Remington 700 VLS in .223, some questions.

[22/17 SHOOTER]

Gentleman.

First of all, i'm new here, this is my first post, so please be patient but by all means feel free to put me on the right track if i do step out of the line.

I'm an happy owner of Remington 700 VLS rifle in .223 cal. I picked it up last weekend at the local gun show for what i think was a great price. The seller said " it is not mine, i'm selling it for the friend". I don't care, the gun was not fired once before, i consider it new. It came with Tasco Varmit scope, also new, great Mil Dot style cross hair, all looks good and ready to go. My first .223 cal gun ever, can't wait to shoot it, this Sunday for sure.

Now, the questions for those of you who has one, or two
What is the rate of twist in this rifle ? Can't find this information anywhere.
Does it like lighter or heavier bullets ? What is your favorite load / brand combination ?

I'm not a hunter, much more interested in punching holes in the paper targets so the killing power is not an issue here. I'm not reloading yet but definitely thinking about it. But for now, i'll stick with factory ammo.

TIA,
Cezar.

 

[Jim Watson]

Remington thinks they put a 12" twist on it.
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-700/model-700-vls.aspx

That is correct for up to 55 grain bullets, might handle a 60 grain flatbase.
Imitation army surplus 55 gr FMJ may not do much for you, hollowpoint or softpoint will usually be more accurate.
I have READ that the 45 gr Winchester USA JHP is a good factory load at lower cost than factory match ammo.

 

[DIM]

If you reload then 25.5gr of Varget or 26.5 gr of RE-15 with combination of Hornady 55 gr V-Max, usually yield 0.25 - 0.35" 5 shot groups out of mine SPS Varmint. the heaviest bullet it will stabilize is 64 gr Berger Match Varmint.

 

[jak67429]

Mine likes any premium 55gr varmint bullet . Best groups are with H335 think it was 25.5 gr.

 

[DIM]

with H335 I use 26 gr, I know its hot, well I get fliers I shot some of it on Monday, 300 yards 5 shot group measured 2.18" comparing to RE-15 1.75", but it was windy that day going 15 MPH or more...

 

[dougw47]

Glad to hear...

Great that you got that Rem. 223! Glad you are here, too. I have had some really great Remingtons and a couple that were wonky. Each one is a machine, made by man...and nothing made by man is perfect. (Except my Mausers, LOL)

Supposedly the trigger/safety AD problem has been fixed after many years of denial...but if you pick up an older one...check the rifle by chambering a primed case (not live ammo) put the safety on and raise the bolt. Then take the safety off and see if the rifle fires without touching the trigger. I had two that would. Be careful!

My 700's were always accurate rifles...good looking...and held their value. Hope you get many great years of service out of yours. Let us know!

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

OK gentleman, thank you all.
Somehow i already knew answers to most of my questions, just wanted to get your input.
I checked the gun safety, it is working fine so they fixed the problem.
Judging by the gun serial No. the rifle is about 3 years old and i'm pretty sure it was not fired before so it is a virgin for me.
By now i have 12 different types of ammo ready for the trails, i hope this Sunday will be the day.
Thank you all,
Cezar.

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

Well, i made to the range today and in a nut shell, i love that thing.
By the end of the day i was shooting three shoot groups small enough to be covered by the quoter coin, 5 shoot groups grew to about 1 inch.
The best groups were shoot with PMC Bronze 55 grain boat tail rounds, they did better than Hornady and Black Hills stuff.
On my way home i stopped at other shooting range, they have 250 yards range.
Sadly there were lots of people there shooting heavy military stuff so no place for precision shooting. But i had 12 pack of Pepsi in the car, i set them up at 250 yards line and ques what, 12 shoots, 12 hits. I was having an orgasm there.
All this shooting the gun first time, not bad at all.
One thing i don't like is the trigger. I definitely need something better. Any recommendations ? How much better are the Rifle Basics triggers ?
All things considered, i'm as happy as one can be, looks like i have what i always wanted.
Best regards,
Cezar.

 

[Geno]

Look into the Timney 1.5 pound trigger. I have that on 4 of my heavy barreled rifles. I have a Timney 4 ounce trigger on one of them. Link follows: http://timneytriggers.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=9

Good luck, and welcome to THR!

Geno

 

[DIM]

Have you tried to adjust factory trigger, I had some work done on mine and its light compare to what it was

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

DIM, no i have not tried to adjust factory trigger, not yet. But is it adjustable ?
I rather buy drop in replacement designed to be adjustable, than hire somebody to play with factory trigger, believe me or not, it is much more economical option.
I have Rifle Basicx trigger on my Marlin 2000, took me 20 minutes to install it and adjust it. The cots was $85.00, this is less than mentioned gunsmith charges per hour.

Geno, thank you for the tip, sure looks like the right thing to do.

BTW, are guys aware of any factory .223 loads with bullets lighter than 55 grain other than Hornady ?

Cezar.

 

[Jim Watson]

To quote a usually reliable source (me, #2 above)
"I have READ that the 45 gr Winchester USA JHP is a good factory load at lower cost than factory match ammo."

Current production X-mark trigger is allegedly adjustable but not very from what I have read. I have a Basix trigger on a Savage and it is better than the Accutrigger but not up to a real match Remington trigger. But those cost a good deal more.

 

[dodge]

I have the exact rifle and mine likes 26 grs of Varget, Sierra 55 gr Blitzkings, Winchester brass and CCI 400 primers. This is a max load from my rifle and should be approached with care. This load has a velocity of 3250 fps and will shoot one hole groups all day long. You may also want to look at free floating the barrel as this made mine that much more accurate went from 1" groups to the one hole that I'm talking about. With a 100 yard zero I only have to raise it 1" to hit dead on at 200 and 3 1/4" to be dead on at 300 yards. This has been verified at the range where I have access to a 300 yard target.

 

[22/17 SHOOTER]

Jim, i'm sorry, somehow i missed that part of your post. Will have to look for that 45 grain ammo.
And i already ordered the Timney trigger.
Free floating the barrel is very next thing on "to do" list, thanks for the suggestion.
Will keep you guys posted and busy with questions.
Thanks,
Cezar.