Author Topic: The Great Remington Debate (Read 29643 times)

jakes10mm · « **Reply #30 on:** January 19, 2006, 06:37:55 AM »

I'm reading more and more about the faulty safeties on the Remington 700's and one common thread has struck me with the injuries.....doesn't anyone point their rifles in a safety direction anymore? Not to detract from any design or reliability issue, but basic gun handling could resolve the loss of life and limb and "safely" discover the underlying fault.

The only time the muzzle end of a barrel crosses my body is when the bolt's open or removed, the action is open (shotgun or pistol), or the cylinder is open (revolver), etc.

I have accidentally discharged a firearm twice to my best recollection. Once during a pistol match when I was moving between shooting positions with my finger erroneously on the trigger. The dirt flew up about 12 feet downrange from me. Another time I had just let a brother-in-law shoot a pistol of mine. He handed it back to me "empty", I casually racked the slide and released it. While still pointed in a safe direction, I pulled the trigger and surprised all of us. BANG. I thought it was empty, but a round hand hung in the mag and loaded when I racked the slide. Result: No one injured, bullet travelled in a safe direction towards the ground, and we all learned something about paying attention.

buckmaster_kp · « **Reply #31 on:** January 19, 2006, 05:31:57 PM »

When I saw this post, I had to get in on it.

I am a die-hard remington fan. A great AMERICAN gun company with some of the best rifles and shotguns currently on the market. I have used a 7600 for eastern whitetail religiously for years now and found it to be one of the most reliable rifles I have ever seen. Also own a 700ML, an awesome muzzleloader. My 700VFS has outshot my buddies high dollor "custom" target rifles with factory ammuntion ( I shoot to much and am too lazy to reload :wink: )

I hear remington take a lot of flak from time to time. People saying things about their success going to their head and so forth. Well once you earn a certain reputaion why wouldn't your head swell a little bit? There reputaion for reliability and accuracy is certainly not unfounded.

coryroc · « **Reply #32 on:** January 27, 2006, 08:19:51 PM »

Hi.

I am a new member to this site and have recently purchased my first Remington rifle (a 700 LVSF in .223) after years of Winchesters and Rugers.

I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the initial accuracy but after a bedding and floating job it now shoots MOA. I am still coming to grips with the push round feed and have had a few problems feeding the magazine. You need to feed the rounds carefully or it will jam - this is a bit of a problem in the dark. I have also had a few troubles with the extractor initially as it required a "hard push" to chamber the rounds. A trip to the gunsmith (twice) fixed that problem. No problems with ejecting the rounds though. All in all a pretty good rifle. I just hope that tiny extractor does its job for a few more years.

buckmaster_kp · « **Reply #33 on:** January 28, 2006, 06:43:30 AM »

Your 700 LVSF wasn't minute of angle to start with? What loads were you using, and did you try more than one? What weight bullet?

My 700 VSF (in a .223 as well) shot well under MOA out of the box. Since the remington has a slow 12" twist I went with a light 40gr. load from Hornady. One of my first groups was .34" center of bullet hole to center of bullet hole.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #34 on:** January 28, 2006, 11:21:40 AM »

Indeed. That rifle out of the box should have been impressive. A few lemons always sneak out though.

coryroc · « **Reply #35 on:** January 31, 2006, 12:04:25 AM »

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, you would think the LVSF would shoot MOA out of the box but the best "5 shot" group was slightly over 2 MOA until the recent bedding job. Hence my disappointment. I initially used factory rounds, 55gn Remingtions, 50gn Win Supremes and 50gn Remington Accutips. The Supremes were best but still no better than 2 MOA. I am currently loading 50gn Vmax and am happy with that load. 3 shot groups at 1/2 MOA and 5 at MOA. Can't complain about that. I am a fox shooter from Australia and always go for head shots. The shots are usually taken at night by spotlight at ranges from 100 to 200 yards.

buckmaster_kp · « **Reply #36 on:** January 31, 2006, 11:33:17 AM »

As I forgot to say it earlier coryroc, welcome to GB!

