The second is a 700 VTR in .308. It's not a smooth operating gun and it's not accurate. I tried everything I could think of to make it work for me and nothing fixed it. Someone else mentioned in this thread about the chamber being too long and it had the same problem - I couldn't make a bullet long enough to get anywhere close to the lands. To Remington's credit though, they paid for shipping it back and said they'd make it right. I sent it on Saturday so we'll see what happens.
Hi,
I have a 700 BDL in 30-06, bought it new in 96'.
I am not sure if Remington have gone bad in quality, but this rifle shoots VERY accurately. yes, it took a lot of effort to develop the right loads but once you get it right, sub MOA is not an issue, and I have even shot groups that are sub caliber.
This is maybe not the rifle I would use if I was a bench-rest competitor, but as a sporting, and hunting rifle I am very satisfied with it.
almost 15 years and over a thousand bullets later, It shoots sub moa. the lads are indeed very far and I cannot seat a bullet so it touches them, but IMO it is not necessary (some claim it is undesireable to have the bullet touching the lands).
I can get sub MOA accuracy with 180,150 and 165 Gr bullets, so it has a tolerance for a varied range.
As far as hunting goes, this year alone there are 7 witnesses (in my freezer) that will vouch for that first-shot accuracy.
In the club where I shoot there are some that have SENDERO's in 308, and they can repeatedly shoot sub-caliber groups, and their rifles are not that old.
So maybe they are not making them like they used to, or maybe a few slipped by the QC and created a bad reputation, hard to say.
BTW, other than free floating the barrel and getting a gunsmith to modify the extractor (installed a SAKO extractor, the Remington one is the worst thing they could have come up with) I have done no other mods to this rifle.
Brgds,
Danny