What is the skinny on the Remington VTR?

I had one in 22-250. It looked cool, and it shot well, but the porting, combined with fast 22-250 loads made for a jarring report even with good hearing protection.

If you buy one, I think you are buying mostly for looks. I doubt the triangular contour really does much for accuracy.

It's just an M700 with an oddly shaped barrel that has an integral muzzle brake. MSRP is $930($799 or less at Gander Mountain. $750ish, used, on Gunbroker.). So if your buddy owes you more than that, you may want to reconsider.
The thing in .223 has a 1 in 9 rifling twist, so it'd be ok out to 300 with heavy bullets. A Hornady ammo 75 grain BTHP sighted in at 200 drops 6.9" at 300. Pushing the cartridge.

FWIW, if triangular barrels were particularly useful or better than others, they would be more widely used. Not too curiously, none of my rifles, including the one wearing a 26" Bartlein barrel in .260 Rem, wear a triangular barrel. YMMV...mine doesn't.

Harry

In theory, the angles make the barrel more rigid.
The one I worked with a while back was a decent shooter.
Denis

aarondhgraham said:

He owes me $450.00,,,
So value wise I would come out okay.

I don't really want this rifle that much,,,
But since this might be my only chance of getting repaid,,,
I think I will take it out to shoot and maybe accept it to resell if nothing else.

I don't own a modern bolt-action rifle chambered in anything centerfire,,,
I've always thought a .223 (cheap ammo) would be the way to go,,,
So after I shoot the gun I'll decide what to do.

Thanks for your comments gentlemen.

Aarond

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For 450 I would take it.

My 223 does not have the porting and I like the rifle. It may look a bit odd but I just view it as an accurate 223 rifle which is a pleasure to shoot.

My friend at Remington says the triangle barrel is just a marketing thing. Although they are known to shoot well. But not necessarily better than a good round barrel. I will give you $450 for it.

I shot 3/4 moa with my friends 308 VTR, my best ever.

It was highly modified, but used the original triangle barrel. He had the brake machined off and threaded for a flash hider.

VTR
B&C stock
Timney trigger
10rd mag conversion

A guy at the range was shooting one in 308 a while back. He let me put 3 rounds down range. Despite the odd looks it was very accurate.

The triangle barrel is an attempt to get similar barrel stiffness compared to a heavy bull barrel with somewhat less weight. Fluting a heavy barrel does the same thing and does work. I couldn't say how stiff a triangle shaped barrel is, but I've got to give Remington a little credit for thinking outside of the box. Not every idea is a success.

"Most people don't really want the truth. They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth"

AMEN

I bought my .308 VTR as my first modern bolt rifle. I was never impressed with the accuracy, so I bought a Boyd's stock and fitted it to the barrel so that it is free floating. It loves 165gr and higher loads (my reloads) and now shoots <1MOA.

I would buy another if a deal came along, but the VTR (IMO) doesn't offer anything superior to a conventional 700.

Why people continue to buy Remington when there is literally a metric ton of better options available is beyond any reasonable comprehension.

I would pass.

Point may be moot,but I'm gonna chime in anyway.I have two of them,a 308 and a 223.The 308 is one that came from Cabela's,and has a 24" barrel without the muzzle brake.It keeps 5 well inside MOA.I put it in a B&C Medalist stock because the factory Tupperware stock is so flimsy.I will put it in the original stock when I want to carry it hunting.It makes a very accurate hunting rig that seems to have HB accuracy in a sporter weight package.The 223 has the (useless)brake,and won't shoot with the 308.It'll soon get a new round barrel that will shoot to the standard I want it to.The triangle shape does seem to dissipate heat quicker because it travels out to the thin corners of the barrel.But they also heat up faster.I can't say they're anything to get excited about,but they're good rifles.Would I buy another?Damfino.

I'll chime in as well, even though it won't affect the outcome.

My brother had a VTR in 223 a while back. I had a similar Remington with an identical length round bull-barrel. We shot them side-by-side (both from bipods). His triangular barrel was not more accurate than my round one, but they were both well under 1 MOA. The two barrels had different twist rates, and his shot the heavier bullets more accurately, but they were pretty much identical with 55gr ammo.

His was much louder to shoot, with the porting. Mine had a straight, unported round barrel and it was much more pleasant to fire. We didn't notice any difference in heat dissipation, but that would have made a good test. My brother's thermal imaging camera reads surface temps very accurately, but we never thought to see which barrel was most efficient at dissipating the heat round-for-round.

Next time.....

I have a .223 VTR, a .308 VTR, & a 7mm-08 XHR (24" barrel without the ports)

They all shoot well, look good (to me anyway)