Remington Mountain Rifle

Field-Testing a .270 Winchester.

- John Haviland

What can be written about a rifle that has been in continual production since 1962? The Remington Model 700 is certainly the most successful centerfire bolt-action rifle of all time, with more than 5 million sold and counting. Remington currently chambers the 700 in 23 cartridges from the .204 Ruger to the .338 Lapua Magnum, and a .50-caliber muzzleloader. Over the years the 700 has housed nearly 20 other cartridges from the .222 Remington and .250 Savage to the .35 Whelen and .375 Remington Ultra Magnum. Remington currently lists 30 variations of its Model 700.

I shot my first deer in 1966 with a Model 700 BDL .30-06. My dad bought the used rifle north of town at a truck stop with a back corner stocked with rifles, ammunition and hunting gear. The rifle’s recoil beat me up, but I learned to shoot it. I headed up a foothill ridge one cold morning and shot a mule deer doe. My four brothers and I shared that rifle for years, and my youngest brother now calls the rifle “his.”

I’ve been shooting Model 700s ever since. If memory serves correctly, I‘ve shot 700s in .204, .223, .22-250, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .25-06, .257 Weatherby Magnum, .260 Remington, .270 Winchester, 7mm08, .280 Remington, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm STW, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, .35 Whelen and a .50-caliber muzzleloader.