Excellent day, today. I’ve been working on the thrasher, our 2005 Ford Escape with 150,000 miles on the odometer. A replacement Optima battery had been ordered from Amazon, after receiving guidance from that site’s replacement parts compatibility feature. The price was $34 less than the same product at Wally’s. The old battery was pulled, the new one was lowered into place, where it became obvious that the post polarity was opposite of the original and 6″ shy of being reachable by the battery cables.
Logging onto Amazon to request a return, a red noticed flashed on the screen indicating that Amazon policy deemed the battery not returnable. Interesting, as my policy is to not pay for items incorrectly advertised. Bringing up Amazon chat, I was assisted by a customer service rep located in a foreign land. A very nice guy, told me to keep the battery and that a new one, the correct one, was on the way. Yikes! I reminded him it was a $200 battery, and asked was he sure they did not want it back. He did not, so we ended the conversation.
I rated him five stars across the board, and logged into my account to check the new zero dollar order, because I knew in my heart he was sending me the exact same battery part number. He did. I had a vision that by the end of the coming week I would be inundated with order and reorder batteries, none that fit the Escape. I requested a customer service call. That agent was… high on life and stated, in fact, her car had a bad battery also, so she asked my opinion of what might be a good purchase. I suggested the battery sitting in my garage.
Not a buyer, but she canceled agent 1’s replacement order, refunded the full purchase price of the original and left me free, with best wishes, to find a battery that fit my car. Now all I have to do is buy a car that matches up with the original battery which is now taking up space on the garage floor. Jeff Bezos departure from Amazon is felt in many ways. Now I don’t have to hate Amazon as much.
So I celebrated with a fun project. Bye, bye Miss American Pie….
An outline had been completed for a review of a Remington Model 700 Chassis Pistol in September 2021, just before the announcement that Remington was being parted out along product lines and sold to, in the court’s opinion, the most qualified buyer. So the Model 700 CP was put back in its box, stowed in the safe and other projects in queue took its place. The Model 700 CF turned up while digging around for another firearm and it seemed a good opportunity to finish what was started. Perhaps not to be produced again, but they are still around in gun shops and in private owner hands.
What is a Remington 700 Chassis Pistol? Anyone? You there is the back of the room…
| Remington Model 700 Chassis Pistol |
|
| Company | Remington Arms Company |
| Manufactured | Ilion, New York |
| Order No. |
96815 |
| Type of Action | Bolt Action |
| Caliber | 308 Winchester |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 |
| Barrel Length | 12.5″ 5/8-24 Threaded Muzzle |
| Barrel Material | Carbon Steel |
| Barrel Finish | Cerakote |
| Rifling Twist | 1:10″ RH |
| Receiver Material |
Carbon Steel |
| Receiver Finish |
CeraKote |
| Chassis Material | Aluminum |
| Chassis Finish |
Hard Anodized |
| Mechanical Sights |
None |
| Sight Mounting |
Picatinny Rail |
| Weight of Firearm | 6.15 Lbs |
| Adjustable Trigger |
3.0 – 5.0 Lbs |
| Overall Length | 21.75″ |
| Overall Height | 7.93″ |
| Safety | Two Position |
| MSRP (When Sold) |
$1,020 |
The 700 CP marked Remington’s resumption of bolt action handgun manufacturing, something Remington did quite effectively between 1964 and 1994 with the XP-100. Chambered for centerfire rifle cartridges 5.56 NATO, 300 Blackout and 308 Winchester, the Remington 700 CP was intended for the handgun hunter, as well as for competitive and purely recreational shooting.
The Model 700 CP’s detachable magazine, Picatinny rail and ventilated handguard, while beneficial to all previously noted applications, were also visuals intended to appeal to the “all things tactical” consumer.
The Remington 700 CP represents a substantial materials and mechanical improvement over Remington’s XP-100, however, the XP-100R pistol philosophy is obvious.
The Remington 700 CP utilized a Model 700 short action, complete with an X Mark Pro adjustable trigger, removable Picatinny rail, steel recoil lug sandwiched between the receiver and barrel, and a slender contoured hammer forged barrel that terminated in 5/8-24 threads. The M-Lock compatible handguard was secured to the chassis with two fasteners and not secured to the barrel or to a barrel nut. The barrel fully floats beyond the receiver.
The chassis mounts a Magpul MIAD pistol grip that is compatible with all associated accessories and is AR 15 grip standard. The chassis utilizes the cross brand standard AICS magazine system. In this case a 10 round MDT poly magazine. The large can’t-miss-it tab forward of the trigger guard releases the magazine when desired, but is well shielded from accidental release. Two graded fasteners locate the receiver to the chassis.
