Tactical Usmc

Tactical Stocks – Getting The Most From Your Remington 700

In production for almost 50 years, the Remington 700 is one of the best selling centerfire hunting rifles of all time. No other rifle combines the 700′s strength, affordability, accuracy and ease of upgrade.  It is the current sniper rifle of the US Army (M24 and XM2010), USMC (M40) and US Navy SEALs (Mk 13 Mod 5). The enduring popularity of the Remington 700 has made it the first choice of aftermarket parts and clone manufacturers.

The Rem 700 is probably second only to the AR15 as the World’s most upgradeable firearm. Indeed the cheap plastic, non free floating stocks included as standard are best thrown away by the owner as soon as he or she can afford to. After a better trigger, the next best thing you can do for your rifle’s accuracy is to bed it in a good stock. The best bedding you can get for a working rifle is to torque it down onto an aluminium bedding block or chassis. Stocks of this quality are a significant investment, but you will never have to worry about taking your rifle into the hills in deep winter again.

Starting at the low end of the quality stock price spectrum, Bell & Carlson have a well deserved reputation for producing high quality stocks at affordable prices. The Bell and Carlson method involves taking an aluminium pillar bedding block and hand layering a variety of composite materials including graphite, aramid fibers, fiberglass and epoxy gel coats and laminating resins; adding polyurethane reinforcement with milled fiberglass. This results in an utterly stiff but very lightweight ( 2.5 lb.) construction that is utterly different from the cheap, non free-floating stocks the factory fits to its baseline models. The Bell and Carlson Light Tactical stock is typical of their range and offers a great choice for right hand short action 700s used in a varmint or predator control role. The Light Tactical Stock has a cut out beneath the rear of the stock to enable the left hand to cradle the rifle for greater control. ‘Glass’ bedding this rifle is a purely cosmetic option.

H-S Precision provide the US Army with the stock of their M24 Sniper Weapon System and also went with a machined aluminium bedding block bonded to structural polyurethane foam reinforced with fiberglass. This perfectly aligns and cradles the barrelled action. The H-S stock’s light (2lb. 12 oz.) perfectly rigid stiock is the result of hand laminating Kevlar and fiberglass cloth and uni-directional carbon fiber strands. These stocks are utterly weatherproof and can be used outdoors year-round. H-S protect their stocks with a baked on polyurethane finish that is non reflective and textured for a firm hold in wet conditions. H-S precision’s PST series stock was chosen as the Remington 700 Police stock and is available in floorplate and detachable magazine versions in either black or desert tan finish.

Both of these stocks have relatively conventional lines and are light enough not to compromise the mobility of the rifle. However, aesthetics were never a consideration to Accuracy International when they created the winning entry to the British Army’s mid 80s sniper rifle competition. They wanted the most solid possible bond between the action and chassis and went the whole way, gluing it permanently with incredibly strong epoxy resin to make it a single unit. The result was an insanely accurate rifle that very few civilian shooters could afford. AI won many military users including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgoium, Sweden and Australia, but they wanted to break into the US civil market. The solution was to take the chassis of the L96 and adapt it to take Remington’s remarkable Model 700 barrelled action.

AI’s ‘civilian’ stock, the Accuracy International Chassis System, is machined from a single billet of aerospace quality aluminium onto which the glass reinforced polymer panels are bolted. The action is aligned perfectly by the V-shaped bedding block, torqued down with the two bolts supplied with the kit. The curious flat sided ergonomics make the rifle surprisingly easy to carry and AI offer a shoulder harness style sling that attaches to H&K style recessed attachment points. Either AI or Harris bipods can be mounted. Different height optical sights are accommodated by a screw adjustable cheekpiece and a thumbhole grip provides good control. Bolt on spacers are used to adjust length of pull. AI’s legendary quality magazines are available in 5 and 10 round double stack format for the .308 (or .308 parent case rounds like the 7mm-08 and .243) and a 5 shot format for the .300 Winmag. The Stage 1.5 and Stage 2.0 version differ in the latter boasting an ingenious folding mechanism, each being available in short and long action formats with panels in green, dark earth or black. The US Navy adopted the AICS for its Mk 13 Mod 5 Sniper Weapon System – the price of that prestige is 5 lb. 11 oz. and $1100 US dollars as of January 2010.

Copyright Chris Pieterman January 2011.

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