Building a custom Remmy bolt action rifle without a gunsmith

[armed85]

I've been tossing the idea back in forth in my head on buying a Remington 700 SPS Stainless and swapping out the stock and trigger.

If I decided to go the factory route, I would buy a Remmy 700 LVSF (Light Varmint Synthetic Fluted).

700 LV SF $772.
Jewell Adjustable Trigger $210.
Total: $982

700 SPS Stainless $540.
Jewell Adjustable Trigger $210.
Bell and Carlson Medalist Stock $240.
H-S Precision Pro-Series Stock $275.
Total: $990 to $1,025

The SPS Stainless has a matte bead blasted finish rather than the satin finish on the LVSF. The LVSF has a jeweled bolt and barrel flutes and I'm not sure whether or not I care to loose those features. The SPS Stainless has a 24" barrel and the LVSF has a 22" barrel. Both models have barrels with a 12" rate of twist.

The price is similar and I'm looking to buy an accurate lightweight varmint rifle chambered in .223 Remington.

In addition to Remington Varmint Rifles, I checked out the CZ 527. It's a good rifle from what I've seen, but I didn't care for the set trigger nor the feel of the standard trigger. Some people love the CZ 527 and it's set trigger all I can say to that is more power to you!

I welcome comments and suggestions as I continue my research.

 

[dakotasin]

swapping out a stock and trigger is not hard. i'm not sure that you'd see much benefit from swapping in a jewel on a lightweight walking varminter, but it is the cream of the crop trigger.

for stocks, i would forego the b&c and the hs and go mcmillan.

the lvsf has a fairly wide, flat forend, but the stock is light and pretty good (stiff). i use my lvsf's for anything, really. a leupold wrapped in talleys makes for an accurate, lightweight rig. my 7-08 has taken prairie dogs in excess of 500 yards and then went out the next week and whacked a deer. my 22-250 makes for a good coyote gun.

the sps is a solid, utilitarian rifle. it benefits from an upgraded stock more than the lvsf does - depending on how you feel about the lvsf forearm.

don't worry about barrel length. it is not that big of a deal - make your decision based on other factors. if you swap out triggers, do it w/ a jewel - a lot of other replacement triggers are no better than a tuned factory trigger. also, how much customization will you do? i had an lvsf bolt fluted and then ceramic coated, which completely negated the jewelled bolt body finish.

in a 223, i have taken prairie dogs in excess of 600 yards w/ a 52 grain pill, and have shot plenty of paper at 750 yards w/ a 52 grain bullet. this is why i think you needn't lose sleep over twist rate and barrel length on rifles that similiar.

a rem 700 lvsf in 223 w/ talley lightweights and a leupold 6x36 makes for a great recipe for a walking varminter w/ a minimum of fuss on your end.