Bought this rifle in Sept of 2017 put 20moa bases and vortex 6x24x50 scope worked up a load of 68.3 grams of 4831 with 200 grain Sierra hp bt bullets and can put 5 rounds in same hole at 100 yards have taken game out to 800 yards
I have had very similar results with mine in 7mm. When comparing it to my son's in a Sendero II, there is night and day accuracy difference. His shoots sub-moa all day with handloads. .56" is a good average. Mine however is 1.79" I appreciate the candid review.
I have the same rifle. Shot sub Moa at 100 yards out of the box with 165gr btsp prvi partizan ammo. My first bolt action, btw. Also, I've never shot pass 300 meters until I left the army. I'm hitting 1k yards just fine with this rifle. I've had the Remington 700 LR 300wm since march of this year. Don't recall seeing plastic shims in mine. I'll have to take a look again.
I didn't have any issues with accuracy with mine, .75 MOA with cheap factory 180gr Federal blue box. My rifle also did not come with the plastic shims installed. Handloads with 225gr Hornady match bullets and RL 22 have given me groups as small as .15 in at 100yds. My only issue was sticky case extraction through about the first 100 rounds or so. No matter what ammo I shot extraction was difficult. I didn't want to send it back since it shot so well and have remington screw it up some how. I decided to put up with it and hope it would break in which it did.
I purchased my 700 Long Range in 2017, I had no plastic shims in mine, but I am having a lot of trouble grouping at 100 yards. I'll give the Brake a try.
Haha. You read my mind. I was thinking it was poor recoil management or a crown issue before you said it. Based upon everything you presented, I'd bet it was the crown, which is the #1 robber of accuracy. However, the key to getting my .300 Win Mag to shoot great was to focus on my recoil management, especially my shoulder pressure. Also, I also found that my .300 is more accurate off my Caldwell front rest than my Harris bipod because the combination of the rubber stops on the bipod legs and the heavy recoil make the gun hop in an inconsistent fashion. For those that are considering the Remington 700 long range option, I would advise not discounting it. I built my .300 Win Mag as a custom Rem 700. I started with a new Rem 700 Long Action stainless receiver, trued the receiver and bolt face, mounted a 26" Bartlein barrel with 5R rifling and 1:10 twist, installed a Timney trigger, added a VAIS brake, installed it in a Bell and Carlson M40 stock, and used a Near Mfg Picatinny rail and Leupold Mark V rings to mount a Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 mm scope. All told it cost me about $3500 to achieve 1/4 MOA accuracy. So starting with a $700 gun and spending $250 on threading the barrel and adding the brake to achieve sub MOA accuracy isn't a bad option for guys on a tight budget.
I guess I’ve been very , very lucky. I better get myself a couple of lottery tickets. I’ve got FOUR Remmy 700’s so I believe I’m a FAN Boy. Ha ha ha ha. I’ve been super happy pulling/tweaking/cleaning factory barrels off and doing some barrel swapping, and then checking headspace with my Forster Gauges. Once I found loads that my Remmy rigs like, I am golden with these factory guns. Be safe, stay home, support your family and community during these Covid19 isolation times.... cheers!!
Great review. I just purchased this rifle in SS, mounted a Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x 44 MRAD scope, bore sighted down the barrel, and shot it off sand bags at 100 meters using factory 180gr Winchester Super X Power Points. After 3 rounds to sight the rifle, I fired 4 of 5 of the next rounds into a nice clover leaf pattern. I won't remove the action unless necessary. The trigger pull was heavier than I wanted, and I added a Blackhawk cheek rest. I bought Leopold rings and mount. I should've purchased a 20 MOA picatinny rail and Vortex rings. That's my next upgrade after working up a load with heavier bullets. I'll probably add a muzzle break from my local gunsmith.
I have the 700 LR in 7RM. It's okay. The best I've been able to get out of it is a couple 3/4" groups with 168 Berger VLD's and H4831SC. I skim bedded the action as well as swapped out the trigger for a Timney 512. I had the barrel threaded and put on an Area 419 brake which made it a pleasure to shoot. My problem is that I think I'm subconsciously comparing this rifle to my custom 6.5 Creedmoor that shoots consistent 3/8" groups. I'm slowly talking myself into the fact that this may be as good as I'm going to get out of a factory barrel. Load development for this rifle has been a little more challenging than a Creedmoor. I'm going to keep plugging away at it and see what happens. Thanks for featuring this rifle on your show!
Damn, excellent review, I really enjoy the step by step process in problem solving. Btw after so many years I still love your AAC sd series. Thanks so much.
Great update...let me tell you I have a LR. I had a few issues but once’s I figured out a good load for it i got it shooting 1/2 MOA. My LR didn’t like any bullet under 200gr bullet the winner was Nosler Match 200gr bullet. This is what worked for me.
Mine didn’t have shims, but it did have paper cutout on the action screws to make them sit flush. I switched out the stock for a McMillan, and a surgeon bottom metal.
My Remington long range 300 win does great and is very accurate never had any problems but my Remington 7mm long range rifle is a different story. When it came in I took it out to the range I put a bullet in the chamber then fired it and I couldn't get the bolt to come back. After hitting on the bolt a few times it ejected the empty case I picked up the case and noticed that it had deep grooves in the brass case. I done this three more times and with the same results so I left the range to go home to figure this out. I got home took the gun apart and looked down in the chamber of the rifle with a bore scope and saw that Remington left a lot of tool marks in there. Polished it out with some 600 grit sand paper and some flitz and now it works perfect....
Tune it with your hand loads! I have gotten my 700LR with no work on the rifle other than I bedded the recoil lug and added a timney trigger to shoot .65" groups. Time behind magnum loads and tuning harmonics with loads on factory rifles makes the difference. Have a 700 308 that shoots 1/4" groups.
8541, I think once you start reloading for this rifle you will see your groups shrink. I have the same rifle but in 7mmRM, it would group around 1.25ish inches at 100. When I checked once fired brass against factory new the case's shoulder was moving forward more than .010". Once I resized the brass, taking care to bump the shoulder back by ~.002", the rifle will now shoot under .75" with ease. I did run into a QC problem though, my chamber had a grove in the chamber wall about a quarter inch forward of the belt that up on firing once fired brass would form a near mechanical lock. Once I figured out what the problem was I polished the chamber wall just enough to knock off the edges to the groves and the problem went away. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your updates with this rifle.
I liked your review, even though it didn't end up favoring the rifle. I got lucky. I bought one in Win Mag a few weeks ago, and am very happy. Day 1: broke in the barrel carefully with 40 rounds. Day 2: had 50 rounds of handloads with 5 progressive powder charges; fired 10 groups off sandbags at 200 yards which is where I zeroed the scope on day one. Best result was all five holes inside the 1 inch bullseye; spread was in a horizontal pattern meaning it was most likely my trigger pull rather than the gun. This came from Nosler 175gr RDF bullet on 77gr H1000 powder, standard primer. Day 3: went to 1000 yard range with the above load and just hammered silhouette targets prone off Harris bipod. If interested, I put a Vortex PST2 on it.
My experience with cheek risers and magnum rifles is to cant them towards the action, not away from the action. Under recoil the cheek riser won't push against your cheek/jaw if it is canted towards the action. Just my two cents.
I bought the same rifle in 300 Winchester Mag, my first time to the range I took five different boxes of factory loads in various grain weights, I could not get this rifle to shoot under 3 or 4 inch at 100 yards. I thought the same, it doesn't like the loads, so I tried handloads five different types of handloads, same results. So I looked into bedding The Recoil lug, still shot the same. So I tried threading the barrel and putting a muzzle brake on the end. I went from a 3 inch group at 100 to 1/4 inch groups at 100 yards, by changing the trigger from a 4 lb to a 2 lb trigger and the muzzle brake it highly improved the rifles accuracy. Now I can put 5 shots almost in the same hole at 100 yards, using a boat tail hollow point 168 grain Sierra matchking Bullet with 45.5 grains of Varget powder. Next bullet development will be 190 grain boat tail hollow point Nosler.
my Remington 700 sendero is now about 18 yrs old. Initially I had some of the same issues with trigger and accuracy. I will concede that at the time I hadn't been exposed to shooting hvy mag calibers. The local gunsmith I used was very adapt to tune the factory trigger to breath on it wrong and it snaps off, exactly were I wanted it. He also suggested the vias break that considerably tamed my beast to 308 levels. it is a hvy gun but has since been a pleasure to shoot and loves any load below 190. Having hunted ga and SC for nearly 15 yrs the gun has taken over 100 deer and hogs and now that Indiana has come to its scenes allowing rifles I can finally put my 358 hoosier aside and once again hunt with the sendero.
