Remington 700 XCR II updgrades, add-ons, etc...

[MDGrand]

So.. I just purchased this rifle, and its become my new project!

It comes with some solid basics that I am pretty happy about as I want to make it a true all weather, no fuss rifle:

26" barrell, Trinyte finish, 300 RUM, X Mark Trigger (this thing is awesome.. just went to the range today.. it does "break like glass.")

Added a 3-12x42 Nikon Monarch scope, and have already ordered a HS Precision thumbole stock.

After firing it at the range today and playing gearting it all up.. my thoughts are these:

The Remington stocks suck.. they are hollow. Mine came with the cool Reatree HD print, but its SUPER light and I think enhances recoil. With so many options with this super popular rifle, the new stock was first on the list. I know the HS comes with aluminum bedding so I think the added weight will help with the recoil. So far because of the light hollow stock I notice the kick more than my 300 Weatherby which albeit is 2 lbs heavier.

My question to you is the following:

The factory Remington Ammo.. Scrocco 180 grain level III's did not group that well.. best group was 1.5 inches. As inherintely accurate as these rifles are supposed to be, what factory ammo round really thrives in this set up? I have never found Rem ammo to be that great.. does anyone else have a good experience with Rem ammo?

What other things have you guys done to outfit your 700s?

As much as I hate muzzlebreaks I am considering a magna port.. anyone done this to their factory 700 barrel 300 RUM and can share info?

[ICEMAN]

My RUM loves the 180 Scirrocco's....   

Personally, for a hunting rifle...I would not magna port it. Wear muffs and pad your shoulder at the range. I don't feel or hear my rifle much when shooting at game, but I understand touching off a round with magnaporting when you arent wearing hearing protection can ruin your day.

Since you are concerned with the kick from this rifle, any chance you are flinching the shot?

[longrange7mm]

if you are just going to shoot factory loads federal has a nice selection of ammo and in my opinion are the best bang for your $$. They have came along way in the last couple years 

[high country]

the shape of a stock has moreto do with recoil then you might imagine. if you are going to drop the $$ on a stock and magna porting, please try a mc millan stock first. if you do not like it you will have no trouble selling it for what you paid for it as most have to wait 6 plus months for one. I have 2 300 rums and they both shoot well, but both shot factory ammo so poorly that I pulled the bullets and saved the agony of wasting barrel life. mine have hand loads they love of sciroccos and tsx's. one loves 7828 the other 8700.....both in very large doses.

[MDGrand]

My RUM loves the 180 Scirrocco's....   

Personally, for a hunting rifle...I would not magna port it. Wear muffs and pad your shoulder at the range. I don't feel or hear my rifle much when shooting at game, but I understand touching off a round with magnaporting when you arent wearing hearing protection can ruin your day.

Since you are concerned with the kick from this rifle, any chance you are flinching the shot?

Not really.. I had the thing on a lead slead with 60lbs of shot in the tray.. I will only do a magna port if after I get the HS Precision stock it is intolerable. Even then I probably wont.. because I too hate the ringing ears in the field afterwards..

[MDGrand]

the shape of a stock has moreto do with recoil then you might imagine. if you are going to drop the $$ on a stock and magna porting, please try a mc millan stock first. if you do not like it you will have no trouble selling it for what you paid for it as most have to wait 6 plus months for one. I have 2 300 rums and they both shoot well, but both shot factory ammo so poorly that I pulled the bullets and saved the agony of wasting barrel life. mine have hand loads they love of sciroccos and tsx's. one loves 7828 the other 8700.....both in very large doses.

I am going to try some different rounds today if the weather cooperates.. I usually shoot handloads though so I expect I will find a round or two that it really likes.

[MDGrand]

the shape of a stock has moreto do with recoil then you might imagine. if you are going to drop the $$ on a stock and magna porting, please try a mc millan stock first. if you do not like it you will have no trouble selling it for what you paid for it as most have to wait 6 plus months for one. I have 2 300 rums and they both shoot well, but both shot factory ammo so poorly that I pulled the bullets and saved the agony of wasting barrel life. mine have hand loads they love of sciroccos and tsx's. one loves 7828 the other 8700.....both in very large doses.

