Remington 700 as a safari rifle anyone?

[R eight]

I have been two places with 120+ actual degree heat. Djibouti on the equator and the Mojave desert.

So, no one hunts in 120 degree heat. Most people have never even experienced 120 degree heat.

Yes in the 90's.

Kind of like -40. It is fashionable for jackasses to say they hunt elk in =40 in Montana.

Doesn't happen.

M700 m40 and m24 sniper rifles have killed thousands of people at 120+ degree heat in Iraq.

So the point is moot.

The Remington 700 that we can buy off the shelf has very little in common with the model 700 sniper rifles that are extensively modified and used by the US military as sniper rifles.
Back in’93 I was lucky enough to visit Quantico and have a play with military 700 sniper rifles. They had Remington on the action but that’s where the similarity finished.

I’ve had a 700 factory extractor fail in the field. Problem solved by fitting a Sako/M16 type extractor.

I had used model 700’s for a couple of decades with thousands of rounds shot through them without a problem….. and then one failed at the worst possible time.

 

[farmer_john]

The Remington 700 that we can buy off the shelf has very little in common with the model 700 sniper rifles that are extensively modified and used by the US military as sniper rifles.
Back in’93 I was lucky enough to visit Quantico and have a play with military 700 sniper rifles. They had Remington on the action but that’s where the similarity finished.

I’ve had a 700 factory extractor fail in the field. Problem solved by fitting a Sako/M16 type extractor.

I had used model 700’s for a couple of decades with thousands of rounds shot through them without a problem….. and then one failed at the worst possible time.

The us army ones are straight remington factory rifles just built to spec. The marines do build the m40s. But the bolt is not anything special.

 

[R eight]

The us army ones are straight remington factory rifles just built to spec. The marines do build the m40s. But the bolt is not anything special.

Things must have changed since’93.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

For me, the solution is the AR15 style extractor that most of the modern clones now incorporate into their guns.. but.. even with the AR15 style extractor, youre still not looking at anything close to the rugged reliability of the Win 70 / Mauser style extraction system..

I love mine. Works great!

 

[Flewis]

Is he though?

Please tell us what you know.

 

[mdwest]

Things must have changed since’93.

They changed long before 93. In fact, there was never a change.

The M24’s delivered in 1988 (when the army adopted the M24) came straight from the Remington factory. ALL M24’s were produced under a single contract with follow on task orders over a period of 5 years, then a follow on contract was awarded to Remington for another 5 years.

In 2010 the army began the process of upgrading the M24. That was done internally by US Army armorers. But prior to that Remington was the only producer of the M24. The army never put a hand on the guns other than armorers level maintenance and repairs.

You are most likely thinking of the USMC M40, which is also a 700, but was completely built and spec’s by the USMC. The USMC simply bought components from Remington and paid leases on Remingtons patents..

The primary difference between the M24 and the M40 (other than the M40’s generally were higher quality builds) is the M40 is a short action receiver chambered for a short action cartridge.. where the army chose to go with a long action receiver, but have the rifles chambered for a short action cartridge…

 

[farmer_john]

They changed long before 93. In fact, there was never a change.

The M24’s delivered in 1988 (when the army adopted the M24) came straight from the Remington factory. ALL M24’s were produced under a single contract with follow on task orders over a period of 5 years, then a follow on contract was awarded to Remington for another 5 years.

In 2010 the army began the process of upgrading the M24. That was done internally by US Army armorers. But prior to that Remington was the only producer of the M24. The army never put a hand on the guns other than armorers level maintenance and repairs.

The upgrades still did not affect the bolt or extractor.
Things they did was rechamber the m24 from 308 to 300wm and a few other upgrades. But they never changed the internals.

 

[mdwest]

The upgrades still did not affect the bolt or extractor.
Things they did was rechamber the m24 from 308 to 300wm and a few other upgrades. But they never changed the internals.

A bit more than that… but correct.. the bolt and extractors were not changed out… although the bolt face WAS machined.. the 308 bolt face wouldn’t work with the 300WM, so it was indeed worked on as part of the conversion process..

