Rookie Mistake at the Auction or Did I Get Lucky?

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shootinghoosier

Rookie Mistake at the Auction or Did I Get Lucky?

Post by shootinghoosier »

I bought a Remington 700 yesterday at an auction, but now that I've got it home, I cannot match it up with any of their production models. It is a .280 Rem caliber with a very heavy stainless, ported barrel with no identifying marks other than ".280 Rem". The receiver is blued and just says Remington 700 along with a serial number. It has a brown laminated thumbhole stock. I thought it was a Model 700VL SS Thumbhole when I bid on it, but neither the Remington website or Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values list it in .280 Rem.

Now I'm thinking it's just a hodge-podge of components built around a 700 receiver. It looks great and it has a beautiful scope on it, but I was really wanting a 700VL SS Thumbhole. Having not had an opportunity to shoot it yet, do you think I ended up with a dog or a keeper? This is my first 700.

Several pictures of it are at http://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.a ... 2#topoflot
Wulfman
Posts: 718
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:04 pm
Location: N.W. Wyoming

Re: Rookie Mistake at the Auction or Did I Get Lucky?

Post by Wulfman »

shootinghoosier wrote:I bought a Remington 700 yesterday at an auction, but now that I've got it home, I cannot match it up with any of their production models. It is a .280 Rem caliber with a very heavy stainless, ported barrel with no identifying marks other than ".280 Rem". The receiver is blued and just says Remington 700 along with a serial number. It has a brown laminated thumbhole stock. I thought it was a Model 700VL SS Thumbhole when I bid on it, but neither the Remington website or Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values list it in .280 Rem.

Now I'm thinking it's just a hodge-podge of components built around a 700 receiver. It looks great and it has a beautiful scope on it, but I was really wanting a 700VL SS Thumbhole. Having not had an opportunity to shoot it yet, do you think I ended up with a dog or a keeper? This is my first 700.

Several pictures of it are at http://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.a ... 2#topoflot
It's definitely a conglomeration of components. Probably somebody's idea of a customized "beanfield" rifle. It looks too heavy to be carrying around in the hills or mountains and the caliber is a bit large for varmint shooting.

Depending on what you're going to use it for.......the "proof" (and worth) will be in how it shoots.


Den
shootinghoosier

Re: Rookie Mistake at the Auction or Did I Get Lucky?

Post by shootinghoosier »

It's definitely not a mountain gun...this thing must weigh 11 pounds or so. I'm not too concerned about it being a .280...it's a great cartridge to handload.

I figured the barrel was aftermarket when I saw it at the auction, but I didn't anticipate the stock being aftermarket as well. Hopefully, it will be a tack driver, but I guess I'll need to wait until the weather gets a bit warmer.
shootinghoosier

Re: Rookie Mistake at the Auction or Did I Get Lucky?

Post by shootinghoosier »

I finally got around to stripping this rifle down to see exactly what I bought. Although I haven't shot it yet, I'm feeling pretty good at this point, although there is not much on it that is Remington...only the receiver is a Remington 700. The trigger has been swapped out for a Rifle Basix L-3 trigger. The thumbhole stock is from Accurate Innovations. Scope is a Burris Black Diamond 8-32x50mm.

The barrel is still a mystery...it's a very heavy stainless steel barrel with no markings other than "280 Rem". The muzzle end is a full inch in diameter and is ported with 3 sets of 5 small holes aligned with the axis of the barrel. If looking down the barrel, the holes would be at 10 o'clock, 2 o'clock and 6 o'clock. I've looked at a lot of barrel mfr websites, but can't link it to any of them. Any ideas on who made the barrel?
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