Just made what might be the trade of my life

Aubie515, lets have a little shooting contest, at oh about 500m. I'll use this, you bring what ever you want, lets explode a myth....

 

Mf first left-hand rifle was a Remington 788. When the Remington 788 was first introduced economical/cheap was the connotation of the time. The Remington 788 wasn’t for every one so I would imagine the 710 isn’t either. Not every one is looking for a status symbol but rather a functional tool for their use.

 

Looks to me like you got a pretty good trade. A rifle you can get some use out of and a few extras to boot. I've never owned a 710 but I do know a few people who own them and they seem to be happy with them, haven't heard any horror stories from them yet.

If YOU like the rifle, then you got a great deal. Doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.

 

I woiuld be more than happy to try one out someday, looks like a nice rifle. I have a Bushnell Elite scope on my CZ527M that seems to be holding out quite well.

 

I think you did well -- but more importantly -- YOU think you did and are happy with it. And THATS what counts !!!!

 

You Sir, Sniper X, made my day with this quote

And with the 710 in 300 Win. I can say I have had no problems with mine, polished the bolt a little bit and its as smooth as can be, shoot nice groups with good ammo also..

 

My brother has a Remington 710 in .270 and while it isn't the all end all centerfire bolt action rifle it has held up fine as a one time a year deer gun which IMO is kind of what the original intent for the 710 was just a servicable semi-accurate rifle for not much $$ heck I even borrowed my bro's 710 and harvested an Arizona black bear with it needless to say the bear didn't care.

 

I've had nothing but bad luck with inexpensive optics.


And you're right, it does look like a nice rifle. I like it quite a bit, would love to have one in 30-06.

 

Bushnell Elite are not inexpensive...

 

My 710 was accurate, but the action was a basket case. The handle broke off the bolt, the bolt was sticky and it was very hard to cycle in damp weather too. I had to keep it soaked in oil to keep the rust off too.

Remington got it back a few times. I sold it after the third trip back to them. Maybe mine was just a 5:00pm on Friday built gun though...

 

Eh, the OP traded a pistol worth 150 max for a gun worth 250 max. I suppose that's a good trade. Bushnell is decent optics, better than Tasco, maybe on par with Simmons, less than Leopold.

In Remington rifles, to me, there's the model 700, then there's everything else. I got a 742 that is just plain awful in about 5 different ways. It's destined to be my test gun for a five year burial.

But, if this one fits the needs, fine. I wouldn't have bought it, since I love the 700, but, if it's accurate and is scheduled for light enough duty, good.

 

My brother bought a 710 a few years ago with the Bushnell scope on it. It's in .270 Win and was shooting MOA groups right out of the box at 100 yards. We literally didn't have to adjust the scope at all it was dead on accurate right out of the box with 150 grain Federal Power Shok loads. I've never done that with any gun I've ever owned...they have always required some adjustement of some kind. The quality of finish is somewhat lacking and the gun was heavier than what I would have expected with a synthetic stock, but for $325 you really couldn't kick about that. Also I don't think that the average person would shoot more than 10,000 rounds out of their hunting rifle in a lifetime. I would have to say it's a good trade IMO.

 

Oh, regarding the comment on Bushnell optics...I happen to have two on two of my rifles and they have performed flawlessly over the years. They are accurate and have held up over years of hard use. They are very good quality considering the price paid for them. One is a Bushnell Banner and the other is a Bushnell Trophy. They have helped me kill many deer, coyotes, etc.

 

Get to the range and shoot it. Let is know how the groups are. That will tell you if it is the trade of your life.

 

I am impressed by the low parts count of the 710 and the next model of the same thing, the 770. Remington did it to keep costs down but it might translate into high reliability--if all the parts hold up.

IIRC the magazine catch gave trouble on 710's and was upgraded in the 770. Might want to keep an eye on that part.

Garden variety Bushnell scopes---what to say? They work well for many people. The adjustments are not as precisely repeatable as, say, Brand L. Since almost all hunters shoot the same zero all season long, they never notice that part.

 

The 710 was so bad even Remington gave up on it. The rifles were only produced for 4 years or so. They were plagued with problems the whole time and discontinued in 2006. Might want to see if yours is involved in Remingtons safety recall. http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/safety-center/710-safety-notice.aspx

After only a few years in production they were replaced with the 770 which addressed some of the problems, but is still a gun I wouldn't give to my worst enemy.

I don't expect one to blow up in my face, and they do shoot well enough. The problem is that once you walk out the door with one it is essentially worthless. If something breaks it is not worth the costs to get it repaired and you cannot sell one to anyone, at any price. Unless you get lucky enough to find someone who simply doesn't know any better. And it is getting pretty hard to find those guys.

The real shame is that for about the same money there are lots of much better rifles to choose from.

Somewhere on another forum I bet there is a guy with a new .38 bragging about making the trade of his life.

 

I've had two Bushnell trophy scopes go bad on an AR-15. The first one I spent 20 bucks to send back to Bushnell. When the second one went bad after less then 100 rounds in the same AR, I threw it in a garbage can at the range and moved on.

 

Someone call the cops. You did well.