I have this rifle and I do have an accuracy problem. No plastic shims like you mentioned. I've shot all sorts of different bullets through it and it just doesn't really like much of any of them. It's getting a muzzle break put on it, so hopefully that helps. If not guess I need a new barrel.
I have a Remington 700 Long Range in 7mm Remington Magnum. I also replaced the trigger. It shoot a consistent 1/2 MOA 5 shot group. Best you could cover with a dime. I have over 1,000 rounds through the rifle and is not opening up yet. That is hand loaded ammo. 180g Berger VLD @ 2,900 FPS. I know that is a big bullet for a 9.25 twist but according to the Berger twist rate calculator it is stable. I do have hits on steel at 1,320 yards.
I have a number of Remington's and do enjoy all of them. I also have the Remington 700 long range in a 30-06. It was shooting very similar to what you were having. I then bedded the action (even though they say you don't need to) once I bedded the action, I had found a significant improvement. Since then I have added a Timney Calvin Elite 2 stage trigger, ATRS muzzle brake, ATRS bottom metal and developed a good load for the rifle. I can honestly say it shoots 1/2 MOA all day now. Biggest improvmebt came from bedding
I have the exact same rifle. The thing shot great (for a new rifle) until I hit the 5th shot. Couldn't get the bolt open to eject the empty case!!! After it cooled; good for another four. Turns out didn't do a real good job with the finishing ream. Back to remington it went to address this issue and the recall. Returned and problem is fixed. Not real impressed with the groups yet(about 1") which stinks since I'm 1/2 group shooter. Comparing this rifle with my older 700 sps var (.308)or my Savage's Model 10's (.308 and 6.5 Creed); all three will shoot circles around this rifle! all 1/2" or smaller. So your issues are not isolated. I do plan on trying some of your mods before I dump it. Great review. Keep up the good work. Thanks
Great review! Picked up a used Rem 700 L. Had my smith take a look a the barrel, and it was hardly used. Long story short. Ended up getting the action trued, and a new barrel put on it. Timney calvin elite (single stage). Love how it shoots now.
Thanks for the detailed and honest review! I've honestly been looking at getting one of these when I sell a Mod 70 Stealth. I think now I'll just keep that money and invest in a higher quality rifle when I can. Keep up the great work!
My old factory 700 SPS .300 win shot well with Federal gold medal with 190g smk. But replacing the small sps barrel with a Bartlein 1.25 -1.15 at crown fixed all the problems. I had issues with the SPS barrel with a top ported break it just flexed like crazy enough to whip the rifle up into the air. When the barrel change over was due the smith commented that it was one of the straightest and most concentric actions he ever seen from Remington, I just got lucky.
I had similar accuracy issues with mine which was also chambered in 300 Win. I was seriously getting 3-4 inch groups with some old reloads. I bedded the recoil lug, put a brake on it, and worked up some 230 grain berger hybrid match loads. After that it started shooting like a laser. Well laser for a poor noob like me. At 100 yards it was consistently between 1/2 and 3/4 moa. At 1100 yards my brother and I both had 5 shot groups around 6-7 inches. We shot it out to 2275 yards with a scope that only had 60 MOA of adjustment. That took a lot of bullets before we got smart enough to figure out a way to hit the target. I sold it when my son was born since I was short on cash. Things have improved a bit since then and I just bought another one for $630 with $150 rebate. I plan on doing to it what I did to the last one and then taking it out to 3000 yards. In my opinion it is a project gun. If you do not want to have to fix it then get something else. But if you are like me and cannot afford something more expensive and are willing to put in a little work and money you can make them shoot. If someone else would make a rifle in the same caliber and price range with a good stock and heavy barrel I would buy it. For now I am stuck putting a little work and money into my $480 dollar rifle. Thank for the video and have a nice day.
I have had a 700 long range in 300 win mag for about a year. The only mod on mine is the Kahntrol bolt on muzzle brake - which works fine even with hot loads. My guess at your problem in the bipod. The long barrel on the 700 long range means that the heavy bullets used in long range shooting take 1.2 - 1.5 milliseconds after powder ignition to clear the barrel. Since recoil is occurring during all that time the bipod is slipping and sliding on the table giving an inconsistent recoil which scatters shots. Bipods are meant to dig into dirt - they were never meant for bench rest shooting. Try shooting off of sandbags instead of the bipod and I think you will find your groups will tighten up. At least that has been the case for all my rifles.
I bought a Remington PSS .308 Rifle and I used Federal Gold Medal Match 168 Gr. Bullet and I was getting a 5 shot Group of 5 MOA, and everything is Lock Tie and come to find out that the last 3/8 of inch of the Barrel Did Not have any Rifling. Remington's Quality Control is Not what it should be. I ended up taking the Rifle to a Friend and he turned the Barrel down a little more than 3/8 of an inch to get to the Rifling and then re-crowning the Barrel and there is a Huge difference between the before and after.
I guess I got fairly lucky. My 700 AAC-SD is a solid sub MOA gun when I do my part. I have noticed that the locking lugs are starting to show some uneven wear, so I wonder if the barrel may have better potential if I get the action blueprinted. On the other hand, the rifle shoots better than I, so it will be a while before it is holding me back.
Same here. I have had .5in groups at 100yds and can hold 4in out to 600yds in low/no wind weather with factory 175gr SMKs. It does have a new stock, new trigger, and I put a griffin brake on it but the receiver and barrel are both factory unmodded (unless you want to count a scope base). Never shot it in its stock form so I can't comment on that but the receiver/barrel of mine are both extremely capable. I have heard different days at the factory can produce different levels of quality but mine is amazing. edited to add my gun is also a 700 AAC-SD, didn't clarify that entirely
Have you tried shooting a heavier bullet? My 300WM 700 26" law enforcement 1:10 heavy barrel with factory brake, Bell and Carlson medalist stock and Calvin elite 2 stage does .708 moa @ 200yds with 220 SMK bullets, Norma brass, Federal 215 primers. It doesn't do as well with 190-210 SMK and the same components. Semper Fi.
I would have tried another type of ammo before having all the modifications made to the rifle. Another bullet type or velocity may solve a lot of the harmonic issues.
Yup this is how the TH-camr game works, not a lot of follow up or actual knowledge. Pretty easy to dial in any 700 action really with some load dev. This vid is geared to the Joe Schmo that goes and buys a new rifle, expects it to shoot .25” out of the box with the first pack of ammo he/she buys then when it doesn’t it’s the rifles fault, not the shooter who knows no better. I’ll pass on this fellas videos from now on. Nothing of value to learn here.
I have one in 30.06 and after changing trigger and bedding recoil lug, I get consistent 1/2-5/8 moa with HSM 190gr Ammo. Best I have gotten consistently with my 208 amax handloads is 3/4 moa. About to work on seating depth, but super happy with the gun. Luck of the draw
I have the same issues with my Rem 700 LR, I'm on my third load ladder tried out 3 different bullets so far and I can't for the life of me get the thing to group. Messing with seating depth helped, but after watching this I may try messing with barrel harmonics next.
John, I've got a Remington 700 AAC-SD like the one you had a few years back. It's all factory stock as far as the action, barrel, and stock go. I generally get sub MOA to 1 MOA groups out of it with several types of match grade ammo(Hornady, Federal, etc) I put a DPMS Jerry Miculek brake on it and it shot about the same. I also had to take a drill and a sandpaper wheel to the stock because the barrel wasn't centered and the stock flexed into it. It's now free floated like it should be. It sucks that a company that used to be the "gold standard" for out of the box accuracy is now having quality inconsistency issues...
So I too am having trouble with mine. Had the bore scoped and there is pitting toward the distal end of the barrel near the muzzle. Gonna contact Remington and see what happens. Let ya know the results either way
Got it back from Remington and they replaced the barrel. Now getting anywhere from .75 to 1.5 moa at 100 yards. Better than the 4-5 inches at 100 yards i was getting; however, now EVERY round fired has a very difficult extraction of the spent case. All factory rounds mind you. Gonna contact my local smith and see what they say before calling Remington again.... im bound to make this a shooter
Just got it back again from the second time I sent it in. They burnished the chamber to fix the difficult extraction issue. Then put a chamfer on the muzzle to “increase accuracy”, then shot a target and sent it to me. Now I haven’t shot it yet but the target they sent is right at 1.75”... I guess that is acceptable for Remington. On top of this crappy group the chamfer they put on the gun is bare steel. One would think they would coat it in something to prevent rust.... The struggle continues...
Thank you very much for all of your work on this. I was waiting for your review, prior to making a move. I'm glad I waited. Excellent work. Your research is thorough, well reasoned, and honest. Outstanding.
