Remington VLS & VSF...big difference?

Pete Lincoln · #8 02-16-2005, 09:13 AM

Ramses II. a mate of mine ( a Ssgt in the royal engineers) just went back to Iraq, leaving his winnie stealth with me for some work, he wants the trigger sorting out, little does he know he will come back to it bieng fully devcon bedded, probably a Lothar Walther custom barrel, teflon coated, trued and accurised,just as a personal thanks from me to him for his service over there.
The stealth is a nice rifle, i would say it is a better out of the box rifle than a Remington 700 sedero or varmint. his is fairly accurate but does suffer from having over sized head space and a long throat, as many factory rifles do these days.
Brownells do sell remington actions, but i am sure you can find a cheap second hand action at a gun show. You can get about as much after market stuff for a model 70 as you can a remmy 700 these days. Also take a look at savage, and www.savageshooters.com
with ref to the weatherby rifles, in my experience thier cheapest rifle, the vanguard is by far the most accurate of all weatherby rifles, the vanguard, (aka Howa 1500) is a darn good base for a custom rifle.
regards Pete

Ramses II · #9 02-17-2005, 12:08 PM

Pete,
You are a great friend for customizing your friend's rifle.
What barrel makers do you recommend? (other than Lothar-Walther) Lothar-Walther may be too rich for my blood. What about E.R. Shaw and others?

Ramses II

Pete Lincoln · #10 02-18-2005, 05:41 AM

Ramses, Lothar Walther are pretty good value for money, they ain't expensive. Ive never seen an ER Shaw. you can get a shed load of good barrels in the USA. My premium choice here in Europe would be Border Barrels, they are available in the states.
some rifle builders have preferences for one sort or another, but i figure if you get one from a well know barrel maker you will be ok.
Pete

targetbuster · #11 02-19-2005, 08:42 AM

I just purchased a vls in 243win. I have been impressed so far. I finished the barrel breakin yesterday. I shot four, 3shot groups under 3/4 of an inch with Winchester Super X 100gr. power points. I want to try some 95gr ballistic tips. All I've done to the gun so far is a little trigger work. I'm going to float the barrel when I get a chance. If you like the wood go with the VLS and lighten the trigger and give it a shot. I think you will be impressed.

craigp40 · #12 02-19-2005, 08:43 PM

I would highly recommned the VLS. Mine is only a 223, but it is probably the most accurate rifle I own. I did adjust the trigger and float the barrel, but that was it. I considered bedding it also, but there really wasn't a need to do it. It shoots consistenly in the high 2's. As a matter of fact, 2 weekends ago I shot the best 3-shot group at 100yds I have ever done, 0.020". Will probably never happen again in my lifetime, but it sure put a grin on my face.

sniperVLS · #13 02-20-2005, 11:56 PM

got my VLS in .308 last week and shot her just this past saturday. Put 18 rounds thru her, cleaning her 3 times in between that. I am honestly skeptical about free floating the barrel, as that pressure point upfront is intentional. The accuracy I got was amazing @ 100 yards in those conditions, it liked all the ammo I used too. American Eagle 150 grain FMJ, Federal power shock soft points @ 150 grains, and Remington Core Lokt soft points @ 150 grain. All shot great, I was not expecting that at all. My rem 700 mountain rifle was picky.

The top left grouping was the one time I oiled the barrel b4 I shot so I dont know if thats why that round went far left. It felt like a good shot until I looked back down the scope. The center high one was the very first shot I fired. I didnt touch anything on the scope, and you can see it settled down after that first one.

The American Eagles are top left, Federals Top right, and Remingtons dead center. I shot 4 except for the American Eagles. it was 20 degrees out with a 15mph wind, I was freezing but I had to see how accurate the gun was.

for the free floating, are you guys talking about just sanding that pressue point down? I dont know if I should bother, the thing is by far the most accurate rifle ive owned, even the trigger out of the box is to my liking. And mind you, the setup was NOT favorable, shooting off a tree I pushed over, and my trigger finger was numb most of the time. Ill add a pic of my friend shooting. Even he got cloverleafs with every grouping, and hes never shot a scoped rifle b4.

Im actually scared to see how accurate this gun can be in normal temps with me laying down...wow.

should I leave it? I say Yes.

Any other opinions? Oh and I higly recommend the Super Sniper scopes. Id have to spend double or triple to get this quality from a Leupold.

Oh, you VLS owners, do you get copper fouling the last .5" of barrel at muzzle end? I do and its a pain to remove. And its only at that spot after shooting.

craigp40 · #14 02-21-2005, 07:17 AM

SniperVLS, if you are thoroughly happy with it, then there is really no reason to float the barrel. Mine was very accurate without it floated as well. However, I had the luxury of having a buddy with a VS stock, that holds the same action. His was floated and bedded, so before I did any work to mine, he let me try it to see how it would react. My groups shrunk by about a 1/4" (roughly 3/4 to 1/2)when using factory Win ammo. Since I primarily handload, I was able to tune it a little better to what I currently have. Floating the barrel just made it more consistent. With that heavy barrel, I can't see how floating it would hurt. Heck, I believe thier VS version is the same action and barrel, but just with a fiberglass stock. It's floated, and those are quite accurate also.