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I've been thinking this over for a few months now. I already have a Remington 700 BDL in .30-06 as my hunting rifle. It is a beautiful gun. I went with the .30-06 because it is versatile enough to drop any big game animal that I'll be hunting in the foreseeable future, and with some of the lighter bullets is not overkill for white tail here in VA. But I also have been thinking of adding a smaller gun, primarily for ferrel hogs, which are a big problem in this state. I also wouldn't mind having a more manageable caliber for when my kids start shooting.
A 700 ADL in .243 with a Remington brand scope runs less than $500 at Gander Mountain and Wal-Mart right now. I would replace the synthetic stock with a nice laminate from Boyd's stocks, and a few months or so down the road I could upgrade the glass to a Leupold or Nikon. I could upgrade it into a pretty nice gun for a pretty low price.
Of course, another hunting rifle can get behind all the other guns I have on my wish list right now. I have three or four that I am hoping to add this year, but we'll see how many items on that checklist I actually can mark off.
Just out of curiousity, what would be the typical distance that you would shoot, and what would the terrain be? I mean, small scrub brush, weeds, open, uphill, downhill, etc?
You certainly can't go wrong with a 700 ADL set up that way. And you are correct that you can add fancy hubcaps and fuzzy dice at relatively sane prices. hahaha
For a smaller gun, I stepped down to a .25-06. Went with a Savage, stainless bull. I put the Leupold on top of it and a Harris bypod underneath it. It has synthetic, but like you, I am looking for the right piece of wood. Wood will tame about 25% of the recoil.
Just out of curiousity, what would be the typical distance that you would shoot, and what would the terrain be? I mean, small scrub brush, weeds, open, uphill, downhill, etc?
You certainly can't go wrong with a 700 ADL set up that way. And you are correct that you can add fancy hubcaps and fuzzy dice at relatively sane prices. hahaha
For a smaller gun, I stepped down to a .25-06. Went with a Savage, stainless bull. I put the Leupold on top of it and a Harris bypod underneath it. It has synthetic, but like you, I am looking for the right piece of wood. Wood will tame about 25% of the recoil.
Virginia is heavily wooded. Before hunting here I would do a terrain/vegetation study (I'm a Marine officer so this part of it is somewhat natural to me). Unless you are hunting adjacent to an open field, you are highly unlikely to get a shot beyond 75 yards here. Inside the tree line it'll be much shorter. A .243 at 50-75 yards will drop a deer, no problem. Especially since I won't take a shot that is obscured by brush for safety reasons.
I also don't think I would take an uphill shot because if I missed, I could create a safety hazard for someone else. That round has to come down somewhere. I feel like I am a competent shooter, but I know that I am not infallible. My ideal shot is from a finger down into a trough with a clear field of fire and turf beyond the target.
Now there are a lot of wooded areas that are adjacent to open fields, and as long as your shot isn't crossing property lines or creating a safety hazard, a 200 yard shot isn't outside the realm of possibility. I wouldn't feel too confident trying to drop a white tail with a .243 at that range, but I wouldn't hesitate with my .30-06.
I've considered the Savage line, specifically the 111 series. They are affordable and people who I know use them rave about the accuracy. But they are a little pricier and I would still want to upgrade the stock at a minimum, so I've decided to stick with the ADL.
The .243 will work fine out to 200 yards, as long as there is no brush to interfere. It's a good round and fairly flat shooting. It has lots of punch when it gets to the other end.
Finally went into Gander Mountain and took a look at that 700 ADL I want. They had one in .243 and I nearly bought it on the spot, but figured my wife would use it on me if I did. I have a birthday coming in May, so I may hit her up for it at that time. I liked it. You can definitely tell that it's an entry level version of the gun but I feel like it is worth money as an inexpensive project gun for the upgrades I discussed earlier.
One thing that I've noticed is that you can still find small quantities of .243 on otherwise bare shelves. I guess not too many people out here shoot this size. I've considered buying that stuff up since I know I'm going to get the gun anyway. It's still pretty hard to find .30-06, .308, .270, .223/5.56. Unless you're willing to (greatly) overpay on lucky gunner.
Glad I found this thread as I am interested in this rifle in a .243 caliber. However I went to the Remington website to review the specs on this rifle and could not find any mention of a model 700 ADL. Does anyone on this forum know why the 700 ADL is not in the Remington catalog? Is this a special run for the big box stores like Cables, Bass Pro and Gander Mountain to name a few? Thanks in advance.
Glad I found this thread as I am interested in this rifle in a .243 caliber. However I went to the Remington website to review the specs on this rifle and could not find any mention of a model 700 ADL. Does anyone on this forum know why the 700 ADL is not in the Remington catalog? Is this a special run for the big box stores like Cables, Bass Pro and Gander Mountain to name a few? Thanks in advance.
It's not a special run. Remington has "officially" replaced the ADL with the SPS, hence the model is no longer on their website. But those retailers you listed as well as a few others still sell it as a package as I've described above. I handled one at Gander Mountain just a few days ago, and for a rifle that has been "officially" discontinued, it sure felt real in my hands!
The ADL is still made by Remington but it is only sold at chain stores like Dicks, Gander Mountain and Walmart. It's not advertised on their website because they probably don't want to undercut their more expensive models like the SPS.
Another option that I may consider is getting a Savage model 111. These seem to be pretty good guns and tend to get good reviews from those who use them. I have a Savage 93 in .22 magnum and it is a fun little shooter. The drawback: The Savage would cost an additional $100+ bucks, and I'd still need/want to replace the stock with a laminate. The whole point of considering the ADL was to get a nice 2nd string hunting rifle for as cheaply as possible. Plus I am already familiar with the 700 and cannot make a single complaint about the one I own.
What are you thoughts? Is anyone out there familiar with both the Savage 111 series and the Remington 700? Which would you recommend?
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