MudRunner2005 is correct.
This is going to be long, and a whole lot of preaching, so skip to the bottom unless you're interested.
Ill add that Quality and expectations have decreased across the board, not just Remington. Also, I'd like to offer it as another problem, not necessarily a company one, or a QC department one, but one of a more personal nature, that has proliferated and thrived in our society by tolerance for far too long.
My personal experience has been I've bought inexpensive rifles and had them function and perform flawlessly. I've bought 2K rifles and had basic function issues, I've bought middle of the road rifles and needed a gunsmith help to get it right. Over the last 2 years, I have bought 7 new rifles.
5 of them function just fine and met my expectations. 2 did not.
Really, it has become luck of the draw.
It's just the way it is now.
When it happens to you, when you get the "Lemon", you'll get smacked in the face with the reality of your expectation, and the failure of your choice brand to meet it. Really, the problem is deeper than the company.
On to what I believe the problem is.
Craftsmanship, pride in work, personal responsibility, all has been traded off. For whatever reason, money, production, time...but we are a society of individuals, and companies are a conglomeration of individuals, and it's at the individuals feet where I lay the problem. Individuals make choices, some on behalf of themselves, some on behalf of something bigger. Choices have consequences, consequences have costs, there is no escaping that.
This problem isn't just in the firearms industry, either.
It's everything.
Society as a whole has taken a turn, but it all comes back to an individual's personal value system. Integrity, pride, taking a personal responsibility for the work you do. If everyone has skin in the game, the results speak for themselves. Even having a QC department smacks of a recognized lack of personal values, but really, what choice does a company have? Good people are hard to find today. At least by my standard, and I'm not perfect by any means.
I have no answer for how to fix it. It's a complicated problem, and requires the involvement and support of "everyone doing the right thing, even if no one is looking, and the wrong thing is legal." (I think that was Leupold..) It starts at a very young age, and must continue throughout the life of the individual.
So, good luck with that, right?
To answer your question, "would I end up with a 6-700 yard elk rifle", I'd say yes... eventually. It may cost you more than you think, or it may not. It's always been "You roll the dice, you take your chances." It's just now, the odds are less favorable.
Christiansen Arms would be and has been a choice I have exercised. I won't say you can't go wrong with them, but of the 2 rifles I have bought, one had a minor ejection issue I was able to address with a phone call to the company, and resolve myself without sending the rifle back.
Remington would be and has been a choice I have exercised as well. 3 out of 4 rifles were just fine. The one that was not, became a semi custom rifle, at twice the price of my initial investment, which is now fine. I could have been like so many other people and sold my problem to someone else, but instead I owned it, and I am happy with the results.
I've also purchased 2 Savage rifles, and have no problems with them.
I do not know your experience level with firearms, You may need to educate yourself thoroughly on the limited inspection you'll be able to accomplish at a gun counter. There are a few things about a rifle you cannot know until you fire it. Things like will it cycle live ammunition, fire it accurately, extract and eject properly, an expectation that should be valid, and go without saying, but not today.
If you do your homework, or know what you are doing already, there will be less chances for problems down the road. Notice I didn't say no problems, but less chances of them?
Good luck with your purchase!