Glad you got it shooting good. As you probably know, some barrels are just more finiky than others. I have a muzzleloader that shot horrific groups until I found that magical load for it and now it's the most accurate black powder I have ever seen. Sometimes you just gotta play around and try a lot of different loads. At least it's a good excuse to get out and shoot!

K.K. · « **Reply #37 on:** February 02, 2006, 02:23:40 PM »

I live in Upstate New York (Remington Country)and have bought many Remingtons and inherited my grandfather's 11-48. He always said that "If you buy a gun, buy a good one," I can honestly say that of all of the rifles and shotguns I've owned, none have been more reliable. The 700 action continues to be a benchmark in out of the box accuracy. And who could dispute the 870, 1100 series shotguns for performance? Has anyone ever worn out an 870?

I sincerly hope that Remington doesn't suffer the same fate as Ithaca, and more recently, Winchester have. For me it would be like losing an old friend.

buckmaster_kp · « **Reply #38 on:** February 05, 2006, 01:34:47 PM »

Quote from: K.K.

I sincerly hope that Remington doesn't suffer the same fate as Ithaca, and more recently, Winchester have. For me it would be like losing an old friend.

Amen.

muskyhunter · « **Reply #39 on:** February 05, 2006, 07:06:51 PM »

I like Remington. I own 2 870's, a 1187 premier and a 700 bdl.

I will say I like my Winchester 70 better than the 700, but I think if it were a cdl instead of a bdl it would be a hard call.

Muskie Hunter · « **Reply #40 on:** February 06, 2006, 12:00:08 AM »

Quote from: muskyhunter

I like Remington. I own 2 870's, a 1187 premier and a 700 bdl.

I will say I like my Winchester 70 better than the 700, but I think if it were a cdl instead of a bdl it would be a hard call.

Confused yet? I'm a Muskie Hunter too. but I have a CDL and you are right,it is a hard call.

muskyhunter · « **Reply #41 on:** February 06, 2006, 06:35:22 PM »

Hello,

Fishing for muskies is one of my favorite activities by far. :grin: For 11 years, my brother, a close friend of ours and I go fishing in northern wisconsin every year for 1-2 weeks. We fish mostly Lake Namakagon and Chippewa Flowage (nice camping on islands), with most of our luck on Namakagon. Wish I could get away more often. I like Moose Lake for action.

http://www.mr-star.com/Fishing/fishing2005.htm

Good fishing.

cal sibley · « **Reply #42 on:** February 09, 2006, 02:33:45 PM »

I had a moose hunting buddy who almost did me in some years back. I got back to the cabin before him and was stoking up the fire when he came in. We had a standing rule, no loaded rifles in the cabin. Unload it at the door, but Tony didn't heed it. As he was unloading his Remington 700BDL in .300Win. Mag. it went off and missed me by about 2". The bullet went through the cabin wall, through a 6" diameter tree and lodged in the tree behind it. It scared both of us out of our wits. He said he never touched the trigger and was very apologetic. I never felt secure enough to hunt with him again. It was several years later when I heard this problem was all too common. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Idaho Elk Hunter · « **Reply #43 on:** March 18, 2006, 05:15:09 AM »

Remington is my gun. For more years than I can count I have averaged buying around one a month. I could open a Remington store. Just finished my Walnut Ultra mag set. Have 2 sets in the LSS model. I love them!!

tanoose · « **Reply #44 on:** March 19, 2006, 05:54:39 AM »

