What to do with my 700 BDL Varmint Special

[JC in Calif]

Greetings all.....first post on here.

So I acquired a 1971 Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special in 25-06 a few years ago with the intention on getting serious about long range varmint hunting. 6 years and 4 kids later, Plans have changed. I have honestly only shot it a dozen times and while it shoots great, it mainly just takes up space in the safe and needs sold or a facelift. It is in immaculate condition due to it's extremely low round count, and should have brought a pretty penny....until I removed the scope and realized it's previous owner did a number to the barrel with a drill and tap....my guess is while installing (or attempting to) a Unertl mount. So the collection value Of this rifle has diminished...which is a shame bc of its rareness and great condition otherwise.

Anyway, trying to decide what to do with it.

Here is my short list of options:

1. Sell it. What would this rifle reasonably be worth with the cosmetic issue on the barrel? (Pics attached) I've seen them go for $1k in mint condition.

2. Rebarrel and restock into a LR hunting rifle for medium game. Thinking .280AI

3. Upgrade to a magnum bolt face, and build a .338 RUM bear and moose killer.

4. Keep it as is and let the kids shoot the heck out of it when they get a little bigger.

I am hoping for suggestions and ideas. I do not own any custom rifles, yet. And the best case scenario for me would be to get a fair price for it and put towards that goal. What would you do with it if it was yours?

Rebarrel to a 338/06. Great caliber, no bolt face change needed.

 

[Ben Gallardy]

I appreciate all the responses. Some very good points made. Thanks!

At this point it seems like the most logical path is to keep the rifle, throwing a nice synthetic stock on it, and a new trigger, and start shooting it.

As far as the safety of the barrel, it had been shot before the holes where discovered, by myself and the previous owner, with no issues. I will have it looked at by my gunsmith just for good measure...especially before the kids start shooting it in a few years. I don't plan on loading any high pressure rounds either. That's a heavy barrel and the depth of the holes looks nearly the same as the flutes on my Rem 700 Sendero.

 

[Rhett Crider]

I appreciate all the responses. Some very good points made. Thanks!

At this point it seems like the most logical path is to keep the rifle, throwing a nice synthetic stock on it, and a new trigger, and start shooting it.

As far as the safety of the barrel, it had been shot before the holes where discovered, by myself and the previous owner, with no issues. I will have it looked at by my gunsmith just for good measure...especially before the kids start shooting it in a few years. I don't plan on loading any high pressure rounds either. That's a heavy barrel and the depth of the holes looks nearly the same as the flutes on my Rem 700 Sendero.

Now that's an idea. Flute it!!

 

[Ben Gallardy]

I thought about fluting it, right along the line of where the holes are. That's another option.

The holes could also be filled in, and then re-blued or Cerakoted. My list keeps getting longer and more $$$$

 

[Jburr]

If it was mine I'd shoot it. I would also find some screws and plug those holes just to make them less noticeable and keep dirt and moisture from building up in them

 

[RevJim]

When that rifle was made/sold, it WAS the LR rifle! I'd keep it ( you just have to get those unsightly holes repaired!) put a Trigger Tech Primary trigger in, have the stock pillar bedded/floated, nice pad. Pick up a nice high quality scope and get after it! By the time your kids come along, you will have some stories to go with it or have shot the barrel out. Then you and the kids can decide what to do with it!
If you want to really shoot half a mile and further, invest in a bonafide LR rig. It would have to be really accurate to be an upgrade to what you already have! But it would satisfy your hankering, ha.

Have a ball dude!

 

[Texanjohn]

Can't believe no one has come up with the obvious, SEND IT TO MEEEEEE!!!!!!! I bet I'll shoot it!,, LOL but seriously shoot it,find another to build into your long range big game rifle and enjoy it as is, and like has already been sai you'll then have a rifle for the kids when needed.

 

[nvschütze]

Those off-center holes in the receiver are uglier than forty feet of mud fence. I think I'd find a one-piece scope mount, put it on and hide those holes until hellsinki freezes over.

My mistake: I just looked at the image again. Those holes are well ahead of the receiver; they're just short of where the open rear sight is to be mounted. Because the four miserably-drilled holes are so closely-spaced, that presents an opportunity for the barrel to crack along that line. In my laughable lack of knowledge about anything firearm, I'd bite the bullet and put a new barrel on it. That's the safest action you can take. A new barrel with a close-tolerance chamber will make that rifle better than the day it was boxed and shipped to the dealer, but who to do it? Hill Country Rifles in New Braunfels, Texas. They rebarreled an M700 in .223Rem of a friend of mine. It came back shooting .376" from 100 yards.

 

[PartsJr.]

With the holes in the barrel I doubt you would get much for it if you decide to sell.
If it's safe to use as is ... keep it and shoot it til you're ready for something else.
Lots of good caliber options with a long action Rem.

 

[Pmacc60]

That's a fine rifle to have, I would hold on to it. Build something you want on another platform. Those BDL's are classics!

 

[KS2506]

If the holes are threaded, plug them with plug screws, and keep it, and use it as a starter gun for the kids. Being a Varminter will be a plus for the kids learning to shoot off the bench. You can load it down to 250 Savage specs for starters. Make a great gun for shooting from a blind or high stand. One heck of a deer rifle, hogs and coyotes.

 

[Jluck]

Sell the stock for top dollar and build that 280AI!!

 

[GonzoK34]

I had a Rem 700 243 that I gave a friend to build a LR 243 SM to hunt prairie dogs for next season in Arizona. We hunt varmints here in S. Calif as often as possible.
Mike ordered a Hart Barrel 1:8 24 ". installed a Timney Elite Trigger, H S Precision Stock and a complete action blue print. We've been doing load development and break in. So Far it's shooting 3/8th inch 5 round groups at 100. At 500 it's 1.6" with 5 rd grps.
The rifle before the build I had for 10 years and bought it off a friend for $300 cuz he said it wouldn't shoot. I offered to clean it for him but he didn't want it. After cleaning the dirty action, trigger and barrel I was shooting 3/4" groups and killing lots of coyotes. To say he was upset in putting it mildly. But he didn't ask for it back.
Now it's a brand new rifle that my friend will enjoy and pass on to his sons.
SEMPER FIDELIS
Gonzo

 

[nvschütze]

Mikes 243 SM (Post #27) is a good-lookin' gun with an even better-lookin' scope...