Not a bad review I’m a Remington fan I have bought guns from them and had the same results but to be honest it’s 90 percent In the load development and yes a break does help typically but not always if it will shoot moa with that ammo it will shoot half moa with the right load
I've sold several. Had no complaints on any. One of those got Seekins bottom metal, Seekins base & rings w/psl 4-16x all level, tight and right with just target crown. That rifle zeroed with 4 or 5 rounds and shot out to 425yards on 8" plates same day, but groups you could see well under a minute. I feel like it was worth the money BUT the expectation was make a nice magnum hunter, NOT a competition grade precision rifle.
I have a Rem 700 LR 7mm-mag and I put a Witt Machine bolt on brake on it and it shoots sub moa all day with hand loads. I have shot it in several 1k matches with good results. The only problem is a lot of other shooters don't like brakes and I have to admit the mag. has a pretty good shock wave. I just moved to the end of the line.
Yep. Ive owned several remingtons and i do myself a favor everytime and have the barrel threaded and recrowned immediately. Wakes them up. Remington really needs to up there QC
Did not have a long range, but my factory 308 Varmint was not a pleasant experience. I was unable to get that rifle to group with any ammunition and handloads. I ran headspace gauges through it and it closed very easily on the NO-GO. Tore that barrel off and put a Criterion 6.5 barrel on it.
@8541 i got a R700 in 7mm rem mag and it shoots .5moa 6 shot groups at 200 yards (my longest range near me) i am incline to believe you when you say its a harmonics issue, when i first got mine i was very disappointed it shot about 4moa using recommended load data and new brass so im not sure if it was just 'breaking in' or harmonics or what the throat was very long and out of SAAMI speck on mine, so i ended up seating them further out beyond the recommended max O.A.L and working up a new load and it shot great my motivations for the 700 over these other more popular brands is that it has a lot of after market support, its cheaper and im on a budget, i do plan on replacing a lot of it over the years though, but i think i won the lotto with my barrel so ill leave it for now
Thanks for your video, I bought this same rifle in June when Remington had a $150 rebate and have had terrible performance. Went through all of your same steps with no improvement. Will try the suppressor route, really want to keep the gun but only if I can get it to sub-MOA. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!
Hi john. I really love the look of that stock and cheek. I was unable to find the cheek through the link, may inquire to the specific model of both the cheek and stock parts? I would greatly appreciate it and thank you in advance.
I had it in 7mm that shot really good but it wouldn't eject the brass i had to take a cleaning rod to the range to pop the brass out i sent it off twice to get fixed to remington's certified gun smith finally i sold it for parts it was my one and only bad 700
I do have a bit better experience with mine, but only once I figured out what ammo it liked. Since I don't reload, I picked up a bunch of different styles and weights, to find out that it's happiest so far with 195 gr BTHP in the Hornady loads. Cut the groups down to .5 - .75 moa depending on how my day's going. Very happy with my purchase, it just cost a few bucks in ammo to get it down.
Based on Remington's recent product offerings (R51, RP9, etc...) It seems Remington quality difficulties based on this report migrated to their rifles. I did something similar - purchase a 'budget rifle' then upgrade parts to increase it's accuracy and I decided to try a Savage Axis chambered in 223. At 100 yards it was also shooting 1.5" groups but after I worked the factory trigger from default 7.5 lbs pull to 3.5 lbs pull, replaced the OEM bolt arm, replaced the OEM stock, glass bead + pillared the replacement stock the groupings shrunk to 0.75". I also found it does not like Hornady ammunition at all, the bolt punctures the primers. I have no idea why, I have contacted Hornady about this and they are unsure either therefor blaming the rifle, but I don't have issues with other ammunition manufactures, only Hornady. Overall Savage Axis for the money has become very reliable and accurate once you replace the OEM 2-piece stock. Perhaps a better budget choice since the R700 quality is no longer there?
Have a 7mm Rem/mag LR and the gun is great. Started off with the gun shooting 1.5 Moa untell gun was broken in. At 200 rounds the gun settled down and is now at 3/4 Moa being bone stock. Ordered a new trigger for it witch should put me below 1/2 Moa. Over all I'm happy with it.
Once i changed virtually everything on my remington 700 except the bolt and action it now shoots about as good as my tikka T3 out of the box which cost less than half. Lesson learned
I just got my 1st Remington. I got the gen2 5r 308. I was hesitant when I got it and now I'm paranoid I should have went a different direction. I guess I'll find out this weekend when I shoot it.
I bought one last summer in 25-06 and it had no shims. I hand load and bedded the recoil lug and getting around .75 inch groups. Hoping to get more out of it as I go.
John, I've been watching your channel for sometime and really enjoy your efforts and enthusiasm!!! I have a factory Rem 700 SPS Varmint in 243 that shot 3" groups with 80gr factory Rem ammo out of the box, I switched to 80gr Federal ammo and the groups shrunk to slightly over an inch. I currently hand load 70 gr Speer TNT hollow points that consistently shoot 1/2 MOA @ 100 yds and 100 gr Sierra SBT Game Kings running 3100FPS that hold 3/4 MOA or less depending on conditions. I actually had one group of 3 shots using Sierra 75gr FBHP's log .110 MOA. Not bad for a factory rifle in a synthetic stock? That said I bought a new SS 700 Short action from a dealer, SS version bottom metal and recoil lug direct from Rem, I then precision ground the recoil lug to .00005" flatness and had E.R. Shaw install a custom 26" SS Rem #3 contour varmint barrel in 9.5 twist with an 11 degree target crown. They trued the action and lapped the bolt lugs before assembly. I mounted it in a B&C M40 stock and broke the barrel in. It is still fairly new but the best groups I'm getting with both 139gr Hornady and 175gr Sierra reloads is a smidgin over 1/2 MOA (.545-.590) with the average running in the 3/4 MOA range. My thought is as a machinist by trade there are many variables that come into play when manufacturing and assembling precision mechanical devices. The smallest variables can help things function flawlessly or also make things perform very disappointingly. If you want a really accurate precision rifle, pay the big bucks for the guaranteed accuracy. It is somewhat disappointing when Remington advertises the "Long range" series by stating that "they are designed to make three shots look like one". If you make those statements then your customers are going to expect at least a 1 MOA or better rifle right out the box. Thanks again for all your great videos!!
I just blueprint the actions , every one of Remington actions I have has needed it , about $500 bucks will get you a hand truing setup that really works great ! Also have a lathe for any other things I may need to do ! Love the videos , keep up the great work !
My experience with the 700 long range has been good. I did thread it and put a brake on it right when I got it so I can't speak to the accuracy out of the box. I've shot it to 300 yards with said brake and it has shot well with just hunting ammo I had around. Great honest review though and as always I enjoyed the video.
I had similar issues with my 700 AAC-SD until I put a brake on it. Now it shoots 1/3 MOA with my hand loads. Anyway, great review John. keep them coming
I was exactly looking to get this rifle and wanted to check out your review. Was thinking in 7mm Mag. And to save $ somewhat. Is it possible that 2 years down the road Remingtons QC may have stepped back up, or they still having issues as of this date, October, 2019? I bought a Remington ADL SS in 270 caliber, 24 inch barrel, in September of 2018 new, put a VX-Freedom 3x9x50 on it, but have yet to zero it. The only thing I don't like about it is the blind magazine. Will probably change out stock and add bottom metal to it such as a BDL configuration. On the Long Range, seems like I should spend a little more and up the quality of rifle. I lean more towards hunting Elk and Mulies out to 600 -700 yards at the most though. No matter how good the glass I put on it though! Leaning towards a Leupold VX- 5HD, or minimum of a VX- 3i. For the Max Twilight Light Management system. Eyes not what they used to be at 60 years old. Some where in the 4x16 and 4x20 range with a 50mm Obj. Have you heard if Remington is getting better, or still the same in QC issues for the most part?
I got one identical to it. Love it but I put money into it. I shoot 210 grain Berger vld hunting bullets and I reloaded it to H1000 powder 75.7 grains powder and it does 2989 fps. I can make 5 shot groups 0.409 inches at 200 yards that's well under a half moa. Love the gun that's all that I shoot
Thanks for the review. I have had exactly the same accuracy problem with my Long Range. The other problem I have with mine is that the cartridges are really sticky when firing and lately they have caused the bolt to jam. But I really enjoyed the review.
