Why use a Remington action for a build?

[Va varminter]

I am by no means a gunsmith, nor have ever owned a Remmy. So my question is what makes the Rem. action so popular for builds. I knew a guy that would buy XP100's just to get it's action for a custom job. I never hear of people using Ruger, Win. or Savage actions on custom builds. Why? What makes the Rem.action better than the rest? This is just something that I have wonderd for a while.

[Glen]

Savage action in a Bill Shehane Stock with a Kreiger screwed on it & 10 coats of automotive clear coat sprayed on & white diamond buffed I believe.







This is not my rig. It belongs to my Dear Friend that passed away suddenly less than one year ago.

[Lee C.]

Va Varminter, other than to say I think. There has always been alot more remingtion's out beening used than savage's. I think if savage would of had a better made stock years ago. You would have seen alot more of them out there too. Back in the 1950s when i started hunting I had a savage 12ga bolt action. And it was like haveing a 2x4 with a action bolted to it.

Glen, sorry to here about your friend. But he sure put together agreat looking gun for him self. Thanks for the picture.

[Glen]

Thanks Lee. I do miss him & that is a nice rig. It's a 6BR. You're right about the Remington's.

[acloco]

The Rem's were a quality action from just about the beginning of introduction.

The Rem's were also used by the US military, so many former soldier's were already familiar with the use and maintenance of the Remington weapon platform.

I have several Rem's, but am using Savage actions for my current builds.

[Rick in Oregon]

VA Varm: You can compare the Remington's popularity for a custom rig to the small block Chevy motor in the car world. There are literally hundreds of aftermarket companies making parts for them. Some of the attributes are:
* Round bottom action/easy to bed
* Sandwich recoil lug/easy to replace or change out
* Superior lock time, great trigger, easy to adjust
* Excellent gas relief system
* Easy to blueprint (round bottom receiver again), chucks up well in the lathe
* Strong action, "three rings of steel" encompases the cartridge head

There are others, but you get the idea. Add to that, the action overall is visually attractive. It is true that Savage has come into it's own, but only in the last few years under new management. The Savages of my youth were pure junk, and basically Wally-World/entry level affairs. They are now quite accurate out of the box when compared to a Remington, but still employ an ugly bolt, the gross barrel nut (which has it's own advantages), and a rather crude safety when compared to the Remington, Winchester, Sako, etc.

There is quite a thread on another forum that discusses that Remington better get off it's duff and get with what shooters want, or firms like Savage will eclipse them in sales and popularity. This is true, as with Savage for example, they have more models now than ever, and many suited just for the tastes of bench and varmint shooters, with great barrels, and the new Accu-Trigger. When you add up the cost of blueprinting a Remington action, you are in the custom action cost range now, so unless you already own the action, it may be best to go with a Hall, Panda, Stiller, Nesika, etc.

But as acloco said, the Remington action is familiar to many, and has a long and outstanding reputation compared to most of the others available (except maybe for the M70)....but that's another story.

[Hotshot]

For decades the Remington action was like the small block chevy engine is to hot rodders. Easy to get, easy to work on, and you can get remarkable results. Everybody who made accessory items made them for the 700 actions. That made them very economical to customize.

Recently the Savage products have made significant steps into that market. The results for dollars spent make them the most practical to customize and they are the most economical to re-barrel. I like being able to change bolt heads, screw on a new barrel, and set the headspace at home without paying and waiting for a gunsmith to do it.