Remington 700 sps stainless, any good?

multiman

Well-Known Member
Hi Im looking for a new rifle in .223. I like the cz's but i have been offered a new Remington 700 sps in synthetic and stainless.
I'm not 100% sure if I like the synthetic stock, feels a bit cheep having said that it fitts my budget.
As I have heard mixed reviews on the model I was wondering if any of you had any experiance of this rifle any were willing to share?
 
I have one,its a 220 Swift in a thumbhole AM stock and it kills what its pointed at....with great speed!
 
I think overall the CZ is the better rifle. bit crude, but they wear in well.
The Remmy has more potential if you are into upgrading your rifle over time.
edi
 
It will depend entirely on you. You have already noticed the cheap and flimsy feel to the stock. Now do you think they put more into the rest of the rifle?

Or is this little niggling thought always going to be in the back of your mind?

My view is that there is a reason why there are so many after market and upgrade bits and bobs for the Remington 700. basically because it needs them. Things like precision recoil lugs to replace the cheap stamped metal ones Remington fit.

You can buy the rifle they spend well over double that making it feel right and shoot right. hey you may be lucky and find it shoot lights out for the get go. On the other hand you might find it shoots sort of OK or if your not so lucky you might find that it shoots just to Remington acceptance standards which is placing it's shots into 2" at 100 yards fom a machine rest.

Then again you might be unlucky to find you have a real lemon that won't group worth a darn and Remington shipped it out anyway.

I have made no secret that I do not like the Remington 700 but a bit of time web surfing and you will soon find that there are more lemons out there than a lot will admit too.
 
Thanks guys I will probably look closely at the CZ. I already have one in .22 and is shoots quite well once it bedded in.
 
I use two SPS's one in 243 and one 270, can't fault either of them. The 243 shoots 1/2 inch groups with homeloads and a new trigger. The 270 shoots 3/4 inch with factory ammo and nothing what so ever done to it. Yes the stocks aren't the best but they are not a bad as some would tell you. Have a good look at one they do exactly what it says on the box

Al
 
Got a SPS in .243 & i have had it since they forst came out it the UK.
Shoots 1" with 100gr factory remington Core Loke & less with home loads
The trigger is not the best but you can get them addjusted with out to much trouble.
John
 
I have one in 243 and another in 308. Both show 1 MOA or less. I have added new triggers, stocks etc and they both shoot well. I took my 308 down to 20" for stalking and it still does less than 1". I like them, but the triggers and stock do need work, especially if you want a free floated barrel.

Having said that I have just got a CZ550 for longer range paper bashing.

It will hopefully shoot as well without all the mods....

I would go Remmy if you fancy upgrading...
 
Got one in 243 and just ordered one more it will be the xcr model in 270 these are working tools just out the box. The only thing is the trigger is set at 2.5 pound for me. I like these as no need to worry about them they do what they say on the box.
 
The Remington SPS is, in my opinion, a good rifle to start with, it is also a good action to build on.
Mine started as a Remington SPS in .243 and ended up as a .243ai, witha new barrel, new stock and new trigger.

It didn't need all of these things initially but they certainly improved the accuracy.

When I purchased it.....

243.jpg



Set up with a S&B 8x56.....

Barleyfield008Medium.jpg




And now.....

IMG_0260Medium.jpg


SpragzMuntieDoesite.jpg


Scotland006Medium.jpg



The accuracy is great, a 5 shot group.....

Ackleygroup5shotsMedium.jpg
 
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So TN what your saying is that to get your to shoot well you have to replace almost all the Remington bits?

And that is supposed to make the OP plumb for the Rem SPS?
 
In defence of the Remys - I have I did manage to take them out and shoot successfully at both reds and roe without any other purchases, and they are reliable.

It's a personal call.
 
So TN what your saying is that to get your to shoot well you have to replace almost all the Remington bits?

And that is supposed to make the OP plumb for the Rem SPS?

Hi Brithunter,

On reading my reply again, it doesn't sound like a 'vote' for Remington does it?:)


Anyway, with regards to my rifle,the stock went first, that did have to go, the SPS stocks are not the best in my opinion, the trigger went next.
As a standard .243win with the above changes and a homeload developed it seriously improved the accuracy, so in a way, yes, to achieve a better accuracy the changes had to be made. I suppose it all depends on what a person considers 'good accuracy', I know that a lot of stalking folk are happy with 1" groups at 100yds, which is fine for stalking with a Remongton SPS but I like to do a bit of long range 'plinking' so a tighter group was required, hence the worked carried out.


Perhaps I just have too much time on my hands:D


Like I have said, the Remington is a good rifle to build on, in my opinion.


Regards
TotalNovice
 
:thumb: "Hi Brithunter,

On reading my reply again, it doesn't sound like a 'vote' for Remington does it?"