I have the 300win 5r . For a few years now I have been trying different ammo combos with no luck 1.5-2 moa . Best I ever got was 1moa with federal fusion 180gr. Hopefully 190gr smk will do better
I have a 25-06 long range my group size is 6-7" at 100 yards it dented the brass bad I sent it back to Remington they ground out the chamber tested it and sent q paper showing g 3 shot group 2" up to 5heir specs? I shot it it no longer dents the brass but scratches it a lot it shoots the same 6-7" groups at 100 yards not sure what to do? I changed scopes from my savage tactical no change I checked the torque of the action screws seemed good 55 lbs not sure what to do? Shooting hornady and federal premium ammo super performance gmx and sst nosler partion American white tail all as bad or worse
I picked one up in August it’s now October, I took it out when I bought it and had a horrible time extracting casings after each shot, I read that some have had similar issues when the rifles were new and they ended up smoothing out after some use. So I decided to keep on shooting. Like I said it’s now October and so far it hasn’t gotten any better. I took it into one of my local gun smiths and his evaluation is that it’s head spacing is incorrect. So now Im feeling like I shouldn’t have bought Remington but I’m stubborn, so I’m having a Proof Barrel swapped in along with a Timney trigger and adding a muzzle break and having the action redone. So if this can help others avoid this same situation and cost, don’t buy a Remington rifle!! I made the mistake!!
Your rifle looks like my rifles twin at the moment minus the brake! It took me forever to find a handload that it liked! Could not find a factory load that it liked for the life of me, federal, black hills, hornady, Norma, you name it I was ready to give up till I found a handload that it liked. Even with my hand loads it only shots around 1 moa but I'm curious if I throw a brake or suppressor on it if that would help as well! I'll have to do this in the coming weeks and let you know! Thanks for the reviews love the channel!
I have the exact same rifle and mine shoots perfect. I think instead of spending money for a threaded barrel try different rounds. The Hornady eld-x bullets are great I’ve shot them through 3 different guns with 3 different caliber and all shot half moa or better.
I have the same rifle and it shoots great, I put a brake on it before I even shot it so I can't say weather it helped accuracy or not but I did have to polish the chamber because about every third round it would let you lift the bolt but you could not pull the bolt back, after verifying headspace was good a polish fixed it right up. Oh and mine didn't have any shims. But I disagree about the Remington 700 not being a good platform for 338 Lapua, yes there are better options but I've seen a couple Rifles built on a factory long action one of which was loaded very hot and had no negative effects.
Will there be an update with this rifle with some different ammunition? I think its important to test some different match ammunition with different weights before giving your final opinion.
I had a bone stock Remington 700 Long Range in 30-06. It operated perfectly and it shot sub MOA with factory match ammo. I put a few hundred rounds through it and never had any issues. I just didn't like 30-06 so I decided to trade it in for a Remington 700 Police in 308. The 700 Police works perfectly but I've had several issues with the HS PRECISION stock and they've replaced it 3 or 4 times and still had issues with each of them. So they refunded me the cost of their stock which was really nice of them. They do have outstanding customer service. But I ended up buying a McMillan M40A1 HTG stock and it has been perfect from day one! They also have great customer service and gave me a very generous military discount. I'm very happy with this setup and I like the M40A1 look and feel. It shoots sub MOA with factory match ammo. I love my rifle. :) I've never had any issues with any Remington firearm.
That's unfortunate, my 20"AAC-SD shoots sub MoA if I do my job, that said, I need more practice. I ditched the Hogue Stock and the X-Mark Pro trigger right out of the box for a Magpul and Timney respectively. I also added a Surefire Break and to suppress it with a 300 SPS in the future.
I just built in M24 clone. But instead of 308 I put it in 300 Win Mag. I bought the receiver separately from Remington and I bought the barrel from Rock Creek barrels. I took it to my local gunsmith and he told me there were some concerns with the receiver. They needed to be blue printed in faced and the lugs were only making 80% contact. I told me if I wanted to shoot really far he was going to have to blueprint the receiver to make sure it's entered with the boar and to work on the lugs. Then after final assembly I went to functions check it and it would not extract the cartridge. So a extractor and spring had to be ordered to put into it. Now granted I'm only at $1,200 for just the rifle alone without an optic Remington quality control should not be like this. I should not have to replace the extractor on a brand new receiver and bolt that has never been fired. And the receiver was so out of true that it took a lot of Machining
The last Rem I bought was a used PSS from a pawn shop in 2003. It's still my favorite rifle and I've never had a problem with it. Guess the quality control has gone down hill?
I've got one in 7mm rem mag. Had a chamber burr from factory that would lock the bolt solid after every round. Got it polished and now cycles fine. I've suppressed it and worked the trigger down to 2lb. Accuracy still isn't the best. Will work up some hand loads to try and improve that. I've got other Remingtons but I'd only give this rifle 6/10 out of the box due to the poor internal machining finish. A bit disappointing.
@@JohnSmith-gz9hq Never been good? lol. OK. More recently, yes, they have certainly had quality issues, but even then, their MilSpec 5R is still excellent, a bright spot in their decline. In fact, I'd be much more interested in his evaluation of that rifle in 300 win mag
Hey John, I'm not sure what kind of powder black hills uses in these loads but do you think that if you tried a little faster burning/slower burning powder that would help the appeared harmonic issues? Lapua has a pretty good powder burn rate chart that shows powder burn speeds for Alliant/Vihtavuori/Hogdgon/IMR/Ramshot powders
I have used Black Hills ammo in 260 Rem in the past and it has proven to be a decent product. However my rifle seems to prefer HSM. I did buy Hornady's new 260 Rem offering and have yet to try in comparison.
My comment wasn't about black hills being bad/good at all. It was about powder burn speeds affecting rifle harmonics. I suggested John try a different powder, either slower/faster to see if one works better in his rifle. I'm not sure what powder black hills uses in their cartridges though, but maybe a different powder might help the harmonics
I was trying to convey what you are stating - each manufacture 'recipe' is slightly different which is why some brands work better than other other brands in certain rifles. Overall Black Hills that I have used makes a decent product but it may not be the right 'recipe' (as you have outlined) for some rifles.
John, Although I have had consistent 1moa clusters at 100-700 yards if I did my part and considering the initial 100yd group you got and I HAVE NOT experienced this particular comment sometimes used: Some people have claimed that some rifles tend to "stabilize" until maybe 200 yards. So is it possible to have a not-so-cool group at 100yds but have clustered 1.25- 1.5 inch groups at 200yds...so to say, sub-minute after it 'stabilizes'? Thank you for the show.
Andy Prariedog I have heard people say that also. I have always though that was BS... Maybe it gets worse after 100 but I can't imagine how it would get better. Most people (including myself) do long range load development at 100 yards and stretch it from there. If something didn't shoot well at 100 I dump it.
Joseph Gentile Yeah that is the same reason I was asking....load development for ringing steel though, not for world record caliper-measured groups at 600 or 1000.
Have the same gun topped with a nightforce had trigger job done directional break an I bedded it. Shoots hole for hole all day long with Hornady 195gr bthp. BTW mine never had plastic shims you got a 🍋
Interesting experience. I almost bought a 700 AAC-SD until I saw how poorly the rifle you tested shot from the factory. Instead I bought a Ruger American Predator in 308 and it shot .75moa groups and sometimes smaller! I have no idea why it shoots so well for a $400 rifle, but I am happy! The stock barrel channel needed some sanding to be truly free floated, but that was an easy fix. Maybe you should review the Ruger America Predator as a budget option. Just an idea.
Bought this rifle in Sept of 2017 put 20moa bases and vortex 6x24x50 scope worked up a load of 68.3 grams of 4831 with 200 grain Sierra hp bt bullets and can put 5 rounds in same hole at 100 yards have taken game out to 800 yards
Same here.
I hope you mean grains, not grams 🤣🤣🤣
@@mikeford963 lol right!
I have had very similar results with mine in 7mm. When comparing it to my son's in a Sendero II, there is night and day accuracy difference. His shoots sub-moa all day with handloads. .56" is a good average. Mine however is 1.79" I appreciate the candid review.
I have the same rifle. Shot sub Moa at 100 yards out of the box with 165gr btsp prvi partizan ammo. My first bolt action, btw. Also, I've never shot pass 300 meters until I left the army. I'm hitting 1k yards just fine with this rifle. I've had the Remington 700 LR 300wm since march of this year. Don't recall seeing plastic shims in mine. I'll have to take a look again.
I didn't have any issues with accuracy with mine, .75 MOA with cheap factory 180gr Federal blue box. My rifle also did not come with the plastic shims installed. Handloads with 225gr Hornady match bullets and RL 22 have given me groups as small as .15 in at 100yds. My only issue was sticky case extraction through about the first 100 rounds or so. No matter what ammo I shot extraction was difficult. I didn't want to send it back since it shot so well and have remington screw it up some how. I decided to put up with it and hope it would break in which it did.
Jesse Renwick would you recommend this rifle? I’m about to buy one but after watching this I’m not sure.
Lol I‘d like to see that .15 in group
I purchased my 700 Long Range in 2017, I had no plastic shims in mine, but I am having a lot of trouble grouping at 100 yards. I'll give the Brake a try.