The M2010 also got a chassis rather than a traditional stock, an upgraded magazine system, improved optics, etc…

The M24 long action receiver made conversion to 300 wm easy.. where the USMC M40 short action receiver wouldn’t allow for a 300 WM conversion…

 

[M70375!]

I can’t really speak for that caliber, but I have a custom shop 700 in 375 that has killed an absurd amount of dangerous game being used over the years by many friends and family.

@Hunter-Habib has the same rifle and has used it to great effect. I believe he has modified the extractor on his to an m-16 style extractor.

Read the chapter on 416 Remington in The Perfect Shot book. Not to be rude, but I don't trust the extractor or safety on the Remington and would never use one for DG. I would certainly suggest a CRF rifle with a safety that actually blocks the firing pin, Rem safety is just a trigger interupter. I have had to replace 2 or 3 extractors over the years.

 

[R eight]

mdwest and farmer_john

Well gentlemen, I’m certainly not an expert on the different branches of the US military or their weapons.

But I’m absolutely certain that in 1993 I spent a week shooting on the ranges at Quantico before attending Camp Perry. Whilst at Quantico I spent several hours being shown around a workshop/armoury on the base. As to if it was Army or Marine Corps I really don’t remember. However, back then I was a Remington tragic and was surprised by the amount of modifications that were made to “Remington 700 rifles “ by them. The staff there were only too happy to explain why and what modifications they made. I should also point out that there were also several Winchester Model 70’s there as well.

As to the Remington 700 modifications. These are what I clearly remember. Barrel was replaced, stock was replaced (actions were glued into the stock), charge clip slot milled into receiver (not for charger clip use but for supporting the scope base) front of action trued, bolt trued (can’t remember the exact term used) so that it was perfectly aligned to the barrel, bolt had an M16 style extractor fitted, trigger was modified, floor plate/trigger guard was replaced with a Winchester model 70 type.

At the end of that process the only thing that was recognisable as Remington was the engraving on the action. Those rifles were used as sniper rifles. A lot of rifles there were being serviced? after their return from Iraq MK1. They also had heaps of Barret 50 cal sniper rifles there too.

I was also pleasantly surprised by how many 1911’s and M14’s were there and obviously still in service.

 

[WoodencrossIII]

Sounds to me it works like a rifle is supposed to I reckon I’d use my 416 rm to kill the biggest critters and be happy to do it and enjoy it thanks for the replies in all categories anyhow it’s fun to hear it

 

[MS 9x56]

mdwest and farmer_john

Well gentlemen, I’m certainly not an expert on the different branches of the US military or their weapons.

But I’m absolutely certain that in 1993 I spent a week shooting on the ranges at Quantico before attending Camp Perry. Whilst at Quantico I spent several hours being shown around a workshop/armoury on the base. As to if it was Army or Marine Corps I really don’t remember. However, back then I was a Remington tragic and was surprised by the amount of modifications that were made to “Remington 700 rifles “ by them. The staff there were only too happy to explain why and what modifications they made. I should also point out that there were also several Winchester Model 70’s there as well.

As to the Remington 700 modifications. These are what I clearly remember. Barrel was replaced, stock was replaced (actions were glued into the stock), charge clip slot milled into receiver (not for charger clip use but for supporting the scope base) front of action trued, bolt trued (can’t remember the exact term used) so that it was perfectly aligned to the barrel, bolt had an M16 style extractor fitted, trigger they should have stayed with the 1903A3was modified, floor plate/trigger guard was replaced with a Winchester model 70 type.

At the end of that process the only thing that was recognisable as Remington was the engraving on the action. Those rifles were used as sniper rifles. A lot of rifles there were being serviced? after their return from Iraq MK1. They also had heaps of Barret 50 cal sniper rifles there too.

I was also pleasantly surprised by how many 1911’s and M14’s were there and obviously still in service.

They should have stayed with the 1903A3.

 

[farmer_john]

They should have stayed with the 1903A3.

Why? Imean there not bad for their time. But they are not that great compared to modern platforms.

