The Remington 700 rifle is among the best rifles for a new hunter or shooter available. It’s THE bolt action rifle for precision shooting and its simple design is easy to maintain. It’s available in dozens of models and has been offered in over 100 different calibers throughout the years.
New shooters will learn from this Remington 700 review just how much this rifle is loved and why so many have been sold thought the years. Nowadays it isn’t as new or shiny but it’s just as usable and very affordable as far as precision rifles go.
Remington 700’s Significance
The Remington 700 was designed as modern rife action that could be produced for cheaper than older designs of the time. Compared to the Mauser and Winchester Model 70 actions, the Remington 700 could be more automated and use less human assembly in the 1950’s when it came out.
Because of the extremely simple push feed design, lightweight action and low price point the Remington 700 was a runaway success. Compared to the Winchester model 70 the rifle has fewer features but is easier to tune for accuracy and more customizable for the aftermarket. This makes it a favorite among civilian shooters who want a rifle made specifically for them.
The ubiquity of the Remington 700 in the civilian shooting market helped the military adopt it for their precision rifle requirements. While other rifles are used the Remington 700 chambered in 7.62NATO is used for training all snipers in the US military and many designated marksmen in all branches.
Of course the military designation of the rifle has also lead to it being the most widely used law enforcement precision rifle in the country as well as being one of the most exported rifles in America. This is an exceptionally common rife for dozens of reasons that stem from its quality to dozens of models. The Remington 700 is a staple of the American gun culture and has been for over 50 years.
PROS:
- For the price the Remington 700 is the best option on the market
- Widely used with a proven track record
- Very large aftermarket
- Available in just about any form you can think of
- Great starting point for a custom build or improvements
- Many gunsmiths are familiar with working on them
CONS:
- Out of the box accuracy leaves something to be desired
- The factory bolt handle is hard to grasp
- The box magazine in the rifle is finicky on how you load it
Which one should I use?
Over the dozen or so models and the dozens of calibers they’re offered in, the Remington 700 .308 reviews point to it as the best rifle for a beginner shooter. The ammunition is cheap and easy to find, and the recoil is manageable and still a usable caliber.
The functionality of the Remington 700 .308 is more than most people may think. A bolt action rifle can be used for hunting, home defense, and of course target shooting. Remington 700 is also the most adaptable bolt action rifle you can get your hands on.
Remington 700 Review
The Remington 700 has undergone so many changes and models throughout the years it’s hard to make a definitive answer on quality and certain features because they’ve changed so much.
The modern Remington 700 offering for a typical hunter would be a CDL .30-06 and it’s fantastic. The New York Ilion plant still churns out rifles like clockwork and Remington has upgraded to newer manufacturing technologies in recent years that have really smoothed out machining marks and tolerances.
The Remington 700 isn’t the most polished or refined gun out of the box but well worth the money. The problem a few years back with their X-Mark Pro triggers have been resolved and the new guns haven’t had any noticeable quality problems since.
Being that the CDL is designed for the average American hunter its weight is decent at around 7 ½ lbs (depending on the caliber you choose). The rifle comes with a 24 inch barrel on non-magnum and 26 inches magnum calibers and the rifle balances well and doesn’t feel too long. The blued steel and walnut finish is a classic look and is done well without imperfections.
When you buy a Remington 700 CDL you’re buying a workhorse gun that you aren’t afraid to get dirty and actually use. Fine sporting rifles that really just collect dust in the safe can’t hold a candle to the usability of a cheaper hunting rifle like the Remington 700.
Remington 700 Design & Features
Action
The Remington 700 action is the most expensive and the most important part of the rifle. The heart of the rife is the bolt and the bolt raceways. Two over-sized lugs of the Remington 700 have a solid lockup when camed shut. The bolt raceways are usually pretty loose on production guns. This is done to keep them from binding and locking up if sand or debris get into the action.
Barrel
The Remington 700 barrel is so common that custom barrel makers have "Factory Remington" contours and "Remington Magnum Contours" listed in their catalogs. The barrels used for the Remington 700 are adequate. You can expect a factory barrel to shoot around 1 MOA or slightly above. Even with a stock and action upgrade the accuracy potential of the factory Remington CDL barrel just can’t do much better than 1 MOA.
Trigger
In the past the Remington 700 trigger was a little gritty and had an odd brake, almost like a shotgun trigger. The firearms industry as a whole had to keep up with the excellent production Savage Accutrigger and Remington’s answer was the X-Mark Pro.
The X-Mark Pro is chrome plated and user adjustable for over travel and trigger pull weight. The scandalous recall of the X-Mark Pro trigger is over and all of the models that were affected had their rifles fixed and the problem corrected. The trigger is excellent for casual shooting and definitely great for solid hunting rifle.
