So You Want To Buy A Remington 204

[Lenard]

I posted here some time ago about buying a Remington 700,SS with the light barrel. To put it bluntly, you had better be a mechanic or have deep pockets or go thru what I have.

First off, the stock was so flimsy, I finally gave up on it and ordered a Hogue. I finally received the stock last night and put it all together. Upon assembly, I noticed the barrel was clear over against the forend on the right side. My first thought was, what a piece of crap this stock is. So I got the instructions from Hogue out and they addressed this issue with Remington 700's.

Their recommendation was to take the barreled action to a gunsmith and have him move the recoil lug in the opposite direction of where the barrel needs to move to center or use a brass hammer and move it that wasy. After analyzing the situation, I opted to remove a very small amount of metal from the right side of the recoil lug (.005). I reassembled and the barrel was dead center in the barrel groove. It becomes quite apparent to me that Hogue has seen this many times and therefore had to add it to their instructions.

By the time I count all the ammo shot, the new stock and modifying the lug, I could have bought a good rifle. Also, the magazine box was so rough where the round is chambered, it put deep scratches in the brass.

Needless to say, there will never be another newer version of the 700 in my safe. Now I just hope the barrel is capable of shooting 1/2" or smaller groups after the modifications. I just find it terrible that a company that has put out so many good shooting rifles, has turned to this kind of sub par work.

Lenard

[Bergcrane2]

Sorry to hear that. I had very good luck with my 700 VSSF II. Mine had the heavy barrel with the H&S stock though. The Hogue stocks also have a little flex in them. Probably not as bad as your describing with the Remington. Maybe bedding the stock will help.

[Medic52]

I have a Rem 700 SPS Vatrmint 204 I loaded 40 gr vmax w/ varget 28.1 in winchester brass and primers. 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. Hate to hear about your problem but I am going to KEEP MINE

[Rick in Oregon]

All of my M700's and Model Sevens are pre-J Lock, and none of them exhibited any of the problems you describe. In fairness though, I've read of similar problems on other forums recently regarding the quality control in Ilion. Some Remingtons actually had some rifiling missing......

I'll also mention that I've never purchased any rifle of any brand without taking it home, taking it all the way apart, tweaking things as I go, and then take it to my range. I've never shot a rifle straight out of the box, but maybe it's my wierdness that just will not allow me to leave it factory stock, as I've never trusted any factory to get it completely right the first time around. If I've dinked around with it in my shop and it won't shoot, then it's 'down the road'.

[glenn asher]

To be fair, all companies put out a lemon or a pile of poo now and then. I'm sure someone, somewhere, is having a headache out of a CZ, Sako, Tikka, Savage, or whathaveyou. I've seen some things from Remington recently that haven't made me happy, but that can be said about most brands.
We get to hear a lot about Remingtons here, some of it, not so good, but I'd bet there are a lot more out there that work fine and shoot finer, we just don't hear about them BECAUSE they are working fine and shooting well.
I only own a couple Remingtons right now, neither are 700s, but if I liked the too-short bolt handles and the stocks, I might have another some day.

[Lenard]

I am glad most of you have had good luck with Remingtons. I would hate to see others have to deal with this kind of thing. I am sure that most of those guns that don't shoot well are peddled to someone else rather than trying to diagnose what the problem is.

I just wanted a field gun to carry that would shoot 1/2" groups. As I said before, no more newer Remingtons will end up in my safe.

It won't be long until the sage rats show up and then later the rockchucks. I have a couple of 223's I can depend on so I won't be without an accurate varmint gun.

Lenard

[BabaOriley]

I have a couple of 223's I can depend on so I won't be without an accurate varmint gun.