Well, I was advised by my riflesmith that he uses McMillen stocks.. that was his recommendation. But He also endorsed HS Precision as they are the go to stock for 700s and the military. The only difference he noted was the aluminum bedding. I went for the HS precison because of what you said.. the wait time.. I can get an HS Precision in about 8-10 weeks.. which is good because I REALLY want it for hunting season.

[yorketransport]

1.5" isn't great grouping, but it isn't terrible. I'll bet that after breaking in the barrel, bedding the action, and a little searching, you'll find a good load. I bet 1" would be a reasonable expectation for this gun. I personally have taken a break from Remingtons because of mediocre accuacy. I've had 4 different rifles, and I couldn't get any of them to shoot under 1". They all got pretty close though after a bedding job and some load developement.

Andrew

[MDGrand]

Well,

If I cant get this rifle to get to 1" or less.. I will sell it. The accuracy of these rifles with the bedding, etc is supposed to get those results pretty regularly. If I dont, I will find myself a new set up.

[mattaylor81]

The factory Remington Ammo.. Scrocco 180 grain level III's did not group that well.. best group was 1.5 inches. As inherintely accurate as these rifles are supposed to be, what factory ammo round really thrives in this set up? I have never found Rem ammo to be that great.. does anyone else have a good experience with Rem ammo?

First off Swift bullets perform awesome on game.  Give the Swift A-Frames a shot.  I don't have a 300RUM so I can't be of help there.  I do have a 30-06 and the Swift A-Frames that Remington loads grouped better for me than the Sciroccos.  I now handload 180gr A-Frames due to the price of factory ammo.  

[high country]

md, I just noticed that you were using a nikon on it. no offense to the nikon guys, but my light 300 would not hold zero with that exact same scope. wearing the zeiss and 4200 it shot better. the nikon now lives on a 270 and is fine. so before you junk the gun chuck up a known good scope and give it a shot.

[carpsniperg2]

yep my thoughts also high country, putting a Nikon on a 300 rum is a  if you are going to sink money into anything i would get a new scope. like a Leupold of some other higher end scope i do not trust Nikon's on anything bigger then 270 had no luck with them and now no longer even own one. get a good scope and that should help. next the stock, when packing that thing around all day adding weight with a heavier stock is something i could not justify. like said a lead sled at the range will do you just fine and in the field you will not notice it when shooting at the animal. next factory ammo most times will not shoot as great as good handloads i do have a few guns that shoot well with factory but not many rem is some of the worst that i have found ,go to federal they have some good offerings if you want factory ammo. "So far because of the light hollow stock I notice the kick more than my 300 Weatherby which albeit is 2 lbs heavier." your dang right no matter the stock it is still a 300 rum its going to kick when running the level III or any other pumped up loads good luck to you keep us posted

[MDGrand]

Well, Carpsniper and High Country.. I will have to take the Nikon advice with a grain of salt. I have a Nikon on my 300 Weatherby, 4-16x50, Monarch.. and its right on.. very clear, great optic. Cant justify paying 100 bucks more for the Leupold name. I'm actually a pretty big fan of the Nikon stuff.. to me its the best bang for the buck and I never see a difference between a leupold and Nikon when looking through it. That being said, I am not above keeping my mind open and if it still does not settle down I will think about a different optic.

 I am on my way to range again to try out some Federal ammo and see what it does. If I dont get better results, I will be a bit shocked.. Thanks!

[carpsniperg2]

yep no prob each to there own i had one on a 30-06 and it broke one of the inner lenses out of the scope sent it back and got it back and it did it again and i had another on a 7mm that would not hold zero so i am not a fan but that scope is probably like 450.00 and the vxII are about the same money and have always been great or you can jump up the vx III but i see no need for that i have both and both are great i just put a 6-18 vxII on a 338 i picked up the other day. good luck in the search

[carpsniperg2]

o and as far as the 1.5" group that aint to bad my standards for hunting "practical" is smaller then 27 cal 1" bigger 1.5" of course all the guns can and do shoot better i find that these standards will get the job done

[haugenna]

Magna porting and muzzle brakes are two different things.  You can take a muzzle brake on and off.  Magna porting is permanent.  If you are going to stick with factory ammo, I wouldn't waste the money on tuning your rifle. 

