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anyone purchase a new 700bdl lately i have been thinking about a new 30/06 and was wondering about the remington 700bdl or the 700 xcr2. or shoult i stick with a ruger m77. | ||
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They are not new, but I currently have two 700bdl rifles. One is a .375 RUM and the other is a 7 mm Rem mag. I've shot moa groups with each of them, and I've taken both of them on multiple hunts to Africa and/or Canada. I have no problems with the Rem 700s. NRA Endowment Life Member | |||
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I've had numerous bdl's and the now CDL's. I've never had a problem with any of them. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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If you choice is between Rem 700 and Ruger 77, my experience is that I have owned 20-25 Rem 700s and still own most of them. They are very accurate, very reliable and there are lots of aftermarket products for customizing. I have had a couple Ruger 77s and found them not near as accurate and one had head space issues that was not well addressed by Ruger. This is a slam dunk question, Rem 700. NRA Patron member | |||
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I would buy the Ruger. | |||
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Having owned more of each than I care to admit, Remington all the way. Zeke | |||
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Just me, if I wanted to get a .30-06 and had a budget of let's say $800. I would much prefer to pick up a semi custom .30-06 lightly used rifle that someone spent $1,600 to build no matter the make. You would be better off than straight off the shelf. New from the above list, a Ruger Hawkeye. | |||
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700, just in case you want to change/customize it down the road. Latest for instance; Mag-Pul has a really neat new multi-adjustment stock out. Guess what it's for? Rich | |||
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When you are a lefty who grew up shooting in the '70s, and you were fortunate enough to have a father who wanted you to shoot a left handed rifle, you probably have at least one left handed Remington 700. My father gave me my first one (a 700 BDL) in the late 70s. I still have that rifle and I currently own several others in various configurations, including BDL and varmint. They all shoot well and have been reliable. I have not purchased one new since the early 2000s, so I can't speak for them as they are made today. I have other lefty brands as well (Savage, Weatherby, Browning, Tikka). While people have their favorite brands for various reasons, my experience with the Remington 700s has been very good. | |||
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There are tons of these for sale on the 2nd hand market, not really sure if anyone likes them. I'd pick a 700, because I own 1 70, 1 Sauer 202, 1 Howa 1500 and 12 700s in bolt guns. The stainless Ruger #1s were good shooters if you could find a stainless 30-06. | |||
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A 700 BBL in 222 was the first centerfire I ever shot as a kid. I still remember the heft, shine, and smell of gun oil from that rifle. I like the older ones. | |||
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BWW, there's a reason for that. They outsold everybody else about three to one for decades. Until Kelblys brought out the Stolle clone, Remington ruled the Bench Rest scene. There are still lots of them being used in competition today. There's a reason for that too... | |||
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You might want to read this George Kelbly Sr. came from a long line of bricklayers and he himself joined the family trade. But he had his hobbies; rifles were one of them. So back in 1969, he decided to make his hobby his business, buying a rifle range on some rural acreage outside Orrville. By 1976, Kelbly had opened a retail store at the range. A few years later, he was joined in business by Ralph Stolle, who made particularly effective rifle actions. When Stolle died in 1982, Jim Kelbly joined what was now officially a family business, Kelbly’s Inc. VFW | |||
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The older BDLs were better from a quality control perspective. We still have the BDL in 270 RH I bought in the 60s. My youngest son hunts with it and got his first elk with it. My oldest son has it's twin in a LH BDL I bought in the 80s, Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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and Ralph built a custom action, which Kelblys now sells in several iterations. Which commercial action did he choose to copy, and basically just blueprint? As well as about 90% of the rather expensive custom actions today. Rich | |||
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I just bought a pristine 700 BDL in 8mm Rem Mag. | |||
