Remington model 710...

[fkovalski]

I was going to revive one of many old threads about rifles and hunting, but decided to ask a direct question in a new thread about a specific model:

I am looking for a good quality rifle for elk hunting as I am tired of borrowing (It's time I bought one anyway) I am thinking of purchasing a Remington 710 30. 06 including the factory installed Bushnell scope as shown here: Remingto 710 Retail for one at a major sports store in the Denver area sell for $329. 00. Many folks I have spoken to say it is the best all around rifle for the price. A co- worker has fired one and says it is dead accurate out of the box even with an entry level scope.

Does anyone in TDR land own one? Any comments are appreciated.

 

[ndurbin]

My dad owns one and I've shot it acouple times. It's a very nice rifle. I dont remember what scope his has. But it has a natural wood stock with engravings so I doubt its the standard Bushnell scope.



30. 06s are a very good all around rifle. I personally dont shoot it out over about 200-250 yards. It does have some disadvantages in heavy wooded/brushy areas and I haven't found it to be good out past 300-350 yards. But those are just my expriences.



Nathan

 

[The patriot]

Hell for that much money you cant go wrong.

Dont be afraid of the Savage package rifles either. Good bang for the buck.

Eric

 

[GFritsch]

Rems are well known for their stock trigger. Sounds like a good price. I use a Winchester 30-06 with a leupold scope and have been happy with it. When it comes right down to though it is not the riffle (barring defects) but the shooter. The riffle you describe will work fine after being sighted in properly. 30-06 is a great choice.

Enjoy safely.

Greg

 

[Rman]

Why the 30. 06 ? I know it's everyone's favorite for a century now, but with modern cartridges why buy a 'new' rifle in an 'old' cartridge. This should be interesting, flame suit on!

 

[GFritsch]

Why the 30. 06 ? I know it's everyone's favorite for a century now, but with modern cartridges why buy a 'new' rifle in an 'old' cartridge. This should be interesting, flame suit on!

Cheap, available anywhere, great selection in grains, works great from small game all the way up to elk/moose. Did I mention cheap--alot of these newer rounds are harder to find, and $$$.

 

[fkovalski]

Why the 30. 06 ? I know it's everyone's favorite for a century now, but with modern cartridges why buy a 'new' rifle in an 'old' cartridge. This should be interesting, flame suit on!

Agreeing with GFritsch on his comments too! Also- I believe that the 7mm or the 300WM might be too much power if I do hunt an occasional deer. I know that I specifically stated elk in my original post, but even though the 30. 06 is "old", it is tried and true. And, with all the variations in ammo, it's probably the least expensive.

 

[Rman]

Well factory ammo you guys are right. I hunt deer with 7mm rem mag and have excellent results. Quick kills with little damage, (other than internals). Frankly, bullet selection is far more critical than caliber or cartridge.



I like 300 mag for elk, but my 7mm does well too. I just can't stand 30-06, no offense fellas. I know everyone and their dog shoots it. I hand load everything so availibilty means squat to me. I have more in my basement than most gun stores have.



I've never shot a Rem 710, but I have a few 700's. They make excellent factory weapons. Good triggers, with decent barrels that shoot well. The savage's have the best barrels, but the actions sure need help. I love my Rem 700 action. Shoot on fellas.

 

[fkovalski]

I would consider a 7mm or 300 if I knew more about them. All will work well for big game. I do not know enough about ballistics to try to do an "apple- to apple" comparison. I figured I would go with the 30. 06 for the price and overall value then learn more about the other options in the future to decide on another one later if desired. Any input as to advantages of the 7mm or 300 over the 30. 06 are welcome. The model 710 is avalable in all callibers discussed.

I don't think I can go wrong with any that I choose as an entry level, first weapon.

 

[Rman]

personally 300 win mag is as big as I will go. There are much better ballistics out there, but my lord they are no fun to shoot. I can shoot my 7mm all day and not be too beaten up, 300 is good for an hour or two.



Check out www.remington.com/ammo/ballistics/ballistics.htm this is a great table to compare calibers. The real difference between 30-06 and either the 300 mag or 7mm mag is energy. You can transfer more foot pounds of energy to the target, couple that with a good bullet to transfer that energy and you have one hell of a lethal weapon. The 7mm is the flattest shooter, but really they all keep you right on within 300 yards. Inches aren't that big a deal as much as the energy being delivered, which is where the -06 falls short IMHO.



My advice is to shoot often and shoot what you're comfortable with. Having the best and baddest means nothing if you can't hit anything with it. A well placed shot with most calibers is going to take a target down. I just like the versatility in the 7 mag, light loads with light bullets for deer, and larger bullets and loads for elk. Even a lightly loaded . 300 is still going to tear up a deer though, the sheer velocity is killer.



With all of that being said, they've come out with new cartridges that kick the ones I mentioned out of the equation. The new short mags are sweet. 7mm short, 300 short... all new and I have yet to dabble with them. As previously stated, cartridges are not cheap and not widely available yet. It's gonna take years to get people to put down grandpa's 30-06

 

[Hale on wheels]

I would recommend you step up a notch to the model 700. The barrel on the 710 is pressed into the reciever, and the bolt locks into the barrel. On the 700 (and I guess all other bolt rifles) the bbl is threaded into the reciever. The model 700 ADL should not cost much more than the 710, but I personally think it is a better design. I have been wrong once or twice before, and I see that they now offer 300WinMag in the 710, so perhaps it is stronger than I give it credit, but you know the 700 can handle it without a hitch. For long term reliability, it seems to me the 700 is the way to go.

