Any Remington Firearms history experts out there

[HOSS]

I was out calling coyotes yesterday evening. I pulled one of my old varmint rifles out to use. It is a Remington 700 BDL Varmint made in 1977. It is chambered in 6mm Remington. I noticed that it is somewhat different than the other 700's that I have. First off the stamped in writing on the barrell and reciever has gold coloring. Even the Remington logo. The stock is a factory stock but it is a much higher gloss than others and the wood grain is really pronounced. Not burled but classier than most. The fit and finish of the whole firearm is some of the best I have seen on a production rifle.

Has anyone seen anything like this from Remington? I have looked a little on the web but can find no information. I was wondering if anything special was issued around that year.

 

[BeefmasterB]

That's a tough question! I gather the checkering is cut vs impressed? And it should be the heavy barrel. As to the gold impressions, I could not find any info either but did see this little disclaimer on the Remington web site:

"Remington Arms has always produced a line of special run firearms for certain distributors and conservation groups, and these items do not appear in the catalog. These guns are often produced to meet the needs in various geographical areas, as promotional items, or to test the market to see how well a new product will be received. Special run firearms are produced in limited numbers and are usually available for a particular length of time but these guns are not classified as "Limited Editions."

I'll ask a couple of rifle buddies of mine.

 

[HOSS]

Yes Beefmaster it does have a heavy barrel. The checkering appears to be cut and not pressed. The edges of the checkering are very sharp and defined like cut checkering. I bought the gun about 10 years ago at an estate auction for $300.00 I think. It is in near mint condition and has been fired very little. It is super accurate especially with the Remington Premier Varmint loads. It is murder on coyotes and just as deadly on whitetails. I just love the 6mm Remington caliber. I think I have three or 4 rifles chambered for 6mm Remington. It is just getting hard to find factory ammo however.

 

[BeefmasterB]

Yes Beefmaster it does have a heavy barrel. The checkering appears to be cut and not pressed. The edges of the checkering are very sharp and defined like cut checkering. I bought the gun about 10 years ago at an estate auction for $300.00 I think. It is in near mint condition and has been fired very little. It is super accurate especially with the Remington Premier Varmint loads. It is murder on coyotes and just as deadly on whitetails. I just love the 6mm Remington caliber. I think I have three or 4 rifles chambered for 6mm Remington. It is just getting hard to find factory ammo however.

Just from running a few searches, it appeared that your gun was worth quite a bit! Far more than $300 AND they seem to be sought after. I also noticed on many sites that they received quite a bit of attention due to their incredible accuracy! I have the Model 600 that has the short barrel but it doesn't compare to your 700 BDL Varmint. What kind of range to you get with it and still maintain near 3 MOA?

 

[HOSS]

Yes Beefmaster it does have a heavy barrel. The checkering appears to be cut and not pressed. The edges of the checkering are very sharp and defined like cut checkering. I bought the gun about 10 years ago at an estate auction for $300.00 I think. It is in near mint condition and has been fired very little. It is super accurate especially with the Remington Premier Varmint loads. It is murder on coyotes and just as deadly on whitetails. I just love the 6mm Remington caliber. I think I have three or 4 rifles chambered for 6mm Remington. It is just getting hard to find factory ammo however.

Just from running a few searches, it appeared that your gun was worth quite a bit! Far more than $300 AND they seem to be sought after. I also noticed on many sites that they received quite a bit of attention due to their incredible accuracy! I have the Model 600 that has the short barrel but it doesn't compare to your 700 BDL Varmint. What kind of range to you get with it and still maintain near 3 MOA?

I haven't really stretched it. I shot it at 400 yards on a still day about 5 years ago off of a bench with sandbags and a Harris Bi-Pod. I shot 75 grain Hornady V-Max bullets. It put 5 shots in about 3". It has a 6.5 x 18 scope on it. I got the trigger set at about 18 ozs. I have taken a few yotes with it, some ground hogs in W.V., some crows and a couple of deer. I don't use it that much due to its weight.

Was there any info that you found that would tell me if it was a special edition or anything?

 

[BeefmasterB]

Yes Beefmaster it does have a heavy barrel. The checkering appears to be cut and not pressed. The edges of the checkering are very sharp and defined like cut checkering. I bought the gun about 10 years ago at an estate auction for $300.00 I think. It is in near mint condition and has been fired very little. It is super accurate especially with the Remington Premier Varmint loads. It is murder on coyotes and just as deadly on whitetails. I just love the 6mm Remington caliber. I think I have three or 4 rifles chambered for 6mm Remington. It is just getting hard to find factory ammo however.

Just from running a few searches, it appeared that your gun was worth quite a bit! Far more than $300 AND they seem to be sought after. I also noticed on many sites that they received quite a bit of attention due to their incredible accuracy! I have the Model 600 that has the short barrel but it doesn't compare to your 700 BDL Varmint. What kind of range to you get with it and still maintain near 3 MOA?

I haven't really stretched it. I shot it at 400 yards on a still day about 5 years ago off of a bench with sandbags and a Harris Bi-Pod. I shot 75 grain Hornady V-Max bullets. It put 5 shots in about 3". It has a 6.5 x 18 scope on it. I got the trigger set at about 18 ozs. I have taken a few yotes with it, some ground hogs in W.V., some crows and a couple of deer. I don't use it that much due to its weight.

Was there any info that you found that would tell me if it was a special edition or anything?

