dating the Remington 700's...

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I have 5 different Remington 700's... & 4 different checkering patterns... is it possible to date the guns, by the checkering patterns ???

I also have at least 3 grades of wood, & what looks like at least 3 levels of finish... the finest... IMO... ( both a heavy barrel 223, & a 35 Whelen ) have very well figured wood, have the same pattern of checkering, & a deep finish ( got a couple scratches through to the wood, so I can see how "thick" the finish is )... I assume these were made at the pinnacle of the Remington 700 production

one rifle ( my least favorite, as far as looks go ) has plainer wood, with checkering, that reminds me of Marlins older stamped in checkering, this gun has rounded checkering patterns... another with plainer wood, has more angular straighter edged checkering both of these stocks look to have a thinner finish, & plainer grain wood...

the other is a 100th anniversary of the 30-06... ( this one IIRC is a 2005 / 2006 manufacture since I think the floor plate is engraved 1906 - 2006 ) it has nicer / darker walnut ( but IMO, not as nice a looking a piece of wood as the 1st 2 listed ) may have an oil finish, or may be satin, the finish looks much "thinner" than the 1st 2 I listed... all the others are all gloss...

BTW... anyone know what they used for the finish, or if it's possible to repair some of the damage on the 1st 2 rifles listed ??? the 35 Whelen I think was unfired, but had a lot of deep handling scratches ( like it was in & out of a cheap gun locker with un-rolled edges many times, & perhaps by someone older with unsteady hands ) ( I was told from my local dealer, that he took in 3 - 35 whelens mine is one of this group, from an older gentleman, & he believed the rifle was unfired ) anyway I'd like to touch up both the 1st 2 rifles listed, as they look so nice, if I could do it without a complete strip???

 

[PetahW]

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AFAIK:

* Remington used an epoxy-type "bowling pin" finish that they called the "RKW" finish.
The RKW stocks usually were from the negatively-impressed (in) "checkering" era.
Later Remingtons were finished in a satin version of their epoxy finish, and had positively-impressed (in) "checkering" that looks a lot more like hand checkering (but will have zero overruns)


* I only know of two different ways to determine a Remington's DOM-

1) Call Remington Customer Service with the SN(s).

or

2) Determine what month/year the Remington Date Code Letters say the DOM is - the code is stamped into the LH rear of every Remington rifle/shotgun bbl made after 1921.

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/questions/barrelcodes


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[44 AMP]

ADL and BDL versions had different checkering patters (among other things).

The finish used on guns made through the 70s (not sure about later guns) is, essentially, non-repairable. It can be removed and replaced, (not easy, but can be done) but (decent looking) touch up repairs on the DuPont plastic that Remington used for the finish is about impossible, as far as I know.

 

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Now that was a helpful web site to comment. Don't have that one stored in my puters Documents section. But I do now. Thank you Gents.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

Thanks for the comments guys... I don't keep track of S&W model numbers... I know the BDL, ADL thing is much easier all of my rifles are the same format... bottom dump box magazines... I thought since there is a definite difference in the checkering patterns, it may have varied by date of manufacture... but could also have varied by "grade" ??? ( don't know if Remington offered different "grades" of the same model & vintage of model 700 ??? )

anyone ever try to touch up this type of stock finish ??? wondering if I could feather edge the deep scratches, & fill with urethane ( or some type of finish ) & wet sand to get an effective fill ???

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

so... I can follow the code for the months... but the year is also an alpha character, ( & there are 12 letters ) do they only use 10 of them for the year, & use multiple letters, or am I missing something ???

 

[PetahW]

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Early on:

Remington 700ADL's had the blind box magazine (no floorplate, etc) & negative impressed checkering of a plain pattern.

Remington 700BDL's had the hinged floorplate & the standard impressed checkering with a solid wood ribbon through the middle of the patern, ala Win M70FW.
Other model Remington BDL's had impressed "basketweave" checkering.

At that time, there were NO other Model 700's.

Later BDL's had the positive impressed, skip-line checkering.

The 1st letter of the Remington Date Code is the month of manufacture.

B*L*A*C*K*P*O*W*D* E* R* X
1-2- 3-4- 5- 6-7- 8- 9- 10-11-12

The 2nd letter (and sometimes a 3rd letter, depending upon the year) is the year of manufacture.

The year letters repeat, but if you know the timeframe a particular Remington was made (say an M700 from 1962 - 1985), then you know you're in error if you come up with a DOM of 1947 - 15 years prior to the intro of the M700 ; or of 2003, well after the early M700 line was expanded to include myriad different versions/models.


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[Magnum Wheel Man]

Interesting word they chose to date their guns... after the black powder era

thanks for all the help...

I tried to zoom this one up, but it pixalled out... the 2nd from the top on the left side is a Remington 700 that has checkering that looks similar to a vintage Marlin bolt action 22 that I made into a 17 Fireball

I'll have to dig out the camera & do a few new solo shots

 

[jmr40]

While the years do repeat themselves 2-3 times in the date code it isn't that hard to tell the difference between a 1920's, 1950's and a 1990's gun which could all have the same year code.

