Remington 700 ADL and Leupold VX2 Combo

[qman2]

I have a buddy that will part for this combo in a 7mag for $550. Seems like a good price so I figured I'd run it by y'all.

He says he bought it and didn't like shooting it. I'd like to shoot it at a big old fat cow elk. I currently carry a wood stock Savage 7mag and it's heavy as hell. I'm thinking this composite stock will be a tad lighter.

Opinions?

 

[hoghunting]

Since it's the same caliber, why not restock your Savage? You can buy a new lighter stock for less than $550.

 

[jmr40]

Most factory synthetics weigh virtually the same as wood. Some synthetics are a couple of oz heavier, some a couple of oz lighter. You don't get a significantly lighter synthetic stock until you get into the $600 and above price range. Even the high end fiberglass stocks in the $500 price range are about the same as a comparable wood stock. You don't start saving weight until you go with Kevlar construction.

Same shotgun, same barrel, wood stock is lighter.




But for $550 I'd buy it. A new VX-2 is $300 and I just like Remingtons a lot better than Savage anyway. It is very possible that this particular rifle/scope combo is lighter than what you have. Leupolds as rule tend to be close to 1/4 lb lighter than other comparable scopes. That alone could make a difference. You could re-stock it later to something nicer and there are more options for Remington than Savage.

 

[qman2]

I'm not re-stocking anything. Too much work. For some reason I had it in my head that the synthetic stock was lighter. Might have to re-think this now. My current gun kills my shoulders walking around the mountains looking for elk.

It was the price that got me all worked up. I figured it was a good deal so I probably made up the part about weight.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

If you want a lightweight synthetic stocked rifle for $550 then get a Tikka T3 Lite in 7mm mag. Or keep your savage and get a Tikka T3 Lite in 300WSM...prepare for recoil though.

My T3 Lite in .270 Win w/ Redfield 3-9x42, ammo, and sling weighs 7.3lbs don't get much lighter than that for a rifle costing less than $600

 

[double bogey]

My Tikka T3 lite in 25-06, and Zeiss 3x9x42 Terra scope weighs 7 lbs, 1.5 oz. Unloaded. My ADL in 7 mag with 3x9x50 vari-xII is at least 2 lbs heavier.

 

[qman2]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the input.

 

[Hookeye]

ADL and VX2

I like mine

View attachment 729566

 

[Damon555]

I'm not re-stocking anything. Too much work.

Wow, 2 or 3 whole screws is too much work? It's about a 5 minute job....if you take your time.

$550 for a used ADL and a low(er) end Leupold isn't really that good of a deal. Your Savage is about as good as it gets.

 

[Hookeye]

I paid 300 for my rifle (like new) and 200 for the scope (not a mark on it).
Older VX2 with AO.
Maybe not the best deal, but I'm cool with it.
Works pretty well.
Do have about $20 in my home camo paintjob.
Looks way better than a Savage.

 

[illinoisburt]

If his Remington is substantially lighter than your Savage, ask to shoot a few rounds through it before you take the leap. 5-1/2 to 6 pound rifles have much sharper recoil than the 8 to 9 pounders. As for your shoulders, you might try investing in a better sling before trading guns.

 

[gamestalker]

If it were me, I would jump on that deal. I love 700's, they're easy to tune, there are countless after market upgrades available for them, and the actions are awesome. And it comes with a $300 Leupold, go for it.

GS

 

[Hookeye]

Remington BDL stocks fit me very well.
The OP asks about a synth ADL. Yup.........same dims but maybe lighter overall by a few ounces. Big deal.
It will have a newer style recoil pad.
The old BDL's from the 70's had a good pad. I think the newer materials of the ADL synth pad to be better.
And that's just a newer style standard pad, not one of the even more new "trick" elastomer types.

It should have some muzzle rise and a bit quick to move the shoulder, but entirely manageable.

I had a 7 mag. Grew up being a varminter, went to a new coworkers house and he had a range out back. Handed me a BDL in 7 mag (1976 vintage) with a 12X fixed Leupold (was load testing). Asked me to shoot a steel plate at 135 yards, off hand, dead of winter. I did on the 3rd pass. He laughed, asked me to do it again, and I did. The plate was suspended from a wire. We checked and the 160 grainers had knocked dents in the plate to where there was a split at each impact (old RR track plate painted white).

Yup, I bought that rifle.

Sold it though, to get a .300 magnum.

IMHO the 7 mag was substantially more comfy to shoot, even with 160's as fast as you could push 'em. .300 mag w 180's is another notch or two above.

If I see a deal on a pre cerberus 7 mag ADL.........I'll buy it. Be my do all elk, muley and WT rig.

 

[DaisyCutter]

I think it's a fair deal if you like the rifle.

I paid $430 for a clean 1972 wooden stocked Rem 700 ADL 30-06 with a fixed 4x Leupold scope. I was elated. A VX-2 is a $100 better scope than my rifle came with, so it's an equivalent deal.

 

[qman2]

Thanks even more.

@Damon555 - As far as re-stocking goes and if it is not real obvious, I'm ignorant to it. I was once told that to re-stock a rifle one had to do something called bedding on it. The explanation given to me sounded like a lot of work. That's what I meant when I said "too much work". I can easily remove 2-3 screws if that's all there was to it.

 

[Hookeye]

Bedding may or may not be needed, but that usually refers to the old days when most stocks were wood.

I have had great luck just free floating the bbl and bedding the recoil lug. Have done a few full action beds, just to do it. Great results........but dunno if it was really needed.

Synthetic stocks I just free float and sometimes bed the lug. Problem with cheaper stocks is they can flex, so adding material to stiffen them up adds weight.

Some synth stocks have aluminum molded in, so when you bolt things up it's metal to metal. HS Precision comes to mind. Of course those stocks are over $300.

Just depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend.

My 700 shoots great with minor stock work...........runs the original cheap synth stock.
When I get a few bucks to mess with, I'll drop it in an HS precision stock. Lighten it up (probably go with lighter scope and rings too). It's just a .243.............and I walk a lot of ground calling yotes.

An HS stock should just be a bolt in. I have heard of a couple that needed tweaked (serious varminters I know- each was able to make things work to their satisfaction).
Stuff of similar design should also just be bolt in.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

if its truly a vx2 and not a vari x II its a steal. If its the older scope its a fair deal if in great shape.

 

[qman2]

he told me VX2. I guess I'll have to check it out.