 

[mdwest]

mdwest and farmer_john

Well gentlemen, I’m certainly not an expert on the different branches of the US military or their weapons.

But I’m absolutely certain that in 1993 I spent a week shooting on the ranges at Quantico before attending Camp Perry. Whilst at Quantico I spent several hours being shown around a workshop/armoury on the base. As to if it was Army or Marine Corps I really don’t remember. However, back then I was a Remington tragic and was surprised by the amount of modifications that were made to “Remington 700 rifles “ by them. The staff there were only too happy to explain why and what modifications they made. I should also point out that there were also several Winchester Model 70’s there as well.

Quantico is the USMC… the USMC is also the branch that deployed modified Winchester 70’s as sniper rifles fairly extensively back in the day… the army toyed with the win 70 for a short while but never bought them in any real quantity..

The Army’s marksmanship unit is at Fort Benning, GA… a very long way from Quantico..the AMU is the unit that the army predominantly uses to modify firearms, test new small arms, etc..

 

[camperx]

Remingtons are some of the finest hunting rifles made. I've hunted Africa several times and took 2 Remingtons - One in 375 H&H and the other in .416 Remington. Both performed flawlessly during all trips.

 

[BFaucett]

I realize that there are some differences between a Remington Model 721 and a Model 700 but I found the following articles to be very interesting. However, and I have never hunted any dangerous game, I will state that a Remington Model 700 would not be my first choice for a dedicated dangerous game rifle. For hunting plains game, I don't see much of a issue with using a Model 700.

I used my Remington Model 700 Classic in 8x57JS for two Impalas and two Warthogs way back in 2005 in South Africa. (The Rem 700 was my backup rfile on that trip. I primarily used my CZ 550 American in 9.3x62.) BTW, my gunsmith replaced the infamous Remington J-lock with a Gre-Tan firing pin assembly.

Cheers! Bob F.

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No Ordinary Rifle
by Harry Selby
posted on January 31, 2012

This is a story about a particular rifle that has truly stood the test of time over a period of half a century, accounting for many excellent trophies on numerous safaris in several different countries over that period of time. No, it’s not a custom masterpiece costing many thousands of dollars; it is an “off-the-shelf” Remington Model 721 in .30-’06 Sprg.

I will endeavor to relate here some of the highlights of the performance of this very ordinary, but, in my mind, unique rifle that was used on safari for a period of more than 50 years. To tell the entire story of all its successes would fill a book.

...<snip>...

I was intrigued, as I had seen one of these Remington “economy” rifles in .30-’06 on a previous safari with Robert Ruark. Bob brought one on his first Horn of the Hunter safari, and in spite of my initial reservations, it had surprised me by performing very well. In fact Bob collected most of his plains game and a leopard with it. He continued to use it on all his subsequent safaris, and I have to say it was the one rifle with which he could shoot really well. It was very accurate with no feeding problems (I even tried chambering a cartridge with the rifle upside down with success) and a trigger pull that a very expensive custom rifle would be proud of. The only possible criticism I could make would be that it might be a little slower clearing a jam due to the fixed magazine cover plate.

full article here: https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/no-ordinary-rifle/

Harry Selby and Robert Ruark

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Remington 721
A Rifle Ahead Of Its Time
by Dave Anderson | 2023

"The Remington 721 bolt featured a recessed bolt face in which the
cartridge case head was fully surrounded by steel. The extractor was
a spring clip recessed in the bolt face, the ejector a spring-loaded plunger."

full article here: https://gunsmagazine.com/discover/remington-721/

 

[DrBob]

You might want to look up Kevin Robertson's experience with that rifle and chambering while elephant hunting in the Zambezi valley.

Also, Boddington's stepson yanking off the extractor from a Mauser action from a "brisk" clearing of the action. I did upgrade my 700 in 416 to an M-16 extractor. Remington Custom Shop, prior to closing, was offering both the M-16 extractor and double ejection plungers. I really wonder what the real failure rate was .. and those of other types of extractors for non-Mausers.