[machine]

Federal match and federal loaded with game kings both shoot very well through my 700 in 308.I also have a HS precision stock and like it.A great upgrade to the HS precision stock is the bottom metal they make with a detachable magizine.

[Elk-aholic]

I have a custom 300 RUM made on a model 700 action I haven't done any reloading yet but I shot a few boxes of the Nosler Trophy ammo the 165gr partition's shoot very well in my rifle. I went with a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock with the full aluminum bedding block, to be honest I have a HS Precession stock on my Model 700 police model and I can't tell the difference in quality between the two manufactures, the Bell & Carlson was around half the price. 

[MDGrand]

Magna porting and muzzle brakes are two different things.  You can take a muzzle brake on and off.  Magna porting is permanent.  If you are going to stick with factory ammo, I wouldn't waste the money on tuning your rifle. 

Yeah I know the difference..and I really do not want to go the Muzzle break route.. i will do whatever else I can before doing that. I can take my 300 Weatherby just fine.. so I think with a little practice and a solid set up I can make this work just fine too. I dont plan on sticking with factory ammo.. I just want to see what it can do.. If I find a good factory load that shoots close to not less than 1" MOA.. then I have a great starting point.

[MDGrand]

Carpsniper and High Country...

Well.. here is the report for the 2nd trip to the range..

Federal Barnes Triple Shock, 180 grain.. GREAT groups.. first group 1.50.. second and third groups.. UNDER 1".. best .625.

BUT..

There may be something to your Nikon argument.. After getting a group a bit low (about 2" under and over from dead center) I adjusted the scope to get it smack at 100 yard zero.. WELL.. I would another shoot another great group.. but NOT toward the bullseye.. infact in the opposite direction. SO.. I went through all the scope mounts, and they are super tight and snug.. I was shooting off a lead slead so the rest is all but perfect.. STILL.. seems like the zero is getting knocked around. Like I said before, my 4-16x50 Monarch has NO issues.. maybe because its a 50mm lens Nikon figured they better make it robust because it will most likely be going on a mag rifle.. and the 40mm lenses are for less kicking rifles.

Pretty bummed about this as on all my other rifles, Nikons rock!

Is this really THAT common?

[haugenna]

Magna porting and muzzle brakes are two different things.  You can take a muzzle brake on and off.  Magna porting is permanent.  If you are going to stick with factory ammo, I wouldn't waste the money on tuning your rifle. 

Yeah I know the difference..and I really do not want to go the Muzzle break route.. i will do whatever else I can before doing that. I can take my 300 Weatherby just fine.. so I think with a little practice and a solid set up I can make this work just fine too. I dont plan on sticking with factory ammo.. I just want to see what it can do.. If I find a good factory load that shoots close to not less than 1" MOA.. then I have a great starting point.

If you decide to go the muzzle brake route, the gunsmith can make you a knurled cap to go on the threads to protect them when the muzzle brake comes off for hunting.

[FC]

There may be something to your Nikon argument.. After getting a group a bit low (about 2" under and over from dead center) I adjusted the scope to get it smack at 100 yard zero.. WELL.. I would another shoot another great group.. but NOT toward the bullseye.. infact in the opposite direction. SO.. I went through all the scope mounts, and they are super tight and snug.. I was shooting off a lead slead so the rest is all but perfect.. STILL.. seems like the zero is getting knocked around.

If your zero was moving around you wouldn't get consistently good groups, you would get consistently bad groups. Its not like the scope would wait till you finished a group and then decide to move 8 clicks just to screw with you. If you want to know if the zero is moving, shoot a 20 shot group, if you get a sub 2" group it would be about right for what you have said you are getting from your rifle so far. 20 shots without touching elevation/windage and the same point of aim every time, if the scope IS a problem I am sure Nikon would repair or replace it for you.

As for your group going in the opposite direction you adjusted for....really? I would say operator error on that one.