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The Magpul 700 stock is a nasty chunk of injection molded junk On clearance in a store near you now ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Getting back to the original question, if I was in the market for a new Remington I would only buy one in person and then look it over very carefully. Maybe their quality control has improved lately but over the last few years its been pretty spotty. I'm not really a Remington guy but I do own a couple. I bought a XCR II that ok quality wise but was also subject to their latest trigger recall. That pretty much soured me on them. You would think that after fifty years they could figure out how to design a reliable trigger. But that's just my opinion. Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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My first center fire rifle was a 700 ADL in '06. I wish I still had it!! I have owned and still own some Ruger 77's. Nice gun but it I could only have one or the other it would be the 700. | |||
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I'm a 700 fan I have 2 ADL's that are my hunting workhorses One is much older than the other but both are 30-06 and run Accubonds They are identical to each other in just about every single way Scope, rings, bases, trigger break and sight in zero The only big difference... The tan one is a 150 grain rifle and the sage one is a 180  ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Quality control issues and also warranty support from Remington have been a significant issue for years now. A friend who worked at "A bullet company famous for accurate bullets" in the test section qualified a batch of bullets for Remington, and they shipped out. Soon, they received a call from Rem. saying that the bullets were defective and didn't meet accuracy specs. Well, Rem's accuracy specs are much looser than that company's, and they'd been thoroughly tested in the machine rests, etc. So, they suggested Rem. send them their 4 machine-rest barrelled actions for inspection. Turns out, not one, not 2, but ALL 4 had rifling that went all the way into the chamber neck on 1 side, and stopped forward of the neck on the other side!! It was suggested that Rem's "quality assurance/custom shop" people learn how to chamber barrels properly, and that issue was resolved. Well, knowing such things could happen, after purchasing a new 700 PSS, I bore-scoped it before I began taking throat measurements, etc. My Hawkeye revealed that exact problem. I took 5 good photos with the Hawkeye and digital camera adapter, showing every aspect of the throat problem, explained it in detail, and returned the rifle for warranty repair. Without going into gross detail, let's just say they couldn't be satisfied to just fix my rifle and return it. They gigged me for $50 for a "chamber cast," alleged the chamber was actually fine, and returned it COD with a $75 bill attached if I wanted my rifle back. You'd think if someone shows you they have a Hawkeye and can document everything with pics, plus has an obvious clue of what they are doing, they'd leave THAT guy alone and go lie to and rip off someone easier. Nope -- stupid is, as stupid does! Already having a general feel for what I might expect from Rem., I had taken the precaution of writing down all the various proof-marks, etc. on the barrel and their locations relative to the action. Now, the barrel had been obviously set back 1/2", bead-blasted, re-parked, and had 2 sets of proof marks!!! Called my dealer, explained the definition of "mail fraud" (for which the penalty is 5 years in the federal pen per count), and he contacted his rep. Suddenly, someone cared, and they asked what I wanted -- new barrel, new rifle, etc. The barrel on my rifle was extremely smooth with a perfect crown (before I sent it to them -- they nicked the crown when they set it back), so I said "I want my money back, and a guarantee you'll replace the barrel if it doesn't shoot," and they readily agreed. The rifle is a shooter -- 0.5 MOA easily at 300 yds for up to 13/14 rounds before (magnum) bbl heat starts making the barrel walk, and virtually no load tuning or development required. So, I kept it. I have several other Rem's that are ridiculously accurate right out of the box, but all were hand-selected with the bore-scope after that. Not long ago, I got a hankering for a PSS in .300 Win Mag. Local store had one of the "5R's" they'd been sitting on for well over a year and were willing to deal. Trade arranged, I broke out the bore-scope. Uh-oh. Showed the owner the rifling land that was smushed flat, about 1/4" inside the crown. Then showed him the off-centered chamber/throat as before -- AND the two lands that were smushed flat, about 1/2" forward of the throat. Definite NO GO. Having been through warranty Hell with them before, I asked if he thought they'd fix it for him. His reply was no, their warranty service for dealers is terrible, and I'd have more chance of getting action on it than he would. I passed. So, he said "There are no more 5R's to be had, how about I order 2 regular PSS's, and you get to bore-scope them and pick the better of the two?" Price was right, and that's about as fair as you can ask for, so I agreed. They arrived and I bore-scoped the first one. Crown was a little iffy, lots of machine marks in the neck/throat area, and the rifling could have looked better. Ehhhh... Bore-scoped the next one, and it's much better, so I snagged that one. If I were going to buy a 700 today, and had no Hawkeye bore scope to inspect with, I would look for a well-maintained, quality OLDER ONE, from when they established their wonderful reputation for accuracy, and wouldn't look back. I would not buy a new one without bore scoping it. Instead, I'd take an action I already have and have it barreled by a good gunsmith. But, that's just me.... Hope this helps! John | |||
