Remington 783 (model 85773)

[rfd]

Had been rummaging through the classic brand "bottom feeders" for something that might work for extended distance, and after checking out the usual suspects - Ruger, TC, Savage, etc etc - decided to give the Rem 783 in 6.5 Creedmoor a go - 24" threaded "heavy" barrel. The action is slick and fast, and the "Crossfire" trigger got adjusted nicely down to under 2lbs pull. No rounds through it yet (they'll all be handloads), just the mods were accomplished. The Cabela's Covenant 6-24x50 side focus MOA scope is quite nice and is actually made by Vortex. I had used it before on an AR15 build and it worked very well at 700 yards. The supplied scope base was swapped for an EGW 20moa, Boyd's AT-1 stock, MBM 2 port "Beast" brake, CCOP bippod, 11lbs 11ozs unloaded. I'll be adding an AT-1 vertical grip and a scope level. The barrel will get the David Tubbs Final Finish treatment before load analysis begins. Anyhoo, let the fun begin. I think. I hope.

[tazman]

A very nice serious rifle. I wish you luck.

[rfd]

A very nice serious rifle. I wish you luck.

thanx - luck will be needed, for sure.

[Earlwb]

It is looking good. I have a 783 in .308 Win that I like. It works well for my purposes.

[tazman]

A couple of years ago, I picked up a Remington 700 long action that I used to do something similar. I just used a different caliber/cartridge.
Yours is somewhat prettier than mine.

[rfd]

... and as we all know too well, pretty don't make for good consistent accuracy. i'll see ...

[rfd]

i just ran 80 rounds thru the 783 during her "baptism under fire". never got the tubbs "final finish" abrasive bullets, so i cancelled that order. starline brass, federal 210m primers, hornady 140 eld-m bullets and a large spread of h4350 that started with 37.0 grains and progressed to 40.5 grains with half grain increments for every 10 rounds. the first 30 rounds received bbl cleaning between each shot taken, and every 5 rounds thereafter. using an electronic bore scope wand, the copper wash was minor at best as observed after the 60th round fired. no pressure issues found. no chrono used to check speeds since this was a barrel "break in" session, so the magneto-speed was left boxed. laser bore sighted at my shop, it was near spot on at 100 yards. a few adjustments at 400 yards and all rounds were on a 12" steel dinger. 700 yards was a bit more of a challenge to dial in (no speed numbers, so a calculator like the hornady 4dof couldn't be used) but 6 rounds later of the 40.5 charge got me on a 12" plate and the next 14 rounds all made solid hits. all shots taken benched and off the bipod, no other stock crutches used. the cabelas (vortex) 6-24x50 scope proved excellent, too - another great long range value at $200 (on sale).

conclusion - for $350/shipped, the bare bones gun was a steal for me. the mods added only made it so much better. more load development on the way in preparation for the one mile shoot planned for the spring of 2020.