Remington 700 ADL Varmint Vs Ruger American

N

Nieshwa1

Inactive
Hey guys,

Looking to get into some long range shooting. The two I have been looking at are the Remington 700 ADL Varmint and the Ruger American. Both I have seen have very good reviews and our pretty good right out of the box, My plan was to get it in a .308

I was curious if anyone here has any experience with either or the rifles and could throw there 2 cents in. or perhaps have another name to throw in for a new long range shooter.

I know that glass is important for long range and accuracy as well, but I would like to settle on a rifle first before that.

Thanks,

-N
 
I only have experience with the ADL Varmint in 308. I did have the barrel cut to 20". With my loads the best group I have shot at 100yds was .307" center to center. At 200yds it was slightly larger. Haven't taken it to 300yds yet. To note, this with the crappy factory injection molded stock. I have actually been afraid to change the stock.
 
"a new long range shooter"
Learn to shoot and then transition to "long range". Don't expect an entry level rifle to be adequate for true "long range" shooting. It might work but maybe not.
 
Ruger makes good quality guns

Professional snipers tend to use Remingtons or at least guns based on Remington actions
 
@Mobuck

While I do agree with that statement, I am not new to shooting, just new to anything 200 yards or more, I have enjoyed shorter range shooting with my AR and 91/30, but I would like to get proficient at 200+ yards

@Unlicensed Dremel
Thats good to hear, I have been leaning towards the Varmint, but I heard some discouraging things about their stocks being not so great, but I guess its good that you can change just about anything on a R700.

Thanks for the feedback guys
 
but I would like to get proficient at 200+ yards

The main difference between shooting 200 yards and "long range" is understanding and doping the wind. Trajectory is a given value with little variation. Generally speaking, a shooter, rifle, ammo combination that produces small groups at 200 yards is capable of shooting small groups further.
 
Nieshwa1:
Q: Long range? What do you call long range? Is it just for target or will you hunt with it?
I have not seen a Ruger impress me at long range. Remington 700 Varmint vary capable. My old 700 Varmint makes bug holes. The 308 I believe is capable out beyond 800 yds. I have herd. Go to the Remington web sight and check out the variety of 700s that are available. Don't forget about a quality scope for the type of Long range shooting you will be doing. Good Luck
 
Nieshwa, get some trigger time and listen to some of what you might see on this sight. I love my 700's. I was surprised that an aftermarket stock made as much of a difference as it did. A couple shooters I know shoot cloverleaf groups at 100 yards every time with adl 308 rifles that use the original barrel and action. I am not quite there yet. I shoot cloverleaf groups about 1/2 the time, but still improving steadily.

One more thing. Don't be discouraged by the stories told of moa groups @ 200 yards shot from horseback at full gallop in a 30 mph wind with a $200.00 rifle.
 
Yes, my American .223 had to get the updated mag. It was well worth the 3 day wait. It does not look as good as my Remington bdl but it shoots as good.
 
Seems like there is a general consensus that 700's are solid.

And I agree I need more trigger time, and I plan on it, this was just a step towards finding a rifle, I plan on putting months of more research into what I am looking for, range, hunting or just target, all that good stuff

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.
 
Go with the ADL and swap in a Timney or Shilen trigger. I've got the ADL in .270 and only thing I've done to it was put in a Shilen trigger. It will make a difference. As far as the stock, give it a try with the factory stock to begin with and decide afterwards. I've kept my tuperware stock on my rifle just because its my deer rifle and I don't want to scratch up a nice piece of wood. Granted, I would like to find a vintage BDL stock w/floorplate and mate them up.
 
I do not care for DBM's and actually prefer blind magazines over hinged floor plates, so you know what my choice would be.
 
The stock on the American is junk. Nothing else I can say about it. Boyds now has a nice stock for the American. I installed one today. American + Boyds stock = not much less than you can buy a 77 for.
 
From what I've gathered, the American can be accurate enough to be capable of long range shooting. I think Dan Newberry had a thread on one a while back, try a search.

It would certainly be good enough to get you started...

The 700 is the most widely used bolt platform in the world and as such, has more aftermarket support than any other. Stocks, rails, triggers, you name it- if customization will be in the cards, there are none with more available- and the Ruger is practically zilch; as compared to others like Savage or even Howa/Weatherby.

I would go with the 700. You can upgrade, or not, as you determine how serious you are about long range. What's the furthest distance available to you? You don't need to drop a grand on an optic, but plan on $400-$500 at a minimum. Depends also on whether you're banging steel at known ranges, or unknown distances where ranging with a first-focal plane optic would be an advantage.

Long range is all about trigger time. You'll find that buying hundreds of rounds of match .308 ammo will put a hurting on your wallet- so reloading needs to be part of your plan both for accuracy, and economics.
 
Don't expect an entry level rifle to be adequate for true "long range" shooting.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call a Rem 700 "entry level"

Most of the heavy barrel Remingtons are capable of sub MOA straight out of the box with the right ammo
 
The Remington 700 was the Ruger American of the '60's. They were considered a budget design that shot better than it should when they first came out.

The RAR is a great rifle for the purpose it serves, which IMO is a hunting rifle. Accurate enough, you can beat it around, drop it out of a treestand, and you aren't out much.

But you could drop one in a bedded Boyd's stock, rebarrel it with a heavy target barrel, do a trigger job, put a nice scope on it and probably have a great long range rifle. But if you ever want to sell it, it's still a Ruger American, and the time and effort it takes to do all the things mentioned above will be more than what you could get away with with the 700.

The 700 has the exponentially bigger aftermarket going for it. Any type of stock/chassis you could dream of, triggers, elevated scope bases, bedding blocks, bolts, firing pins, springs, etc. It's a lot easier to build a competitive long range rifle from a 700.

If you were to leave the rifle you buy in factory form, then it's pretty much a wash. Either one will be decent. Either one has a crappy stock on it and a mediocre trigger. I would recommend going with the predator model if you decide to get the Ruger.
 
Snyper said:
Professional snipers tend to use Remingtons or at least guns based on Remington actions
Click to expand...

Sorry Snyper but this statement makes me laugh. Professional snipers usually use what they're issued. Just because the M700 is used it isn't the only one out there being used by our Military in a sniper role.
 
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