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I've never done any type of actual range report, so I'm giving it a go. It might also be helpful to others considering there's been a lot of "which deer rifle" threads lately. I want to start by saying I've had this rifle (Rem 700 30-06) for probably 8-10 years. It has only killed 2 things that I can remember- a groundhog and an antelope. Not too impressive, considering earlier on I missed a number of deer with it- that means either there's something wrong with me, or something wrong with the gun... or both. A little over a year ago I was talking to my brother about how much I didn't really like the gun... which was tough. I was sold on the action (Rem 700 is legendary), and I was sold on the caliber... what about my gun didn't I like? I couldn't shoot it accurately. He suggested I sell it. I hate the idea of selling any gun, so I decided to see what I could do to improve it before deciding to get rid of it.
A lot of the frustration came after I'd fired thousands of rounds through my XD and developed good trigger control, but still couldn't get decent groupings from my 06. Then I realized all these years I've been yanking on the factory trigger pull, which after weighing it found it was about 8 pounds. Not exactly precision stuff. I decided I'd do one thing at a time to modify the gun, to make sure one thing justified the next (Starting with the trigger. If a trigger job improved it, then a new stock to make it more comfortable... if that helped, then put on a higher quality scope).
The stock trigger on the Remington 700 is easily adjustable. You can adjust the length of pull, reset, and weight. Pretty good for a factory setup. About a year ago I searched a tutorial online and decided to do it. After the trigger job, it had a very short crisp break at about 2 1/2 pounds (about as low as you want to go on a hunting rifle I hear. Also, with the factory trigger you don't want to go much below 2 pounds or else it starts getting inconsistent. I fell within the realms of safety).
Well, for reasons which I won't get into, nearly a year after doing the trigger job I got it to the range. I'm not an expert marksman, but I'm getting better. These are the best groups I've ever shot out of this rifle at 100 yards (2 inches high on purpose). I fired 4 or 5 3-shot groups prior to this to make sure it was fairly well sighted in. I then took about a 15 minute break to let the barrel cool. This, at least with my particular rifle (more than my dad's, can't remember what model his is) needs time to really cool, or else your groups turn into patterns. Don't let this negatively effect your decision though. For hunting, you'll be firing from a cool barrel anyway. If you want to do a lot of target shooting and require more accuracy through a number of shots, you should be using a heavier barrel to begin with.
After my 15 minute break from my initial groups, I was ready to see how tight I could keep them. My first group (large center diamond... on the left in reference of the picture) was a 5/8" group (quarter would cover all three). The second group is a shade under 3/4". Two shots? To be honest, I'm not sure. All three shots in that group felt great, and the way I'd been shooting, I don't think I'd completely miss the paper. The hole on the right seems SLIGHTLY mishaped and a little bigger than normal, so I THINK I put two shots through there (I could be wrong, but if I had to bet one way or another I'd say that's a 3 shot group). I shot a couple more groups after that, but it started heating up and the groups started to open up.
Again, I'm no expert, and I know for a fact that people can shoot better than this, but for a virtually stock rifle, DIY trigger job, and a 100-something dollar scope, it certainly makes a case for itself. Be sure to have quality ammo as well as I'm sure it'll make a big difference (these are reloads, but I can't remember what the specs are. I'm pretty sure the bullets are 168 grain sierra SP boattail. I can't remember the specs on the powder or even what it is (my dad bought the components, so I just use it... can't remember what it is). I hope this was at least somewhat informative, and happy shooting. I definitely recommend this rifle and a little practice to anyone.
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A lot of the frustration came after I'd fired thousands of rounds through my XD and developed good trigger control, but still couldn't get decent groupings from my 06. Then I realized all these years I've been yanking on the factory trigger pull, which after weighing it found it was about 8 pounds. Not exactly precision stuff. I decided I'd do one thing at a time to modify the gun, to make sure one thing justified the next (Starting with the trigger. If a trigger job improved it, then a new stock to make it more comfortable... if that helped, then put on a higher quality scope).
The stock trigger on the Remington 700 is easily adjustable. You can adjust the length of pull, reset, and weight. Pretty good for a factory setup. About a year ago I searched a tutorial online and decided to do it. After the trigger job, it had a very short crisp break at about 2 1/2 pounds (about as low as you want to go on a hunting rifle I hear. Also, with the factory trigger you don't want to go much below 2 pounds or else it starts getting inconsistent. I fell within the realms of safety).
Well, for reasons which I won't get into, nearly a year after doing the trigger job I got it to the range. I'm not an expert marksman, but I'm getting better. These are the best groups I've ever shot out of this rifle at 100 yards (2 inches high on purpose). I fired 4 or 5 3-shot groups prior to this to make sure it was fairly well sighted in. I then took about a 15 minute break to let the barrel cool. This, at least with my particular rifle (more than my dad's, can't remember what model his is) needs time to really cool, or else your groups turn into patterns. Don't let this negatively effect your decision though. For hunting, you'll be firing from a cool barrel anyway. If you want to do a lot of target shooting and require more accuracy through a number of shots, you should be using a heavier barrel to begin with.
After my 15 minute break from my initial groups, I was ready to see how tight I could keep them. My first group (large center diamond... on the left in reference of the picture) was a 5/8" group (quarter would cover all three). The second group is a shade under 3/4". Two shots? To be honest, I'm not sure. All three shots in that group felt great, and the way I'd been shooting, I don't think I'd completely miss the paper. The hole on the right seems SLIGHTLY mishaped and a little bigger than normal, so I THINK I put two shots through there (I could be wrong, but if I had to bet one way or another I'd say that's a 3 shot group). I shot a couple more groups after that, but it started heating up and the groups started to open up.
Again, I'm no expert, and I know for a fact that people can shoot better than this, but for a virtually stock rifle, DIY trigger job, and a 100-something dollar scope, it certainly makes a case for itself. Be sure to have quality ammo as well as I'm sure it'll make a big difference (these are reloads, but I can't remember what the specs are. I'm pretty sure the bullets are 168 grain sierra SP boattail. I can't remember the specs on the powder or even what it is (my dad bought the components, so I just use it... can't remember what it is). I hope this was at least somewhat informative, and happy shooting. I definitely recommend this rifle and a little practice to anyone.
For as long as it took me to get to a range, I'm not gonna complain lol
