Remington's Model 700 Magpul Part 1

I would not have looked up to check for dragons if my nine year old granddaughter hadn’t made the suggestion. Now I wonder how many dragons I have missed during my lifetime as a result of having too fixed of a perspective.

My favorite firearms are the least practical and the most limited in application. They tend to be blued, wrapped in walnut stocks and with barrels overly long or overly short and often chambered for odd ball cartridges. Out of the norm for me, the Remington Model 700 Magpul appears to be what a firearm looks like when the subjective preferences are set aside and performance is moved to the forefront.

The Model 700 Magpul possesses some of the traits of Model 700 based rifles we’ve built in the shop for long range applications, both hunting and competitive shooting. However, the Model 700 Magpul, as a factory package, is much less costly and it offers numerous enhancements. In fact, there are things I’ve learned from my time with this rifle that will be carried into future rifle building and buying efforts. Dragons are where you find them.

In a world of one size fits all firearms, the Remington Magpul is greatly appreciated. Without incurring the cost of a custom firearm, or having to whack away at a good buttstock with a saw, a couple of twists of fasteners and the use of interchangeable buttstock spacers or combs can deliver an optimal fit to virtually any shooter.

The choices of chambers are good ones for the rifle’s intended applications. The 308 Winchester and 260 Remington are good for any North American medium to big game, with the possible exception of dangerous game… AKA a really big bear. As this is a rifle made for long range shooting, and big bear are not typically shot at a long distance, I don’t see this as a limitation in practical use.

The Model 700 Magpul has a bit of heft and bulk, but it is definitely not a heavyweight. The extra pound to pound and one half over a sporter gives it a comfortable and balanced feel when shouldered. The rifle’s geometry is excellent for shooting from a bench or bipod. The forearm is wide and hand filling at 2.3″. The small of the stock and pistol grip angle position the trigger finger for a straight back squeeze. The straight line of the stock and barreled action minimize felt recoil.

A little elaboration…

The 22″ barrel is more than sufficient for 260 Remington or 308 Winchester cartridge capacity. The threaded muzzle, shown with a protective cap in place may not be a necessary feature for everyone, but it is one I use with increased frequency. There are very efficient muzzle brakes that are not noise makers and significantly cut secondary recoil and muzzle rise. Suppression for both supersonic and subsonic applications preserve hearing and keep hunting companions and neighbors happy.

The Model 700 Magpul is supplied with a heavy barrel, which makes for consistent points of impact through a combination of increased barrel rigidity and better control of heat saturation and dissipation. The barrel fully floats in the barrel channel, the action is anchored to the stocks internal aluminum frame. 5R rifling minimizes bullet distortion and a relatively tight twist stabilizes bullets at the heavier end of the 0.264″ bullet weight spectrum. The Cerakote finish is not only non-reflective and durable, but it quickly wipes clean after a shooting session.

The Remington Model 700 action is the same twin lug, 90° bolt lift, three rings of steel cartridge support that has been faithfully serving hunters, law enforcement, recreational shooters, and competitive shooters since 1962. While the basic design is the same, there have been many evolutions of improvements in materials, fit, finish and precision.

The very slick X Mark Pro trigger is externally adjustable within a nominal range of 3 – 5 lbs, preset at the factory at 3 lbs. The trigger is creep free, short in pull and let off is like breaking glass… but without the broken glass.

The thumb safety is an on/off two position type. Comfortable shooter control extends to the oversize tactical bolt handle and accessible but protected magazine release and detachable magazine. The AICS standard magazine is a significant enhancement as it permits magazine interchangeability within and across brands and to third party magazine suppliers. The stock’s trigger guard is a Magpul standard for the AICS magazine, but its recess in the stock also accommodates a standard Remington short action hinged floorplate assembly.

The Remington Model 700 Magpul is supplied with a 5 round poly magazine, however, 10 round Remington magazines are readily available. A quick scan of Brownells and Midway USA show a number of manufactures produce to this short action standard in 5, 8 and 10 round configurations in both steel and polymer.

The 260 Remington utilizes 308 Winchester/7.62 NATO marked magazines as the 260 Remington case is derived from the 30 caliber cartridge and shares a common cartridge overall length. In use, the magazines are easy to load, easy to insert, they lock in tightly and release cleanly.

After shooting the Remington Magpul, I made a decision to change a long action, high power chassis rifle I have been building as a background project and change to a long action version of the Magpul stock. The price is right and it is too good a product to pass up.

Unlike a typical synthetic stock with integral aluminum frame, the Magpul unit can be disassembled and is very flexible in configuration. The elongated piece, above right is the full floating barrel channel that makes the forearm rigid and clamps down the front end of the aluminum frame. The frame is secured at the sides with 4 cross locating fasteners.

A little closer look at the cast aluminum stock frame. The rear of the frame extends reward down through the pistol grip, then back into the butt stock where it is secured with three large cross fasteners. Those three fasteners, four cross fasteners below the action and three fasteners through the barrel channel component make for a very rigid and stable assembly.

The Magpul stock offers numerous sling attachment methods; side, bottom, standard and quick detachable. Folks who don’t want to use M-Lok hardware can also drill at premarked points to mount standard sling swivels.

General impressions

Dragons are where you find them. The Remington Model 700 Magpul is a slick hunting rifle for the long range shooter. It is slick in operation, cycles reliably and is very accurate with both factory and handloaded ammunition.

This all American made firearm exhibits a high degree of quality in form, fit and function. Part 2 will include live fire results and some final conclusions on the Remington where I believe performance will best speak for this firearm.