[thornblom]

To my way of thinking, there are multiple reasons why the Remington 700 rifle in its many variations was chosen for use in the military and law enforcement.

1. strength
2. simplicity of design
3. accuracy
4. price
5. ease of maintenence
6. being round on the bottom makes for easier bedding in the stock
7. there is an action for nearly every cartridge design
8. Oh yes, did I mention strength and accuracy vs price?
9. availability
10. durability
11. reliability

I am sure ther are more reasons but these are the ones that readily come to mind.
There are others that may be stronger, and those that may be more accurate, but at a cost that precludes mass production with affordability.

This action possesses almost all of the good traits and very few of the bad traits when it comes to accuracy and strength.

And, look at all of the after market goodies that can be used to greatly enhance the 700's incredible abilities. Just my guess, but I would say that there are more 700's used as the basis of bench rest and long range rifles than all others put together.

Not a bad reccommendation for a medium price range rifle/action.

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom

PS: I have never "broken" a remington 700 rifle to the point where I couldn't fix it myself. And I ain't no gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[El Chorizo]

I think your're right on Dave. I was doing a bit of reading, and they can pretty much keep the remington going for life... all you need is a lathe to tune things back up. Some other rifles aren't as easy to maintain. The bolt design is simple and straight forward.

 

[BK]

Yeah, they are really easy to rebuild. One of the service branches (USMC?) settled on a long action M700 in 7.62, so with just a barrel and bolt switch, you could change from .308 to .30-06, to .300 WinMag. Maybe .338 Lapua, too.

 

[Quick]

BK, it was the US Army that used a long action 700 for the M24, the USMC as far as I know used a SA 700 for the M40 series rifles. The M24s of the 75th Rangers have been changes to 300WM for more range and power. Many of the USSOCOM units use the M24 in 300WM.

 

[hypno]

The only reason the Army used long actions on the m24's is because Remington had enough long actions to fill the contract, but not enough short actions, and the army didn't want to wait, for some odd reason.

And to add to the 700's durability and track record, some m40 actions have been in the mix 40 some years. That's 40 years of hard military abuse, and they're still running strong.


dom

 

[BK]

Thanks for the correction, guys. That's what I get for paying attention to some gunwriter who overthinks things.

 

[Boone]

Nothing wrong with a .308 LA

 

[Quick]

Thats true, I dont think there really isnt much difference between the SA and LA is there.

 

[Call me Doc]

With LA reciever (ang magazin box) you can try COL larger than 2,80". But with 308 there's no reason - I never seen a difference in group size.

Doc

 

[BadKarma]

The reason it's so popular in the L.E. community is, aside from all the reasons Thornblom mentioned in his opening post, we have simply figured it out and know what works. L.E. is probably one of the most monkey see, monkey do, professions there is. Larger agencies adopt a piece of equipment and smaller agencies follow and learn from them. The 700 platform has been proven, the aftermarket stuff works, the same modifications work, and it provides consistant, reliable results time and time again. Cost is another consideration. You can put together a very high quality precision rifle package without breaking the budget. Another consideration is when the rifle unfortunately has to be used there is some advantage, in regard to liability, when you show that you used the weapon everyone else uses. That seems silly but it's true. You didn't go out and build a one of a kind special death machine just to kill the poor, unfortunate, socially disadvantaged, felony commiting, P.O.S.

 

[El Chorizo]

Well said BadKarma!

 

[winli]

I was doing a bit of reading, and they can pretty much keep the remington going for life... all you need is a lathe to tune things back up. Some other rifles aren't as easy to maintain. ugg boots saleThe bolt design is simple and straight forward.

 

[B0BK4T]

"...... Many of the USSOCOM units use the M24 in 300WM." - Quick

Right on track Quick. We actually STILL use the M24 alpha one variant (M24 A1) which is .300WM with the Sierra Match King 190's.

 

[m24shooter]

The only reason the Army used long actions on the m24's is because Remington had enough long actions to fill the contract, but not enough short actions, and the army didn't want to wait, for some odd reason.
dom

This is incorrect. The long action was purely for the ability to convert the rifle over to .300WM. Had nothing to do with the number of LA receivers Remington had on hand and/or a shortage of short actions. Furthermore, it was not a one-time single delivery contract: it spanned a significant time period. The original delivery after prototype and testing production was for 500 systems with subsequent orders in 500 rifle lots.
The Army wanted something that was COTS basically, or at least non-developmental as that process took too long. Specs were sent to firearms manufacturers, but because of the requirments including the long action only Remington and Steyr sent samples. Remington's sample had a Mike Rock barrel with his 5R barrel on it, which lead to great accuracy and easy cleaning. Given that the 5R barrel was NOT a Remington offering at that time and they did not even have the capability and tooling to make it there is no way that a supposed shortage of short actions dictated that the M24 was going to be long action. That was a requirement from the Army from the start of the request and predated Remington's involvement on any level. That requirement was a large factor in the small response from the firearms industry to the request for a new SWS.
Having the long action complicated chambering, and it can be a serious PITA. Particularly if your mag spring starts to weaken. The long action requirement was also believed to have contributed to the failure of the SSG offering failing the accuracy requirements.
While the conversion was envisioned way back in the late 80s, it was done on a fairly limited basis. 23 years later Remington actually got a decent-sized contract to convert 3600 M24s to the XM2010 as a .300WM rifle with a new chassis system.

 

[B0BK4T]

This is incorrect. The long action was purely for the ability to convert the rifle over to .300WM. - M24Shooter

You're absolutely correct m24shooter. Our armorers were able to convert our 7.62x67's to7.62x51's.

 

[m24shooter]

I have to admit that this thread is the first time I've seen the explanation that Remington ran out of SA receivers.
I really don't understand why it took so long to change over the M24 to .300WM when that was one of the original requirements. Obviously the .338LM is going to do more than the .300, but the .300 was more capable at longer range than the .308 albeit at the cost of shorter barrel life.

 

[gdvan01]

.... L.E. is probably one of the most monkey see, monkey do, professions there is....

Pretty much have to agree with that one. When I was doing the LEO thing as a firearms instructor most agencies that used our range, including our own 'tactical' folks, were using the 700.

....so I bought one.

;-)

No issues with the rifle at all aside from losing my notebook that I used to keep track of my round-count. That STILL torques my nuts.

 

[B0BK4T]

.........Obviously the .338LM is going to do more than the .300, but the .300 was more capable at longer range than the .308 albeit at the cost of shorter barrel life.

Hey brother, there may be hope. We haven't changed out our .300's yet, although we are fileding the .338LM (Barrett M98B). The problem is the market is soooooo saturated with calibers and rifle options and manufacturers. I'm not sure I'm that fond of the .338LM - it is cool, don't get me wrong, but I am really interested in the .416 Barrett (solid brass) anti-material round. In a rifle like our 82A1's. That would get it done for me.

 

[Quick]

416 Barret is one nice round. Accuracy of it is amazing!!!

The 338LM is an awesome round, but the 375 Cheytac does it all and better IIRC.

 

[B0BK4T]

416 Barret is one nice round. Accuracy of it is amazing!!!

The 338LM is an awesome round, but the 375 Cheytac does it all and better IIRC.

Yeah, I got to see the Cheytac closeup and personal. I did not, however, get to take it for a spin.
It was impressive in the hands of the shooter though.