 

[El Putzo]

I agree

I agree with Rman, the 7mm is a good all around choice. It's all about what you are comfortable shooting. Your tolerance for recoil will determine what suits you best. I'm a short, stocky guy (5'10", 210lbs) so recoil is not quite as much of an issue for me as some. But I still have problems holding steady after about 10 rounds through my 300 Rem Ultra Mag. It's an awesome caliber with enough velocity and energy to take down almost everything except a charging elephant, but it also packs a pretty good punch on the back end too. Don't get me wrong though, I'll keep the flat shooting, hard hitting qualities of my Ultra Mag, even if my shoulder is a littl sore after a dozen rounds. I originally bought it for elk hunting 4 yrs ago but didn't see one big enough to shoot the first time we were in Colorado. We are going back in October hopefully with better luck. The thing I like the most is that I've shot 5 deer in the last 3 years with it, and not one of them has taken even 1 step after I shot it. There's something to be said for not having to track an animal. Just my 2 cents.

 

[fkovalski]

Thanks for everyone’s replies and opinions!

Cody- You referred to a pressed assembly compared to a threaded on the 710 vs. 700 respectively. But you also allude to its integrity when used on the 710- 300wm. I am not familiar with these types of manufacturing, but will in investigate it further. Thanks for pointing this out. The 700’s price over the 710 is about $150 more with out a scope. I would not mind going with a 700, but add about $200 for a decent scope and I am looking at about $675 vs. $350. Now if diesel were not so high priced…

The 7mm is sounding more interesting! I'll have to consider it a lil' more!



Here's the link for the 700 :700 7mm I could be tempted to go this route...

 

[Hale on wheels]

Frank,

What I meant was that I didn't realize they had a 300WM in the 710 until I looked it up, so I was trying to tell you that I am not the supreme authority in this issue Perhaps it is stronger than I think, but I would still lean towards the 700. If you don't want a wood stock you can get the 700ADL synthetic stock gun for about $50 more than the 710. If you get the same scope that they put on the 710, then that would probably be another $40-50. Lots of guys know more about it than I do, but that was just my $. 02. I hope you get a nice elk. I want to get up there someday and hunt one.



James... 300UM on whitetail How many shoulders do you blow off? I shot one with a 300SAUM and it blew the far shoulder completely off, as well as shattering the ribs and sending rib fragments all through the entrails! Too much damage for me, although it didn't run off. I shot 4 last year with my 25-06, and only 1 ran off, about 40 yards, the others dropped right there.

 

[fkovalski]

Cody- thanks for the input. I re- read more about the press fit of the 710 on the Remington website. They state that the press fit does not allow it to be removed. Should the (non) removability be a concern? Is the pressed version (generally) weaker than a threded version?

I will look more seriously at the 700 despite it's price.

 

[El Putzo]

Yeah, I know, overkill

Yeah, I realize that is a lot of gun for whitetail hunting but that was not it's original purpose. I originally bought it for elk hunting. I used to always use my Browning BLR . 243 for whitetails, but I had to send it back to the factory 3 years ago during deer season after a target shooting session when the firing pin went through the primer (they told me it was excessive headspacing). So I had to use the 300 that year and I was impressed with it's stopping power. I don't use it all the time, only when I sit in a certain stand where it is possible to attempt a 300-400 yd shot. Not saying that I could be too accurate at that range, but if I do see a nice buck at that range, I am confident that if I do hit him, my bullet will still have enough energy at that range to put him in a world of hurt rather than have the bullet stop in the chest cavity and not come out the other side. I only say this because I shot a doe one year at 270 steps with my 243 and the bullet went through the front shoulder and stopped before it got all the way through the ribs, luckily she ran straight toward me. If I have the option, I choose to shoot my deer in the neck (if it's a doe and it's close enough) but I have shot 3 in the chest with good success, not too much damage. I use a partition bullet so most of the time my bullet comes out a hole about the same size as it goes in. Yeah, it does make mush out of any bones it comes close too but there's not usually much wasted between the ribs. As for tearing shoulders off, I can't say that I've hit one in the shoulder yet, although I would imagine you are correct, it could easily tear one off especially if your bullet expanded much.

 

[The patriot]

The press fit barrel is not as desireable as the threaded fit. Structural integrity and factor of safety is much better with the threaded fit.

I looked at the 710 tonight. IMHO I'd save the bucks for the 700 or something like a Savage.

I've seen used 700's for the $250. 00 range in pretty good condition.

 

[fkovalski]

I went to Fart's Sports yesterday and looked at the 700 ADL in both 7mm and 30. 06. They were $389 and $369 respectivly (both synthetic stock. ) I am leaning towards a 700 model. Well within my price range but I would have to buy the scope. I do not know where to begin in looking for a good scope. That was the nice thing about the 710- it was all set up without having to think.

Thanks for all the input from everyone! -frank.

 

[Hale on wheels]

Most places will bore sight the scope for you. That gets you closer when you get to the range to sight it in, but it is definately not close enough to hunt with it. I have spoken to several guys who complained about missing shots on deer, only to find out they had never sighted in the scope, and they complained that it wasn't bore sighted well. Optics have come a long way in the last few years. A $50-$75 Bushnell would probably work plenty well for you. I like Leupolds, but I also like to go out and try to punch one big hole in paper all the time with 5 shots.



I believe the max point blank range of the 06 is around 300yds, so sight your scope to hit about 2. 5-3" high at 100 yds, and you will be all set for anything out to 300yds.

 

[KBennett]

You can't go wrong with a Remington and the 710 is not a bad gun either. I have two 700's and the trigger is the best thing about them but the 710 may not have an adjustable trigger.

The scope that comes with the 710 is probably low quality. You might be better off buying the gun without the scope and adding one later.

Feel free to PM me with any questions or if you need any assistance with your purchase.