Rem 700 vs. Winchester 70 - my experience...

[Dave3006]

I could not decide which to get. I bought both. I have the Remington 700 ADL in 30-06 with a wood stock. I also bought the Winchester Classic 70 in 30-06. Both have Leupold Vari-X III 3.5x10x40 scopes.

The Remington is a little smaller and I get slightly better groups. But, I have to say that I like the Winchester much better. I find the bolt so much easier to work on the Winchester due to the angle of the design. I also have short shucked and jammed the Remington once and could see how that could be a problem in a high stress environment. I know people say that it was operator error. True. However, in a high stress situation, part of a prudent plan is to prepare for less than everything going perfect. My own performance included. It seems like the Winchester action compensates for this. I like the safety on the Winchester better too. It seems to me to be a better thought out design. Overall, the Winchester seems to have the edge.

I am pretty new to bolt guns. And I don't have any particular axe to grind.

 

[James K]

The safety on the Winchester (and the similar Ruger) is a more positive design than the Remington. With wear, the Remington safety might not accept trigger reset; this has led to several suits against Remington. (This happens when the safety is put "on" and the trigger pulled, a common action by many shooters to "check" the safety; if the trigger fails to reset, the gun will fire when the safety is taken "off".)

Overall, I prefer the Remington, mainly for the better (IMO) stock shape, trigger pull, and overall design, but the Winchester is a fine rifle. Both are capable of superb accuracy with the right ammunition.

Jim