My first two rifles were the remington 700 BDL bolt action and the 760 gamemaster pump both in 30/06 i now use a ruger M77 30/06. The pump is know owned by my oldest boy and the bolt went to my other son. I told my daughter she could have the ruger so know i have to go out and buy myself the new remington 750 woodsmaster semi-auto I have never had any problems with remington rifles and i know a few people who own there semi-autos with no complaints, thats why i want to try the 750.I will say that many years ago me and a friend had alot of problems with remington ammo but over the last few years i have had no problems and it was with there express ammo in 35, 30/06 i would average 1 misfire per every two boxes but like i said that was along time ago.

tanoose · « **Reply #45 on:** March 19, 2006, 06:06:59 AM »

Hey buckmaster i was reading an article the other day in the NY outdoor news it looks like Ithaca is not gone , they will be back in business but not in NY they will now be in Ohio. I wish i still had the article so i can tell you what models they will be manufacturuing , the only one i remember is the model 37. You might be able to see the article at the ny outdoor news website .

Demonical · « **Reply #46 on:** May 20, 2006, 02:18:39 AM »

The Remington Classic line was a great idea. In the 2004 year they produced the 8x57 and myself and 2 co-workers all bought one of those guns.
Every one had manufacturing issues regarding Quality Control with the receiver. The screw holes to mount the scope are mis-aligned! I bought Leopold rings and bases and fortunately they have enough adjustment in the rear to allow the scope to align straight with the barrel, but it actually sits off-center to the left side of the receiver! Like wise on the other 2 guns and on one of them the screw holes are completely through the top of the receiver.

If it were only one 1 rifle out of 100 I would consider this poor Quality Control but 3 out of 3 is absolute bottom of the pile! :shock:

I think by the Mid-90's, the lawsuits caught up to the gun companys including Remington and caused them grief with stuff like that stupid J-Lock on the bolt and 7+lb triggers. Remingtons used to have great triggers out of the box.

I have 4: a 1970's era .30-06, a mid-80's .338WM a 1996 .270 Sendero and the afore-mentioned 2004 8x57 Classic. I am in the process of acquiring a 1983 Classic in .300H&H, because that truly is a "classic" caliber and Remington quality then was top drawer. But IMHO the current stuff has gone downhill. Any Remingtons I buy from now on will be used guns built prior to the Mid-90's.

IMHO.

Jason · « **Reply #47 on:** May 27, 2006, 06:24:17 AM »

I used to love Remingtons. Most of the shotguns and rifles I had growing up were Remingtons. I've had too many problems in my own Remingtons built since the early to mid-90s and had to fix or workaround too many problems in my friends' Remingtons built since that time to buy any more newer guns. There's a good chance I'll buy a Remington again in the future. It won't be one made after about 1990, though.

Here's an example that's not hearsay or gossip. A friend that I had been trying to get into shooting saw the price on a Remington 710 and jumped at it. Our first range session, we were sighting in it and I noticed that he was having to push very hard on the bolt to get it to close. He'd also have to pull upwards very hard on the bolt handle to get it back open. I was teaching him proper breathing to get his group sizes smaller when the rangemaster called a ceasefire. we both had rounds in the chambers of our gun (single load only at that range) so I flipped the bolt open on my Mauser and ejected the round. He tried to do the same and the bolt handle came off in his hand. Presto, we have a new shooter with a live round in his rifle with no bolt handle and it's during a ceasefire. It's no wonder that he hardly shoots anymore, after that happening, and when he does it's only at private ranges or someone's rural home.

Gonzo Joe · « **Reply #48 on:** June 09, 2006, 08:35:30 AM »

Howdy!

I've had mixed results with Remington firearms. I guess the bad, then the good...

I bought a model 597 .22 LR that was nothing but problems. It didn't matter how dirty or clean it was or what I fed it, that thing was a jam-master. At least every 4th or 5th shot there would either be a failure to feed or failure to eject. It didn't stay in my collection for that reason.

I had a model 742 Woodsmaster .30-06, it was a decent shooter, but it wasn't perfect either. Unless the chamber was swabbed out about every third shot, it would jam on me. A couple times I had the bolt lock closed on an empty chamber and it's a pain getting it freed. But when it would shoot, it would print really tight groups.

