M700 LSS 257 Weatherby

[SJB358]

This was the CDL I really wanted to shoot well.. Put pillars and bedded it, but it still really never came around to what I wanted. It was a very sharp looking rifle and I loved the 25-06 cartridge alot..

The CDL's are some very nice rifles, I like their stocks alot, but I am not a fan of that X-Mark trigger with the allen screw poking through. Not a huge deal, just don't like the way it feels. The stock looked really nice till I pulled it off. Looked like it was inletted by a blind man with a 1" chisel a and a 15lb sledge. Again, it came around decent, but out of the box, it wouldn't keep three shots closer than 1 FT.. Yeah a ft, with Rem Factory ammo. Handloads were just about as bad. That is when I did the bedding and such. I ended up selling it as I lost faith in it. It was too bad, cause the CDL's aren't inexpensive rifles that should need that much work. My Whelen hasn't been touched, ever, except for the trigger, it shoots too well to monkey with. It was made in 05 though, the 25-06 was a 2011.. Pretty big difference in performance. Again, I love the CDL's, but I would have alot of trouble buying another..

 

[DrMike]

The CDL is a very handsome rifle. You are correct, Scotty, that when they are taken apart, they frequently are not quite so attractive. I am certainly cognizant of some that some very well. However, in the great crap shoot of rifle purchasing, I got two that shoot less than stellar groups. Consequently, I'll not be buying any more of the more recently built Remingtons to add to my safe.

 

[wildgene]

...I pretty much gave up on the Remingtons when they decided it was better to have the bolt work w/ the safety on than to lock it down. A few generations managed to safely unload rifles in the "Fire" position before some "Ligitahole" decided it was "Unsafe". Remingtons' are no where near the quality I grew up w/ & there are just too many other rifles in the same price range that aren't a "crapshoot" outta the box. I just don't see the reason for buying a Mod 700, replacing the barrel, the stock, the trigger to get a rifle that shoots about as good as a factory Tikka or Browning @ double the cost or for the same price as a Cooper, Kimber, or Hill Country all ready finished...

 

[BK]

My newer .204 seems to shoot okay...

 

[Guy Miner]

These stories of Remington quality slipping bug me. They were good, accurate rifles. Some still are.

My buddy Steve got his first ever hunting rifle last year, a Rem 700 in .270 Win. Matte finish, some kind of synthetic stock. Put a low end 3-9x Leupold on it and proceeded to shoot roughly 1" groups with factory ammo... It works great and looks decent, for a synthetic stocked rifle.

I think the description "crap shoot" is apt - as some Remington 700's (like BK's .204) seem to be well built, and others, well the stuff I read is terrible! I still feel bad about Scotty's .25-06 ordeal, because I think I praised mine too much. It has been a good rifle for me though, no doubt. Mine was built in '04 though I think, not long after the CDL's were introduced.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

My newer .204 seems to shoot okay...

Kurt, you missed to bull! Something has to be wrong with it!

Guy, your right about that, my Whelen was made within about a year of your 25-06 and shoots excellent. I really wanted to take a few pics of my 25-06 over a good buck like yours, but it wasn't meant to be! I imagine a RED one will make the cut though!