Stock
The stock of the rifle is a nice walnut with a satin finish. It is wood so it doesn’t stand up well against harsh weather abuse like a synthetic would but for hunting there’s little reason to get a synthetic. While there is some weight savings to be had by switching to synthetic, the rifle won’t balance as well. The stock comb could be slightly higher to allow for a larger scope but overall it feels good and points well.
Others
There’s a lot more to the rifle and it all works well. Coming from tip to tail the muzzle is cut evenly and you can see good clean rifling inside. Not a huge deal but it adds a level of quality I like. The barrel bluing on these guns is a deep blue that is scratch resistant and does its job.
The bolt handle could be flared outward more because it’s a little hard to work quickly but for a hunting gun shouldn’t be a problem. The safety is just to the right of tang and works well. It’s very positive but you have to be careful not to accidentally hit it while cycling the bolt with gloves on.
The butt pad on the 700 is awesome. It’s not very spongy but it sheds recoil perfectly. It works well enough that Remington sells it as an aftermarket part to put on other rifles and it’s a solid investment. The sling swivels are there and they’re the good ones with double screws that won’t spin and unscrew from the stock.
The bolt release can be a little hard to disengage for cleaning but once it’s out, it’s out easily and the rifle has no quirks when it comes to cleaning. The box magazine on the CDL works just as advertised with no maintenance other than making sure it doesn’t rust out and get neglected.
Mounting a scope is straightforward with rings and bases available everywhere, another great perk of owning a Remington 700.
Remington 700 vs. Winchester Model 70
Ah, the two great American rifles. The Winchester Model 70 is the "Rifleman’s rifle". Carried by famed shooters Carlos Hathcock and Jack O’Connor the Winchester has a few features that the Remington 700 did away with to save production time and drive down price.
The first (and most complained about) feature the 700 doesn’t have is control round feeding. The Winchester Model 70 has a full Mauser claw style of control round feed that is mechanically more reliable than the Remington 700’s push feed operation.
The other things "missing" is a bolt mounted three position safety and an integrated recoil lug on the action. Those are the three main differences between the two and the features that mean the most for operation. They don’t tend to offer real world differences unless you have a preference for one or the other, they both perform the same and with a production gun the accuracy difference is negligible.
Ultimately it’s a toss-up because for shooting and hunting there’s no real need for control round feeding unless you’re hunting dangerous game and a three position safety can be added to the Remington 700.
"Three Rings of Steel"
One of the most famous gun selling ads of all time is the Remington “Three Rings of Steel”. It's a nod to how the rifle is put together. The Remington 700’s design has literally three rings of steel surrounding the case head, the most vulnerable part of the entire case.
The first is the bolt body which clips the extractor onto the case rim. This fits into the barrel that reinforces the bolt face holding the round. The barrel is then screwed inside the action for the third, final, and thickest ring of steel surrounding the cartridge. This design isn’t inherently safer than others but the way the bolt face fits into the barrel squarely makes the accuracy potential greater than other designs such as the Winchester Model 70.
Youth & Lefty Models
The Remington 700 is also one of the most extensively produced rifles in left handed and youth models. It can be tough to find a good rifle if you use the wrong hand, especially if you have a kid who uses the wrong hand but the Remington 700 is your best bet for a rifle that’ll fit.
Even if you’re a fully grown adult, the youth models are considerably lighter and with a good recoil pad you have a good short rifle that’ll ride in the scabbard of an ATV or truck and be easy in the hand for fast and light hunts.
Left handed factory stock. Image by Travis D
Aftermarket Parts
One of the best reasons to buy a Remington 700 is the ability to use any number of hundreds of different aftermarket parts. The Remington 700 has the best market for parts out of any gun. Literally anything on the gun can be changed.
You can even buy an action body, a bolt, a barrel, a stock all from different manufacturers and assemble them into a working rifle. The most popular upgrades are stocks and triggers of which there are bazillions of choices and combinations for everything from a tactical rig to a lightweight hunter.
New stock designs from companies like Magpul have made adding detachable magazine capability cheaper than ever before and if that’s the goal the Remington 700 is the cheapest and easiest way to get what you want.
Bottom Line
The Remington 700 rifle is a symbolic rifle that has been in America for over 50 years, been carried by lawmen, hunters, soldiers and shooters all over the world for anything you can do with a rifle.
As this Remington 700 review has shown, it is a combat and field proven rifle that offers every single option ever to be on the firearms market. If you have a job and need a bolt action rifle to do it with, this is a solid option for not a lot of money. The Remington 700 in .308 is a great deer rifle to learn how to hunt and shoot on.
