Trued vs off the shelf Rem 700 Action

[adam32]

Adam32 yes I prefer to do projects myself. I have built several Remage rifles and they have been fairly accurate. I am just now wanting to get into something a little better receiver wise. I like the Big Horn Origin action as I can do the same Remage style setup using a savage small shank barrel setup. But wasn't sure if getting a Rem 700 trued would be just as good or if I stick with the regular ole Rem 700 action. Either setup I could do in my garage. So minimal gun smith work required. Appreciate everyone responses and help.

If you decide to true it then send it off to LRI, he has a new 5 axis machine that gets them done in like 8 minutes.

 

[jpndave]

Adam32 yes I prefer to do projects myself. I have built several Remage rifles and they have been fairly accurate. I am just now wanting to get into something a little better receiver wise. I like the Big Horn Origin action as I can do the same Remage style setup using a savage small shank barrel setup. But wasn't sure if getting a Rem 700 trued would be just as good or if I stick with the regular ole Rem 700 action. Either setup I could do in my garage. So minimal gun smith work required. Appreciate everyone responses and help.

Remington just as good as the Bighorn out of the box? No. The Bighorn is a great choice.

 

[762x51]

i bought a 700 police rifle in college, it was a sub moa gun all day. had it blueprinted and the groups shrunk even more and that was with the factory barrel. my smith charges $200 to true an action, so in my opinion, it can't hurt. to answer your question, no, it isn't always required.

 

[ntsqd]

When I worked at a racing/high perf engine building shop we occasionally built an engine that made more power than the sum of it's components would suggest it would be capable of. When I crewed on an SCCA Pro Sports 2000 racing team those cars were all powered by a stock 2.0L Ford engine. Depending on whose sealed stock engine you bought (no changing their internal parts per the class rules) they made 140-145 HP, which is at least 50% more than those same engines made in the early Pintos.

The difference in those engines over their peers is that they were blue-printed. They were 'trued'. Minor deviations in their tolerances were corrected or "moved" to the most beneficial part of their tolerance range. Those engines that were not blueprinted still made a lot of power, but the difference in otherwise identical builds was noticeable both on the dyno and in driving them.

A trued action is no different. Some are closer to the ideal set of dimensions and will shoot well with no truing. Others, while still within production spec, are far enough away from the ideal set of dimensions that they will shoot only fair. Measuring them to understand where they are within the acceptable range is almost as much work as just getting on with truing them. So if you have an action trued by someone who knows what they're doing you'll have a known foundation to build on. If you do not have it trued then you won't really know how good or bad it is until you shoot it.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

I have had them trued, not trued, very accurate, okay accurate. Just had one trued and it is a tack driver. That said, if I was building another I'd buy one of the custom actions around $850 including a rail and lug. Just seems like an easier way to go.

if you go bighorn they have a pined rail and pined lug

 

[25WSM]

Only takes a few minutes to measure an action. Takes 3 hours for me to fully blueprint one. Give me the worst spec 700 receiver you have and I can put a custom barrel on it and bed it properly and it will shoot 1/2 moa with reloads.
So depending on how accurate you want your rifle to be is up to you. Yes custom actions are nice and have a few better features but if 1/2 moa is good enough then it's your money. I've built guys rifles on just about every custom action out there and many more remingtons and I can say that on a hunting type rifle you won't see much difference in group size. The barrel is definitely the biggest factor in the accuracy. Followed by bedding and loads.
Shep

 

[ntsqd]

When I said that it takes almost as long I'm including measuring the scope mounting holes' indexing and all of the other little things. Not just where the barrel fits and how the bolt fits. Maybe it doesn't take you that long, but it does take me that long to measure stuff like that.

But, I think we're in agreement with you having the BT, DT credentials in support.

 

[25WSM]

Unlike everybody else I haven't had a remington that had screw holes so far out they needed fixed. I do drill them out and tap them 8-40 I don't know who ever thought 6-48 was a good idea. Sometimes I wonder if 8s are really big enough on some magnums.
Shep

 

[Wedgy]

Add up the cost of the Remington action and the cost of trueing it against the cost of a custom action, and keep in mind you probably won't be able to sell your trued Remington for what you have in it. Add the cost of bushing the firing pin as the last couple 700's were cratering primers. Then you still may have timing/extraction issues to be corrected.At that point you will be close to the cost of going custom.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

If you are dealing with a gunsmith that builds Bench Rest and true precision rifles, my vote is yes, let him "True " the receiver and the barrel, and the bolt face as well. If its not some thing he routinely does, then either find a smith who does, or leave it alone. Quality barrels , and careful hand loads may produce all the accuracy you are looking for . Just My 2 cents

 

[25WSM]

If you do all that to a remington then yes you will be better to buy a custom. But you don't need to do any of that to build a 1/2 minute rifle. I've proved it way to many times. Same with model 70s and savages and howas and even 98 mausers. Put a good barrel on them and they will shoot 1/2 moa. If you need better than that or aren't satisfied with a run of the mill action then get the custom. The customs are generally a better action but don't generally shoot any better.
Shep
Shep

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

When I worked at a racing/high perf engine building shop we occasionally built an engine that made more power than the sum of it's components would suggest it would be capable of. When I crewed on an SCCA Pro Sports 2000 racing team those cars were all powered by a stock 2.0L Ford engine. Depending on whose sealed stock engine you bought (no changing their internal parts per the class rules) they made 140-145 HP, which is at least 50% more than those same engines made in the early Pintos.

The difference in those engines over their peers is that they were blue-printed. They were 'trued'. Minor deviations in their tolerances were corrected or "moved" to the most beneficial part of their tolerance range. Those engines that were not blueprinted still made a lot of power, but the difference in otherwise identical builds was noticeable both on the dyno and in driving them.

A trued action is no different. Some are closer to the ideal set of dimensions and will shoot well with no truing. Others, while still within production spec, are far enough away from the ideal set of dimensions that they will shoot only fair. Measuring them to understand where they are within the acceptable range is almost as much work as just getting on with truing them. So if you have an action trued by someone who knows what they're doing you'll have a known foundation to build on. If you do not have it trued then you won't really know how good or bad it is until you shoot it.

Perfectly stated...right-On

 

[25WSM]

Well like I've stated before the remington 700 is the 350 Chevy of actions. Sky is the limit with what you can do with one. And there is a reason almost every custom action made today is a copy of a 700. It just plain works good.
Shep

 

[freddiej]

Brant Walton,
I will say this a bit differently than you asked it. is an off the shelf Rem 700 receiver capable of good hunting accuracy out to 600 yards and beyond. the answer is yes, but with one caveat. it is a rare receiver that is that good to be not in need of a little truing off the shelf. I have seen rifles, rem 700's, shoot exceptionally well off the shelf, but the majority shoot from 1" to 1.75" off the shelf. with today's modern CNC machining of receivers it is more likely to get an exceptional receiver. as a precaution I would have a good riflesmith true up the receiver of any custom long range rifle. it's just a good $250.00 spent making sure your rifle will deliver what you want .