For what its worth, the old school 700's I've shot have been money. I grew up on a .270 and later on, moved to a 7mm. the 'Hammer' brought them down, put the lead on the crosshairs and was just an all around great gun. So nice, in fact, that my house got broken into and it was stolen last September....They also got my 740 with my grandpa's initials on a brass plate on the forestock.

I don't know, I have an affinity for older guns and since my father usually cycles through his aresenal frequently, I get whatever he's not enamored with any longer. Right now, in lieu of buying a new rifle to replace the stolen one or outfitting the .308 I got for Christmas last year, I'm shooting a .30-06 Mauser action/FN barrel. Makes a pretty group on the range but nothing worth shooting has seen fit to hang around my stand in daylight hours.

I might go custom next season with some slick optics or I might just be cheap and stick with what I've got.

As far as the Remington 700's go, the older ones shot just fine but then again, there's a big difference with differing circumstances and applications. If you're sitting in a stand watching a feeder 100 yards away with a rock solid rest, your needs are a little different than lining up a bull elk across a valley to be sure.