Haha. You read my mind. I was thinking it was poor recoil management or a crown issue before you said it. Based upon everything you presented, I'd bet it was the crown, which is the #1 robber of accuracy. However, the key to getting my .300 Win Mag to shoot great was to focus on my recoil management, especially my shoulder pressure. Also, I also found that my .300 is more accurate off my Caldwell front rest than my Harris bipod because the combination of the rubber stops on the bipod legs and the heavy recoil make the gun hop in an inconsistent fashion.
For those that are considering the Remington 700 long range option, I would advise not discounting it. I built my .300 Win Mag as a custom Rem 700. I started with a new Rem 700 Long Action stainless receiver, trued the receiver and bolt face, mounted a 26" Bartlein barrel with 5R rifling and 1:10 twist, installed a Timney trigger, added a VAIS brake, installed it in a Bell and Carlson M40 stock, and used a Near Mfg Picatinny rail and Leupold Mark V rings to mount a Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 mm scope. All told it cost me about $3500 to achieve 1/4 MOA accuracy. So starting with a $700 gun and spending $250 on threading the barrel and adding the brake to achieve sub MOA accuracy isn't a bad option for guys on a tight budget.
Got mine a year ago and had the same problems. Put a break on it and helped a little, next I'll check for the plastic shims. Thanks for the video.
I guess I’ve been very , very lucky. I better get myself a couple of lottery tickets. I’ve got FOUR Remmy 700’s so I believe I’m a FAN Boy. Ha ha ha ha. I’ve been super happy pulling/tweaking/cleaning factory barrels off and doing some barrel swapping, and then checking headspace with my Forster Gauges. Once I found loads that my Remmy rigs like, I am golden with these factory guns. Be safe, stay home, support your family and community during these Covid19 isolation times.... cheers!!
You could cut off the forward end of the scope rail to clear the scope bell and mount it lower.
Great review. I just purchased this rifle in SS, mounted a Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16x 44 MRAD scope, bore sighted down the barrel, and shot it off sand bags at 100 meters using factory 180gr Winchester Super X Power Points. After 3 rounds to sight the rifle, I fired 4 of 5 of the next rounds into a nice clover leaf pattern. I won't remove the action unless necessary. The trigger pull was heavier than I wanted, and I added a Blackhawk cheek rest. I bought Leopold rings and mount. I should've purchased a 20 MOA picatinny rail and Vortex rings. That's my next upgrade after working up a load with heavier bullets. I'll probably add a muzzle break from my local gunsmith.
I have the 700 LR in 7RM. It's okay. The best I've been able to get out of it is a couple 3/4" groups with 168 Berger VLD's and H4831SC. I skim bedded the action as well as swapped out the trigger for a Timney 512. I had the barrel threaded and put on an Area 419 brake which made it a pleasure to shoot. My problem is that I think I'm subconsciously comparing this rifle to my custom 6.5 Creedmoor that shoots consistent 3/8" groups. I'm slowly talking myself into the fact that this may be as good as I'm going to get out of a factory barrel. Load development for this rifle has been a little more challenging than a Creedmoor. I'm going to keep plugging away at it and see what happens. Thanks for featuring this rifle on your show!
Damn, excellent review, I really enjoy the step by step process in problem solving.
Btw after so many years I still love your AAC sd series. Thanks so much.
Great update...let me tell you I have a LR. I had a few issues but once’s I figured out a good load for it i got it shooting 1/2 MOA. My LR didn’t like any bullet under 200gr bullet the winner was Nosler Match 200gr bullet. This is what worked for me.
Mine didn’t have shims, but it did have paper cutout on the action screws to make them sit flush. I switched out the stock for a McMillan, and a surgeon bottom metal.
My Remington long range 300 win does great and is very accurate never had any problems but my Remington 7mm long range rifle is a different story. When it came in I took it out to the range I put a bullet in the chamber then fired it and I couldn't get the bolt to come back. After hitting on the bolt a few times it ejected the empty case I picked up the case and noticed that it had deep grooves in the brass case. I done this three more times and with the same results so I left the range to go home to figure this out. I got home took the gun apart and looked down in the chamber of the rifle with a bore scope and saw that Remington left a lot of tool marks in there. Polished it out with some 600 grit sand paper and some flitz and now it works perfect....
I have a 270 Sendero ....Im a fanboy of 270. Love it.
Tune it with your hand loads! I have gotten my 700LR with no work on the rifle other than I bedded the recoil lug and added a timney trigger to shoot .65" groups. Time behind magnum loads and tuning harmonics with loads on factory rifles makes the difference. Have a 700 308 that shoots 1/4" groups.
Also my LR had no shims
8541, I think once you start reloading for this rifle you will see your groups shrink. I have the same rifle but in 7mmRM, it would group around 1.25ish inches at 100. When I checked once fired brass against factory new the case's shoulder was moving forward more than .010". Once I resized the brass, taking care to bump the shoulder back by ~.002", the rifle will now shoot under .75" with ease.
I did run into a QC problem though, my chamber had a grove in the chamber wall about a quarter inch forward of the belt that up on firing once fired brass would form a near mechanical lock. Once I figured out what the problem was I polished the chamber wall just enough to knock off the edges to the groves and the problem went away.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing your updates with this rifle.
Niles Coyote that's still terrible and shows how little you know if you bought a remington.
I remember when Remington used to make the best out of the box rifle
They still do!
@@allancivitello3771 ,... not.
Pepperidge farm remembers
@Willy Pete hahaha no
@Willy Pete ,... not.
I liked your review, even though it didn't end up favoring the rifle.
I got lucky. I bought one in Win Mag a few weeks ago, and am very happy. Day 1: broke in the barrel carefully with 40 rounds.
Day 2: had 50 rounds of handloads with 5 progressive powder charges; fired 10 groups off sandbags at 200 yards which is where I zeroed the scope on day one. Best result was all five holes inside the 1 inch bullseye; spread was in a horizontal pattern meaning it was most likely my trigger pull rather than the gun. This came from Nosler 175gr RDF bullet on 77gr H1000 powder, standard primer.
Day 3: went to 1000 yard range with the above load and just hammered silhouette targets prone off Harris bipod.
If interested, I put a Vortex PST2 on it.
Reading comments below, I realized I should mention that I'm seating my bullets 0.025" short of the rifling.
My experience with cheek risers and magnum rifles is to cant them towards the action, not away from the action. Under recoil the cheek riser won't push against your cheek/jaw if it is canted towards the action.
Just my two cents.
Jason McKinney you speak the truth! I found this out the hard way lol
I bought the same rifle in 300 Winchester Mag, my first time to the range I took five different boxes of factory loads in various grain weights, I could not get this rifle to shoot under 3 or 4 inch at 100 yards. I thought the same, it doesn't like the loads, so I tried handloads five different types of handloads, same results. So I looked into bedding The Recoil lug, still shot the same. So I tried threading the barrel and putting a muzzle brake on the end. I went from a 3 inch group at 100 to 1/4 inch groups at 100 yards, by changing the trigger from a 4 lb to a 2 lb trigger and the muzzle brake it highly improved the rifles accuracy. Now I can put 5 shots almost in the same hole at 100 yards, using a boat tail hollow point 168 grain Sierra matchking Bullet with 45.5 grains of Varget powder. Next bullet development will be 190 grain boat tail hollow point Nosler.
my Remington 700 sendero is now about 18 yrs old. Initially I had some of the same issues with trigger and accuracy. I will concede that at the time I hadn't been exposed to shooting hvy mag calibers. The local gunsmith I used was very adapt to tune the factory trigger to breath on it wrong and it snaps off, exactly were I wanted it. He also suggested the vias break that considerably tamed my beast to 308 levels. it is a hvy gun but has since been a pleasure to shoot and loves any load below 190. Having hunted ga and SC for nearly 15 yrs the gun has taken over 100 deer and hogs and now that Indiana has come to its scenes allowing rifles I can finally put my 358 hoosier aside and once again hunt with the sendero.
I have this rifle and I do have an accuracy problem. No plastic shims like you mentioned. I've shot all sorts of different bullets through it and it just doesn't really like much of any of them. It's getting a muzzle break put on it, so hopefully that helps. If not guess I need a new barrel.
I have a Remington 700 Long Range in 7mm Remington Magnum. I also replaced the trigger. It shoot a consistent 1/2 MOA 5 shot group. Best you could cover with a dime. I have over 1,000 rounds through the rifle and is not opening up yet. That is hand loaded ammo. 180g Berger VLD @ 2,900 FPS. I know that is a big bullet for a 9.25 twist but according to the Berger twist rate calculator it is stable. I do have hits on steel at 1,320 yards.
