Remington 700 Tuning Tips

[Rickhem]

I recently picked up a Rem 700 varmint in .223. The old owner claims that it has about 1000 rounds through it, and he showed me a couple targets with amazingly small groups that he fired with the rifle. Now being a service rifle shooter, I am all set up to load for this rifle, but I need lighter bullets for it's 1-12 twist barrel. It's not bedded, and appears to be totally stock. The barrel is not floated, and the stock still has the shiny varnish on the wood under the barrel and action. I have not shot it yet, so I don't know what it is capable of yet, and I'll do that first if for no other reason than to establish a baseline.

Can anyone offer me some tips on what I can do to the rifle to squeeze a little more out of it? Any pet loads for a stock Remmy?

 

[B]

I would recommend that you pillar bead the action and free float the barrel to extract the optimum accuracy. Just make sure that when you bead the lug that you have about 0.0010" clearance around the lug and beading compound should not touch the front of the lug. You should have 0.0060" to 0.0090" of clearance around the barrel. You can learn alot from watching the AGI video "Super Tuning The Factory Rifle". If you have any questions PM me.

B

 

[CatShooter]

The 12" twist will handle up to the 60gr poly tipped bullets.

As to bedding, there is no need to pillar "bead" the action. Just glass bed it with one of the better compounds like "Steel bed" or Marine Tex.

You will need a lot more space than 6 thou around the barrel, or you will get erratic performance - most floats have an 1/8th" or 1/10th" clearance.

Put tape under the lug when bedding, and remove the tape after so there is space under the lug...
... but bed the lug fully so it can't move, and the action goes back into the stock the same way every time you remove it.

The instructions above from "B" are not too good!


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[acloco]

Do nothing. Go shoot it and see how the rifle shoots through the temperature range of cold barrel to shot #20.

 

[B]

I would recommend that you pillar bead the action and free float the barrel to extract the optimum accuracy. Just make sure that when you bead the lug that you have about 0.0010" clearance around the lug and beading compound should not touch the front of the lug. You should have 0.0060" to 0.0090" of clearance around the barrel. You can learn alot from watching the AGI video "Super Tuning The Factory Rifle". If you have any questions PM me.

I meant to say 60 to 90 thou. I would also disagree with CatShooter and his instructions however every body seams to bead there stocks slightly differently and I don not want to start an argument.

 

[Rickhem]

I have cleaned the rifle, even did some scrubbing in the bore with the Remington bore cleaner. It feels nice and smooth now from the chamber right out through the muzzle. This is an older rifle and it has the flat-faced barrel, with no real crown on the muzzle. The trigger is actually pretty nice too since I sprayed it out with some carb cleaner and re-lubed it. I loaded up some 50 TNT bullets and some 53 Hornady Match bullets, and will see what they can do for me next chance I get.
I've never bedded a rifle before, but it seems like it's something that I could do. I have a drill press so I could probably install pillars if that was the preferred technique. I have read about installing something under the base of the barrel, where it meets the recoil lug, which would simulate floating the barrel. Would that be worth looking into doing?
Just looking at the bolt lugs, it seems that both have a lot of bluing still on them. I'll have to see if I can put a picture on here so those more in-the-know can tell me if that needs attention.

 

[chino1969]

Before you do anything, shoot the rifle and see what it does or doesn't do and then report back.
Chino69

 

[CatShooter]

"... I've never bedded a rifle before, but it seems like it's something that I could do. I have a drill press so I could probably install pillars if that was the preferred technique.

Installing pillars is not an easy job if done right, and the benefits compared to a standard epoxy bedding are marginal, if any.

I have read about installing something under the base of the barrel, where it meets the recoil lug, which would simulate floating the barrel. Would that be worth looking into doing?

That would be absolutely the worst thing you can do.

It would lift the action up out of the cradle and nothing would be supporting it.

There are a lot of beginners on the net,and this site) that toss "theories" around to sound like they are experts - that is one of those "theories".

You float the barrel BEFORE you bed the rifle... it is done with channel scrapers,or a lot of sandpaper and sweat).

Just looking at the bolt lugs, it seems that both have a lot of bluing still on them. I'll have to see if I can put a picture on here so those more in-the-know can tell me if that needs attention.

The bolt will be fine - they don't ever "wear out", and they are just about indestructible.

In bedding an action, the lug must be bedded - it is the only thing that controls the action in place, and it is the only control or torque.
You just want to make sure that there is space under the bottom of the lug, to make sure it doesn't keep the action from completely settling in. This is done by putting a layer of tape across the bottom of the lug, and then removing it when the epoxy has set.

A properly bedded rifle should be held in place by the bedding, and the screws are there to keep the action from falling out.

If you check any action bedded by a knowledgeable builder, you will have to work hard to get the action out of the stock.

The bedding does NOT just cradle the ring and tang, as stated by "B".


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[Preacher]

Cat Shooter is dead right on this one
Those that speak of taping the whole darn lug except for the rear make me wonder what they are thinking about.
You want it to be held as solid as possible except for the very bottom that don't need the contact.
A few years ago I built my 6br 20 inch Hart barreled XP-100 ground hog pistol, with pillars and full contact bedding except for the bottom of the lug, and floated the barrel, just like always...
I shot that thing very well for 1/2 the year till I discovered the action screws were not to be found. When I put the action screws back in, it never shot any better...
Done the correct way you need to actually wiggle, and work the action out of the stock.....

 

[B]

The trigger is actually pretty nice too since I sprayed it out with some carb cleaner and re-lubed it.

I would recommend that you do not lube the trigger because In cold weather the oil will become thick rendering the rifle useless. Trust me on this one it has happened to me before.

 

[CatShooter]

One thing seems certain - no two guys bed an action exactly the same way.

There may be minor differences, but most skilled bedders do it pretty much the same.

The bedding will not wear out by removing the action - even if you remove it hundreds of times.

We're about to dive into my bedding my brother's 700 next, and separating the action from the stock is a pretty rare event, so I think we'd be likely to try it without the slight clearance on the sides and front of the recoil lug if bedding wear isn't an issue and there's an accuracy benefit to be had.

The purpose of bedding is to make the stock and the barreled action into one piece... and the more like one piece it is, the better the bedding job is.

There have been minor changes over the years - in the past, it was recommended to bed the first 2 inches of the barrel... that is no longer in "vogue". Now the bedding stops at the front of the lug recess in the best of bedding jobs.

Some bed the full length of the action, others bed the ring, and the tang, leaving the middle of the action free of the stock. Both work well, I prefer the latter method.

The above applies to both wood and synthetic stocks.


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