Should I try and improve my Remington 700 .243 or just by a different rifle.

I have a plain jane Rem 700 in .243 cal. I have a 6X18 Bushnell scope and can hold a 2.3" group at 100 yds. With 100 grain V-Max handloads avg. muzzle velocity of 2750 fps. I intend on checking the trigger pull to see if it is reasonable (3-4 lb.). It seems to be a little heavy but I am far from an expert.

There is an after market stock from Magpul they have solid reviews and seem to be a nice upgrade. I don't need a tack driver just a reliable shooter to 200 yds for Whitetail and Coyotes.

Where is my money best spent? Do I trade it in and add a couple hundred to it to get a better platform or spend $200-$300 to customize my present gun?

I appreciate your informed suggestions,

Mac

MAC, MAKE SURE NO WOOD IS EVER TOUCHING THE BARREL, ALL BOLTS ARE TORQUED CORRECTLY AND IT WILL SHOOT EXTREMELY ACCURATE WHEN YOU HIT THE AMMO IT PREFERS...........I PREDICT A SMALLER, FASTER BULLET.........DONT SPEND A NICKEL ON ANYTHING ELSE UNLESS YOU WANT TO............BARREL MUST FREE FLOAT....A PRESSURE POINT IS AN IDIOT POINT....I AM SHOCKED THAT REMINGTON PUTS A PRESSURE PT ON SOME RIFLES.........THATS LIKE FISHING HOOKS MADE OF PAPER, GUARANTEED FAILURE......

PS.........I HAVE DONE ZERO UPGRADES............THAT RIFLE IS PURE ACCURATE

i have the same rifle.........it shoots sub inch grps with federal 85 grn bthp.........it is shockingly accurate with this ammo...........try other ammo..........it will shoot !!!!!!!.........mine thinks its a benchrest rifle...........im abt out of this older stuff so i will have to try other ammo soon.........mine prefers the smaller faster over the 100 grn....i never fnd a 100grn that would shoot sub moa ..........i adore my 700 in 243.......and it is nasty on deer and 1 bear.............DRT !!!!!!!!!

Read through the post didnt see my go to problem solver. Clean the barrel then clean it again clean it properly and carefully until all patches come back clean then try it again see if that helps 

Did they change the trigger on the 700?You used to be able to adjust it.

Interesting...the 243 is a inherently accurate round.  You are able to get 2.3 inch groups with a 7 lb trigger.  Not really too bad.  You should be able to do better.

I would have scope checked out for mounting and scope quailty.  Does not take much variable in a scope to alter accuracy.  To fix a heavy trigger you could get a Timney trigger for model 700.  This would allow you to get a much better trigger pull.  I would not be able to shoot a 2.3 inch group with a 7 lb trigger.

Try a bunch of different factory loads.  Make and bullet weight.  Barrels will like a certain load and weight of bullet.  Have you had a friend who is a good shooter try your gun?  If they at best can only duplicate your accuracy or worse then you know you need to find your guns problem. 

This is important...  Have fun looking for the gremlins in your 700.  Don't make looking for the issue a chore.  Think of it as solving a riddle, (a game).   When you solve the riddle, (and you will), you will feel very satisfied.  

Good luck!

I would just use it as is. Gazillions of deer have been killed with rifles that wouldn't group under 3" at 100yds on their best day. 

 Keep it for the dogs .I  deer hunted for years in Georgia with a 243 105 grain . Very small bodied deer there . Here I would go with a larger caliber . You stand to lose a deer of a life time . You heart will be racing and if your off say 3 inches hit him in a shoulder blade the deer will not go down but run off and bed down .  Then when you wait a good hour  ,  he will jump up when you go to track him and run into a swamp ect. I know  I learned the HARD way .

Hope you have a friend that reloades . There is a lot of liability to reload for resale. 

I contacted Boyds for a replacement stock, very cool looking pieces of wood for sure. But they said if I try and bed the action it would void the warranty, I also asked if their stocks would improve the accuracy of my gun. Probably not was the reply.

So I went with the Magpul Hunter stock. It has an aluminum frame molded into the stock has tons of adjustment and was cheaper than the Boyds option. Cosmetics are secondary to accuracy in my mind. 

I did notice the 2 small contact pads at the barrel/forearm interface on the original stock. Some guns don't do well free floating due to the narrow barrel size. But that I believe is for a heavier caliber, the .243 should not have those issues as long as I keep the barrel temp reasonable.

After the new stock arrives I plan on doing some shooting at the range to see how things go. 95 grain Hornady SST factory loads to start. Still looking for someone to reload for me.... any suggestions?

As far as the trigger is concerned I'm open for suggestions as to a gunsmith that would work on it for me. Mine is a vintage 1964 gun, I don't believe the triggers are that troublesome. I know some of the more recent models 2014 and on have the Emark trigger and was the reason for the big trigger recall for all those years guns.

I live in Central Wisconsin but travel to Milwaukee regularly.

Thanks again for the feedback,

Mac

I have two 700 a classic 7 mag and a 280 mountain rifle I adjusted both triggers myselve 30 years ago.They both shot under an inch.I would get the trigger adjusted first than work on a load.Like said before Remington puts a pressure point in the front of the stock.I never did any thing with that they shot great from the get go.One other thing make sure to clean the bolt on a 700 or bad things can happen.

Keep your 700 and get a trigger job right away. I would look for a new gunsmith as my 700 had the same pull and now its down to 3lbs. A good lamiate stock with glass bedding will also help. And like others have said try different loads.

So, your trigger pull is almost double what you'd like and your gunsmith told you not to ask about replacing it...because it's a challenge? Might be time for a new gunsmith. i'll admit I didn't check out any of the links, but there's a ton of info if you google remington 700 trigger replacement. Something as common as a 700 should be a piece of cake for a gunsmith.  And as mentioned, see if you can slide a dollar bill between the barrel and stock. If it binds up anywhere, take care of that first and see where you are. Might be sub-MOA by then lol.

As others have said: Upgrade to a Boyds stock. Lots of choices and they look great. Next, seeing that you reload, if you havent already, try different powders and bullet combos. 

2.3" at 100 leaves alot of room for improvement. My advice is to start with least expensive fix first. Do reloads first, then stock, then trigger. The 700 is a great action work with it.

Also, the 700 barrel is NOT free floated. You can gently sand down the contact point in the forearm until you can slide a dollar bill all the way the the action.

I have a 243, 700 in predator camo (factory stock) that shoots .60 using Varget, Sierra 60 hp, if memory serves its 43.0 grns. I do not have a 100 grain combo for that gun.

Good luck

All great feedback I appreciate it. I may check out the Boyds Stocks. I just was at my gunsmith and checked the trigger pull at + 7 lbs. He told me don't even ask to have it adjusted customized or replaced they are a PITA.

Sorting through the favorite ammo is my next step after replacing any hardware. I wish I new of someone that has reload experience for it. I would be a solid customer for custom reload ammo.

The Bushnell is not a high end unit, but has a clear clean sharp image and I see no reason to spend an extra $400 on a top end scope if I can hold sub 2" groups at 100 yds., the deer is going down cleanly. Last years deer went 24" straight down.

I'm going to try a new stock with a better bedding frame and see what it does for it. In the worse case scenario it shoots the same but looks better. It already is my go to gun for whitetails in Wisconsin. Just want a little better performance from it. Accuracy has always out trumped energy, and shot placement is everything. I strive for single shot kills.

Thank you,

Mac

PS: I just identified my guns vintage as a 1964.