I have a number of Remington's and do enjoy all of them. I also have the Remington 700 long range in a 30-06. It was shooting very similar to what you were having. I then bedded the action (even though they say you don't need to) once I bedded the action, I had found a significant improvement. Since then I have added a Timney Calvin Elite 2 stage trigger, ATRS muzzle brake, ATRS bottom metal and developed a good load for the rifle. I can honestly say it shoots 1/2 MOA all day now. Biggest improvmebt came from bedding
I have the exact same rifle. The thing shot great (for a new rifle) until I hit the 5th shot. Couldn't get the bolt open to eject the empty case!!! After it cooled; good for another four. Turns out didn't do a real good job with the finishing ream. Back to remington it went to address this issue and the recall. Returned and problem is fixed. Not real impressed with the groups yet(about 1") which stinks since I'm 1/2 group shooter. Comparing this rifle with my older 700 sps var (.308)or my Savage's Model 10's (.308 and 6.5 Creed); all three will shoot circles around this rifle! all 1/2" or smaller. So your issues are not isolated. I do plan on trying some of your mods before I dump it. Great review. Keep up the good work. Thanks
Great review! Picked up a used Rem 700 L. Had my smith take a look a the barrel, and it was hardly used. Long story short. Ended up getting the action trued, and a new barrel put on it. Timney calvin elite (single stage). Love how it shoots now.
I have a same rifle 300 win mag . Shot about 2.5-3 inch group with factory hunting type ammo and little under 2 inch with hand loads .
John, keep up the good work! The level of honesty in your content is one of the main reasons I have been a fan since MCM #1
A little late to the party here, but did you ever get to install, test and review that Grayboe Renegade stock?
Just finished hand loading for my 700 lr. .586 at 100yrds and 5 shots for 6 inches at 1000yrds
what is yout load data?
Thanks for the detailed and honest review! I've honestly been looking at getting one of these when I sell a Mod 70 Stealth. I think now I'll just keep that money and invest in a higher quality rifle when I can. Keep up the great work!
My old factory 700 SPS .300 win shot well with Federal gold medal with 190g smk. But replacing the small sps barrel with a Bartlein 1.25 -1.15 at crown fixed all the problems. I had issues with the SPS barrel with a top ported break it just flexed like crazy enough to whip the rifle up into the air.
When the barrel change over was due the smith commented that it was one of the straightest and most concentric actions he ever seen from Remington, I just got lucky.
I had similar accuracy issues with mine which was also chambered in 300 Win. I was seriously getting 3-4 inch groups with some old reloads. I bedded the recoil lug, put a brake on it, and worked up some 230 grain berger hybrid match loads. After that it started shooting like a laser. Well laser for a poor noob like me. At 100 yards it was consistently between 1/2 and 3/4 moa. At 1100 yards my brother and I both had 5 shot groups around 6-7 inches. We shot it out to 2275 yards with a scope that only had 60 MOA of adjustment. That took a lot of bullets before we got smart enough to figure out a way to hit the target. I sold it when my son was born since I was short on cash. Things have improved a bit since then and I just bought another one for $630 with $150 rebate. I plan on doing to it what I did to the last one and then taking it out to 3000 yards. In my opinion it is a project gun. If you do not want to have to fix it then get something else. But if you are like me and cannot afford something more expensive and are willing to put in a little work and money you can make them shoot. If someone else would make a rifle in the same caliber and price range with a good stock and heavy barrel I would buy it. For now I am stuck putting a little work and money into my $480 dollar rifle. Thank for the video and have a nice day.
I have had a 700 long range in 300 win mag for about a year. The only mod on mine is the Kahntrol bolt on muzzle brake - which works fine even with hot loads. My guess at your problem in the bipod. The long barrel on the 700 long range means that the heavy bullets used in long range shooting take 1.2 - 1.5 milliseconds after powder ignition to clear the barrel. Since recoil is occurring during all that time the bipod is slipping and sliding on the table giving an inconsistent recoil which scatters shots. Bipods are meant to dig into dirt - they were never meant for bench rest shooting. Try shooting off of sandbags instead of the bipod and I think you will find your groups will tighten up. At least that has been the case for all my rifles.
I want to thank you for honesty
I bought a Remington PSS .308 Rifle and I used Federal Gold Medal Match 168 Gr. Bullet and I was getting a 5 shot Group of 5 MOA, and everything is Lock Tie and come to find out that the last 3/8 of inch of the Barrel Did Not have any Rifling. Remington's Quality Control is Not what it should be. I ended up taking the Rifle to a Friend and he turned the Barrel down a little more than 3/8 of an inch to get to the Rifling and then re-crowning the Barrel and there is a Huge difference between the before and after.
Really like the break down of the process you went through to sort it out. Keep the videos coming.
I guess I got fairly lucky. My 700 AAC-SD is a solid sub MOA gun when I do my part. I have noticed that the locking lugs are starting to show some uneven wear, so I wonder if the barrel may have better potential if I get the action blueprinted. On the other hand, the rifle shoots better than I, so it will be a while before it is holding me back.
Same here. I have had .5in groups at 100yds and can hold 4in out to 600yds in low/no wind weather with factory 175gr SMKs. It does have a new stock, new trigger, and I put a griffin brake on it but the receiver and barrel are both factory unmodded (unless you want to count a scope base). Never shot it in its stock form so I can't comment on that but the receiver/barrel of mine are both extremely capable. I have heard different days at the factory can produce different levels of quality but mine is amazing.
edited to add my gun is also a 700 AAC-SD, didn't clarify that entirely
Bought one of these in 30-06 a few days before this video dropped. I'm hoping I don't have the issues you did. Thanks for the honest review.
how did it shoot?
Have you tried shooting a heavier bullet? My 300WM 700 26" law enforcement 1:10 heavy barrel with factory brake, Bell and Carlson medalist stock and Calvin elite 2 stage does .708 moa @ 200yds with 220 SMK bullets, Norma brass, Federal 215 primers. It doesn't do as well with 190-210 SMK and the same components. Semper Fi.
I would have tried another type of ammo before having all the modifications made to the rifle. Another bullet type or velocity may solve a lot of the harmonic issues.
I agree with you that’s the first thing I would have done but he probably didn’t do it because they sent him the ammo maybe a sponsor or something
Yup this is how the TH-camr game works, not a lot of follow up or actual knowledge. Pretty easy to dial in any 700 action really with some load dev. This vid is geared to the Joe Schmo that goes and buys a new rifle, expects it to shoot .25” out of the box with the first pack of ammo he/she buys then when it doesn’t it’s the rifles fault, not the shooter who knows no better. I’ll pass on this fellas videos from now on. Nothing of value to learn here.
I have one in 30.06 and after changing trigger and bedding recoil lug, I get consistent 1/2-5/8 moa with HSM 190gr Ammo. Best I have gotten consistently with my 208 amax handloads is 3/4 moa. About to work on seating depth, but super happy with the gun. Luck of the draw
I have the same issues with my Rem 700 LR, I'm on my third load ladder tried out 3 different bullets so far and I can't for the life of me get the thing to group. Messing with seating depth helped, but after watching this I may try messing with barrel harmonics next.
John, I've got a Remington 700 AAC-SD like the one you had a few years back. It's all factory stock as far as the action, barrel, and stock go. I generally get sub MOA to 1 MOA groups out of it with several types of match grade ammo(Hornady, Federal, etc) I put a DPMS Jerry Miculek brake on it and it shot about the same. I also had to take a drill and a sandpaper wheel to the stock because the barrel wasn't centered and the stock flexed into it. It's now free floated like it should be. It sucks that a company that used to be the "gold standard" for out of the box accuracy is now having quality inconsistency issues...
So I too am having trouble with mine. Had the bore scoped and there is pitting toward the distal end of the barrel near the muzzle. Gonna contact Remington and see what happens. Let ya know the results either way
Got it back from Remington and they replaced the barrel. Now getting anywhere from .75 to 1.5 moa at 100 yards. Better than the 4-5 inches at 100 yards i was getting; however, now EVERY round fired has a very difficult extraction of the spent case. All factory rounds mind you. Gonna contact my local smith and see what they say before calling Remington again.... im bound to make this a shooter
Just got it back again from the second time I sent it in. They burnished the chamber to fix the difficult extraction issue. Then put a chamfer on the muzzle to “increase accuracy”, then shot a target and sent it to me. Now I haven’t shot it yet but the target they sent is right at 1.75”... I guess that is acceptable for Remington. On top of this crappy group the chamfer they put on the gun is bare steel. One would think they would coat it in something to prevent rust....
The struggle continues...
My Long Range in 300 wm is a tack driver. Lucky me.
Thank you very much for all of your work on this. I was waiting for your review, prior to making a move. I'm glad I waited. Excellent work. Your research is thorough, well reasoned, and honest. Outstanding.
