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Author Topic: Old Rem 700 vs. new  (Read 1507 times)

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Offline Terry1

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Old Rem 700 vs. new
« on: April 14, 2007, 02:40:02 AM »
A friend of mine has a Remington 700 BDL .30-.06 made in the late 70's that has only 10 rounds put through it. He is offering it to me for $400, which is cheaper than a new model which I planned on buying this summer. My question is, is this a better deal than a new one or should i pass and buy a new in the box model?
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Offline Zachary

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2007, 02:53:21 AM »
I would definately get the older M700.  My father has one as well, and it has much better quality and fit and finish compared to my newer Remingtons.  And you are telling me that the older (70s) Remington has only 10 rounds through it?  Heck, if you don't buy it..I WILL!

Zachary
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Offline beemanbeme

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2007, 02:55:42 AM »
I find it hard to believe a 30+ year old rifle only has 10 rounds thru it but if that's anywhere near the truth, I'd buy it. In fact, even if its been used as a hunting rifle (10-15 rounds per year), if its been well taken care of, I'd buy it.  For no other reason than the savings.  The money you'd save would make a nice start toward a good scope.  
Understand, I don't think you'd be getting any sort of secret, old-world craftsmanship that isn't available on new rifles, its just a good price for a good rifle.
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Offline Terry1

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2007, 02:58:07 AM »
Ok thanks. Yeah it has only ten rounds through it. He sighted it in and never shot it again. You could put it on the shelf and sell it as new. No one could tell the difference. It belongs to a older friend of mine who I have helped out a lot. He collects guns, has over 120. Its not for sale, we were talking and i told him I planned on purchasing a .30-.06 700, he made the offer and said he would only sell to me. Its mint.
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Offline Terry1

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2007, 03:01:32 AM »
Quote from: beemanbeme on April 14, 2007, 02:55:42 AM
I find it hard to believe a 30+ year old rifle only has 10 rounds thru it but if that's anywhere near the truth, I'd buy it. In fact, even if its been used as a hunting rifle (10-15 rounds per year), if its been well taken care of, I'd buy it.  For no other reason than the savings.  The money you'd save would make a nice start toward a good scope.  
Understand, I don't think you'd be getting any sort of secret, old-world craftsmanship that isn't available on new rifles, its just a good price for a good rifle.

No, it seriously only has ten rounds put through it. He even has the box of ammo. I believe their Peter's silvertips. The scope on it is a weaver 4x, but I am probaly going to replace it. He has a few guns he never shot. A couple of his S&W revolvers from the early 70's  have less than 50 rounds through them. And he has all the original boxes and paperwork. Its pretty neat to see. Thanks guys.
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Offline beemanbeme

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2007, 12:36:29 PM »
What's wrong with that K4 Weaver???  And if you tell me you're gonna put some POS 6x24x50 "men in black" scope on that fine rifle, I'm gonna slit my wrist.  :(
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Offline Aardvark

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2007, 01:00:21 PM »
 I own both..I have 2 700's that were made in '65 and '67 respectively.Both are 30-06 and one is a carbine model 20" barrel and the other is an ex San Mateo County Swat rifle...The third gun is a 2004 Classic 8x57...They are all excellent, all have good crisp triggers and are all very accurate...If I had to say which is better, that would be a tough call.
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Offline Terry1

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2007, 01:18:57 PM »
Quote from: beemanbeme on April 14, 2007, 12:36:29 PM
What's wrong with that K4 Weaver???  And if you tell me you're gonna put some POS 6x24x50 "men in black" scope on that fine rifle, I'm gonna slit my wrist.  :(

Actually I was thinking a 2-7X33 Leupold. Hope this doesn't lead to your death.
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Offline Tikkabuck

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2007, 02:21:18 PM »
 I'd buy the older one,I'll never buy another Remington product made after the early 90's.
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Offline Hairtrigger

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2007, 02:30:47 PM »
Buy the older one and sell me the Weaver scope
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Offline wncchester

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2007, 02:37:54 PM »
Terry, let me - and likely Beeman too - suggest you try hunting with the old Weaver 4x for awhile before you jump on any new variable.   Everyone likes the ideas of a variable, including me, but, truth be told, I rarely turn the power knob on my 3-9x off the lowest power in the woods.  That means I hunt with a scope essentially the same as your 4x!

I think you have a very good friend who is looking out for you quite well. 
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Offline Terry1

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2007, 03:03:48 PM »
Its not the power of the scope I am worried about its the quality. I don't know much about weaver scopes.  How well built are they?
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Offline dw06

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #12 on: April 14, 2007, 03:47:29 PM »
If the weaver scope is from same era as rifle and made in usa,its a good one.I have two 700s in 06 like Aardvark one made in 62 and is a 20'' carbine,other is 88 adl.Both fine rifles.The carbine is my #1 deer rifle.It wore a K4 weaver scope from 62 to 96.Scope was still good but the threads for adjusting focus stripped.I put a fine Redfield widfield 2-7 onit and liked it so much I bought 2 more for other rifles.
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Offline Aardvark

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2007, 06:11:00 PM »
 I too have a bunch of older Weaver scopes and like them all...I have 3 3-9x Marksmans, 2 K4's, 1 K6, and 1 K2.5...I have them on everything from 280 Remington,30-06, and the 2.5 is on a Marlin 1895 45-70...They have all held up well and all hold zero just fine...I am not sure but I think the steel tube has a lot to do with their durability...I have used scopes with better light transmission like the Burris and the Nikon, but overall, for what you pay for a Weaver on ebay, usually around $60, I don't think you can get a better scope.
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Offline wncchester

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2007, 11:12:44 AM »
Terry, the Weavers made in El Paso were fine hunting scopes built in steel tubes.  They had a good reputation for standing up to normal use, perhaps better than more modern scopes do.  My old K6 w/dot and KV4.5 are absolutely dependable.

