Most accurate Remington 700?

Question
Dear GCH -

I have read and re-read your 2003 reply about the most accurate rifle.  You covered not only the rifle, but optics, ammo and shooter skills.. Your article was beautifully written and extremely thorough.

You mentioned the Remington 700 in a .308 which is what I am beginning to settle on and has been recommended to me by several gunsmiths.  When I recently visited a premier weapons dealer in Houston and asked to see a Remington 700, they plunked down several.  There is the 700 VTR, the 700 Tactical, the Remington 700 XYZ, The Remington 123 and ABC; and on and on.  And we haven't even begun discussing  rifling and barrel length.

Now, I am really confused.  Is there a Remington 700, in a .308 that you would recommend over the others for long-range, competitive shooting in the 300 - 600 yard category.  No hunting, just targets.

Many thanks,
Henry in Houston

Answer
Besides the one you've mentioned (currently in production) there are a host of other Remington 700s as well, and you might want to consider a sparsely used previously owned gun. I don't believe that Remington makes the LTR any longer, but I really like that rifle a lot.

The Remington 700 is basically and action-type, bolt, and triggering mechanism. Everything else (meaning stock, magazine, and barrel) are all "add-ons."

What you want to look for is basically this:

1) A synthetic stock. This will be dimensionally more stable than a stock made of natural material (wood) and lighter. Ideally, you want a stock that has a single aluminum bedding block and will free-float the barrel (Remington has on some of their offerings used MacMillan, which are excellent stocks, but anything that fits this description will do).

2) A heavy barrel. If you are looking for precision accuracy and don't intend on lugging the gun around, a heavy barrel will yield more accuracy than a tapered barrel (usually found on hunting guns, because not only is it not so affected by harmonics, but the heat of repeated firing does not change the barrel as much. Some barrels are heavy but fluted to cut weight, and that is fine. Barrel length will not increase accuracy because at those ranges you will be using glass, so sight radius is a non-issue. Barrels on these guns are generally seen from 20-26" in two-inch increments. The longer the barrel, the more velocity it will generate = the further and flatter it will fly. But from 300-600 yards, a 20" tube will do you fine, and I happen to like both the handiness and weight savings of that particular barrel length. Barrel length, though, will be personal preference, unless you are going beyond 800 yards, in which case a longer barrel will be better.

A word about muzzle breaks: for best accuracy, I don't like them. Some of them (such as on the Browning A-Bolts) can be phenomenally accurate, but in theory I don't generally like the idea of gases escaping except in a uniform was as the barrel leaves the bullet. Not saying such a gun will be inaccurate, just saying that if I had a choice, I'd rather do without any kind of porting or muzzle break device.

Of current Remington offerings, I might look at the XCR or XCR Compact Tactical. Both of these have muzzle breaks however, and if I could find a lightly used LTR (which came, if I recall, in 20 or 24 barrels), I think I'd rather go for that.

I hope this helps some.