Not really. Now It's quite well known and I have made no secret t
hat I dislike the Rem 700 intensely. I first came to feel this way when shooting a friends .223 VSS about three decades ago. that rifle shot very well indeed even with the cheap bulk buy (Remington) Relcom 55 grain FMJ bullets that at that time were about £22 per 1000 :eek: my how things have changed. And that was when he had that Tasco 6-24x scope on it which frankly was not the best nor clearest optics out there.

Anyway I shot it numerous times and it never felt comfortable and the bolt felt gritty and when I compared the feel and fit to my BSA CF2 there was just no comparison in my mind especially as the Remingtn 700 VSS cost over double what my then new BSA CF2 Stutzen had from the same shop........ Since then IMHO the Rem 700 has declined is build quality through cost cutting.

Due to a "discussion" on the American GBO forums about Remingtons grouping ability out of the box I e-mailed Remington to ask them what was the maximum groups size allowed in testing for acceptance before shipping. It took several e-mails and a rather pointed one to get them pinned down and actually admit what it was. other makers like Tikka and Sako are quite upfront about it and their acceptance standard is half that of Remingtons.. The chap on GBO had brought a new Model Seven and after weeks/months of trying and spending a small fortunes on different ammunition trypes/makes found that it refused to group under 2" at 100 yards off sandbags on the bench. Several shooters tried and no one could improve upon this. He was asking if the only cure was a new barrel.

Sadly this is nothing new and as that meets Remingtons standards f you get one like this then unless you do spend out more to re-barrel and restock then tough titty.


Of course the Remington faithful trotted out to defend it
:doh: there is a strong cadre of them on GBO including the owner.

Now as I love and collect classic rifles my acceptance standard is a rifle that will consistently a produce Five shot group of 1 1/2" at 100 yards from any shooting position. The first shot from a cold clean barrel MUST be within the group or it's not suitable for hunting with. Be it prone, sitting or off sticks to go a-field it must meet this 1 1/2" five shot standard.

Sadly as I get older and less fit and poorer eyesight it's often me that is the handicap not always the rifle/ammunition combination. Of one is very happy if we can perform better
:D. As I never got around to using one of my Sporting Aperture sighted rifle as much as I had wished I was still getting used to them so had not determined what would be the maximum group spread acceptable for "me" in the field and at what distance to set a maximum for their use. One day I hope to be able to get back to that "programme" of shooting.



 
So TN what your saying is that to get your to shoot well you have to replace almost all the Remington bits?

And that is supposed to make the OP plumb for the Rem SPS?

I have a std remington sendero vss 2 which is the most accurate factory rifle i have ever owned , and 3 0ther 700s over the last 20years in .243 .220 .22-250 have all shot well under an inch more like .5" to say they need all the bits replacing to shoot well is crap !
So please change the record kevin the needle s stuck :cuckoo: i own sakos had most other common factory rifles even a parker hale which by far was the worst rifle iv ever owned !
The only thing i can think of why you are so bitter against them is you must have been a disgrutled remington factory worker in a former life who's bolt handle fell off.:lol:
 
DF do a bit of web surfing and see just how many folks are disappointed with their Remingtons especially the late production ones. Or perhaps the chap with his new Model Seven made it all up?

Now it's well known I like Parker-Hale and it's not only the rifles I collect in fact I have just opened a package containing a replacement #73/4 P-H catalogue. Needed a replacement as the Police took a fancy to the copy I had originally. It's taken all this time to find another :mad:. The catalogues help to identify what they made and offered to the shooting public. But I also collect other of their stuff as it makes the story and it's part of our history.

For some years I tried to obtain a Remington model 30 but as far as I am aware it's still in storage and not for sale.

Oh yes and can you please note that I have never claimed the Parker-Hale rifles to be the best ;) unlike a lot do when waiving the Remington banner. I started collecting them because they are part British gun making history just like BSA.

The reason I don't like the Modern Remingtons is because they are cheaply made and hyped up to be the best thing since sliced bread and clearly they are not. Remington as Americas oldest surviving Gunmaker should be producing better rifles not ones cobbled together out of cheap stampings and gash tubing. They remind me of the "woolies" gun the Sten. Cheap and throw away item.
 
Over the years I zeroed 2 remingtons. An ADL 7 mm RM ( very basic) and a mountain rifle in 7x64. Both were very accurate out of the box. Nothing replaced.
The 7 RM with factory ammo from RWS and Norma shot 3 bullets almost touching at 80m. The 7x64 dis had some work on the trigger ( rem trigger ). Slightly less accurate but easely 3 bullets on a 2 euro coin, which is about 1". Also at 80m.
 
hi i have a 700 sps, i say for the money you can't go wrong i have had it for years and never had a problem, also very accurate. great foxing rifle
 
Why not just get a tikka T3 Lite Stainless - same sort of money and from the advice I've had on here a very good rifle?

I know two people with Remi's though and both rate them highly.

Avoid xbolts - rubbish IMHO
 
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