The glass of those older days was probably as good as any today.  But, the  lens coatings were single layer so they do lose a little bit of light transmission in lab comparisons but that's vastly over-rated.   Any good photographer will confirm that light transmission changes of less than perhaps 20% are undetectable to the best of human eyes, it has to be measured with lab instruments to be seen at all!   (I have to laugh at coffee shop  arguments over how great one scope is with a 96%  transmission vs. another with "only" 92% transmission;  no one can see that tiny difference under any circumstances!) 

Perceptions of scope "brightness" are more often due to differences in image contrast but any well made scope has plenty of light transmission and contrast for deer hunting.  The old Weavers are well made so you needn't sweat that.
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Offline Outcast

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #15 on: April 15, 2007, 02:56:31 PM »
Bought 2 older Remington  Varmint Specials last month. Both shoot great (1"@100). So I wouldn't worry about older Rems. even if shot a lot.
I have a number of older Weaver scopes and lov'em. However, new scopes are probably better optically.
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Offline Savage .250

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #16 on: April 16, 2007, 07:50:06 AM »
                                    Condition is everything and older  "is"  better.  IMO.
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Offline slabsides

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #17 on: April 17, 2007, 02:10:50 AM »
I'd say LEAP on that deal. The Remingtons of that era were/are superior in overall craftsmanship to any I've seen today (I have two of my own, and my friends use and swear by a couple of others of that age.)
That 4x Weaver, even minus the coatings common now, is a superior scope. I have two variables, old Redfield models. All my other 'scoped rifles have 4x El Paso Weavers on them. I've gone out of my way to buy and install 4x MicroTrac models on a couple of them. Really, a 4x is practically all a hunter needs. If you can see it, the 4x can enable you to hit it. And it's nice not to have to fiddle with power rings, or worry about zero shift. Fixed power scopes just make more sense, to me.
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Offline coop2564

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #18 on: April 17, 2007, 02:33:45 AM »
Guess I'll be odd man out.  I had a 30-06 BDL  that I hated the gun would kick my teeth out and had a hard mushy trigger. My dad had a win mod 70 30-06 that didn't kick anything like my BDL. I have a 700 sps in 308 now and the trigger out of the box is 3.250.  The new rem triggers are sweet for just 60$ more I think you would have a better gun with a new one IMHO.
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Offline Hairtrigger

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #19 on: April 17, 2007, 05:46:52 AM »
Quote from: Savage .250 on April 16, 2007, 07:50:06 AM
                                    Condition is everything and older  "is"  better.  IMO.

Not toilet paper!
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Offline DavOh

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #20 on: April 17, 2007, 10:42:52 AM »
Quote from: Terry1 on April 14, 2007, 03:03:48 PM
Its not the power of the scope I am worried about its the quality. I don't know much about weaver scopes.  How well built are they?

Let me put it this way. 

I borrowed my grandfathers circa early '60s(maybe 70's) Winchester M100 auto-loader with the weaver variable of the same vintage, for whitetail this past year.  This rifle had not been shot in nearly 30 years.  Got to the range and proceeded to nail the bullseye at 100 yds immediately ( 2 shots dead on at 50 yds first, of course.)  And with every shot.  5 shot groups at and around 1 inch. all day.

I would take that off his hands in a heartbeat! In fact I'd probably pay much more for that combo.... probably $500+
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Offline DavOh

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2007, 10:43:40 AM »
dbl post
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Offline Terry1

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #22 on: April 18, 2007, 04:29:18 AM »
Thanks guys. I have decided to go with the older model. I don't think I can beat the price for what I am getting.
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Offline Hairtrigger

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #23 on: April 18, 2007, 01:38:59 PM »
Quote from: Terry1 on April 18, 2007, 04:29:18 AM
Thanks guys. I have decided to go with the older model. I don't think I can beat the price for what I am getting.

Good choice
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Offline Coyote Hunter

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #24 on: April 18, 2007, 03:47:54 PM »
Terry1 -

I think that is a good decision and certainly the one I would have made.  A year ago last Christmas I bought a used 700 BDL in .308 Win that was in very good condition.  I floated the barrel and headed to the range where it proceeded to make 3 holes in the paper at 100 yards - with 9 shots.  The overall group was under an inch and the large hole measured something like two diameters in height and half a diameter in width.
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Offline GCW

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #25 on: April 20, 2007, 10:43:34 AM »
Sound like a great rifle at a fair price.I would give also give that old Weaver scope a try,they were a great scope back in there time and alot of them still in use today
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Offline jro45

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Re: Old Rem 700 vs. new
« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2007, 03:20:23 AM »
I had a Weaver 4X scope on my 30/06 for many years and it finely broke so I replaced it with a Leupole 3x9x40.

Those 4x Weaver scopes were great scopes back then I don't know what they are now days.
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