Right now, I have an 870 Express Super Magnum 3.5" 12 ga. that has been nothing but reliable and trustworthy. I can't say anything bad at all about it, and would buy another one in a heartbeat.

I also own a 700 ADL synthetic .300 Win Mag that has been totally trouble free and is a smooth operator for sure. I am pleased as punch with it, except the plastic stock is a little to light and flexible.

What Remington did with the 700ML is a shame, replacing it with that imported junk that isn't worthy of the Remington name. I think that will bruise their reputation a little, maybe enough to keep them from making the similar mistakes in the future.

Brithunter · « **Reply #49 on:** July 23, 2006, 06:06:09 AM »

Well I have owned exactly one Remington and that was an old pretty knackered Nylon 66 but I have shot a couple of 700's and they felt awful. So no Remingtons for me unless I can find a very nice model 30 or 30s then i will seriously consider one but new one no way hose.

TC Shooter · « **Reply #50 on:** July 26, 2006, 06:00:39 AM »

The 700 is the only bolt action centerfire rifle I have ever owned. My first was a VS in .308 , second was a VLS in .223 and the third was a 700P in .308. After a decade of shooting 700s I have finally settled on a 20" 700LTR in .223.

All the 700s I have owned were/are great rifles for me - maybe I managed to get lucky 4 times in a row? Would not hesitate to buy another heavy barrel 700.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #51 on:** July 26, 2006, 06:32:57 AM »

You have 4 of the higher end models which I have a few of and love. I think for the most part, people are coming across problematic 700s in the form of the cheaper models such as the SPS and others. Let us know how you like the LTR.

Im looking to get a 700P soon to add to the stable(after I get the new Sendero ofcourse), I guess Ive been lucky 15 times in a row in the last 22 years? Its not luck, just Remmy quality when it comes to their purpose built heavy barrelled rifles(thats all I have)

Ive mentioned it b4 and will do so again..

Thruout my family which is primarily Remington and Browning(as far as rifles/shotguns), if you add up all the Remingtons, there are probably 35 to 45 models scattered amongst the safes, ranging from the late 50s to present time, and none have been less then stellar as far as dependability and accuracy. When a relative comes across a lemon, they let you know about it. The time we got mossberg 500s in the late 80s, we let everyone know our opinions of them b4 they were sold. No such thing has ever happened with a Remington firearm in this family.

And for those wondering, I alone have bought 6 in the past 4 years and all are on my "favorites" list, so much for the whole "newer models suck" argument. Even if I come across a bad one, is that reason to dislike them? after theyve supplied me with many models that I love year after year? I'll never buy anything other than Remington rifles and shotguns, just as I'd never buy anything other than a Sig as far as pistols are concerned.

1marty · « **Reply #52 on:** July 26, 2006, 03:41:30 PM »

For my deer rifles I've always owned remingtons. The out of the box accuracy on the 700 never fails. Today I own a 700 in a 7-08 and I have never missed a deer on my first shot.
Several years ago I bought a 7400 in 30-06. What a piece of junk. It never held zero, the clip sometimes fell out while shooting and the rifle would jam every so often. I sent it back to Remington but the problems continued. When the gun jammed shooting at a 10 pointer enough was enough. I traded it in for a 700. I feel sorry for the guy who bought it.
Shotguns? why Berretta of course.

TC Shooter · « **Reply #53 on:** July 27, 2006, 06:09:33 AM »

Quote from: sniperVLS on July 26, 2006, 06:32:57 AM

You have 4 of the higher end models which I have a few of and love. I think for the most part, people are coming across problematic 700s in the form of the cheaper models such as the SPS and others. Let us know how you like the LTR.

I'll never buy anything other than Remington rifles and shotguns, just as I'd never buy anything other than a Sig as far as pistols are concerned.

