Why no to the rem 700?

[BeeMaa]

There are 2 things that make the difference for me. First is quality of the R700, second is other available (and also in production which the R700 is not) options that are better designed.

There are good R700 actions out there but they seem to be the exception, not the rule. Finding one that’s reliable AND in a DG caliber…you might be looking for hens teeth.

In general I don’t prescribe to the “gotta have CRF for hunting DG” rule. I believe the rifle you use as a client needs to be absolutely reliable regardless of action type and the person behind the trigger needs to be operating it with aplomb.

Winchester, Kimber, Ruger, Blaser and several other companies mass produce reliable DG caliber rifles at reasonable prices. Investing time and money into a R700 that may or may not work is not what I consider a good choice.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Late to the party here and I own two modified R700s and the rest clones, no CRFs, but considering what would be spent for a DG hunt, I'd buy the best custom CRF action and build it for that purpose.
For someone who prefers an R700 PF action, there are clones that have mechanical ejectors and sako style extractors., replacing the two failure points on a factory rifle.

 

[gbflyer]

I just don’t buy all the extractor failure lore. I have beat them open with a dead blow and not broken an extractor. I guess there are people in this world who have experienced this, maybe the same person can destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet. I can buy the trigger failure, especially in wet followed by frozen or extremely dirty conditions. I’m not too sure how often that’s a real thing on a DG hunt. Probably be best to clean it frequently no matter the design unless it’s an AK-47.

 

[Rocco490]

It depends on the specific rifle some are great some are junk some need some work. This sort of variability is not going to make a ph happy or comfortable. Remington is not the same company they were years ago. The quality control sucks at least on the models manufactured just prior to their bankruptcy, the x mark trigger sucks, and the design while advantageous from an accuracy and strength standpoint is inferior for extraction and ejection compared to many others some being other push feeds. I would rather select a rifle action I have more confidence in and from a company with better quality control for dg hunting. A good factory example or a well done custom rifle in the 700 action can make an excellent rifle I would be proud to own and there are many out there that are great rifles. Unfortunately there are also many 700s that left the factory that were not. Of 3 700 CDL rifles I bought new, 2 needed stock work in the barrel channel to allow them to shoot accurately a 300 and a 7mm mag, they also had trigger recalls so those were switched out to timney units rather than doing the recall, the 3rd a 25 06 shot its ass off out of the box and needed nothing. (it would still benefit from a timney trigger) Owned others that were bought new but sold without shooting them or hearing how they functioned and shot from the new owners so I can't comment on them so for me of what I do have info on 2 out of 3 of their "premium" 700 models needed work to shoot well and all 3 were recalled for a safety issue.