I seem to have a difficult time reaching a happy medium in selecting a firearm. One day it’s the .416 Weatherby, the next a little compact .243. There does, however, appear to be a general trend toward lighter guns chambered for high performance cartridges. Even the cannons today don’t break 8 lbs., most of them are closer to 7 lbs.
It’s been a while since I’ve purchased a Remington. I’m not sure why, because Remington is the first brand I reach for when I’m not screwing around with handloads and pushing velocity, but rather when looking for a gun with a specific purpose in mind. I have a well worn 7mm Magnum 700 BDL I would take anywhere. It is very accurate, and able to knock down substantial size game at substantial distances.
One of my sons has a .243 700 BDL. It was his first gun, one that his Mom and I had purchased for him to take on his first hunt. He was 12, the boar he bagged weight a couple hundred pounds and change, and he’s still shooting the same rifle today. I think I began to purchase brands other than Remington when they appeared to be stuck in a time warp and shipping the same basic product since 1975; a glossy piece of walnut, connected to bright blued steel and a cast metal trigger guard with epoxy coating on the floor plate – that’s tough paint for those who are unaware. Even today, with the exception of a couple of models, I am not particularly excited with Remington’s line up. They have a short barrel .375 H&H synthetic that must be the ugliest gun in production.
There are exceptions. The Model 7 has become a very nice looking piece of equipment, both functionally as well as aesthetically. There are some laminated models like the LSS that might work, but I am not a basket weave checkering BDL fan, nor am I a fan of Sendero, or the VS products. I very much like the Mountain Rifle DM. I tried to buy one 2 years ago, chambered for the .25-06, but was unable to locate one. I do have an old Mauser 98 sporter in .25-06 that accounted for the longest shot of my life, a shot that put a rapid end to a mountain goat and sent me on a recovery cliff climb that reminded me it really does matter where the game is standing when you take your shot. Then a few weeks ago I was told one was available , so we ordered it.
There are many areas that differentiate the Mountain Rifle model from the other Remington products. Unlike the rubberized steel blend used in recoil pads stuck on other models, the MR is an Old English skeet style pad. It is very similar to a Pachmayr Decelerator in cushion and resilience, and chamfered to prevent it from snagging on clothing when raised to the shoulder. The pad is a flat black, it is joined to the satin finished stock with a flat black spacer; gone is the tan pad, white spacer to shiny walnut stock of the BDL.
Remington was definitely trying for a European look, and the pistol grip and grip checkering is right in line with this objective. Notice the absence of a shiny glomb of plastic at the pistol grip cap as well as the white spacer designed to make sure you can see where the wood ends and the plastic begins – The MV is smooth, very smooth.
The checkering is 20 LPI and flat pointed in European style. There is a border, but the pattern is clean, and not at all like the little Model 70 Winchester I bought a short time ago that looked like it was checkered with vice grips.
Now we’re into big time workmanship touches and quality put into a factory firearm. Torx head fasteners holding down an actual piece of steel in the form of a well shaped and well finished trigger guard. Actually, there is a nice wide ribbed trigger with Remington traditional placement of the bolt release. Of course there is no forward catch to release a hinged floorplate, the DM model designation refers to the detachable magazine that resides right where the floorplate use to be. The magazine is no more conspicuous than the standard floorplate.
The stock’s finish is a very even satin, not unfinished. In fact, my Weatherby Euromark looks like scrap compared to this little rifle. The inletting around the trigger guard is very tight and uniform and there is a neat little cross bolt. The trigger pull is 3 1/2 lbs.
The checkered pieces of metal under the stock are the magazine releases; you just pinch the two sides and the magazine pops out. Little effort is needed, but because the release is dependent on pressure being applied to both sides, there is little chance of the magazine falling out unintentionally. I bought a Remington brand spare mag fromBrownells for about $36.
Here’s another look at the Mountain Rifle stock. The tip blends nicely with the forearm and there is some more of the 20 lines per inch flat point diamond checkering. The MR comes with studs for quick disconnect swivels, unfortunately swivels did not come with the rifle. I ordered a set of Uncle Mike’s 1″.
Also in the picture to the right is the muzzle. At less that 1/2″ it is very slender all the way up to the receiver where it expands to fit the action. The crown is like my Weatherby’s, a flat cut. recessed into the crown to protect the rifling from field damage. I’m sure the light barrel contributes to the guns 6 3/4 lb weight.
“Safety in a reasonable package?”
In a world filled with litigation, attacks by trial lawyers on anyone they can suck a dollar out of, many manufacturers jumped at the trigger lock panic and hung some really God awful chunks of hardware on some very nice guns. Remington executed a well thought out and aesthetically acceptable solution. The green plastic caps are keys, two sets of identical keys ship with each gun. The lock is the little “L” shaped slot leading a small red dot on the bolt shroud. If I insert the key and twist the lock, the indicator will switch from red to white and the bolt will be locked. If I want to leave the gun in a safe and not lock the bolt, I can leave it on red. If you lock the bolt and lose the key while out hunting – you’re going to need to borrow a rifle from someone. I don’t know what the insides of the lock look like, but it appears any gun’s key will fit any guns lock.
It’s difficult to photograph an entire gun and retain any detail, but I thought the images at the right might give a better overall view of the rifle. The gun was put together well.
There is very little drop in the stock, so there was no need for a Monte Carlo rise at the comb to bring the cheek piece to scope alignment height. The gun has a very natural point and the absence of metallic sights is appropriate for this gun. The Mountain Rifle actually looks a lot like a new Winchester Express rifle with it’s more classic stock design and stock geometry.
The bottom picture demonstrates the magazine removed from the action. As I mentioned earlier, I purchased a spare from Brownells so I can carry a couple of types of ammo with me, and for backup in the eventuality something breaks. This arrangement Brownells has with numerous manufacturers to inventory and distribute their new parts offers a vast service improvement to the customer. They stock the parts, they ship same day, and Brownells backs the orders with their flawless customer service. Prices are below retail.
At the moment I’m awaiting the arrival of some .25-06 brass, a Cobra sling, Leupold Quick Release bases and rings and a scope I haven’t selected yet. When I get a little caught up, I’ll get some range time and see how well the 22″ barreled rifle holds up to the chronograph, and how well the thin barrel can group.
Thanks
Joe
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