Problem 700 SPS
- Thread starter jrock
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working the action over is not going to make a bad chamber in a turd barrel shoot !
I have Rem 700's that were 300 Rums to start with, back in 2002 I had my smith give one the works to accurize it and rebarrel to 300 Tomahawk with a #7 Hart barrel, It is extremely accurate but I have to say it's the Hart barrel !!!!!
my 338 Edge got an Obermeyer bbl with zero action accurizing and shoots 300 gr Accubonds as good as the 300 Tomahawk with target bullets...
my other Rems got Bartlein, Brux and Rock Creek bbls with no action accurizing of any kind....all shoot as good and maybe a bit better than the accurized one ! most of the time accurizing is not needed, a high quality barrel and a new chamber by a competent gunsmith will make a fine shooting Rem 700
BTW ... have a smith install a Sako Extractor (properly) and your brass shavings and brass damage will vanish... a new barrel and chamber will have you shooting some nice groups
I have Rem 700's that were 300 Rums to start with, back in 2002 I had my smith give one the works to accurize it and rebarrel to 300 Tomahawk with a #7 Hart barrel, It is extremely accurate but I have to say it's the Hart barrel !!!!!
my 338 Edge got an Obermeyer bbl with zero action accurizing and shoots 300 gr Accubonds as good as the 300 Tomahawk with target bullets...
my other Rems got Bartlein, Brux and Rock Creek bbls with no action accurizing of any kind....all shoot as good and maybe a bit better than the accurized one ! most of the time accurizing is not needed, a high quality barrel and a new chamber by a competent gunsmith will make a fine shooting Rem 700
BTW ... have a smith install a Sako Extractor (properly) and your brass shavings and brass damage will vanish... a new barrel and chamber will have you shooting some nice groups
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
After seeing his pictures of brass damage, yeah, the only help is a new barrel with a proper chamber by a competent smith. I wouldn't send it back to Remington, they're just screw it up again.
davkrat
Well-Known Member
Like I said before my 700 SPS did the exact same thing to brass of my .308. the difference is the belt on your 7Mag is the highspot. Once I smoothed off the bottom of my bolt it quit destroying brass. Unless you never fed that snap cap in from the magazine? If you picture the bottom of your bolt as a file you can imagine dragging it across the top round in the magazine as if it were being held in a vice.
The extractor can't be scratching the belt but could be damaging the "rim" I suppose. I would take your steel wool (better yet 600 grit wet/dry) and run it along the underside of your bolt. Mine felt like 150 grit sandpaper out of the box and the first 50 brass I bought I thought wouldn't last more than a couple loadings.
The extractor can't be scratching the belt but could be damaging the "rim" I suppose. I would take your steel wool (better yet 600 grit wet/dry) and run it along the underside of your bolt. Mine felt like 150 grit sandpaper out of the box and the first 50 brass I bought I thought wouldn't last more than a couple loadings.
Hired Gun
Well-Known Member
That scratch on the belt looks like a really rough fed rail. A couple strokes with a fine stone or even a folded up piece of 320 should take care of that.
I suspect the crown is the root for the accuracy problems. It need not be damaged. Just not cut square will cause this.
On the primer cratering have you tried CCI-250 primers?
I suspect the crown is the root for the accuracy problems. It need not be damaged. Just not cut square will cause this.
On the primer cratering have you tried CCI-250 primers?
I've had a couple 700 SPS cheapie rifles in standard calibers like 270, and I hesitate to say this under the circumstances, but they shot great with most ammo for what they cost...about 3/4 moa at 100 yards. The only upgrade I made to them was a Timney adjustable trigger since the Rem factory trigger is not adjustable and truly horrible. With a rifle that Cabela's sometimes sale prices down to almost $300 new, its certainly going to be a gamble from one to the next. It sounds like I got lucky with mine.
I'd have a good rifle smith run a scope down the bore and tell you what he sees with the rifling. Maybe some action work and a good hand lapping of the bore will do the trick. Otherwise you're looking at a trued action and custom barrel, as others have suggested. You might also want to try some more forgiving bullets like the original accubonds to see how they shoot.
If its any consolation, spending a lot of money on a factory rifle is no guarantee either. I bought a NIB Remington Sendero in 300 RUM and it just wouldn't shoot no matter what I tried. Sent it back to Remington for warranty work and they acknowledged a problem, claimed to have lapped the bore and re-crowned the barrel and sent it back. The test target they sent was pathetic. A three shot vertical string measuring 1 inch to closest edges was "within warranty". It sure didn't look like anything I'd call a 1" group. It never really shot much better and I ended up selling it with full disclosure and a slight loss. Now when I want a rifle for accurate shooting, its a custom build. When you get done adding up all the extra costs poured into the SPS, the only difference is that you'll spend more money and still not have the quality of a custom build when you're finished.
