.  So I'm sticking with the factory barrel for now. 

 

ON TO MY QUESTION:  The stock I'm considering (link above) is a fairly inexpensive modification.  Not only do I think it looks cool, but it has tons of adjustments so I can fine tune it to my body and my cheek-to-stock weld.  I honestly don't think I'll mind trudging up and down the mountains with this for elk or deer; it's not that much heavier than the factory stock and I'm not putting a bull barrel on it.  But this is going to become my go-to rifle for antelope at long range.  If I don't like carrying up and down the mountains, I can always go to one of my many other guns (Ruger M77 in .270 is getting the scope that is currently on the Remington 700!). 

 

But, what are your thoughts on this stock? 

 

Proof research sells blanks that are .308 bore.  You can have the chamber cut to 30-06 Springfield.  Lightweight, tough, accurate and expensive.  

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

Before I give my opinion on your project I need to ask one question...do you reload? If you don't you probably won't get the accuracy you are looking for at 600 yards no matter what you do to the Remmy. 

 

First let me deal with the scope. IMHO 24x is way to much magnification for a hunting rifle. I have hunted antelope for 50+ years and have killed over 100 of them buggers and several at 500 yards. Early on I thought the same thing you probably are thinking....bigger is better. At 24 x every heartbeat is magnified, every body movement will show in the scope and heat waves will distort the image of the animal. I  used to have a Leupold VXIII 6.5 x 20 on my antelope rifle and when I found the problems mentioned changed to a Leupold VXIII 4 x 14 that is great. I have a Leupold supplied ballistic turret custom made to my loads. All I have to do is determine yardage with a rangefinder and turn the turret to that distance. No range estimation, just hold on the spot you want to hit and shoot. 

 

I definately would not want to stock you mentioned. Too many adjustments to deal with that could loosen and change when you don't know it. I used to make stocks when I was younger, made over 200 of them. Definately get the length of pull that fits you and glass bed the action.

 

I shoot 3 different calibers for big game. A Ruger M77 in 25-06 for antelope & deer, a Ruger #1 in .300 Wby for elk and larger game and my trusty 70 year old 30-06 as backup. I reload for all of them and they all have ballistic turrets too.

 

Keep us posted on your decisions and progress.

 

[DeaconKC]

One of the most accurate rifles I ever had was a 700BDL in 243, a beautiful rifle all around. Lots of coyotes fell to that rifle. Good memories.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 7/4/2022 at 12:29 PM, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

 

This is an older gun, probably from the 1980s or so.  There is nothing miss about it.

Mine was a 1974 version.  I bought a Weatherby Vanguard in the same caliber at the same time and put the same optics on it, too.

 

At the time the two guns sold at the Fort Buckner, Okinawa PX for about $30.00 difference

 

The 700 was the better of the two rifles by a huge margin and I sold it in California for almost twice what I paid for it a year and a half earlier.  I could never get the Weatherby dialed in to where I could hit anything much smaller than a school bus.  (Note the slight exaggeration there?)

[Finagler 6853 Life]

Another thing to consider is what load you will use.  Most factory loads for 30-06 lean to the heavier side.  Might go for something between 125 grain to 140 grain bullet.  Should be light and fast.  As long as your rate of twist will send it straight.

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

  I could never get the Weatherby dialed in to where I could hit anything much smaller than a school bus.  (Note the slight exaggeration there?)

I took me over a year to get the right load worked up for my Weatherby. Weatherby puts a lot of freebore in their rifles and the only factory ammo that really shoots well in their rifles is made by Weatherby and it is 3 or 4 time more expensive than it should be.

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

1 hour ago, Finagler 6853 Life said:

Another thing to consider is what load you will use.  Most factory loads for 30-06 lean to the heavier side.  Might go for something between 125 grain to 140 grain bullet.  Should be light and fast.  As long as your rate of twist will send it straight.

I have never seen any 140 grain bullets for .30 caliber. The only thing wrong with 125 grain bullets is the sectional density of that grain bullet is pretty poor. I just will not shoot very well beyond around 300 or so yards. I use 150 gr for deer and antelope and 180 grain for elk & moose.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

1 hour ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

I took me over a year to get the right load worked up for my Weatherby. Weatherby puts a lot of freebore in their rifles and the only factory ammo that really shoots well in their rifles is made by Weatherby and it is 3 or 4 time more expensive than it should be.

That's why I sold it.  

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

That's why I sold it.  

Thats why I reload LOL!