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Perhaps ignorance is bliss or maybe I've just lived a charmed life. I don't own a bore scope nor have I ever looked down one, but I have owned and still own a whole herd of 700s and I haven't had one that wouldn't shoot. My newest 700 is two years old. 7-08 Except for a trigger adjustment, it's exactly like it came out of the box and it will shoot 5 shots inside of a MEASURED inch. I bought a XR100 in .223 and took it to a factory match using some ammo that I had cobbled up for another rifle. I won the match. Using that same rifle with tuned ammo,I shot a .111 group in competition. My personal best. I've heard all the stories about bolts falling off, spontaneous firings, and such but I've never had any of that happen to me nor have I ever talked directly to someone that has. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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Presently, I own 2 rem 700 :  Sendero in .300 Win Mag, which keeps 5 shots <.5MOA.  Police in .308 Win, good for 5 shots <.3 MOA. André DRSS --------- 3 shots do not make a group, they show a point of aim or impact. 5 shots are a group. | |||
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After buying a M700 Mtn Rfl DBM in 1999 in 7mm-08 that would shoot Federal Premium factory loads into 3/8" groups @ 100yds, I purchased a similar rifle in .280 Rem in 2002. It was very consistent, shooting 2-3" groups @ 100yds regardless of what I fed it. A chamber cast revealed an off center chamber throat as described above. I made a phone call to Remington & was informed that 2-3" @ 100yds was "acceptable" accuracy & that an off center throat would not affect accuracy. I weighed the option of sending it in for warranty work, but when I saw the new CDL that came out in 2004, I just traded it in. The CDL brings up yet another Remington corporate cluelessness story. When I saw the CDL advertised on Remington's website, I called my local Gun Shop & asked Jack to keep an eye peeled & as soon a they offered a CDL in 280 Rem, to order one for me as the Remington's site did not list 280 as an available chambering. He informed me that he could get one from either of 2 distributors in 280. I called Remington & was assured that the CDL was NOT available in 280. I even tried to get in via the back door by calling the factory direct, but was informed that only corporate could give out such information. I called corportate one last time & asked the person to humor me & check the SKU #s that my dealer had gotten from his distributors. After a short delay on hold, the person came back & informed me that "Oh, we did a special run of those last month." Fortunately that 280 CDL would shoot under 1/2" @ 100yds W/tailored hand loads. GOOGLE HOTLINK FIX FOR BLOCKED PHOTOBUCKET IMAGES https://chrome.google.com/webs...inkfix=1516144253810 | |||
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"Perhaps ignorance is bliss or maybe I've just lived a charmed life." Most people who go into the woods will never be bitten by a snake in their lives. That doesn't mean that nobody ever gets bitten, that the people who do get bitten think it was a fun or worthwhile experience, or that taking precautions to avoid being bitten when snakes are known to be in your area is a stupid thing to do. I'm just sayin'... John | |||
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I'd buy an older one (80's vintage would be great) also. They were great rifles. The newer ones have QC issues I can attest to that. Regards, Chuck "There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit" Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness" | |||
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Personally, I will never buy another Remington firearm. I grew up with a 7600 and 1100, and the first rifle I got for myself was a 700 CDL. The 1100 is an 80's model, the 7600 early 90's. Both good quality and reliable. The 700 CDL is a 2005 model and is passable at best. This rifle was part of the big trigger recall mess, the finish on the stock has started to lift and flake like a leper, and just from a personal standpoint, I have come to dislike the slow twist of 1:14 for the .35 Whelen. I also purchased a 870 Wingmaster in 2012 and it was absolutely atrocious. Customer service was good, I'll give them that, as I did receive a new gun free of charge. That one is a mostly reliable replacement. But overall, there is no comparison between the Remingtons of old and the newer ones I've purchased. The quality and value has markedly decreased and there are just too many good alternatives. I'd go Ruger without a second thought if the rifle fit me well and I liked how it felt. | |||
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I have divested of Remington's after the terrible way they handled the Marlin merger. I have seen a decline in quality for many years. Let's compare economy models... a 788 vs the 770 in the box stores. A great gun in the 788, a plastic gun including trigger guard, magazine and stock on the 770. I had many off the 700 classic single year runs from the 80's sold them all off. I'm left with the 121 I learned to shoot on (grandfather's .22), a 600 in .308 my father carried his last years and a Stainless Sendaro 26 inch heavy fluted barrelwith synthetic stock that I have shot over 125 deer with in 37 years.. it's a .308 Win. I even sold my 700 classic lightweight in 375 H+H from the custom shop. You know that is a sin around here... no .375! Today, I won't even buy remington made cases, primers or bullets. | |||
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