Rem. 700 vs. Win. 70 in Highpower Competition
Bart B.
competitors in the USA comparing Remington 700 with Winchester 70
actions in match rifles when fired under equal conditions. These are
observations by people who have customized, repaired, shot, tested,
won matches and/or set records with them since the late 1950s.
Barrel quality - Remington's barrels are more accurate than
Winchester's. Winchester's barrels introduced in 1964 were better
than before, but not quite as good as Remington. Remington tends to
put twists a bit too fast for many cartridges compared to Winchester.
Some have put Remington barrels in Winchester receivers and they did
quite well indeed - with heavier bullets.
Barrel fit - Receiver front thread & face and bolt face on the
Remington were a little more square than Winchester. Good ‘smiths
trued these areas perpendicular to the barrel's chamber axis before
barreling them. Factory rifles tend to walk a bit as their barrels
heat up. Squaring the receiver face eliminates this problem.
Bolt operation - Winchester bolts are easier and smoother to operate
rapid fire than Remington; especially the Winchester pre-‘64 classic.
Remington's heavier firing pin spring rating, greater bolt lug cam
angle and surface fit/finish is the main reason. With equal rated
firing pin springs, the Winchester bolt is still easier to open.
Case extraction - Remington extractors broke a lot; Winchesters very
rarely. Many an M16 style extractor has been fitted to Remington
bolts for improved reliability. Winchester extractors did better
extracting stuck cases than Remingtons. Winchester claw-style
extractors made removing fired case before ejecting easier than
Remingtons. No special tools needed to replace Winchester extractors.
Case ejection - Winchester pre-‘64 (classic) ejectors caused the least
case damage. Remington and Winchester plunger ejectors tend to press
cases against the receiver after they come out of the chamber and
cases get scratched and/or dented. Cutting a few turns off the
ejector spring fixes this problem besides piling up the empties much
neater and closer to you.
Magazine - Winchester actions are more reliable in rapid fire feeding
than Remingtons. Remington factory magazines are a little more
reliable when charging them with 5 rounds from a stripper clip in a
clip guide. Filing a Winchester magazine follower rib's 45 degree
angle surface a bit flatter fixes their problem.
Trigger performance - Remington trigger's don't seem to hold their
adjustments as well as Winchesters. And Winchester factory triggers
couldn't be set quite as light as Remingtons. Good aftermarket
triggers in both made them equal in this area.
Lock time - Remington's firing pin springs are stronger than
Winchester's; about 30 pounds vs. 23 pounds. So, lock time in the
factory Remington is faster than a factory Winchester. You can put a
30 pound spring in a Winchester. Titanium firing pins speed ‘em both
up.
Safety operation - Winchester's is more reliable than Remington's.
Dropping a Remington with its safety on would sometimes disengage it
and allow the firing pin to override the sear and fire any live round
in the chamber; Winchester's didn't do this when dropped.
Bolt cleaning - Remington requires special tools to get the firing pin
out of the bolt. Winchester's firing pin can easily be removed with a
pair of pliers.
Firing pin spring replacement - these weaken over time and must be
replaced if factory-new firing pin impact on primers needs to be
maintained for best accuracy; especially at longer ranges. Special
compression and pin punch tools have to be used to change a
Remington's firing pin spring. For the Winchester, only a pair of
pliers is needed.
Recoil lug - More than a few Remington recoil lugs have been bent
forward in rifles with a lot of recoil (.300 mag levels or more).
Typically, this happened on rifles whose recoil lug made contact only
at the bottom-back of its stock recess. Never happened on a
Winchester.
Tang issues - More than a few Remington tangs have been bent by
over-tightening its rear stock screw. Never known this to happen with
a Winchester.
Epoxy bedding - Remington's round receivers tend to twist enough from
torque (.308 Win. and larger cartridges) that they needed rebedded
after a few hundred rounds. Winchester's more rectangular receivers
don't. ‘Smiths tried inch-thick or greater recoil lugs on Remington
receivers; they still shot loose. Epoxying Remington receiver in a
flat-side/bottom sleeve fixed this problem.
Stock screw torque - Remington receivers need about 45 inch-pounds on
front and back, 20 inch-pounds on the middle. Winchester's need about
60 inch-pounds. Determined by firing both in machine rests, then
shooting groups at various torques.
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