Lenard

[CASEY]

I purchased the cheapest version of the 700 in .204 just 2 weeks ago. I am nothing but happy with it, but I did my research before I laid down the dollars. I adjusted the trigger and it is very good and will do until the barrel shoots out and it becomes a project. The stock was just what I expected-trash. Pillar bedding, two carbon arrow shafts in the front end and covered with a heavy epoxy. Added stiffness and weight to front. About 75 rounds down the tube at this and about .75 moa.. We all must realize that any over the counter rifle nowdays is a project if you have high expectations. You can pay to have the work done or you can learn how to do the basics yourself and enjoy that part of it also.

[Lenard]

Casey, the trouble is, we have come to expect and accept trash. I am an old man and remember well how things were made and made very well, I might add. Remington used to make as good a rifle as anyone could expect, that is until the bean counters started running the business. You probably did the best thing, but my concerns is how flexible the stock is around the action. I am just not satisfied with 3/4" groups, as I want them to go into less than 1/2".

To each his own as I am not being critical of those that buy their products.

Lenard

[jo191145]

Lenard

I can't imagine ever buying a Remington myself. Not knocking the company as I've never personally owned one.

I think you owe it to yourself, the gun and the company to bed that rifle.
Its really not that hard and the good folks on this forum will be glad to walk you through it. If that is you need the help.
It might turn out to be one of your favorites.

[Lenard]

jo, I did bed the action. My background hobby wise, has been bedding guns. One can do what ever they want with the barrel channel. In my opinion, where the remington stock is the weakest, is around the action. There is too little infrastructure to work with. I suppose if one wanted to perform major surgery on the stock, it could be done. But I really want nothing to do with that inferior piece of junk. The magazine box floats with no contact with the stock and it is a heck of a job trying to get glass to stick to the plastic.

My thoughts are you start with junk, you end up with junk.

Lenard

[steve]

[Wrangler John]

Generally, I no longer purchase new factory rifles. For Remington, I pick up a used rifle as cheap as possible, strip the action, and send it off for truing and rebarreling. Those new Savage Precision Target Actions (.223) are even better, as they include a good trigger, heavy recoil lug, small diameter firing pin, and can be barreled by the shooter using a pre-chambered replacement barrel. They also allow swap barrels. This way you can select either a Shilen barrel ready to screw on, a Pac-Nor, or any other custom brand and have it fitted (Sharp Shooter Supply sells and fits barrels). For a few dollars more a custom action such as the Stiller can be purchased. I can buy various components and gunsmithing as cash becomes available.

I used the Hogue stock and ran into the same problem. The Hogue over molded stock is too flexible for best accuracy even when the action is glassed. That low comb is also a problem for me. So I order laminate thumbhole stocks and do a pillar bedding job, fitting the dimensions to my need. Remington magazine boxes are designed to float in the stock, in fact one has to be careful the bottom metal doesn't contact the magazine box before the action tightens against the bedding. There should be 1/32" or so clearance left when the action is tight. If it tightens against the magazine box before the bedding, poor accuracy can result.

Factory rifles are a compromise, they have to be, yet is is amazing how accurate most are today. However, if there are two or more of the same model on display, it seems I always choose the lemon. It's just my nature!

[Lenard]

Wrangler John

I know you are on the right track. Funny you mentioned the Hogue stock as it left me this morning by return mail to go back to where I bought it. I turned around about an hour later and ordered a laminated stock for it from Boyds. I am very tired of messing with this gun and want a stable stock, fore and aft. I simply cannot justify spending $350 or more for a quality composite stock.

I wish I had waited and bought a Savage in the 204 as they seem so versitile.

Thanks for your comments.

Lenard

[glenn asher]

1/2" groups, on a regular basis, from ANY factory rifle, are pretty uncommon, though we sure read about a lot of them on the Internet. Lenard, your standards may just be too high for a factory rifle and barrel, it really IS asking a lot from a production rifle, ANY production rifle. My rifles won't do it, but they shoot well enough to kill prairie dogs, and that's all I ask. Would they kill more PDs if they shot a little better? That's doubtful, unless the wind quits blowing and my abilities improve drastically.