[MDGrand]

Well, interesting theory FC.. What you say makes sense.. but what doesnt make sense is the point of impact changing from group to group.. and in one instance as I said before, oposite from the windage and elevation I adjusted for. What you say does seem to be a big point though.. if the zero was off.. it would change from shot to shot not group to group.

...ehh.. this could be just the rifle setting down and breaking in and me getting paranoid because others had their zero change on them with this exact scope..

[carpsniperg2]

yeah time will tell i think you would be able to tell with about a 10 shot group and see, also mabe the temp of the barrel is changing your point of inpact a little but who knows as far as the nikon thing i have seen about 50/50 heard of lots of problems with bigger cals over the 270 mark and heard and seen great things with them on smaller cals. the only reason i am saying anything is to help i have nothing to gain from telling you this unless you want to send me a check for my advice so just trying to help you could not pay me to hunt with a nikon on any of my rifles 27 cal or bigger but that is just my 

[ICEMAN]

It sure can be aggrivating and expensive trying to figure out what is causing wandering groups. Especially with the RUM, if you are still shooting factory. I am always amazed at the cost for a box of 20...  

[MDGrand]

yeah time will tell i think you would be able to tell with about a 10 shot group and see, also mabe the temp of the barrel is changing your point of inpact a little but who knows as far as the nikon thing i have seen about 50/50 heard of lots of problems with bigger cals over the 270 mark and heard and seen great things with them on smaller cals. the only reason i am saying anything is to help i have nothing to gain from telling you this unless you want to send me a check for my advice so just trying to help you could not pay me to hunt with a nikon on any of my rifles 27 cal or bigger but that is just my 

No I appreciate the info! Otherwise.. I wouldnt be asking if I had all the answers which I dont.

[Craig]

I had  my 300 ultra likes 180 or 200 grain accubonds. Right now i'm shooting the nosler custom 180 accubonds. With a mag na port.

[MDGrand]

I had  my 300 ultra likes 180 or 200 grain accubonds. Right now i'm shooting the nosler custom 180 accubonds. With a mag na port.

Hi, Craig.. was this a stock Rem 700 RUM? What is your thoughts regarding the magnaport?

[haugenna]

I had  my 300 ultra likes 180 or 200 grain accubonds. Right now i'm shooting the nosler custom 180 accubonds. With a mag na port.

Hi, Craig.. was this a stock Rem 700 RUM? What is your thoughts regarding the magnaport?

If you are shooting the same ammo but different boxes you could be having a problem with lot consistancy.  I know you could get as much as a 10% change in velocity from 1lb of powder to the next 1lb. 

[Craig]

I used the words wrong. I had mag na port put a mag na brake on my gun. I don't have the port done. It's great. Make sure you have ear protection on or your ears will be ringing and it does not feel good. Or just take it off during hunting season and cap the end.

[high country]

sorry to take so long to get back, if you have questions on your scope, just swap it for another. you can answer the million dollar question that way. if it matters I scrambled a burris, leuy, swaro and nikon on my light RUM. the 4200 and the zeiss were the two I had success with, but I sold the gun because I could not trust it. the wretched thing would blow up the bedding in 200rds. those quality scopes are all good, but when you get into insane recoil velocities.......things change.

[buckhorn2]

I have a 300 wby accumark and then also bought a 300 remington ultra mag and it did kick more. I took it to my gunsmith and had a beartrap put in and it made a world of difference. I had a 338 and my buddy had the same 338 and with the beartrap it was like night and day. If you don;t like noise or blowback look at a bear trap. All they do is remove the butt pad put in this little mercury tube and epoxy it in and put the butt pad back on for about 60 bucks and it takes really a lot of recoil out. If thats not enough then have the muzzle break put on but I will bet you would;nt have too. Just my 2 cents I have lots of big guns and there in all of ours.

[MDGrand]

"Bear Trap" huh? I have never even heard of that.. if it works well and my gunsmith recommends it then I will definitely go that route as I do not want to do a muzzlebreak. I need to see how it is first with the HS precision stock I ordered though first.

Thanks for the info!