Also during part of 1999, all of 2000 and part of 2001, there was no date code stamped on Remingtons.

Another easy way to help narrow things down. Prior to 1982 the bolt was locked down when the gun was on "SAFE". If you can open the bolt with the safety in the "SAFE" position it was made after 1982.

ADL vs BDL vs DBM. The ONLY difference is blind magazine (ADL), floor plate (BDL), or Detachable Box Magazine (DBL). Over the years there have been every imaginable variation of all 3, especially ADL and BDL. All have been made with cheap plastic stocks, high end synthetics, fancy walnut, laminate, stamped checkering, cut checkering, no checkering, iron sights, smooth barrels, stainless steel, matte blue and polished blue. The ADL, BDL, and DBM is only to designate the type of magazine and bottom metal.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thanks for all the info...

BTW... all mine are BDL's ( I think ) & my newest is the 100th anniversary of the 30-06, all the others are likely late 60's thru 70's ???

 

[Scorch]

MWM-
From what I can remember, the earliest M700s had the checkering like your top gun, impressed checkering rounded pattern with a ribbon through the pattern. That pattern was used until the late 1960s. Then came the stamped fleur-de-lis, followed by a more elaborate version with the small detached panel behind the pistol grip panel (called a "dove's wing") that was used into the late 1970s, followed by basketweave pattern for about 2 or 3 years, then a pattern that was similar to the previous pattern. In the 1980s, they started using machine cut checkering (biggest benefit of this is that it actually worked to help you hold onto the rifle). In the 1990s, they switched to laser checkering that actually looks somewhat like real checkering.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thanks for the reply.... I'll try to round up the camera & get some better pics ( this one is a couple years old now, & that corner of the safe looks much different today

the 4th one down on both sides must be 80's guns ??? I'm a bit surprised, I would have expected the better woods to be earlier guns... but, both of these guns have the nicest wood, & best execution of checkering ( they are the basket weave pattern ), & what seems like best fit & finish... also the stock finish is glossy, & deep

these are the two I'd like to figure out how to touch up the stocks... would think I could use urethane or something similar to fill the deep scratches, & wet sand smooth ??? but hate to play with it on my own, & screw up the finish, & end up re-finishing the whole stock

 

[thekyrifleman]

Question....

I have 6 700's...all but one have the conventional date code..the oddball, a 8mag, pre 82' based on the safety, has only numbers...I.e., " 96 " . Any ideas on manufacture date? Barrel has all other original stampings..

 

[Scorch]

I have read that during the 1970s and into the 1980s, Remington stocks were finished with DuPont Imron. Tough as nails and virtually impossible to match or touch up.

 

[Rob62]

Here is the link for Remington's barrel date codes with an explanaition of how to read them.

As noted previously, some year codes do repeat. With the repeat some history such as the overall model manufacturing dates, and or other history will have to be known. For the most part the repeat use of year codes is no major problem.

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/questions/barrelcodes

Also note that Remington Customer Service is very good about telling you the year of production and grade of the firearm that it left the factory as if you contact them.

Regards,

Rob

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

SCORCH... I had never seen a stock with the detached "doves wing" but found a stock for sale on E-Bay with this style...

here is a pic

 

[Scorch]

Yep, that's it!

 

[PetahW]

I have 6 700's...all but one have the conventional date code..the oddball, a 8mag, pre 82' based on the safety, has only numbers...I.e., " 96 " .

Any ideas on manufacture date?
Barrel has all other original stampings..

The 8mm Mag was introduced in 1978 & disc in 1984.

The 8mm Mag was re-introduced as Remington's "Classic" M700 for the year of 1998. (only made that year)


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[Sierra280]

After reading this thread I got curious about when exactly my 700 was made. I just called Remington's customer service number. The call only took a couple minutes, the service rep was super nice. I just gave the serial number and then was on hold for about a minute while they looked it up.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

Finally got a couple better pictures of my 700's... these are my short actions

my custom 17 Fireball... this gun was converted from a 17 Remington, that had the throat pretty eroded, it just wears a fill in scope, it will be getting a Burris 4.5 - 12 X with a E-1 reticle...

this is a heavy barrel ( slower twist ) 223, I removed the 2 piece weaver base, & will be putting a Luepold 1 piece base, this one gets a set of engraved Millet rings, & will be also wearing a Burris 4.5 - 12 X with the E-1 reticle

This is my custom 6.8 SPC... started life as a 22-250, also with a shot out barrel throat... the bolt is custom spiral flute from PTG, it wears a 3.5 - 14 X mil dot Nikon Prostaff 5

I'd like to add a .308 to my short actions, & would love to get a vintage BDL in 308, but the last one I saw sell on Gun Broker, sold for about twice what I thought it was worth, so I'm likely to end up with another .308 on the bottom of the short action rack