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Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

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henry22
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Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by henry22 » Mon Feb 05, 2018 11:34 pm

I'm just trying to find anyone who's had experience with this rifle, having either owned one yourself, or known someone who owns one.

In the .223 world, are they GREAT rifles? I'd love to find one used, they're so classic looking. On the Guns & Ammo website, there's a Remington Timeline: http://www.gunsandammo.com/remington-hi ... on-rifles/ and it says they were produced from 1983—Present. But the older ones look darker, shiner, and just plain cool.

Here's some handsome pictures of the rifle in .223:
http://www.gunsandammo.com/files/2016/0 ... H8-038.jpg
http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/286 ... 232F8255F0

Here's a really cool one in .243 with a bull barrel:
https://www.gunsamerica.com/userimages/ ... 949205.jpg

Is there anyone with info and experience who's had their hands on the .223 model?

Much thanks guys.
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Ojaileveraction
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by Ojaileveraction » Mon Feb 05, 2018 11:45 pm

I have a 223 700 ADL the blind mag equivalent. It just out of the box and has like a 15 lb trigger. I haven't shot it as much as any of my leveractions but it is more accurate even with the trigger.
I can keep 55 gr handloads inside an 8 inch gong at 600yrds.
The trigger is supposed to be easily adjusted by a gunsmith.
I agree the look of the rifle is a classic. Mine is a synthetic stock, a 700 in walnut is hot.
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henry22
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by henry22 » Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:49 am

Thanks OJail. Hmmm, a 15 pound trigger pull. Sounds intense
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by Henry88 » Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:52 am

Trigger pull set so high probably in an attempt to make it lawyer proof. You've probably already read about the guns going off by themselves......

There is an excellent YouTube on setting the trigger properly, but you may still want to have it done by a pro given the history.

Bottom lines they are great guns, may want to look used, and in a great caliber, good luck..........
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North Country Gal
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:26 am

As a friend of mine says, you can never go wrong with a bolt gun in a 223. Me, I'd expand that to other types of actions as well.

The last Remington 700 I owned was n the 60s and Remington pretty much owned the competition benchrest competition with its Model 700. It was the bolt gun to beat. Of course, Remington was different company in those days. Have no idea how the new ones compare.

Also, way more choices in bolt guns, these days. Might want to take a look at some of the other brands, too.
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by Henry88 » Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:05 am

One other note, if it is rated for the 5.56 ammo, which I guess sees higher pressures, you will be able to shoot ammo which is just a little more expensive the the .22WMR rimfire.
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by BigAl52 » Tue Feb 06, 2018 12:03 pm

I have the 243 version with the varmint heavy barrel. I traded a guy around San Antonio Texas for it. He was shooting hogs with it out of a helicopter and had the trigger tuned and some other work done to it. It had a low round count so I went for it. Its one of the best shooting rifles in my collection. I have shot under 1/2 5 shot groups with it at 100 yards. Its a keeper even if it doesn't get used much.
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henry22
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by henry22 » Tue Feb 06, 2018 1:02 pm

Thanks for the responses. I shouldn't put so much into the way rifles look. But I really love the styling of that rifle. My dad really wants to buy a 223 this spring, so we can take it along with my Henry 22 mag - shooting only paper. He's leaning heavily towards the Tikka T3X in .223. It's a handsome rifle, and has great reviews, but it's almost too light. We won't be varmint hunting with it, at the range on a bench rest only.

I just wish we could find that Rem 700 BDL used around here. It's so classic looking. The only thing that comes close is the Browning X-Bolt Medallion series. That is a seriously beautiful rifle.

I tried to persuade him to look at the X-Bolt Eclipse Varmint:
http://www.browning.com/products/firear ... nt-18.html

It's heavy (9 pounds & 3 OZ, long 26" bull barrel, thumb through stock etc. It just felt really good to handle, like it means business. As much as I love the look of the T3X, it just felt way too light, and I didn't like the floating barrel. The feel of the rifle isn't nearly as solid and dense as the Eclipse. Both of us aren't really that keen on the eclipse finish - that grey brown colour. If they only made it in a dark walnut — like the CZ line.

I love the look of those older Remington 700 BDL's. Their stocks and fore-ends seem deeper in colour, richer, glossier. Here's a Browning X-Bolt Medallion in .223 - looks an awful lot like that BDL to me.
https://www.gunandgame.com/attachments/ ... jpg.45487/ — What a beauty.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:04 pm

Have a range pal that shoots the Browning X bolt 223 in one of the light sporter versions. You should see the groups he shoots with his hand loads. He loves the X bolt.
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Re: Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

Post by henry22 » Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:44 pm

North Country Gal, yeap, I agree 100%. A guy I know let me shoot his X Bolt last year — in 7mm Rem Mag. That was intense to say the least. I think I destroyed the genetic code of the next 10 generations of a plastic water jug's offspring.

The water jug just absolutely disintegrated into a thousand pieces — at the very instant I heard that beefy crack of the cartridge go off. So now I have a permanent image in my head, of that bottle being eviscerated into molecules, and that sound. It was quite excellent.

We can't get the X-bolt Hunter in .223 around here - easily that is. We'd need to order it, and it could take god knows how long. But, there's a sportman's show coming up in April around here, and we'll just go and have a look-see. Who knows what we might find?
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