Remington 700 Titanium: Remington's new space-age rifle offers everything you like about the Model 700 — and less

Guns Magazine, March, 2002 by Dave Anderson

I fitted a Leupold 2.5-8X Vari-X III scope, a proven veteran of long use, in Leupold rings and bases. The result is a handsome, practical and light-weight package. It was fun handing it to veteran rifle shooters and seeing them practically toss the rifle in the air because of the unexpected light weight. On the other hand, it was difficult getting it out of their grasp. Practically everyone who handled the rifle wanted to purchase it on the spot.

Many light rifles reduce weight by using light, short barrels with standard receivers. This results in a muzzle-light balance that is hard to hold steady from field positions. Despite its light weight, the M700 Titanium balances and handles more like a standard-weight rifle, with enough weight out front to hold steady.

Dependable Accuracy

The rifle proved accurate with a variety of ammunition. The light barrel heated up fast, so groups were kept to three shots, usually resulting in neat triangular groups of around 1.5 inches. This particular Remington seemed to be a bit of a traitor to its name: It did its best work with Winchester 168-grain Ballistic Silvertips and averaged 1.1-inch groups for three shots.

Most groups were fired with 30 seconds or so allowed between shots for barrel cooling. I also tried groups that were fired as fast as the bolt could be worked and aim could be taken. The first three shots gave groups the same size as those in which the barrel was allowed to cool. Quickly loading three more rounds and repeating gave a bit larger groups, though still under 2 inches. Under hunting conditions, I wouldn't be at all concerned about changing point-of-impact due to barrel heating. After six shots, the barrel was too hot to touch (this was in July and August), yet bullets were still striking within an inch of original point of impact.

What about recoil? A .30-'06 in a rifle/scope combination weighing under 6.5 pounds does tend to come back fairly hard, but the good stock design and thick recoil pad took out the bounce and bite. Watching from the side while Montana gunmaker Mike Johnson fired the rifle, I could see that there is actually very little muzzle jump. Recoil energy with 180-grain loads works out to about 27 ft.lb., comparable to that of the .300 Magnum in a 9-pound rifle.

Pure titanium has a tendency to gall, according to the articles I consulted. When properly alloyed and hardened by heat-treating, this tendency is greatly reduced. With any bolt-action rifle, the rear surface of the locking lugs should be lubricated with a dab of high-pressure grease or a dry lube containing graphite or molybdenum disulphide. There's no need to overdo it. Just put a light coat of lubricant on the surfaces where the lugs engage the receiver. No evidence of galling was found with the test rifle.

For anyone wanting full-size rifle performance in a lightweight package, the Remington M700 Titanium is an outstanding choice. I suspect demand will be such that these rifles may be in short supply for a time. At the time of this writing, the long-action version in .270 Win and .30-'06 calibers are starting to appear on dealer's shelves. The short-action version should be on the shelves by December of 2001 in calibers .260 and 7mm-08 Rem. I have my heart set on a 7mm-08 with compact scope, lightweight rings and bases, and an all-up weight of around 6 pounds. Suggested retail is currently listed at $1,199.