American Hunter – August 2019

americanhunter.org ❘ 45 ❘ august 2019

production and the abbreviation of the
magazine’s nameplate. Manufacturer’s
suggested retail price is $1,349.
The rifle is on sale now through Rem-
ington’s dealer network. To find a dealer
near you, visit Remington.com then
click on the retailer locator button in the
upper right corner of the home page. I
have been told consumers may expect to
find the rifle on sale for less than $1,200.
A few things changed on the way to
this point.
For one, the barrel kept shrinking.
Since we weren’t chambering the rifle in
a magnum cartridge, we knew we didn’t
need a 26-inch barrel. But even in a stan-
dard caliber none of us wanted to use a
24-inch barrel. We thought maybe 22
inches would do. But once we settled on
6.5 Creedmoor, we lopped off a couple
of more inches and didn’t miss a beat.
We shot several loads through this gun
prior to launching coverage of it in the
magazine and online, and discovered the
average muzzle velocity lost with use of
a 20-inch barrel is only 65 fps.
Initially, I figured a Remington fac-
tory composite stock would be suitable,
so the Bell & Carlson stock herein is an
upgrade. It is hand-laid with fiberglass,
aramid fiber and graphite. This con-
struction keeps overall weight less than
7 pounds. The open curve of the pistol
grip creates good response from one’s
strong hand. The comb height and the
cheekpiece make it a snap to find proper
eye relief behind the scope.
We debated use of an aftermarket trig-
ger (there are many) but in the end were
quite happy to fit this rifle with the latest
version of Remington’s X Mark Pro. The
fire control now has a more precise factory-
set trigger weight—3.25-3.75 pounds—and
improved user adjustability.
On the Texas whitetail hunt it became
apparent the one-piece scope base just
wouldn’t do as it made it difficult to load
the little 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges speed-
ily. The Leupold Mark 4 bases now found
on the rifle are premium upgrades. Our
friends at Leupold & Stevens supplied us
with a VX-3i 2.5X-8X-36mm with a Duplex
reticle. It’s one of my favorite scopes in
the company’s catalog. It’s short, light and
perfectly able as an aiming device to help
a hunter hit the mark at 500 yards and
beyond. Also, importantly, as a 1-inch
scope it just looks right on an American

bolt action. That’s the AH buck head logo

on the windage turret, which we asked

Leupold to engrave for us.

Ever since its introduction in 1962,

Remington has made minor changes to the

way it machines and finishes the receiver

of the Model 700 to improve function

and manufacture. But anyone, especially

engineers, knows something can always

be improved. So as this project got under-

way, the company asked whether there is

a better way to make the rifle—whether

there is, frankly, a better way to make all

gun parts. Then after deciding it could and

should improve manufacture, the com-

pany invested heavily in new machinery

and new processes.

The receiver’s face, its lugs and

its threads that accept the barrel are

machined to custom level tolerances. The

rear faces of the bolt’s twin lugs are further

machined to be true and smooth, a step

usually employed by custom gunsmiths

when blueprinting an action. The angle on

the bolt that initiates primary extraction

used to manufacture barrels for the M 24

Army sniper rifle. Multiple operations

now occur on the same tool to eliminate

tolerance stacks that have in the past

caused issues. Inside and outside diam-

eters are perfectly concentric. The barrel

threads and crown are machined in one

step, which results in a high degree of

precision. Remington engineers say this

is time-consuming but the result is a

much smoother bore and chamber—and

a bore that is nearly perfectly aligned with

the centerline of the receiver.

The barrel’s 5R rifling places grooves

opposite lands around the bore rather

than in opposition to one another. The

design reduces deformation of the bullet

as it travels the length of the barrel to

improve accuracy and decrease fouling.

Another factor that decreases fouling: The

corners between the lands and grooves

are less sharp than conventional rifling.

The new receivers and barrels on

this rifle are likely the best ever made by

Remington, the products of custom-grade

Photo: Russell Graves

is tweaked to provide more force to with-

draw a case from the chamber. Standard

6-48 screws in the tap holes atop the

receiver, where scope bases are installed,

are eschewed in lieu of 8-40 screws for

more strength and thread contact.

Lundgren tells me one fellow in Ilion

who has been with the company 25 years

says these are the best barrels he’s ever

seen leave the factory. They are going

through a new process akin to what is

refinements at production-level costs.

The Model 700 American Hunter is the

first gun to be made with these refine-

ments but it won’t be the last. Any hunter

who wishes to be among the first to expe-

rience the benefits of these processes,

however, should visit his or her favorite

Remington dealer. Good hunting. ah

To learn more about the rifle be sure to

watch all six episodes of the “Remington

Model 700 American Hunter Rifle Proj-

ect” at AmericanHunter.org.