Not a bad review I’m a Remington fan I have bought guns from them and had the same results but to be honest it’s 90 percent In the load development and yes a break does help typically but not always if it will shoot moa with that ammo it will shoot half moa with the right load
I've sold several. Had no complaints on any. One of those got Seekins bottom metal, Seekins base & rings w/psl 4-16x all level, tight and right with just target crown. That rifle zeroed with 4 or 5 rounds and shot out to 425yards on 8" plates same day, but groups you could see well under a minute. I feel like it was worth the money BUT the expectation was make a nice magnum hunter, NOT a competition grade precision rifle.
I have a Rem 700 LR 7mm-mag and I put a Witt Machine bolt on brake on it and it shoots sub moa all day with hand loads. I have shot it in several 1k matches with good results. The only problem is a lot of other shooters don't like brakes and I have to admit the mag. has a pretty good shock wave. I just moved to the end of the line.
Yep. Ive owned several remingtons and i do myself a favor everytime and have the barrel threaded and recrowned immediately. Wakes them up. Remington really needs to up there QC
Did not have a long range, but my factory 308 Varmint was not a pleasant experience. I was unable to get that rifle to group with any ammunition and handloads. I ran headspace gauges through it and it closed very easily on the NO-GO. Tore that barrel off and put a Criterion 6.5 barrel on it.
@8541 i got a R700 in 7mm rem mag and it shoots .5moa 6 shot groups at 200 yards (my longest range near me)
i am incline to believe you when you say its a harmonics issue, when i first got mine i was very disappointed it shot about 4moa using recommended load data and new brass so im not sure if it was just 'breaking in' or harmonics or what
the throat was very long and out of SAAMI speck on mine, so i ended up seating them further out beyond the recommended max O.A.L and working up a new load and it shot great
my motivations for the 700 over these other more popular brands is that it has a lot of after market support, its cheaper and im on a budget, i do plan on replacing a lot of it over the years though, but i think i won the lotto with my barrel so ill leave it for now
Thanks for your video, I bought this same rifle in June when Remington had a $150 rebate and have had terrible performance. Went through all of your same steps with no improvement. Will try the suppressor route, really want to keep the gun but only if I can get it to sub-MOA. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!
+Michael Bell you are welcome.
I added a magpul bottom medal to my long range remington 700. I had to remove a little material to get it to fit. Regards
Hi john. I really love the look of that stock and cheek. I was unable to find the cheek through the link, may inquire to the specific model of both the cheek and stock parts? I would greatly appreciate it and thank you in advance.
Thank you for the update John.
I had it in 7mm that shot really good but it wouldn't eject the brass i had to take a cleaning rod to the range to pop the brass out i sent it off twice to get fixed to remington's certified gun smith finally i sold it for parts it was my one and only bad 700
Lapping the bolt lugs will help greatly with accuracy.
I do have a bit better experience with mine, but only once I figured out what ammo it liked. Since I don't reload, I picked up a bunch of different styles and weights, to find out that it's happiest so far with 195 gr BTHP in the Hornady loads. Cut the groups down to .5 - .75 moa depending on how my day's going. Very happy with my purchase, it just cost a few bucks in ammo to get it down.
Based on Remington's recent product offerings (R51, RP9, etc...) It seems Remington quality difficulties based on this report migrated to their rifles. I did something similar - purchase a 'budget rifle' then upgrade parts to increase it's accuracy and I decided to try a Savage Axis chambered in 223. At 100 yards it was also shooting 1.5" groups but after I worked the factory trigger from default 7.5 lbs pull to 3.5 lbs pull, replaced the OEM bolt arm, replaced the OEM stock, glass bead + pillared the replacement stock the groupings shrunk to 0.75". I also found it does not like Hornady ammunition at all, the bolt punctures the primers. I have no idea why, I have contacted Hornady about this and they are unsure either therefor blaming the rifle, but I don't have issues with other ammunition manufactures, only Hornady. Overall Savage Axis for the money has become very reliable and accurate once you replace the OEM 2-piece stock. Perhaps a better budget choice since the R700 quality is no longer there?
Have a 7mm Rem/mag LR and the gun is great. Started off with the gun shooting 1.5 Moa untell gun was broken in. At 200 rounds the gun settled down and is now at 3/4 Moa being bone stock. Ordered a new trigger for it witch should put me below 1/2 Moa. Over all I'm happy with it.
Once i changed virtually everything on my remington 700 except the bolt and action it now shoots about as good as my tikka T3 out of the box which cost less than half. Lesson learned
I just got my 1st Remington. I got the gen2 5r 308. I was hesitant when I got it and now I'm paranoid I should have went a different direction. I guess I'll find out this weekend when I shoot it.
I bought one last summer in 25-06 and it had no shims. I hand load and bedded the recoil lug and getting around .75 inch groups. Hoping to get more out of it as I go.
Ryan Broyles How has the 25-06 held up and what’s the accuracy like over long term? I’m about the pull the trigger on a 25-06 Rem 700 lr
Gotta find the perfect ammo for that barrel!! Always seems to work for me.
John, I've been watching your channel for sometime and really enjoy your efforts and enthusiasm!!!
I have a factory Rem 700 SPS Varmint in 243 that shot 3" groups with 80gr factory Rem ammo out of the box, I switched to 80gr Federal ammo and the groups shrunk to slightly over an inch. I currently hand load 70 gr Speer TNT hollow points that consistently shoot 1/2 MOA @ 100 yds and 100 gr Sierra SBT Game Kings running 3100FPS that hold 3/4 MOA or less depending on conditions. I actually had one group of 3 shots using Sierra 75gr FBHP's log .110 MOA. Not bad for a factory rifle in a synthetic stock?
That said I bought a new SS 700 Short action from a dealer, SS version bottom metal and recoil lug direct from Rem, I then precision ground the recoil lug to .00005" flatness and had E.R. Shaw install a custom 26" SS Rem #3 contour varmint barrel in 9.5 twist with an 11 degree target crown. They trued the action and lapped the bolt lugs before assembly. I mounted it in a B&C M40 stock and broke the barrel in. It is still fairly new but the best groups I'm getting with both 139gr Hornady and 175gr Sierra reloads is a smidgin over 1/2 MOA (.545-.590) with the average running in the 3/4 MOA range.
My thought is as a machinist by trade there are many variables that come into play when manufacturing and assembling precision mechanical devices. The smallest variables can help things function flawlessly or also make things perform very disappointingly.
If you want a really accurate precision rifle, pay the big bucks for the guaranteed accuracy. It is somewhat disappointing when Remington advertises the "Long range" series by stating that "they are designed to make three shots look like one". If you make those statements then your customers are going to expect at least a 1 MOA or better rifle right out the box.
Thanks again for all your great videos!!
I just blueprint the actions , every one of Remington actions I have has needed it , about $500 bucks will get you a hand truing setup that really works great ! Also have a lathe for any other things I may need to do ! Love the videos , keep up the great work !
My experience with the 700 long range has been good. I did thread it and put a brake on it right when I got it so I can't speak to the accuracy out of the box. I've shot it to 300 yards with said brake and it has shot well with just hunting ammo I had around.
Great honest review though and as always I enjoyed the video.
Mine in 7 rem mag shoots great and haven't had any issues besides the initial additional price of the trigger.
I had similar issues with my 700 AAC-SD until I put a brake on it. Now it shoots 1/3 MOA with my hand loads.
Anyway, great review John. keep them coming
I was exactly looking to get this rifle and wanted to check out your review. Was thinking in 7mm Mag. And to save $ somewhat. Is it possible that 2 years down the road Remingtons QC may have stepped back up, or they still having issues as of this date, October, 2019? I bought a Remington ADL SS in 270 caliber, 24 inch barrel, in September of 2018 new, put a VX-Freedom 3x9x50 on it, but have yet to zero it. The only thing I don't like about it is the blind magazine. Will probably change out stock and add bottom metal to it such as a BDL configuration. On the Long Range, seems like I should spend a little more and up the quality of rifle. I lean more towards hunting Elk and Mulies out to 600 -700 yards at the most though. No matter how good the glass I put on it though! Leaning towards a Leupold VX- 5HD, or minimum of a VX- 3i. For the Max Twilight Light Management system. Eyes not what they used to be at 60 years old. Some where in the 4x16 and 4x20 range with a 50mm Obj. Have you heard if Remington is getting better, or still the same in QC issues for the most part?
I got one identical to it. Love it but I put money into it. I shoot 210 grain Berger vld hunting bullets and I reloaded it to H1000 powder 75.7 grains powder and it does 2989 fps. I can make 5 shot groups 0.409 inches at 200 yards that's well under a half moa. Love the gun that's all that I shoot
Marc Overley That's insane lol. I use the same bullet, powder and rifle but 75.6 grains and average 2809 fps.
What brass and primers?
Thanks for the review. I have had exactly the same accuracy problem with my Long Range. The other problem I have with mine is that the cartridges are really sticky when firing and lately they have caused the bolt to jam. But I really enjoyed the review.