I picked up the LTR last Dec. Have fired about 350 rounds through it so far. I am mainly into accuracy shooting and the LTR has really impressed me and with the 1 in 9" twist I am able to use the heavier bulllets like the 69 Sierra MatchKings with great results. I also like the size of the rifle , seems ideally suited to the .223 cartridge. It is definitely a keeper!

I like your choice of service pistol! I have a P239 and once owned a P220. For a defensive semi-auto handgun they are probably the only guns I will ever own.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #54 on:** July 27, 2006, 08:56:42 AM »

Quote from: TC Shooter on July 27, 2006, 06:09:33 AM

Quote from: sniperVLS on July 26, 2006, 06:32:57 AM
You have 4 of the higher end models which I have a few of and love. I think for the most part, people are coming across problematic 700s in the form of the cheaper models such as the SPS and others. Let us know how you like the LTR.

I'll never buy anything other than Remington rifles and shotguns, just as I'd never buy anything other than a Sig as far as pistols are concerned.

I picked up the LTR last Dec. Have fired about 350 rounds through it so far. I am mainly into accuracy shooting and the LTR has really impressed me and with the 1 in 9" twist I am able to use the heavier bulllets like the 69 Sierra MatchKings with great results. I also like the size of the rifle , seems ideally suited to the .223 cartridge. It is definitely a keeper!

I like your choice of service pistol! I have a P239 and once owned a P220. For a defensive semi-auto handgun they are probably the only guns I will ever own.

TC, how do you like your 239? Is it a .40? They are nice and tiny but still comfortable while holding, I have yet to shoot one. And I would never carry anything other than a Sig

TC Shooter · « **Reply #55 on:** July 27, 2006, 07:43:17 PM »

Quote

TC, how do you like your 239? Is it a .40? They are nice and tiny but still comfortable while holding, I have yet to shoot one. And I would never carry anything other than a Sig

I wanted a compact pistol and the P239 seemed to be the perfect pistol , not a hec of a lot bigger than some .380s , although mine is the 9mm version. Like my LTR 700 in .223 , I thought the P239 was just the right size pistol for the 9mm. Mine was one of the early models. I have never shot one in 40 S&W or 357 Sig. With the 9mm I can also get cheap factory ammo even though I reload for it sometimes too. An excellent compact pistol! As with all Sigs , great trigger , completely reliable and accurate.

kx90 · « **Reply #56 on:** August 01, 2006, 08:27:00 AM »

My grandfather's rifle cabinent is all Remington except for a Winchester Model 70.

I own a 7600 (every deer I have harvested has been done with this rifle) and I just bought an XCR last year, my 870 Mag Express has performed flawlessy for years. My dad has a Rem 700 also (not sure which trim level) although he is selling it he has never had a problem with it (his primary rifle is a Win Model 70 also).

My initial thoughts were to get a Browning A-Bolt or a Winchester 70 next year, but I have since added the possibility of a Sendero (used or a new II model) to the list depending if I can find a caliber I want.

All companies have had their ups and downs.

I can not fathom how someone could accidentally shoot themselves point blank with a rifle. I ALWAYS point ANY firearm I have in my hands in a safe direction especially while loading and unloading and during carry in the woods, etc.

Also, I currently carry a Sig as my self-defense tool. A SigPro 2022 in .40S&W. Shoots smooth and accurate.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #57 on:** August 01, 2006, 08:32:20 PM »

kx90, thanks for chiming in

Awesome pistol isnt it!

Oh and Keep those safes stocked with Remmys!

kx90 · « **Reply #58 on:** August 02, 2006, 07:17:37 AM »

I almost feel like I ripped Sig off for getting this pistol for so cheap as compared to their other models.

Swampman · « **Reply #59 on:** September 10, 2006, 12:40:33 PM »

I love Remington products. I've been shooting them for 44 years without a problem. I can't say that for the other well known brands.

Author Topic: The Great Remington Debate (Read 29643 times)

Swampman