I'd have a good rifle smith run a scope down the bore and tell you what he sees with the rifling. Maybe some action work and a good hand lapping of the bore will do the trick. Otherwise you're looking at a trued action and custom barrel, as others have suggested. You might also want to try some more forgiving bullets like the original accubonds to see how they shoot.
If its any consolation, spending a lot of money on a factory rifle is no guarantee either. I bought a NIB Remington Sendero in 300 RUM and it just wouldn't shoot no matter what I tried. Sent it back to Remington for warranty work and they acknowledged a problem, claimed to have lapped the bore and re-crowned the barrel and sent it back. The test target they sent was pathetic. A three shot vertical string measuring 1 inch to closest edges was "within warranty". It sure didn't look like anything I'd call a 1" group. It never really shot much better and I ended up selling it with full disclosure and a slight loss. Now when I want a rifle for accurate shooting, its a custom build. When you get done adding up all the extra costs poured into the SPS, the only difference is that you'll spend more money and still not have the quality of a custom build when you're finished.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
If you built a custom off of it, you'll be VERY happy with it.
Trust me, if you build it and use a competent smith who has a very good reputation, you should not be disappointed with the outcome, and if anything, very impressed.
But, if you bought it new, and are the original owner, and decide you don't want to drop the coin into it, and you want to sell it cheap, shoot me a PM, and we'll see if we can work something out.
I have a 700 VTR in 223. The barrel twist in that rifle is quick so it's supposed to like the heavy pills and not the little guys.....wrong! 55gr V-Max 2.5MOA, 63gr Varminter 3+MOA, 70gr Match VLD was like a 20 gauge shotgun with an improved cylinder at 30 yards. Oddly enough it will shot 40gr ballistic tips under MOA all day long.
My 1987 ADL 25-06 is a gem, 2010 VTR is junk. I used to be a big Rem fan, but I'm sticking with Savage until they give me a reason not to.
gohring3006
Well-Known Member
I'm glad I read this I was going to buy a sps in 7 mag now I'm going to keep my 06 tc venture its sub moa
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Don't let this thread deter you from buying an SPS in 7mm RemMag. He happened to get a lemon, and those are going to happen with anything man-made. It is not a common occurance, but the reason you see so many of these threads, is because nobody ever posts any threads about their good shooting Remington 700 with issues. I would be willing to bet that 500/1 Remington 700's might have an issue. I've only onwed 1 that wouldn't group, and I'm pretty sure it was due to the ammo I was given for that caliber, as I had no interest in keeping it that caliber.
EVERY single one of my custom rifles I've had built this year 4, going on 5 have all used factory Remington 700 barrel, that have been hand-lapped, and had the chambers trued and centered, and had the threads and shoulders squared. All of them shoot sub-1/2 MOA with handloads (except the .300 Ackley and the .30-06 Ackley, as I haven't had time to form brass, or to do any load develpment with them yet). I will probably be doing so this weekend, though, and will post my findings. However, I anticipate sub-1/2 MOA with dialed-in loads, because all of my others have been shooting this good, or better.
davkrat
Well-Known Member
+1!!!!!
gohring3006
Well-Known Member
I'm going to buy it anyway u can't have to many rifles I will enjoy tinkering with it load devolpment ,new trigger,bedding the recoil lug,freefloating barrel that should put it at 1moa if not I will recrown and blueprint sometimes just lapping the barrel will make them come to life
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
My buddy has a .300 WinMag SPS that was 100% stock at the time, and with some load development, we had it shooting 178 AMax's into ½" cloverleafs @ 100 yards. Completely factory w/ the crappy X-Mark Pro trigger.
Not that they will all shoot like that, but just letting you know what they CAN do if you get a good one.
Also, like you said, you can never have too many rifles. And tinkering with it is what most people DON'T do, and then they gripe that it won't shoot with the very first load they try... It's a $550 rifle...It's not built to shoot sub-MOA. However, by purchasing that rifle, you always have a great platform to build off of, because you have your 700 action, and your bottom metal BDL setup, which are 2 of the key components for a custom build. All you will need from there is a trigger, barrel blank, and a good stock.
I look at all guns as projects. I buy them, and if they shoot, awesome! if they don't...Oh well, now I have an excuse to build a custom.
Don't just bed the recoil lug...Bed the whole action & the lug & don't forget to float the barrel. You will probably be best off to go ahead and buy a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock for it, which has the full-length aluminum bedding block in it. Then bed that stock. Stockey's sells them for about $265, and has them in a bunch of different color options. Some people don't like them because they're inexpensive, but I can tell you from first-hand experience they are EXCELLENT stocks for the money. And at that price, I really don't think you can beat them. Next level up is an HS Precision, but those will run you around $400.
All of my customs use hand-lapped, trued, and re-crowned factory Rem barrels (professionally worked & accurized by my smith), and they all shoot sub-½ MOA with developed handloads. If everyone wants to go buy $350-500 barrel blanks, go right ahead. That means more factory barrels out there for me. But until I run out of new factory barrels for $75-150, I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
