need advice on accurizing a 700
 

I have a Rem 700 .270 BDL SS

I want to turn it into the most accuriate hunting rifle I can afford. I'm guessing all it needs is a match grade sporter barrel and a new bedded stock. Help point me in the right direction.

I was looking at these stocks
http://www.accurateinnovations.com/golden_sporter.html

I like laminated wood.

I've also had a few H-S Precision stocks and have no complaint about them.

What do you suggest for a new stock & barrel ?
What else do I need to look into ?

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

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RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

Providing you want to keep it a 270 then a McmIllan or High tech stock would be nice as a replacement and keep weight manageable. There is no guarantee that if the gun is accurized and the barrel replaced that it will shoot any better then what you have now.. I have the same gun in 7mmRem and it is probably one of the most accurate Remingtons or any other brand rifle I have ever owned. The stock is nasty as far as transmitting noise. I am not sure if I replace the stock with a quality stock like mentioned above that the gun might not be worse off. Accurate innovation stocks are nice looking stocks as well I just have no experience with them.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

I suggest giving answerrifles a call. They have a deal where they will accurize your gun. I think it involves recrowning, lapping lugs, squaring the action, trigger work, and probably would install and bed a new stock. I have seen them come back real MOA shooters. I think its for 350 dollars. Which a new McMillian or H-S will run over 300, and a match barrel alone is more than 250, and to put it all together probably over 300. So think about all that first.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

I sent my Rem 700 in 300 RUM to Answer Products http://www.answerrifles.com/ a few years ago. They did everything BIGCOUNTRY has said as well as freezing the barrel and muzzelbrake with pad. The thing cloverleafs at 100. I would say check out thier site.
They have done 1000's of rifles and have it down to a science.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

What kind of groups are you getting now? I have never had a Remington 700 that needed much work to shoot under one inch at 100 yards. If the pressure point at the end of the forend fits they usually shoot very well.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

James, your one of the only ones that have such great luck. You should be big green spokesperson. James you seem like a very honest person, so I am not saying your telling a big one. I am saying you are extremely lucky.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

A lot of good information above... and here's my take on it...

first of all... you have to be able to perform as well as what the gun is capable of.

I own 3 700 remingtons and i am building my 4th at the moment. 2 of the 3 i currently have will shoot sub MOA as is, no modifications... one is a 70's vintage BDL varmit in 222 rem... the second is a 1990 classic in 25-06 rem. i have not touched em, not even trigger adjustment... they impress the heck out of me.

the third though was a PITA... 3 inches @ 100 was all i could get handloading, very inconsistant and all over the place.. not even a consistant horizontal or vertical stringing... this was a 700 mountain rifle in 25-06. here is what i did.. i have done all of the work except replacing the barrel myself.

First, have the trigger cleaned up with a lighter pull and elimination of any creep... you can get them adjusted to break like glass at 2 1/2 lbs.

Second, most every factory rem 700 has a pressure point on the barrel in the stock, some guns respond well to this some don't. Mine didn't. by free floating it improved things but ultimately it was my barrel that was to blame. By adjusting preload on the barrel you can also effect harmonics and the way things shoot... experiment with pressures.

Third, if there is any movement what so ever between stock and action replace stock or bed the action. bedding also helps evenly distribute pressure on the action.

Fourth, locking lugs... most don't make very good contact on one let alone on both... lapping them can be of benefit. It was on my Mtn Rifle. i had 1/4 of the left lug contacting only. but as you do this you are also increaseing headspace.

Fifth. with the bolt removed... look at the muzzle carefully. i've found this on numerous 700s i've looked at. the bore is not concentric with the muzzle and crown. we all know if the crown is not true or is damaged accuracy is compromised. If the bore is not concentric with the barrel it is in essence doing the same thing. as well as generating uneven stresses and harmonics within the barrel due to uneven cross section.

Sixth. constrictions in the bore or rough rifling... fire lap the bore... some say it doesn't work some swear by it. I've done it to a handgun and 2 rifles... in every instance i have AT LEAST cut the grouping in half. no bull, not making up stories, just what has happened from me from personal experience.

I did not lap my Mtn Rifle... i rebarrelled and trued the action... Shilen #2 contour chambered in 280 rem now. i can shoot sub MOA if i do my part... accuracy in the gun now is mre dependent upon which load and bullet i shoot... some it likes some it doesn;t. small screaming varmit rounds will group 1/2 inch @ 100 or less... generally a big ragged hole... my hunting rounds, 175 partitions, are more in the 3/4 inch range... i can't expect much more than that...

from my experience with the 700 and the work i've done to them i've found factory set triggers, bore conditions and locking lugs to be the major improvement areas.. bedding sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't... it is a case by case situation on whether to do it or not.

