Remington's Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part I

OK, there is a small gray bird that is putting in a full shift of the driveway, every day.  It isn’t a dove, or a pigeon or a catbird, it’s just a weird little gray bird… It is there when I walk over to the shop, it is there when I break for lunch and it is there when I knock off for the day. If I walk toward him, he flies away, but quickly returns and sits, his little bird head and beady eyes tracking to anyone passing by. Freakin’ me out. Anyway…

Pictured left, a hunting rifle. Notice it is not a heavy, clumsy, sharp cornered, burp operated, under powered “Modern” hunting rifle. It is also not covered in the latest bright blue and green natural leaf patterns. The Remington is a proper rifle, not something manufactured from recycled plastic pop bottles and other such land fill. The CDL may not fit well with a special ops team, or when playing the role of a hunter in commercials on the Outdoor channel, but it fits well into hunting situations.

I don’t want to artificially limit the  Remington Model 700 CDL for folks who apply a different philosophy when selecting a hunting rifle, as the CDL product line is offered in numerous configurations: blued and stainless, short and long actions, 24″ and 26″ barrels, hinged floorplate and detachable magazine, gloss and satin finished stocks and in at least a dozen chambers. For those looking for something lighter and more compact, Remington also offers Model Seven CDL versions with 20″ and 22″ inch barrels in half a dozen other chambers suited for those applications.

Remington’s nearest competitor for this subject rifle and chamber, the Weatherby Mark V Sporter in 300 Weatherby Magnum, is priced 50% higher than the Model 700 CDL and the Weatherby falls short in terms of ballistic performance. The 30-338 Weatherby, with a slight edge over the 300 RUM,  is not available with a walnut stock and the price differential is significantly greater than the Weatherby Sporter.

The Sendero’s lightweight cousin…

One of my favorite rifles is a 300 Remington Ultra Mag Sendero. Nice gun, great shooter, but at just under nine pounds without scope, the Sendero is a tad or two on the heavy side for situations where a lot of time is spent moving and hunting. From the standpoint of internal, external and terminal ballistics, both guns are identical. In times past, the long barrel Remington Model 700 CDL 300 Ultra Mag would be classified as a Western rifle. In reality, taking a 300 yard shot at an antelope in Montana is no different than taking a 300 yard shot at a whitetail deer standing in a fire break in Maine.

It’s evident that the Model 700 Remington CDL is not a low end product, devoid of finishing touches. The bolt body is jeweled, the bolt handle is checkered and the bead blasted finish is uniform all over. There is a hinged floorplate to facilitate unloading and a trigger pull adjustment that is easily accessible without removing the stock.  The checkering patterns are well placed and provide proper coverage. While not hand checkered, the stocks are machine checkered for a presentable appearance and the matte finish polymer forearm tip and grip cap give the gun a well finished look. The CDL comes from the factory with sling studs. The SuperCell™ recoil pad seems a little… large, but it is winner on a magnum rifle. Overall pull is ideal and the pad dampens even the recoil… enthusiasm of a 375 Ultra Mag.

Remington Model 700’s are pretty simplistic assemblies. The stock inletting is CNC machine precise and the bottom metal hinges and catches all operate smoothly. Two hex head machine screw, pasted through tubular bushing hold is all together.

The cylindrical machined action, the X-Mark Pro adjustable trigger, the simple recoil lug between barrel and receiver are lightweight and strong. For all of the glass bedding and multiple recoil containment schemes I’ve seen implemented on other brand rifles, I’ve never had a stock split on a Remington, even when chambered for big magnum cartridges. It is a good looking and easy to maintain firearm.

The 300 Remington Ultra Mag… swagger

Pictured, right to left: 308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 300 Weatherby Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Mag.

The 300 Ultra Mag has a 0.550″ case body and a rebated 0.534″ rim. This is about maximum size for the Model 700’s action. By not using the 416 Rigby case the Ultra Mag series is able to fit the Remington bolt face with enough room for proper extraction, there is 0.040″ more steel wrapped around the case head and body and the rifle holds three rounds in the magazine without resorting to pregnant guppy like convolutions.

The case is widely reported as being a 404 Jeffery derivative, however, there are no matching physical dimensions between the two cartridges. Or as Wiki says, the 300 RUM is based on a Canadian NASS, which is based on the 404 Jeffery, although none of these cartridges share a single common dimension… but they all do have a primer pocket. If that’s the case, pun intended, let me be the first to say that, in my estimation, the RUM is based on the 303 Enfield. So many commas and so little time.

Suitable for anything in North America

I was reading an article the other day, that advanced the notion that Alaskan guides like to carry 450 Rigby’s when they take a client out for big bear. I would put that statement in the category of “adventure enhancement”. If you take a client out and you back him up with a .30-06 Springfield he’ll feel as though he is on a relatively pedestrian hunt. If he sees his guide carrying a gun intended for dropping a 10,000 pound elephant, the client would believe through association that he is on a quest and a quest commands a much higher fee than a simple hunting trip. No, I am not suggesting that a .30-06 Springfield is a great back up for bear hunting, but I am suggesting they are not supernatural, even when that trophy picture is taken with a wide angle lens that teaks perspective and from a ground level perspective. In fact, if any outfitter would like to pick up the tab for a $15,000 fall bear hunt, I’d be glad to demonstrate the veracity, and possibly the viscosity, of my assertions.

The 300 RUM, when factory loaded with a 210 grain Swift A-Frame, can truck along at 3,000+fps and generate over 4,000 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. 165 grain ammo clocks along at 3,400 fps with over 4,100 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Where a guy on a typical multi trophy Alaskan hunt; brown bear, moose, sheep, caribou and crocodile… just seeing if you’re paying a attention, a 300 Remington Ultra Mag might have a lot more utility that a trusted 505 Gibbs. Additionally, Remington loads their Power Level and Managed Recoil ammunition for the 300 RUM, so you can wimp out, select Power Level 1 and women might still think you are studly.

For handloaders, the sky is the limit… or so the idiom goes. There is so much latitude in bullet selection, in terms of weight and construction, and there are so many powder types that work well behind a 0.308″ bullet that ammo can be assembled for optimal results and relatively inexpensively. Bullet prices run from 22 cents to $3/per bullet, with the norm for an excellent hunting bullet falling in the 40 cent range. Cases are available for $1 – $1.10 per from Remington, Federal and Nosler and they last for a lot of handloads. Die sets runs from $28 – $200 with the more typical falling into the $60 range. The cartridge handloads like an oversize 30-06 with no surprises or concern for nuance.

Where to now?

Our first pass with this combination about a year ago was less than ideal, fun, but not ideal. This time, with this good fortune of another opportunity, we are going to take our time and work up a good list of handloads and wring out the rifle’s accuracy potential. Another words, we’ve got a pretty good excuse to shoot a pretty nice rifle for a week.

Remington’s Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part I
Remington’s Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part II