Looking at Remington 700. which caliber?

[aggie97]

This is how I see it (in a BIG nutshell):

Tikka= Butter smooth action/ requires a GS to swap barrels
Savage=Not as smooth out of the box however, you can swap barrels as you please on your own.
Rem700=about as smooth as the Savage out of the box, also need a GS to swap barrels.

Well, going off some of the recommendations in here I went down to my favorite gun store and put my hands all over a Rem 700 and a Tikka T3 Lite and Hunter Lite. The Rem 700 bolt/action felt like it needed a crap ton of grease and polishing just to get it out of battery. The Tikka FELL open when the bolt was rotated. The Rem had the features I wanted with the threaded barrel but the salesman said Tikka sells a Tactical version he could get me in 5 days or so, but the price was pretty high. I also liked the fact the Tikka was 1.8 lbs lighter than the rem 700. Only regret was the shop did not allow dry firing so I could feel the trigger. I played with the accutrigger on our two savages this morning and they are ok. If the Tikka is that good or better so be it.

So, thanks for the recommendation on the Tikka. Looks like that is direction I am going to go. Just need to decide if I want a blued barrel or the stainless barrel. Since I think I would like to have the end threaded for a brake, I may just get the blued and go from there. I will probably have to have it done up in Dallas or Houston as there aren't any gun smiths to trust here in College Station. There are a couple of nice stocks out there for the Tikka but I will need to research that first.

If all goes well, I think I am going to go back and pick that one up....although they had one in .300 win mag too!

[ceyko]

I shoot 30-06 for my own reasons, but I'd also jump on the 308 bandwagon if I did not use 30-06 for hunting style rifles already. It's a good caliber by most standards.

[YALE]

Ok, my uncle squared me away. 30.06 Springfield in the 50s. All his work (field testing, r&d ect) with the .270 was in the 70s. That's the problem with hand me down stories: they amalgamate and become blurry. Thank you gents for helping also.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

If he was a career sniper, he most likely would've gone to Camp Perry matches, and the like. One of the prizes the Navy handed out for a while was Remington 721's in .270, apparently. Some others were evaluated in the '70's, but never formally adopted. The military is (justifiably) a little phobic of adopting non-standard calibers, without that caliber doing something their current inventory won't do, and really needing to get that specific task done. They also don't like fielding non-NATO calibers, when again, a currently fielded weapon will get the job done.

[dee]

.243 >*

There a bit hard on barrels in a target environment.

Ok, my uncle squared me away. 30.06 Springfield in the 50s. All his work (field testing, r&d ect) with the .270 was in the 70s. That's the problem with hand me down stories: they amalgamate and become blurry. Thank you gents for helping also.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

No worries. Likely carried a 1903A4 or Garand Sniper rifle. The Winchester M70's didn't see much action till Vietnam.

[Baron Von Crowder]

The deadliest sniper in America used .300 win mag.

they didnt have any .243 available?

[WOMACK03]

Ok, my uncle squared me away. 30.06 Springfield in the 50s. All his work (field testing, r&d ect) with the .270 was in the 70s. That's the problem with hand me down stories: they amalgamate and become blurry. Thank you gents for helping also.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

[mustang_revival]

The deadliest sniper in America used .300 win mag.

[YALE]

.243 >*

In Texas, it's hard to beat.

[Baron Von Crowder]

.243 >*

[YALE]

The issue would've been getting ammo enough to operate on. There wouldn't be any .270 in the pipeline.

[WOMACK03]

Agreed. Several things stand out besides the 270.

Please forgive me, I'm trying to get some clarification from my uncle. I may be misspeaking or improperly recalling posthumous conversations about the matter. I was just a young man when he passed, so I will try to rectify/reaffirm this info. No disrespect taken or given.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

[Gtracer]

My 7mm Rem Mag is a Tikka and it shoots excellent. The action is like butter too.

I was amazed at how smooth it was straight out of the box. Put it on a rest and I can operate it with one hand. Though, that wasnt enough for me, I took some Flitz and a Dremel to it and polished the lugs on the bolt.


This is how I see it (in a BIG nutshell):

Tikka= Butter smooth action/ requires a GS to swap barrels
Savage=Not as smooth out of the box however, you can swap barrels as you please on your own.
Rem700=about as smooth as the Savage out of the box, also need a GS to swap barrels.

Tikka and Savage are tied for me, you spend money on the Tikka to change barrels (not really needed); with the Savage, you’re going to spend money getting the bolt worked.

Remington you spend money on the gun, bolt and barrel swap so the Rem is more expensive in my eyes and I don’t know about you, but cost is a big factor in my decisions, not just immediate cost, but long term as well (1000rnds).

[Trip McNeely]

Not sure why only a 700 but if I were you, I'd look into Tikka and Savage (10/12) as well. Both have great actions and both have an aftermarket (Savage mostly) of parts. Tikka Stainless will run about $650 and $100 less for the blued version. Savage is also in that price range though sometimes a bit less expensive than the Tikka.

My Tikka in 7-08 was shooting less than 1/4" out of the box at 100yds with factory 140gr federal fusion.

My 7mm Rem Mag is a Tikka and it shoots excellent. The action is like butter too.

[dee]

No disrespect to your grandpa, but he might have been yanking you.

Agreed. Several things stand out besides the 270.

[Gtracer]

Trying to decide between a .300 win mag or the .308.

This will be mostly for range fun in the 100-200 yards, a few hunting trips for a newb (business related), and be ready for the zombie apocalypse if it ever happens so 300-500 yd range if needed.

Seems I can find both calibers on the shelf at the local academy but which would you choose for ease of long range shooting?

Gracias.

Not sure why only a 700 but if I were you, I'd look into Tikka and Savage (10/12) as well. Both have great actions and both have an aftermarket (Savage mostly) of parts. Tikka Stainless will run about $650 and $100 less for the blued version. Savage is also in that price range though sometimes a bit less expensive than the Tikka.

My Tikka in 7-08 was shooting less than 1/4" out of the box at 100yds with factory 140gr federal fusion.