The Remington 700 Rifle Turns 50 This Year

A couple of weeks ago I received what I thought was spam email from one of my gun magazines. Just before I deleted it, the subject line stopped me dead in my tracks. It said "Remington Model 700 Turns 50".

After a bit of research I learned that the Remington model 700 bolt action rifle was first introduced in 1962, an advertisement from the era boasted it was “the world’s strongest bolt action ever”. Sales were instantaneous and brisk in the first year, and sales have continued as Remington claims it's sold over five million 700's to date. I can attest to those numbers, because I own three 700's, in .222, .223 and .243 calibers.

The 700 has a look that never ages or dates the rifle. It's performance is unsurpassed. To prove my point, the Remington 700 has become the rifle of choice by almost every professional shooter world wide. Americas military, police departments and SWAT teams rely on it as their sniper rifle. Combined with a price tag that was and still is attainable by the average guy and a success story was made.

To celebrate the 700's 50th birthday, Remington is manufacturing the 700 in several calibers that have not been produced for years. I have jumped into the Remington frenzy by ordering my own 50th anniversary model 700 in the ageless classic 700-BDL model in a snipers favorite round the .308 caliber. However, mine is custom-made with left hand bolt action.