My first bolt action rifle

N

NorCalDon

Inactive
Hello all. New guy here. First thread, first post. here's my story.

As a left hander I have always had either a semi auto or a lever action. Always wanted a bolt and figured at some point I would buy one. After years of putting this off I finally broke down and bought one. Having some regrets about my choice. Perhaps after some replies I might feel better about my decision. Or not.

I have yet to fire the weapon so you may be wondering why the apprehension. My intent for the rifle is tactical. Hobby. Long range stuff. So, after talking with a few people I bought a Rem 700 SPS Varmint in .308. It was only available in a very small assortment of calibers so .308 worked for me as I already have a .308 Springfield M1A Scout.

Prior to purchase I didn't really handle too many. Heck, there aren't too many out there available in left hand. And I sometimes lean toward impulse buys. Bad habit. The Tikka was amazing in the sense that the bolt seemed to float in the receiver. But I was told it was really just a cheaper version of the Sako. Savage makes left hand rifles and I thought they had a good rep. Heard otherwise from a few, though they said improvements are being made.

Anyway, I ended up ordering the 700 without actually handling the rifle. A friend has an FFL and after reading the reviews I thought I had made the right decision. My first realization of regret was the fixed mag. I had never owned a bolt action so I didn't know most are fixed. I had the idea that a DBM was normal. O.K., I can live with it or convert to DBM for a few hundred.

Thing is I will probably have to go with DBM or change my scope mount form a one piece to a two piece as it is a pretty narrow window to load the rounds past the mount. It would be better with a two piece but only marginally as the scope will be a slight inhibitor, though clearly a bit higher up.

Second issue I have is the action is not nearly as smooth as the Tikka, which, as noted, was amazing. Silky smooth. Hell, my Browning BLR 30.06 is much smoother. Something just doesn't seem right. Maybe I need to prep it somehow. It is right out of the box, after all. But I have been cleaning and lubricating and it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, so far.

Lastly is the balance. With the 26 inch barrel it seems a bit front heavy. Now, I haven't mounted the scope yet and there are no rounds in it but, also, I have yet to mount the Harris bipod I want. We shall see.

There are other improvements in the works. A McMillan stock has been ordered so clearly, even with the regrets, I am keeping the rifle. Too many good things have been told about this action.
 
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Welcome to the forum.

The Tikka was amazing in the sense that the bolt seemed to float in the receiver. But I was told it was really just a cheaper version of the Sako. Savage makes left hand rifles and I thought they had a good rep. Heard otherwise from a few
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Wish you would have asked about these rifles before you bought the Remington as you were given mistaken advice.
 
Everyone has an opinion. It's tough to decide. Who do you listen to? I dunno. I know Remington has a long history and I'm sure I'll work out my issues. I could have been happy with any number of different rifles. Can always sell it and start over. It's kinda fun puttin'um together.
 
Wish you would have asked about these rifles before you bought the Remington as you were given mistaken advice.
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+2.

You'd have been much much better off with a Savage or a Tikka, or even another option like a Browning X Bolt.

If you look online, I doubt you will see many complaints about either, but I'm sure a quick search will turn up a ton of complaints on the issues the Remington has, and the lousy customer service they have. Remington of today isn't the Remington we all knew 20 years ago. It's now owned by an investment group who doesn't seem to care about the quality or customer service at all.
 
You can't beat the 700. You made a good decision in my opinion. My 700 isn't as silky smooth as some other actions that I have because the finish is different. I've never understood the smooth action thing... what are you going to do, sit around slipping it back and forth going "Ooooooo!"? Put some proper grease on the bolt raceways of the 700 and call it good. Mine is in it's original plastic stock and turns in .5 most days at least two or three times, and MOA for the rest of the day. I'd take a 700 over the Tikka/Sako or Savage any day, even if it only shot 1.5. That's where I draw a line.
-SS-
 
While you may get accuracy similar to the Savage, you may not either. Some seem to shoot as well as Savages, while many don't. I've yet to see a Savage that won't shoot sub moa right out of the box.

The biggest issue though is Remington is just having a ton of quality control issues lately from bolt handles falling off to stocks not fitting, to accuracy being horrible, to scope mount holes being drilled way off center. It just depends on your particular gun as to what will be wrong, or if anything will be wrong. Let's hope you got a good one and won't have to worry about it. In which case it's great, but the way I see it, why pay a similar price for a gun that may or may not have issues, and will have poor customer service if it does have issues, when you can pay the same and get a Savage that you know will be a sub moa shooter out of the box, most likely without issues, and from a company that has great customer support.

The other negative is the triggers. The Savage Accu Trigger blows away the trigger on the 700. If it was me, I'd have to put a better trigger in the Remington where as on the Savage, the Accu Trigger is already great, so that would be some money saved.

Overall, imo, the Savage and Tikka are just soo much better guns for similar amounts of money, so why take the chance with a Remington? Why support a company with poor customer service, and all of these quality issues?

I'm a fan of older Remingtons, but the new stuff is basically junk. I think this is one of the reasons people still buy 700's. They remember how great their old ones were, or listen to people with older ones telling them how much they like them. Remington is no longer the same company it used to be. They used to make products anyone would be proud to put their name on, that's no longer the case.