I have the 300win 5r . For a few years now I have been trying different ammo combos with no luck 1.5-2 moa . Best I ever got was 1moa with federal fusion 180gr. Hopefully 190gr smk will do better
I have a 25-06 long range my group size is 6-7" at 100 yards it dented the brass bad I sent it back to Remington they ground out the chamber tested it and sent q paper showing g 3 shot group 2" up to 5heir specs? I shot it it no longer dents the brass but scratches it a lot it shoots the same 6-7" groups at 100 yards not sure what to do? I changed scopes from my savage tactical no change I checked the torque of the action screws seemed good 55 lbs not sure what to do? Shooting hornady and federal premium ammo super performance gmx and sst nosler partion American white tail all as bad or worse
Loved the review and really was the push I needed to thread my .270 for my suppressor. Any news when the lefty edition will come out.
I picked one up in August it’s now October, I took it out when I bought it and had a horrible time extracting casings after each shot, I read that some have had similar issues when the rifles were new and they ended up smoothing out after some use. So I decided to keep on shooting. Like I said it’s now October and so far it hasn’t gotten any better. I took it into one of my local gun smiths and his evaluation is that it’s head spacing is incorrect. So now Im feeling like I shouldn’t have bought Remington but I’m stubborn, so I’m having a Proof Barrel swapped in along with a Timney trigger and adding a muzzle break and having the action redone. So if this can help others avoid this same situation and cost, don’t buy a Remington rifle!! I made the mistake!!
Your rifle looks like my rifles twin at the moment minus the brake! It took me forever to find a handload that it liked! Could not find a factory load that it liked for the life of me, federal, black hills, hornady, Norma, you name it I was ready to give up till I found a handload that it liked. Even with my hand loads it only shots around 1 moa but I'm curious if I throw a brake or suppressor on it if that would help as well! I'll have to do this in the coming weeks and let you know! Thanks for the reviews love the channel!
dies7889 I'm getting 0.5 moa out of my unaltered .300 Win Mag with this combo: 175gr Nosler RDF bullets, Nosler brass, 77.0gr H1000 powder, WLR primer. Bullet seated 0.025" from touching rifling.
I have the exact same rifle and mine shoots perfect. I think instead of spending money for a threaded barrel try different rounds. The Hornady eld-x bullets are great I’ve shot them through 3 different guns with 3 different caliber and all shot half moa or better.
I have the same rifle and it shoots great, I put a brake on it before I even shot it so I can't say weather it helped accuracy or not but I did have to polish the chamber because about every third round it would let you lift the bolt but you could not pull the bolt back, after verifying headspace was good a polish fixed it right up. Oh and mine didn't have any shims. But I disagree about the Remington 700 not being a good platform for 338 Lapua, yes there are better options but I've seen a couple Rifles built on a factory long action one of which was loaded very hot and had no negative effects.
Will there be an update with this rifle with some different ammunition? I think its important to test some different match ammunition with different weights before giving your final opinion.
I had a bone stock Remington 700 Long Range in 30-06. It operated perfectly and it shot sub MOA with factory match ammo. I put a few hundred rounds through it and never had any issues. I just didn't like 30-06 so I decided to trade it in for a Remington 700 Police in 308. The 700 Police works perfectly but I've had several issues with the HS PRECISION stock and they've replaced it 3 or 4 times and still had issues with each of them. So they refunded me the cost of their stock which was really nice of them. They do have outstanding customer service. But I ended up buying a McMillan M40A1 HTG stock and it has been perfect from day one! They also have great customer service and gave me a very generous military discount. I'm very happy with this setup and I like the M40A1 look and feel. It shoots sub MOA with factory match ammo. I love my rifle. :) I've never had any issues with any Remington firearm.
That's unfortunate, my 20"AAC-SD shoots sub MoA if I do my job, that said, I need more practice. I ditched the Hogue Stock and the X-Mark Pro trigger right out of the box for a Magpul and Timney respectively. I also added a Surefire Break and to suppress it with a 300 SPS in the future.
I just built in M24 clone. But instead of 308 I put it in 300 Win Mag. I bought the receiver separately from Remington and I bought the barrel from Rock Creek barrels. I took it to my local gunsmith and he told me there were some concerns with the receiver. They needed to be blue printed in faced and the lugs were only making 80% contact. I told me if I wanted to shoot really far he was going to have to blueprint the receiver to make sure it's entered with the boar and to work on the lugs. Then after final assembly I went to functions check it and it would not extract the cartridge. So a extractor and spring had to be ordered to put into it. Now granted I'm only at $1,200 for just the rifle alone without an optic Remington quality control should not be like this. I should not have to replace the extractor on a brand new receiver and bolt that has never been fired. And the receiver was so out of true that it took a lot of Machining
I can't do the things you did to a rifle at the moment. Guess I'll keep shooting savage. I'm getting good accuracy out of my savages
The last Rem I bought was a used PSS from a pawn shop in 2003. It's still my favorite rifle and I've never had a problem with it. Guess the quality control has gone down hill?
I've got one in 7mm rem mag. Had a chamber burr from factory that would lock the bolt solid after every round. Got it polished and now cycles fine. I've suppressed it and worked the trigger down to 2lb. Accuracy still isn't the best. Will work up some hand loads to try and improve that. I've got other Remingtons but I'd only give this rifle 6/10 out of the box due to the poor internal machining finish. A bit disappointing.
Same issue with my 700 LR in 25-06, did a few mods myself and now it will shoot. Better off buying a savage 12 or 10 that will shoot out of the box.
Does someone know if there was a review published for the grayboe stock that was mentioned?
Remington needs to hire you as a consultant. Something wrong with that company these days.
luiz79 Remington has been complete shit since the 80s. then they went to complete hell once freedom group bought them. Remington has never been good.
Its owned by the freedom group which is owned by George Soros.
@@JohnSmith-gz9hq Never been good? lol. OK. More recently, yes, they have certainly had quality issues, but even then, their MilSpec 5R is still excellent, a bright spot in their decline. In fact, I'd be much more interested in his evaluation of that rifle in 300 win mag
@@seanrobertson1378 That is 110% false.
1/4” Groups out of the box, with reloads. NEVER SHOT Factory loads. I guess I got lucky brother.
My uncle's cousin's sister... that was great! And so true....
Hey John, I'm not sure what kind of powder black hills uses in these loads but do you think that if you tried a little faster burning/slower burning powder that would help the appeared harmonic issues? Lapua has a pretty good powder burn rate chart that shows powder burn speeds for Alliant/Vihtavuori/Hogdgon/IMR/Ramshot powders
I have used Black Hills ammo in 260 Rem in the past and it has proven to be a decent product. However my rifle seems to prefer HSM. I did buy Hornady's new 260 Rem offering and have yet to try in comparison.
My comment wasn't about black hills being bad/good at all. It was about powder burn speeds affecting rifle harmonics. I suggested John try a different powder, either slower/faster to see if one works better in his rifle. I'm not sure what powder black hills uses in their cartridges though, but maybe a different powder might help the harmonics
I was trying to convey what you are stating - each manufacture 'recipe' is slightly different which is why some brands work better than other other brands in certain rifles. Overall Black Hills that I have used makes a decent product but it may not be the right 'recipe' (as you have outlined) for some rifles.
John, Although I have had consistent 1moa clusters at 100-700 yards if I did my part and considering the initial 100yd group you got and I HAVE NOT experienced this particular comment sometimes used: Some people have claimed that some rifles tend to "stabilize" until maybe 200 yards. So is it possible to have a not-so-cool group at 100yds but have clustered 1.25- 1.5 inch groups at 200yds...so to say, sub-minute after it 'stabilizes'? Thank you for the show.
Andy Prariedog I have heard people say that also. I have always though that was BS... Maybe it gets worse after 100 but I can't imagine how it would get better. Most people (including myself) do long range load development at 100 yards and stretch it from there. If something didn't shoot well at 100 I dump it.
Joseph Gentile Yeah that is the same reason I was asking....load development for ringing steel though, not for world record caliper-measured groups at 600 or 1000.
Have the same gun topped with a nightforce had trigger job done directional break an I bedded it. Shoots hole for hole all day long with Hornady 195gr bthp. BTW mine never had plastic shims you got a 🍋
Interesting experience. I almost bought a 700 AAC-SD until I saw how poorly the rifle you tested shot from the factory. Instead I bought a Ruger American Predator in 308 and it shot .75moa groups and sometimes smaller! I have no idea why it shoots so well for a $400 rifle, but I am happy! The stock barrel channel needed some sanding to be truly free floated, but that was an easy fix. Maybe you should review the Ruger America Predator as a budget option. Just an idea.
I found the same shims in my Long Range in 7mm Rem Mag.