Jim

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

I will take luck any day. I have had just as good of luck with Savage rifles.Weather Mark five is the worst rifle I have had to date. It would not group with anything and had a two man trigger. I had a 788 that would not group until I added a little to the pressure point. I know I have had 20 model 700's from 222 to 300 win Mag. I have had six or more 700 classics as well. There must be a reason that Remington leads the poll on this site.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

Now see James that goes to show ya. I had a mark 5 that was a tack driver. But it had better been, since it cost two rifle worth. You just never can tell.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

I always respect people opinion but want to note my experience. But I ruined a barrel with that tubbs firelapping kit. Totally rounded off the rifling. Worst thing I ever did to a gun. My gunsmith and I borescoped it before and after. Yes it smoothed it some, smoothed the rifling off. So beware before attempting not everyone has great experence doing this.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

Thanks for the suggestions. I have had , and still have several Rem 700s. All of them have been fine shooters. This one does no better that 2.5 MOA with any of the factory loads I have tried. I bought it used or should I say stole it ($150). The previous owner did not take care of it. I found mud all in the barrel. Trigger felt like sand paper. My plans were to toy with it and try to get the groups a bit tighter.

I also have a 700 Mountain Rilfe LSS that I bought about a month ago. I have not had a chance to toy with it yet, I sure hope it's a shooter. That pencil thin barrel has me worried.

Maybe I'm just too picky. If a gun will not shoot 1 MOA I will not keep it ,or have it worked on until it does. I know a sub MOA is not required for big game hunting, but that's my standard. When I'm hunting, I don't want to look down at my gun and think to myself "Wow I settled for less".

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

In have a lot of rifles and I too don't own one that will not group one inch with its best load. I have had a few exceptions to that rule. I have some short range guns like lever guns and such that need not group as tight because they will never be used past 150 yards. I have not had a Remington that would not group 2 inches out of the box except for the 788 in 308 that I had. It started out grouping 2-3 inches. It turned out to be a fine shooter as well after working on the pressure point. Good luck.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

jdreddish,
I understand exactly how you feel. I used to be an accuracy fanatic. I was never happy if a rifle would not put everything through 1 hole. Years later, especially when my eyes got worse, I realised that I was going a bit far with that. Since I have mellowed with age, I am relatively happy if I can be consistent from group to group - let alone sub MOA. I have always, for some reason, been very lucky with the rifles I've owned. As I said before, I've owned five Rem. 700's and every one has been a very good to great rifle. I have simplified my life lately and gotten rid of all except one rifle and one shotgun. My last and favorite rifle is a Rem. 700 ADL synthetic...the youth model (I wanted the 20" barrel)... that amazes me every time I shoot it. One of the cheapest rifles Remington sells. I have it set up as a "Scout rifle" right now - with a 2X handgun scope, mounted ahead of the receiver. I wanted to try this idea and make up a rifle that I could shoot with both eyes open (chronic eyestrain). I never shoot much beyond 150 yds anymore, so the short- range nature of this set-up didn't phase me. I must say that I am impressed with the rifle.
I have posted a target, from my last trip to the range. 100 metres, from an improvised rest, 31 rounds fired, 6" dia. bull, 3-4 shot groups. Several of the groups (which I checked after every other string) were .75" - 1.25". This with 7.62 NATO mil-surp ammo ! (I use this for practice.) I am amazed. Not at myself - for I am NOT much of a shot anymore - but the rifle. I credit the "both eyes open" technique - which can be done with the forward- mounted scope.
Anyway, enough about that. I thought a few people might find this interesting. Good luck with your "project" rifle - i hope it works out just as you would like.

Well, I haven't posted the target, after all. I get an "error uploading file to disk" message every time I try it. I'll try with another post.

RE: need advice on accurizing a 700
 

All of my Model 700's have shot good out of the box. The 300 RUM I think I went a bit overboard with. The 338 RUM had done at a local gunsmith with just the accurizing package and brake. The 7mm RUM SA had nothing done except trigger work. They all shot just the same.
I will say however that the 7mm had to be returned to the factory for a new barrel as when we had it at the gunsmiths he showed me missing rifling in the barrel.