A look at the bedding side of the chassis. The receiver is supported at the contact areas surrounding the chassis to receiver fasteners (A) with no other contact. The relieved area at the end of the receiver (B) locates the barreled action’s recoil lug. Fasteners secure the handguard at (c). The support pad (D) is for the handguard. All aluminum pieces are hard coat Anodized, all steel piece are black Cerakote finished. Essentially, all of the changes from the old XP-100 series pistol represent upgrades to accuracy, strength, longevity, versatility and ease of shooting.
“The bolt handle should be on the left”. Yeah… no
After a good deal of time carrying and shooting the Remington 700 CP in surrounding woodland and at the range, I can’t believe anyone other than a lefty… anatomically, not politically, would want the bolt handle on the left side. I suspect the suggestion that it should be may be coming from people familiar with the mid grip XP-100 and did not considering the 700 CP’s rear grip location. I don’t know. Just spitballing here.
The center of balance for the 700 CP is approximately where, below, my left hand is placed. That position remains with the full mag and silencer in place. Grasping the pistol by the grip with the right hand, while attempting to work the bolt with the left hand, would be like picking up a small car by its rear bumper, supported only by the wrist.
I carried the 700 CP as pictured. No, not with my arm sticking out, but using the left hand to carry the weight and the right hand only for secondary support and to operate the safety, changing mags and cycling the bolt. This worked particularly well, even shooting off hand with a red dot sight mounted. With the scope mounted, particularly at higher magnification, I rested the pistol anywhere along the handguard, secured the pistol with my left hand as pictured, then operated the firearm with the right.
It took fifteen minutes to set up the Remington 700 to my preferences; install and boresight a long eye relief 2x-7x handgun scope and screw on a well used AAC SR-7 silencer. A red dot setup for deer hunting would have easily been good for 100 yards, however the pistol’s accuracy was to be tested and I wanted to evaluate the pistol, not my eyesight. With the SR-7 installed, the configuration grew to an overall 30″ length; still 8.5″ shorter than a 20″ barrel saddle carbine and 4.5″ shorter than a 16″ barrel trapper.
For years, previously listed with a minimum barrel length of 10″ for use with the 308 Winchester, no longer a Remington product, it is now listed with a minimum 308 Win barrel length of 14″. Fortunately, old silencer with an old spec sheet, so the SR-7 was put to work on the 12.5″ barrel Model 700 CP. All of my other silencers were 14″ to 16″ minimum barrel length rated. Below, AAC SR-7 top, Silencerco 36M bottom with a 308 Win 14″ minimum barrel length.
If I was going to add anything beyond a sight system and silencer it would be a sling, and the 700 CP provides lots of locations for affixing a sling. A bipod is also an easy install, but they are not for me. I’ve flopped down in a prone position with a bipod mounted, only to find an obstructed view of the target. Shooting sticks, for me, are like a wobbly camera tripod. I’d rather rest on a backpack, tree limb, convenient rock, or the side of an extended leg as a rest when necessary.
The Remington 700 CP is built around a twin lug, 90° lift Model 700 short action, which makes for a longer bolt lift than a tri lobe 60° action. For me, the difference is academic unless you’re participating in an “I can cycle my bolt faster than you” contest. I have never looked back at a missed shot at a deer and thought, “If only I had a rifle with a tri lobe bolt head and 60° lift”. The magazine centers and queues each round for the push feed bolt. Chambering is smooth and with little resistance and once the bolt is closed, the cartridge casehead is encased in three concentric rings of steel; bolt head, barrel and receiver.
Low mounts on the Picatinny rail put this scope’s 36mm objective a piece of 20 lb copy paper thickness away from from the rail and closest to bore centerline.
Generally speaking…
So I can equivocally state that the Remington Model 700 CP is the perfect firearm for… I have no idea, but that really doesn’t matter. I can open the safe and pull out a dozen firearms… rifles, handguns, shotguns, or muzzleloaders that could equally drop a deer at 200 yards, or a black bear or a moose, or… Bolt action, lever action, pump action, break action, big bore, small bore, short barrel, long barrel.
My highly technical approach to selecting a hunting rifle on any given day would be “What would be fun to shoot?”, “What do I feel like lugging around?”, “What interesting handloads can I try?”. At the moment, the Remington is the answer to all of those questions. I will be back with live fire, factory and some handloads, as soon as I machete some of the branches and brush that have overgrown the range.
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