I'm going to buy a new Remington 700 XCR in .300 WSM and top it with either a Zeiss or Swarovski variable for extended backpack deer and elk hunts. I don't know too much about customizing rifles and I have a limited budget to work with (I'm a college student). Does anybody have anything negative to say about the X-Mark Pro trigger? I've grown up hunting with the 700 so I want to stick with something familiar. Can you think of any suggestions to improve accuracy besides a trigger job that doesn't brake the bank? Oh yeh, I shoot factory ammo as well.

Remington 700XCR, Zeiss and/or Swarovski doesn't seem to fit into the realm of limited budget. Where you gonna save money, Tasco rings?
Wish I was that limited on funds!

quote:

Remington 700XCR, Zeiss and/or Swarovski doesn't seem to fit into the realm of limited budget. Where you gonna save money, Tasco rings?
Wish I was that limited on funds!

Ditto that!

But I certainly don't argue with the choice of scope or rifle. However, if budget is a real issue then buy a Savage rifle and slap a Nikon on it. You'll be out 1/2 or less the money and have something that should work acceptably well right out of the box and shouldn't need much if any work to make it do what you need.

Additionally, many gunsmiths can do wonders with the Remington stock trigger for a lot less money than an aftermarket trigger.

What customizing are you wanting to do or thinking needs to be done to the rig you suggest? Shoot it first and see ther results.

LWD

I know a fella that just bought the same rifle and scope combo except his is chambered in 300 Win Mag. He's getting sub moa without any mods and factory ammo. Maybe you'll be that lucky as well.

The M700 trigger is easy to work on. Find a local smith and have him set it to a pull you like if the factory setting is too stiff. I'd advise you not to work on it yourself if you aren't very familiar with the 700 trigger.

Good Luck

Reloader

x-pro is brand new but from what I have seen it said to break at 4lb area out of the box vs 6-7 with the original. Rem. still aren't calling it user adjustable though. The original 700 trigger can be modified to a crisp 3lb trigger by a compent gunsmith or individual very easily so personally I wouldn't personally more just to get the x pro equipped rifle!

Beyond adjusting the trigger I wouldn't touch it till you shoot it some and see how it prints. If you want to go further glass bedding and pillar the action would be the next step to take. Elevate any stock touch in the barrel channel (if an issue). Can do more but it starts to add up and may not buying you much with a stock rifle.

The 700 trigger is a simple adjustment but if you don't have experience then pay 75 to get it done by a smith. You could save a lot of money by getting a VXIII scope and spend the savings on a bedding job that could run from 150 to 200 depending on the smith.
That is about all you can do until you start loading your own bullets and you would tie up $500 real easy getting set up.
I have a friend that has the identical rifle and it shoots just fine with factory bullets and only and trigger job so far.

Thanks for the imput. I'm selling all the defense pistols and rifles (kel tech, sig saur, sks m-14, etc.) that I bought when I was younger that I no longer shoot in order to have something that I can use for the rest of my life and I've been saving for a while. I didn't mean an expensive trigger job (I get the trigger set at 3 lbs. by a smith), I meant is there anything that I could do to improve the accuracy besides a trigger job. It seems that most of the people on here are experts and I hate to sound niave, but could someone tell me what "glass pillar bedding" and "free floating the barrel" means? Do they always improve accuracy?
Thanks for your time.

You are right to be thinking long term and be buying quality stuff that you will use for a lifetime. I am still getting rid of some of the stuff (junk) I bought when still a relative newbie. However, if you are like many of us, you'll trade around a lot. Part of it is fun; part of it is an education. Plus, your interests and shooting will change over time.

A free floated barrel does not touch the stock anywhere. This often improves accuracy, but it is not a for sure. Many barrels will shoot better with a slight upward pressure at the tip of the stock. If a rifle isn't accurate, many people's first step is to insure that the barrel is free floated, and if it's not to sand down the stock so that it is freefloated. If that doesn't help, then they move to putting a slight upware pressure point at the end of the stock.

Glass bedding and pillar bedding are two separate things. Pillar bedding is the sinking (really screwing) of alumimun tubes into the stock where the action screws are. The action screws are then tightened down on these rather than the stock. The Weatherby Fibermark stock is an example of this. The next step up is a stock with a complete aluminum bedding block. Instead of two little pillars in the stock, there's a solid piece of aluminum for the action to be screwed to. The Weatherby Accumark stock is an example of this.

Glass bedding is the use of a plastic/liquid/gel like compound to insure that the action is firmly and uniformly mated to the stock. It's a little more complicated than that but instead of reinventing the wheel, just do an internet search on the topic.

The advice to shoot the gun first is very sound. Many 700s will shoot great with nothing more than a trigger job, and I would have a gunsmith work on the factory one before spending $$$ on an aftermarket one. If the rifle shoots acceptably well, then you're in business with a foundation on which to build.

LWD

I checked the Rem catalog and it does not state if you have an aluminum bedding block in that stock or not. Most of the varmint rifles and senderos have aluminum bedding blocks already in them with floated barrels.
Good Luck

The XCR stock doesn't have an aluminum bedding block or aluminum pillars. It's just an sps stock with a softer rubber over a couple of panels. I do like the sps and xcr stocks better than the previuos remington plastic stocks. I think you made a good choice. Just try a few factory loads and you'll find a load that shoots good in your rifle.

1st of all as many have mentioned, Buy the rifle, scope, and mounts you want. Set it up, go to the sporting goods store and purchase whatever ammo you think you need, then take it to the range and see how she does bone stock. You may be very surprised as many bone stock 700s will do sub-moa with factory ammo right out of the box.

If the trigger is too stiff, have it adjusted. If it still doesn't shoot, open the barrel channel for a free float and eliminate the pressure points remington puts in the stock. You'll want about a 1/16" clearance around the tube all the way to the recoil lug.

I've done some mods to the XCR stock that's on one of my rifles. I just taped off the exterior of the stock around the barrel channel, removed enough material with a dremel to get a good even free float, cleaned it up with fine grit sand paper, removed the tape, and dropped the action back in.

That's the only mods I personally would attempt on the factory xcr stock. I believe you are spinning your wheels when trying to bed a plastic stock.

You could buy a BC, HS, of Mcmillan stock as well if you want to dump more money into it.

If it shoots horrible out of the box with several types of ammo(Which I doubt), you might as well sell it or have a custom built off of the action because it's probably not going to get much better.

Factory rifles are luck of the draw but, I feel you've probably picked a pretty good rifle in the accuracy department.

Good Luck

Reloader

The best advice I could give is to FOLLOW RELOADER'S ADVICE!

You could probably just mount the scope and head to the range and expect either MOA or sub-MOA accuracy right out of the box. 700's are some of the most accurate factory rifles you can buy. Certainly, there's room for improvement, but I bet it will work more than satisfactorily for a hunting rifle.

Either way, nice combo!

Wamuley :

I have the very rifle you are talking about. It shot very well right out of the box. But being I can't leave well enough alone , I had my gunsmith drop the tigger
down to 2 1/4 pounds , lap the lugs and anything he could do to the stock. I have
to tell the truth it shoots way better . But it did cost to get it there. So I
think you should IMHO as the others have said shoot it frist you may like it just
as it is.