18 ozs???????? That had to be a custom job, right? I'd like to replace a trigger with a Geissele which would get me down from 7 lbs to
First Stage: 1.3 – 3 pounds and Second Stage: 4 to 14 ounces but that's extremely light! May go with a Timney instead.

I don't have my Gun Bible here but that was the next place I was going to look for your rifle. According to the diswclaimer, yours may or may not be a "special edition". There is a forum on the remington site where you might be able to ask the question as well and get a very accurate answer. Some very sharp folks there. I'll check around some more!

 

[dun]

On my 6mm heavy varmint 700 the facotry trigger was rplaced with a Timney, sure does make a difference. Back in the 70s that was about the only after market trigger that was afforadable.

 

[HOSS]

Yes the trigger is a Timney. I replaced it shortly after I got it. I lightened the factory trigger down to where I like a varmint trigger and it had a tendency to fire when working the bolt so I put in a Timney. I have Timneys in several of my rifles. I really like them. I have buddies that think allot of Jewel triggers. I have never used them since Timney has worked well for me.

 

[BeefmasterB]

I noticed that it is somewhat different than the other 700's that I have. First off the stamped in writing on the barrell and reciever has gold coloring. Even the Remington logo. The stock is a factory stock but it is a much higher gloss than others and the wood grain is really pronounced. The fit and finish of the whole firearm is some of the best I have seen on a production rifle.

Hoss, are the other 700's you have ADL's? If so, that could account for the difference in fit in finish you described. The ADL, while still an excellent rifle, had the more basic, plainer stock than the BDL, from what I was told today.

 

[HOSS]

I noticed that it is somewhat different than the other 700's that I have. First off the stamped in writing on the barrell and reciever has gold coloring. Even the Remington logo. The stock is a factory stock but it is a much higher gloss than others and the wood grain is really pronounced. The fit and finish of the whole firearm is some of the best I have seen on a production rifle.

Hoss, are the other 700's you have ADL's? If so, that could account for the difference in fit in finish you described. The ADL, while still an excellent rifle, had the more basic, plainer stock than the BDL, from what I was told today.

No. I have other BDL's also. I even have a BDL Classic in 7mm Mag. I have a 1968 vintage ADL also in 6mm Remington that has a nice glossy wood stock but it is very reddish color in appearance. It has that original steel butt plate. My Grandfather gave that one to me in about 1979 or 1980. He bought it new in 68.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

I noticed that it is somewhat different than the other 700's that I have. First off the stamped in writing on the barrell and reciever has gold coloring. Even the Remington logo. The stock is a factory stock but it is a much higher gloss than others and the wood grain is really pronounced. The fit and finish of the whole firearm is some of the best I have seen on a production rifle.

Hoss, are the other 700's you have ADL's? If so, that could account for the difference in fit in finish you described. The ADL, while still an excellent rifle, had the more basic, plainer stock than the BDL, from what I was told today.

BDL's were the top of the 700 line,under that was the ADL,not as fancy. What Hoss has is not a production run piece although I can not clasify it.

 

[HOSS]

Here are some pics. The first pic is of both the varmint BDL and my old 1968 ADL. Both are in 6mm Remington. Note the steel butt plate on the 68 and the gold writing on the varmint.

 

[dun]

Have you ever rubbed the gold with a cleaning path soaked in solvent? To dress up guns we used to use a stick of stuff like a grease pencil rub it over the engraving, rub off the excess then cover it with a thin coat of varnish. I've done them in white, gold and silver.

 

[HOSS]

Have you ever rubbed the gold with a cleaning path soaked in solvent? To dress up guns we used to use a stick of stuff like a grease pencil rub it over the engraving, rub off the excess then cover it with a thin coat of varnish. I've done them in white, gold and silver.

When I got this gun it had been covered in cosmolene for storage. I used some Hoppes on a cloth to remove it. The gold didn't come out of the engraving then but Hoppes may not have been strong enough.

 

[BeefmasterB]

Hoss - what's the serial number on the gun in question? It wasn't clear enough for me to read. I'm still trying to get an answer for you. The Blue Book on guns was of no help.

 

[HOSS]

Hoss - what's the serial number on the gun in question? It wasn't clear enough for me to read. I'm still trying to get an answer for you. The Blue Book on guns was of no help.

AXXXXXXX

 

[BeefmasterB]

Hoss, it looks like Dun gets the prize for figuring out that gold numbering and lettering! The Remington Rep did not believe it was factory golding and that it is fairly common for individuals to customize the numbering and lettering with gold coloring after purchasing it new. The rep at Remington says the serial number matches up with a '78 manufacture date.

Whoever did the golding did a good job IMO!!

 

[HOSS]

Hoss, it looks like Dun gets the prize for figuring out that gold numbering and lettering! The Remington Rep did not believe it was factory golding and that it is fairly common for individuals to customize the numbering and lettering with gold coloring after purchasing it new. The rep at Remington says the serial number matches up with a '78 manufacture date.

Whoever did the golding did a good job IMO!!

The 78 may be right on. The date code indicator on the barrel is Nov. 1977 according to Remington. They probably made the barrels ahead and it was put on an early 1978 model. Thanks for all the help BeefmasterB.

 

[rattler]

HOSS my FIN had a varmit sepical he got back in 80 or 81 it did not have any gold on it but it was a shooter i saw him pull some long shot's it had a slick blub job on it the wood was a high gloss finish.We did float the barrel .

rattler