Remington's Model 700 SPS Varmint Part I

This morning, my wife and I were on our way to an appointment with our local Chevy dealer, with the objective of buying a new truck. We don’t buy vehicles often, so we try to get what would last and what  would best serve in a sometimes severe climate. We found a good one; good horse power and suspension, 4×4, long bed, and more than a little nifty. Half way there, I called and canceled, made a U turn and headed to Friendlies and a celebratory breakfast; no bank account drain, no truck payments, no three week buyer’s remorse. We’ll buy a set winter tires for the old SUV to win back its favor.

The 22 – 250 Remington

My favorite .22 caliber speedster is the 220 Swift, primarily because it received so much controversial press when I was a youngster and getting my first exposure to firearms. It was THE cartridge for popping prairie dogs at 500 yards, which was almost as wide as then prairie dog-less home state of NJ. Eventually I did get a 220 Swift, a heavy barrel varmint rifle, shot it until I realized I had little use for a twelve pound varmint rifle and sold it to someone who did.

The 220 Swift and the 22-250 Remington share a common origin. The Swift, a wildcat cartridge designed in 1934 – 1935, was based on the .250-3000 Savage case. Winchester refined the design based on the slightly larger 6mm Lee Cartridge and commercialized it in 1935. The 22-250 Remington also evolved from the .250-3000 Savage, but between the years 1915 to 1937 and remained a wildcat until 1965 when it received SAAMI homologation under Remington’s petition. With a nominal case capacity of 41 grains, 6 grains less than the 220 Swift, the 22-250 Remington produces slightly less velocity. SAAMI standard 40 grain velocity for the 22-250 Remington is 3,975 fps – 4,125 fps, while standard for the 40 grain 220 Swift is 4,040 fps –  4,170 fps. Typical handload publications put maximum 40 grain 22-250 Remington load at 4,100 fps, 4,300 fps for the 220 Swift. Empirically, I have found the latter to be true, however, both are predominately soft loaded as factory ammunition in heavier weights.

A few years ago, building some custom target/varmint rifles in the shop, the 220 Swift was set aside in favor of the 22-250 Remington, mostly due to the 22-250’s popularity and availability of brass and ammunition. However, instead of configuring the rifles for varmint hunting, they were set up for deer hunting Instead of typical 1:14″ twist barrels, the rifles were fit with a stainless 1:8″ twist barrels. The result was excellent performance and range with 70 grain+ bullet handloads, however, powder charges were reduced from standard load data to accommodate increased pressure that resulted from increased bore friction.

While they are loud and fast, neither the 220 Swift or 22-250 Remington are barrel burners within the greater context of cartridges, primarily because of their modest powder capacity which diminishes persistence of burn. In fact they earn only a barrel burner index of 13.0 and 11.9 respectively compared to 15.7 for the 270 Winchester. Why are shot out barrels common with these cartridges? Probably because they are used for small varmint shooting and for range work where copious amounts of ammunition are shot through during each shooting session.

What can be done with a 22-250 Remington?

The 22-250 Remington can be loaded up with ammunition like Hornady’s 50 grain V-Max Superformance; 4,000 fps MV and 2,000+ fps retained at 500 Yards; prairie dogs, coyote, fox, bobcat are a good fit. The 22-250 Remington can also be loaded with Winchester 64 grain Super-X which is catalogued for use on thin skinned whitetail and mule deer, antelope and black bear. Up to 64 grains, bullets are still stabilized by a 1:14″ twist.

The Remington Model 700 SPS Varmint is an interesting combination for people who want more utility out of a single rifle. At 8.5 lbs, the SPS isn’t a handful to haul around, yet it has a heavy contour 26″ barrel and a wide beavertail forearm, a bipod stud… all features that contribute to long range performance.

The Model 700 SPS, all Model 700s for that matter, have a fairly simple, but very effective bolt design. The twin lugs yield a 90° bolt lift and the short Model 700 action makes for a fast throw. The spring steel extractor does as good a job as a full length claw extractor, despite its small size and the plunger ejector assures empties clear the ejection port. The recessed bolt face contains a cartridge case head, the bolt head is recessed into the barrel shank and all of it is wrapped in the steel walls of the receiver.

The Remington Model 700 bottom metal is fashioned from aluminum; light but durable and nicely finished. The mounting and latching hardware are steel. The very clean X-Pro trigger pull is externally adjustable. The most recent shipments of this model have swapped the light gray gripping surfaces for black, hence, and end to the saddle shoe look. Saddle shoe? Ask a grandparent or great grandparent.

The stock geometry works in regard to length of pull and height and angle of comb. The cheek piece provides support when shooting from a bench or prone on the ground, but shooting from a standing position, it would take a pumpkin size head to require that position of support. Outside of the significant in size Austrian style cheek piece, I can’t think of any that do more. It looks nice…

The sweeping pistol grip makes for a comfortable hold, the stick flutes provide a place for the back of the thumb to rest. The two position safety is positive in actuation, forward push to fire. It is beyond the scope of this project, but for folks who like the rifle, but are looking for a different cartridge, the Remington SPS Varmint is also available in: 204 Ruger, 223 Remington, 243 Winchester, and 308 Winchester.

22-250 Remington Live Fire

There are a good number of 22 caliber centerfire cartridges, some of the more popular over the years. Pictured left: 22 Hornet, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 22-250 Remington, and 220 Swift.

On that note, and with a set of Redding competition dies and several deer hunting worthy bullets in hand, we’ll take a break, assemble some ammo, and collect some range data. We’ll be back in Part II with the results and a live fire assessment of the Remington Model 700 SPS Varmint.