Remington 700 BDL .223 Questions..

[henry22]

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.

[Ojaileveraction]

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.

[henry22]

Thanks OJail. Hmmm, a 15 pound trigger pull. Sounds intense

[Henry88]

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..........

[North Country Gal]

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.

[Henry88]

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.

[BigAl52]

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.

[henry22]

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.

[North Country Gal]

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.

[henry22]

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?

[North Country Gal]

Sounds like fun. Best of luck.

[bandit1250]

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.

The BDL Remington the OP said he likes will not be chambered to handle the 5.56 rounds. The chamber is different in the leade. The 5.56 has a longer leade(similar to Weatherby free bore) to relieve the pressure and to get the higher velocity of the heavier bullet that 5.56 use. The 5.56 can use the 223 Remington rounds with no problem but 223 rifles should not have 5.56 fired in them. I recently read when 5.56 was fired in a 223 chamber the pressures went from the normal 55,000 to over 72,000. Not worth the chance of losing fingers or worse to shoot ammo that is usually not that accurate any way. Also the BDL from the time period that were still being made with the walnut gloss finished stocks were a 1-12" twist and will not stabilize a bullet over 60 grs. Mine won't even stabilize a 60 gr. if it is a plastic tip because of being longer than a 60 with the lead tip like a Hornady 60 gr. spire point. I have owned over two dozen Remington 222's and 223's and they were capable of shooting with any of the rifles from that time period even higher priced rifles. Remington's dominated the sporter matches in my area and 788's were strong competitors on the line also. Remington has had some bad people at the helm in the years since they were sold from Dupont. But for all the bad things on the internet about them being junk I was at the range one day and it was pretty busy with quite a few small caliber center fire bolt rifles. There was a Weatherby Vanguard and a Browning X-bolt, a Savage or two and a Sako there. There was also two guys there with the Dick's sporting goods special they handle. Remington 700 ADL Varmint. They are the blind magazine models with the synthetic stock. They was chambered 223 Rem. and 22-250 Rem. They out shot every other rifle there and handily beat the Weatherby(Howa) and the high dollar Sako. All these rifles were chambered in 223 and 22-250 so there was really no caliber advantage to the accuracy. Also the Remington's were using scopes far below the price ranges and power every one else there had. I was there to shoot CZ rim fires but if I would have had a Tikka or my Sako Vixen there I believe the cheap Remington's would have done both of mine in. My Savage Swift would have probably turn the tables on the Remington's. Maybe not. I also have plans to get one of the Dick's ADL's in 223 or 22-250 and put it in a 40-x stock with a single shot plate installed. That is how impressed I was with those two Remington's that so many "experts" at their key boards call junk. So even if there is not the nice fit and finish on Remington's from days gone by they still know how to make decent barrels. If the OP can find a nice BDL in 223 Rem. better buy it. They bring good money at the dealers and the shows if some one knows what they have.

[North Country Gal]

Good points, bandit. For all my wanderings at gun shows and gun shops, I actually don't see many of those old Remington BDLs and ADLs for sale. People rarely part with them.

As for twist rate, yes, it is important in the 223. We have 223s in 1-9 and 1-12 twists. We're perfectly happy with the 1-12s, though, because we are strictly target shooters and shoot mostly the bulk 50 and 55 grain stuff and, now and then, the same weights in the pricier varmint ammo. Our CZ 1-9 223 let's us shoot some of the 62 grain match stuff, effectively, but still does well with the 55 grain bulk stuff.

[henry22]

Much thanks for that info guys. Without going into too much detail, it's my dad that's really pressing for a .223. It's cheap enough to shoot regularly, and has much better velocity and range than a rimfire. We intended to only shoot Remington 223 freedom bucket stuff — we're not serious shooters or hunters. I like shooting potatoes off the top of a target board at 100 yards or so. To me, that's great fun with a .22 mag Henry.

Having said that, it's getting the most accurate, and handsome rifle we can find. My dad hates the look of the Browning Eclipse Varmint, I don't love the stock colour, but it's really beefy, and perfect as a bench rest rifle at the range. He wanted a more traditional looking rifle, — like the BDL. The only other rifles I'd consider are the X-Bolt Medallion, or hunter in .223, or the CZ 527 Varmint - that's a really nice rifle.