sol740 Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 The goal was to purchase a Remington 700, or Stevens 200, and make it into a project capable of sub-MOA, just for the fuck of it. Last year I stood in a ridiculous line on Black Friday and snagged a Dick's Sporting Goods 700 ADL special for $350 ($450 with a $100 rebate). Here's a pic from when I got it home. (After reading reviews I found it's actually quite capable of shooting what I'm wanting right out of the stupid box, basically negating the entire goal, and making this thread completely and utterly pointless ... shut yer stoopid face I wanted a project) http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/20121123.jpg The 700 came dressed in a hideous mossy oak camo stock, with an oddly pinkish hue in places, the less than silky smooth low-end Rem700 bolt throw, rimfire-worthy optic, and standard Xmark trigger. Lastly and definitely not least(ly?), it sports a 26" Varmint barrel, which is the milkshake that brought me to the yard, as the kids are wont to say. The Xmark trigger I do actually kind of like, though I can see myself going with a Timney or Rifle Basix in the future. Mounted the junk for pics sake and we get this. http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/picsay-1353708959.jpg In the spirit of doing something dirt cheap that improves function, or ease of, I purchased a KRG Bolt-Lift. It actually makes a noticeable improvement IMHO and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/bolt_lift_top_zpsd176fd74.jpg After "installing" the bolt-lift, and properly resting my sore wrist from all the crazy torquing and slight positioning adjustments I had to make, I ordered the optic and rings that were going to adorn my rifle. I chose the Millet TRS-1 optic, with Weaver Tactical Rings. However it required some time to ship, so I figured I might as well freefloat the barrel, and paint the stomach-contents emptying stock. The stock is pretty junky, but like I said, people are shooting stupid groups with this plastic nightmare, so I figured I'd paint it "less ugly" and do some baseline groups still wearing the stock ... errr ... stock. After pouring over the limitless color possibilities I landed on a generic camo-green that was already in my garage, did a shitty job, and copying another 700 build on this site, filled the hollow end of the stock with sprayfoam, which as far as I can tell, did absolutely nothing. Here's some pics with all of that finished, plus a Harris bi-pod, and 20 dollar cushioned sling. This was a few months back. http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/41debd82-8da5-4337-a8f9-7caf18e80b81_zps14133413.jpg Now I've barely shot this rifle, and the little shooting I have done, has further cemented the tickling parasite in my brain that's telling me that I'm clearly wasting my time, but alas the project must go on. I have been researching stocks that are on the lower end of the price range, I didn't want to spend more on my stock, than on the optic, or rifle itself, so no fancy-pants AICS chassis, JAE-700s, not even a Mcmillan or Manners. More like a basic H&S, Boyds Tacticool, or Varmint Thumbhole or even a Choad in the $100-$300 range. That's when a Slickguns post caught my eye. http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/AA700_107_0_zps50754604.jpg That's the Archangel AA700 stock, and it was $188.00 bucks, almost smack dab in the middle of my range. That doesn't look like a $188.00 stock, what with aluminum pillar bedding, adjustable length of pull, and adjustable cheekpiece, 10 round detachable box magazine, weird integrated bi-pod(that damn Harris just fucked my target goal) that I'm just positive is going to break, and barrel channel purposefully made to freefloat a varmint barrel, this thing just has to be a humongous piece of shit. So I bought one, it's in transit now, and I plan on giving a full report on how it performs next time I get out to the range. This should pretty much complete the build, although I may, or may not glass bed the action, depending on the results, and I may cut the barrel down to 20" or so. So far, this is the breakdown. Remington 700 ADL Big Box Special -$350+tax Weaver Rings - $30 Millett TRS1 - $319 KRG Bolt-Lift - $28 + $5 SH Archangel AA700 Stock - $188 + $18 SH Generic Sling - $20 Harris Bipod I may or may not need - $79 So that's just a bit over a grand (certainly not the cheapest budget build) but certainly not even giving the hymen of stratospheric spending potential a finger scare. And all to make a rifle that looks like this ... http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/AA700_107_0_zps50754604.jpg Shoot like this ... http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/sol740/20121123.jpg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsey Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Very entertaining write-up. Would read again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I got one of the Archangel's for my Mosin. Still have not shot it yet, it was having cycling issues. Basicly, the magazine would not fully seat. You really have to smack that bitch in there to get it to cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sol740 Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I got one of the Archangel's for my Mosin. Still have not shot it yet, it was having cycling issues. Basicly, the magazine would not fully seat. You really have to smack that bitch in there to get it to cycle. Interesting, from what little info I can find on the AA700, I do believe it uses a modified m14 magazine. How is the fit and finish of the Mosin version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87GT Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Camo stock looks so hideous. Good thing you replaced that. Looks a lot better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackbar00 Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Interesting, from what little info I can find on the AA700, I do believe it uses a modified m14 magazine. How is the fit and finish of the Mosin version? Im really happy with how it looks. I have a JMeck wrap mount I tried to run with it, but it would not clear and the mags would not seat, so I took it off. Will have to come up with a turn bolt and different scoupe mount next year. http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae290/ackbar00/IMG_2242_zps8a3d638d.jpg I had to add a swivel stud. Used a Harris for an AR15 mounted in one of the vents. I can now switch inbetween my PSL and this when I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fast5gp Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 It looks nice and seems like a nice build. Did you have any other trouble mounting the 700 other than the mount doesn't fit? I am always hesitant to buy archangel products. I would have gone a Bell and Carlson Medalist stock, and if you look hard enough, they do go on sale for around $200 dollars. Most people don't realize that a Remington 700 SPS or a savage 10FP can be sub 1/2 MOA rifles right out of the box with the right ammo and shooter. I'm glad you shot your Remington 700 ADL first and found out they are pretty accurate rifles by it's self. I seen people spend $$$ building a nice 700 just to shoot 1/2 moa groups. Then they found out other people are doing it with a rifle 1/2 it's price right out of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sol740 Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Camo stock looks so hideous. Good thing you replaced that. Looks a lot better , but thanks. Im really happy with how it looks. I have a JMeck wrap mount I tried to run with it, but it would not clear and the mags would not seat, so I took it off. Will have to come up with a turn bolt and different scoupe mount next year. http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae290/ackbar00/IMG_2242_zps8a3d638d.jpg I had to add a swivel stud. Used a Harris for an AR15 mounted in one of the vents. I can now switch inbetween my PSL and this when I want. Nice, thanks for the info. It looks nice and seems like a nice build. Did you have any other trouble mounting the 700 other than the mount doesn't fit? I am always hesitant to buy archangel products. I would have gone a Bell and Carlson Medalist stock, and if you look hard enough, they do go on sale for around $200 dollars. Most people don't realize that a Remington 700 SPS or a savage 10FP can be sub 1/2 MOA rifles right out of the box with the right ammo and shooter. I'm glad you shot your Remington 700 ADL first and found out they are pretty accurate rifles by it's self. I seen people spend $$$ building a nice 700 just to shoot 1/2 moa groups. Then they found out other people are doing it with a rifle 1/2 it's price right out of the box. Thanks, I think the process is enjoyable enough that even if I'm only making minor improvements I'll be happy. Even if it's just comfort improvements like better cheekweld and smoother throw. Though I do sincerely hope to see sooooome difference in accuracy. The stock is still in the shipping process, I'll post pics installed, and hopefully a nice target. The B&C was definitely on the list, but I'll give Archangel a shot, if it causes cycling issues or gives me accuracy problems it'll go to Ebay. Cross my fingers, throw salt, and pray to the brass gods. My uncle's old 700, wood stock, and sporter barrel was one of my favorite rifles to shoot as a kid because it was far more accurate than it had business being. That was years before I had any idea what MOA was, so that may be somewhat in my head, but it left an impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate1647545505 Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Looking good brother. John talks a lot about 700s on his youtube series, http://www.youtube.com/user/LoneWolfUSMC?feature=c4-overview. He's a great dude and a wealth of information on precision shooting. If you are just breaking into the 100-1000 style - give a look to Bill Lutz's book, http://www.amazon.com/Accuracy-Precision-Long-Range-Shooting/dp/B009G41VMM/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378423014&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=applied+ballisitcs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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