A Remington Rant...grrrrrrrr

[29aholic]

I have long been a fan of Remington 700's and have/had dozens over the years. I have yet to have had one that didnt shoot sub MOA basically out of the box.

What REALLY ticks me off is this gun.

I bought this SPS Tactical 308 a couple of years ago to fill a niche in my safe. I put a 4th gen. Millett TRS scope on it and with Portuguese ball ammo it will shoot sub 1/2 MOA at 100 yds all day. The beef I have with it is the X Mark trigger on mine cant be adjusted without an act of congress. What REALLY wads my shorts is not 3 months after I bought the rifle Remington refined the new trigger by putting an adjusting screw in it similar to a 40X trigger that can be easily adjusted without taking the gun out of the stock. To add insult to injury, I just looked at another new one yesterday that has a camo stock (no biggy) but also has a threaded barrel for a suppressor...something I have considered for mine.
It's the trigger that really bugs me. I love the rifle (I am not all that hip on the Hogue stock) but the trigger SUCKS.

 

[Joe Kent]

Curtis, I know what you mean about Remington using "different" triggers on the various SPS rifles, but to the best of my knowledge they all can be tuned up. I've built up several of them in various varmint calibers{ SPS are the least costly way of getting a rem barreled action} and all the triggers could be adjusted. You may have to go at it a different way{and you most certainly will use some new combinations of words that Lee will justifiably not let us use on this forum} but I am pretty sure you will be able to improve the trigger. All my best, Joe.

 

[RdrBill]

Sir.
I bought 2 Remington PSS's, Police Sniper Special, some years back.
One in .223.
One in .308.
Both have Leupold Optics. Both shoot well.
I have always been very happy with them.
I found a gunshop in Tucson and they had a Remington .308 40-X Palma Match Model. It was twisted for 150 grain bullets. That 40-X cost as much as the 2 PSS's and I would have had to sell the .223 optics and both PSS's to afford the 40-X.
I had the wants for that gun for 6 months and felt very unsatisfied with my 2 PSS's.
I finally took my old junky guns to the range and they still shot very well.
Moral of the story.
If you think any of the Remington improvements will make "YOU" shoot any better, you are going to have to get another gun. If you can accept that improvements are gimmicks and that practice will make you better then you can be happy with what you have.
I don't go looking for 40-X Remingtons any more. I am 60 years old, just how much improvement will I see in my shooting.
Bill@Yuma

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

That new rifle is my current .308 hole in the wallet project. Rem 700 SPS AAC-SD. I've picked up a Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5 - 16 but haven't got it mounted yet. Ordering a YHM can. The stocks are the same other than color... but the rifling is 1-10, new trigger and threaded barrel.

 

[m1gunner]

If you are already shooting 1/2 inch groups with military ammo @ 100 yds, do you really think a different trigger will tighten those groups? 1/2 moa @ 100 yds is just about a ragged hole with 30 cal bullets.

I know I had to take my sweet adjustable single stage trigger out of my 308 bolt gun when I started doing most of my shooting with a 2 stage trigger. Even the creepy and gritty OEM 2 stage trigger was better for me than the glass break single stage once most of my shooting was with a nice 2 stage.

Maybe it is that sort of mis-match you are going through.

 

[84CJ]

1/2 inch groups @ 100 with military ammo. I would not change a thing or say a word. Happy Shooting

 

[29aholic]

Yeah I know the gun shoots phenomenal groups with cheap ammo, but one has to wonder what it would do with s good trigger

 

[84CJ]

After sleeping on it I understand what your saying. Nothing to be angry or disgusted about seems as if were just a matter of timming. However I did have a nice Remington that I thought needed a trigger job so I took it to a gunsmith, ask for 2 # trigger. He said no way I will give you 2 and a half but its not safe any les than that. If you caught the Remington under fire news report it was about the Remington rifle trigger being unsafe. I dont believe the news report as it was published I think the old Remingtong triggers are fine if not messed with to the extreme. To many people are asking for 2 # trigger pulls and the gunsmith is not telling them to keep an eye on it as mine did. Back to my rifle. The smith set my trigger at 2.5 pounds with a stern warning. Check it often if you set a remington too light it will fire when the safety is taken off under certain conditions with too light a trigger pull. Mine did develope that little (big problem). I took it to another smith (The first had since moved on) and ask for the trigger to be set at 4 pounds That took care of the rifle dicharging when the safty was fliped off and to my suprise improved my shot groups. My trigger had gotten below 2 pounds by that time.

The how to check was simply make sure you never transport the rifle loaded. When you get to your Favorite hunting spot take the rifle out and flip the safety off and see if it releases the firing pin.

I understand your point because my rifle was an ADL model that cost less than 350 dollars back in the 80's. Im sure yours cost a bit more and should at least have a trigger that breaks clean, but to be safe it should be kept at a reasonable poundage.

The new x trigger is suppose to adress this problem the way I understand it.

 

[Rule3]

As you guys know way more about Triggers than I will ever know.

Is the new "better" trigger the X- Mark Pro???

 

[84CJ]

I dont know much about them either but its my understanding the X someting is the new trigger that is actually not so different from the old a small piece added to prevent the light trigger A.D.. All this comes from that news report I saw on CNN. They had an interview with the guy that designed the 700. It was a one sided report as usual but some interesting info.

 

[BoDog]

You could buy a Jewel trigger and rebuild the Remmington trigger as as a learning exrience, but that would cost $200. It sure beats an AD and might be worth it if you have several Remmingtons.

 

[29aholic]

As you guys know way more about Triggers than I will ever know.

Is the new "better" trigger the X- Mark Pro???

I believe so. I guess I am just disappointed that they changed the triggers so soon after I bought mine. The X Mark is adjustable but not very easily as the screws are epoxied and filled. I rarely buy new guns and guess if I am going to spend the money on one I want all the standard options without having to buy another new gun. I could trade up but would lose my butt even though mine is ANIB.

Phil
I would be interested in how your rifle shoots with/without the thread protector...if it effects the crown and group size. I plan on putting a can on something when my economic situation improves and the SPS is on the consideration list which is why the new threaded barrel was attractive.
It all boils down to the "Wow I could have had a V-8 syndrome"

 

[H Richard]

Two years ago I compared that same gun (in .243) with a Savage heavy barrel. I didn't like the savage stock, but the trigger made the difference, I bought the Savage. I did later restock it with a Ultra Varmint stock, but for a lot less than it would have cost to install a new trigger in the Remington. P.S., the Savage shoots under a 1/2 MOA and takes Prairie Dogs out past 500 yards.