As the all-knowing Wikipedia says, the Remington 700 is a magazine rifle manufactured in the USA by Remington Arms. There are many modifications of this weapon for a different cartridge. Standard is 7.62 x 51 mm - NATO option. Technically, this carbine is a rifle, which has a bolt of a longitudinally sliding rotary type. The capacity of the clip depends on the caliber, can hold from 3 to 5 ammunition.
This carabiner does not need advertising
Remington 700 bolt-action carbines have become truly legendary. USM of seven hundred models is used on sniper rifles of the US Army M-24 and sniper rifles of the US Marine Corps M-40. Agree that this fact means something. The popularity of these weapons contributes to a large number of components and mechanisms that are produced by third-party companies.
What kind of weapon
Remington 700 rifles as hunting weapons have been manufactured by an American company since 1962. As you can see, the history of the carbine in question has more than 50 years, and this is already a period, you can even say, a lifetime. For its accuracy and reliability, as well as low cost, the Remington 700 almost immediately gained many fans. Only 5 years after the start of production of the rifle, seven hundred models could be purchased at any weapons store in the United States. However, with the release of more advanced models, interest in this carbine began to fade.
There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped
Remington 700 would have remained good, reliable, accurate, but it would have given way to more advanced new models of weapons, if not for one “but” - the war in Vietnam. Just like the AR-15 sports rifle, which has lost its popularity (according to military classification, this model is called M-16), the Remington 700 hunting rifle actually gave a ticket to life. As it sometimes happens, quite by chance the hunting weapon under consideration by us became sniper. But it’s not accepted to take bad weapons to war ... Although everything happened in history ...
From the very beginning of hostilities, with raids into the humid tropical jungle with a very aggressive external environment, it quickly became clear that sniper rifles of the Marine Corps were not able to meet the requirements of accurate shooting in tropical climates. Therefore, in 1966, the command of the US Army announced an urgent competition to replace the obsolete carbine M-14. The military announced the main condition of the competition: a new weapon should hit the target in the tropics from a distance of 800 meters from a single shot. Oddly enough, the winner was an ordinary hunting rifle, sold in all stores in the country. At the beginning of April of the same year, the military, not waiting for the final test results, adopted the Remington 700 SPS carbine under the M-40 index as the marine corps.
And so what came of it
However, troubles did not take long to wait: one by one numerous “design flaws” began to “emerge”, because of which they almost put an end to the military career of the Remington 700 SPS Tactical (army modification of the carbine). And all due to the fact that they did not finish the test, but as folk wisdom says, you should hurry ... A humid hot climate, an abundance of plant dirt, and fast-growing mold forced the snipers to thoroughly clean and lubricate their weapons before each battle so that it wouldn’t refuse the most Wrong moment. Thanks to the abundance of moisture, the wooden box swelled so much that the excess wood was constantly cut off with a knife. All-pervasive dirt fell between the trunk and the stock. This provoked rapid corrosion, and also slightly raised the barrel relative to the forearm, therefore, led to a change in the ballistic characteristics of the weapon. Shells appeared in the barrel bore, and on the outside the carbine, poorly lubricated after the battle, quickly rusted. It was not possible to find spare parts for repair in the field. By the way, the same situation arose with the M-16 assault rifle.
Horses do not change at the crossing, at least this time
However, it was already too late to change the Remington 700 Tactical carbine, because the official money allocated for the competition, as well as the purchase of new weapons, had already been spent. And in order not to “get on the neck” from American senators, who like to earn a passion for such things (do not forget that the country's population did not support the Vietnam War), the military decided not to change weapons, but only to modernize them. The carbine received a special water-repellent coating having camouflage coloring, a deeper chrome coating of the internal parts and mechanisms, and the barrel was made of stainless steel, the butt and the stock were made of plastic. The upgraded Remington 700 rifle received a new index - M40A1. This modification was quite successful, it still serves in the US Army to this day.
Interesting historical facts
The first fact - for test trials in the Vietnam War, the military ordered 700 carbines of the 700th series.
The second fact is that the modernized M40A1 rifle is not assembled on the basis of the RemingtonArms company, but in Quantico (Texas), on the basis of the Marine Corps, with specially trained gunsmiths. Snipers are forbidden to disassemble the carbine on their own. According to the rules, each weapon, regardless of whether it was fired or not, must be sent to weapons workshops once every six months to replace parts and maintenance.
She is worth it
Thanks to the success of this rifle in the marines, the Ministry of Defense also drew attention to it. After a complete series of tests, the Remington 700 Varmint with a number of improvements for army snipers received the M-24 military index. This version of the carbine has been greatly simplified, so much so that the shooter is allowed to disassemble it and carry out repairs in the field. Today, this weapon is produced in two army calibers: 223 Rem (standard for NATO assault rifles) and 308 (standard for NATO sniper rifles), as well as in all US hunting calibers and sports standard 22-250 Rem.
In addition, the Remington 700 SPS Varmint carbines (308 Win) are used in police special forces around the world. The reviews of athletes and hunters about this rifle are the most enthusiastic, but most likely they would have long forgotten if it had not fallen into the hands of the Marines in the Vietnam War.
Finally
To summarize, let’s say that the Remington bolt-action rifle needs no advertising. It can easily be called legendary. The trigger mechanism of the seven hundred models is identical to the mechanism of the M-24 army sniper rifle. It has an ideal, as for a rifled weapon, a very short and dry trigger, in which it is possible to adjust the force of pressing the trigger. USM seven hundred models is considered classic, it is used even in sports for competitions in precision shooting. There are many different modifications of each of the mentioned options of “Remington 700”, depending on the used material of the barrel, stock, receiver, as well as the processing of a metal surface. In total, there are 17 different modifications of this model.
The popularity of the rifle we reviewed is not limited to the United States. For example, in Russia there is even a Remington rifle club. On the shelves of our weapons stores presented a huge assortment of this model in all versions. Those who wish can purchase both the simplest version (at a price of 30 thousand rubles) and specialized weapons. For example, a copy that is in the arsenal of the US police (such a model will cost from 160 thousand rubles).