Remington 673 Guide Gun

[jvs]

Does anybody have any feedback on the new Remington 673 Guide Gun in .300 Short Action Ultra Mag ?

What did they neck down to come up with this caliber ?  The .350 Mag ?

To me, Short Action and Ultra Mag don't go together.

Unless it's a basic Collectors caliber.

[Lawdog]

half_inch_group,

No the RSAUM is Remington's attempt at competing with Winchester's WSM line of cartridges.  A failing attempt at that.  Sales are not good for the SAUM line and ever the RUM line isn't doing well either.  Most shooters don't give the RSAUM or The RUM line much of a chance for longevity.  You would be better served buying the .300 WSM.  At least it will be around.  As for the Model 673, I don't care for Remingtons offer in trying to bring back the Model 660 or 600.  Vented ribs belong on shotguns not on rifles.  Lawdog
 

[jvs]

Lawdog,

For some reason, the Remington 600 and 660 has a following in my area among collectors.  I personally don't care for laminated wood in any rifle, let alone some of those older Carbines.

I don't buy rifles basically for collecting purposes, I buy them to use.  My impression of Remingtons has grown better over the last 20 years or so.  I am now at the point where I MAY just buy one.   The 673 is one of my considerations at this point.  I just didn't know what purpose a short action Ultra Mag was.  Short Action and Ultra Mag are almost equal opposites.

Hunting in my area doesn't warrant more than a .30-06, so a .300 WSM wouldn't serve much of a purpose for me.  Alot of times a .30-06 would be overkill in these parts.  Not much goes on here over 80 yards.

Since I have bought at least one firearm a year for almost 35 years in February, it's time for me to evaluate what is available.  

Those oddball calibers seem to be in fashion now.  I tend to stick with .308, .30-06, .35 Rem, .243.  Stuff like that.  Right now I seem to be pulled in the 7mm-08 direction in a CDL, because of the 24" barrel, but that may change.

Sometimes it's hard for me to get away from .308 and .30-06,  calibers I have the most respect for.

[CEJ1895]

half_inch_group - The .350 Rem Mag has been around for over 25 years now and is one heck of a good round. It's not a RSAUM but it equals the .35 Whelen in a short action rifle which is very handy in the thick stuff.  Your right about the older 600's having a following! You can't find them for sale anywhere that elk are hunted in the dark timber country! I agree with you on the looks of the rifle, not my cup of tea. I passed on a Ruger M77 in .350 Rem 20 odd years ago and I'm still kicking myself but I just found out that Ruger is again offering the M77 in .350 so I may just have to buy one! Hope that tax refund check gets here soon! :-)  Lawdog - I think when this "Ultra" and "short" craze is over that the only two left will be the.300WSM and the Rem .300UM's. CEJ..

[jvs]

CEJ1895,

Ruger is one brand I have never bought, although I have sometimes admired them in the gunshop.  They aren't afraid to take chances with new designs and they frequently come out with calibers which have a popular history but are not in production.  The .22 Hornet for example.  

I knew about the .350 Mag and I was interested in the .35 Whelen a few years ago but I am a big fan of the .35 Rem cartridge and I never tried the Whelen.  Old habits die hard.

What I didn't understand was the 'invention' of a Short Action Ultra Mag, not a short action mag......ULTRA being the key word.   So is the Ultra Mag a long distance heavy hitter or a medium distance brush gun?  Optimum bullet performance shouldn't be much more than roughly 200 yards, if that.  

So I will continue to buy 1 firearm a year, keeping some and getting rid of others.  Maybe this year I will find something that will look nice sitting next to my 30+ yr old Savage-340 .22 Hornet, my almost 20 yr old Winchester (1st yr U.S. Repeating Arms) .308 Model-70 Featherweight, my relatively new .30-06 Marlin MR-7, an older Savage 30/30 Pump Carbine, and my various .22's and shotguns.  (without going into my complete inventory)

I think a 673 Guide Gun in a .308 will be a good shooter and a good keeper.  Ugly as it is.  Remington now admits on their website that the older Model 600 Carbines were probably too short for the calibers they produced.  A long term kiss of death I believe.

[CEJ1895]

half_inch_group - Sorry, I mis-read your post hence the background on the .350 Rem. The Ruger is a good rifle for the money you spend on one. I've never had a problem with any of mine, more than I can say for my Remingtons and Winchesters. I've got both the .35 Whelen and the .35 Rem and they are both good rounds and fun to shoot! As for the invention of the short mags - well you know marketing people. Even though the 30-06's, 308's and .35's have been doing it for a lot of years the allure of the word "magnum" just strikes the right chord with the shooting public who believe bigger is better! I'm sort of guilty as charged too since I picked up my .300RUM for the long range part of my rifle battery  :roll: Your right about the barrel length, I've heard that from other people too mainly gunsmiths. The 673 in .308 sounds like a fun purchase! Good luck with it! CEJ..

[jvs]

Ruger is a good rifle for the money you spend on one. I've never had a problem with any of mine, more than I can say for my Remingtons and Winchesters.

I know Ruger is a good rifle for the money and I can't exactly say why I never bought one except they look too pretty to be in the woods.  And all that shine !

The industry standards most mass producers use today is if it hits up to 2 1/2 inches CTC at 100 yds, it's good enough.  I guess they can't spend too many man-hours on one rifle.  But when they come out with a new rifle or caliber and they send one to a writer for evaluation, they lighten up the trigger to about 3 lbs and free-float the barrel, then they get rave reviews because their new rifle/caliber is shooting under 1 inch groups at 100 yds.  Something that you and I never realize at the range because our rifles haven't been worked over to that extent.

The only thing I wish for is the hyperbole brought on by the marketing people for a new rifle/caliber should be based on what the average person experiences when they buy one, not what the writer receives as a doctored piece from the manufacturer.  Which in the long run may be why some of the nicer rifles/calibers fail.  People just don't get the same rifle/caliber written about.

If Ruger does that, then I would buy a Ruger.  Seperating hype from reality is something I never experienced with a Ruger.  Maybe unfortunately for me.