Anything that's been made since Cerberus Freedom Group took over Remington, I don't want.
 
:D The Tikka did make me ooooooh and ahhhhhhh is was so silky smooth. And you're right. The Tikka had a stainless bolt and I can't remember what the rails were. My 700 is a black rifle from top to bottom. I will come to enjoy it when it is time to shoot. Of that I'm sure.
 
My 700 is silky smooth, but it was made in 1983. The bolt's had plenty of time to wear in.

Having some regrets about my choice. Perhaps after some replies I might feel better about my decision.
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That's perfectly normal, as you don't have much experience with bolt rifles. Shoot it for awhile and see how it does. I'll bet that you'll be pleased with it.

The blind magazine isn't much of an issue, you simply need to exercise your learning curve. I load my blind magazine rifles without even thinking about it, it's pure muscle memory. Once you get comfortable loading the rifle, you'll find that one-piece mounts don't cause much problem. My Remington has a one piece mount and there's plenty of room for a cartridge and my thumb, which is all that's necessary to loading the rifle.

Detachable box magazines seem to be the current fashion, and if you decide that you want to go that route, it's easy to refit the rifle for a detachable box.

Give the rifle a fair trail and I suspect that you'll be pleased with it.
 
After my father turned a .257 Roberts loose in the bedroom after "unloading" (back around 1939), my uncle pushed the issue of checking the chamber by sticking my pinky into it. :) So, I've been a two-piece scope mount guy ever since 1950.

I haven't had all that many Rem 700s, but the trigger is quite easy to adjust to around three pounds. My 700Ti's trigger is no Canjar, but it's nice.

While I prefer a hinged floorplate, the blind mag deal for me is in the, "Hit don't make no nevermind, no how," category.

If a receiver is rough enough to annoy me, well, just as with any old hot-rodder, there's always some tweaking for improvement. Valve-grinding compound and my Dremel tool can do a lot of smoothing. :D I never was much for Showroom Stock, anyway.
 
Nothing really wrong with a Rem700 as a first bolt action rifle.

The bolt will wear in and become silky smooth with use. But do put a dab of grease on the recoil lugs. Bolt actions don't necessarily need this, but it's part of the lube order for an M24 sniper rifle so I recommend it for Rem700s.

Don't bother with DBM until you've shot a few hundred round through your stick. When you are talking "tactical" shooting the real word you should be thinking of is "accurate" shooting. How many rounds you have in reserve in the magazine doesn't matter if the one going down the pipe is a miss.

Enjoy your rifle, you'll probably be more than happy once you put some match ammo into a tight group.

Jimro
 
I just can't believe what Remington has done with Marlin:mad: The new Marlins look like my kids slapped them together! Pure junk..

If your Remington shoots well, then thats all that matters. I've owned my Tikka before everyone and their brother knew the name. Nice rifle and all..but I still prefer my Browning. Nothing like nice wood and "solid" feeling firearms.

With our economy is such trouble, my new purchases will be made in this Country. And I could care less if some commie goes without his yogo or not.

Ruger, Win model 70, etc
 
the 700 is a good rifle, an aftermarket trigger and a free float stock will make it shoot 600+ yard groups with the right ammo but the fact that you NEED one to shoot competitively/tactically is false. just like any other design bolt actions come in either hunting grade accuracy or competition grade accuracy. ever manufacturer has a hunting rifle and then they have an accurized version of it. the Savage makes target bolt guns just like Winchester, Browning, Marlin and just about any other company that makes bolt actions. however the SPS is a good gun and has the potential to be an amazing rifle. some come right out of the box and shoot MOA groups at 400+ yards with cheap ammo, some you just have to work with and tweak a bit.
 
While I think you could've probably found a nicer rifle for a similar price, I don't think you should have buyers remorse after buying that rifle. I wouldn't. The Remington 700 action is classic. All other issues can be fixed, if they arise in the first place (ie, polishing the bolt race, stock fitment, etc)
 
Getting married....getting a dog.....buying a pickup...there will always be that"What was I thinking?" moment. Breathe deep,have a beer.Watch the sun go down.Visualize whirled peas...find your happy place....then go shooting.

If you had bought a pickup,and said "I just bought an (any brand) pickup,plenty of folks would come on and say,"Aw,bummer to be you!!Should have bought a (other brand)pickup."

Thing about a Remington versus married,dog,etc....If it won't shoot,you can sell it,trade,or put new parts on it,and its likely already paid for...it won't chew shoes,leave anything on the carpet.

What were you thinking?? :-)
 
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I was wishing I bought a 700SPS as my first rifle. I am a modifier through and through and the aftermarket for the 700 is better than any other. If you don't like something about your rifle, UPGRADE COMPONENTS! Before you know it you will have a monster of a rifle.
 
I'd get the rifle up and shooting before I told anyone I had buyers remorse. How can you feel bad about buying something that you haven't even tested the potential of it yet? Shoot it and let us know how it works out for you and then we can tell you if you made a wrong choice or not!;)
 
Congratulations, you have just purchased one of the finest rifles made. If you had done a bit more research beforehand you would probably feel more comfortable in your choice. If I wanted an out of the box rifle with the best chance for pure accuracy potential I'd have started with the exact rifle you bought.
 
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