Remington MODEL 300

Guns Magazine, May, 2001 by Charles E. Petty

Stylish enough for sporting clays, functional enough for upland game, Remington's new stackbarrel lives up to the name "Ideal."

Even though the United States is a world leader in firearms, you have to go back awhile to find a great American-made over/under shotgun. Some would say you'd have to go all the way back to Remington's venerable Model 32, which was discontinued at the start of World War II. More than a few trap and skeet shooters were shattered when Remington discontinued the Model 32.

In 1973 Remington introduced the Model 3200, a direct descendent of the 32. It was produced until 1983. Next there was the Peerless from 1993 to 1998 and a slightly more expensive Model 396 whose short life ran from 1996 to 1998. The short production of those last two was due in part to their relatively high cost, along with stiff competition from abroad in the presence of Beretta and the Browning Citori.

Now Remington is back in the fray with the Ideal 300. Remington calls the 300 afield gun and says it is the "ideal" combination of style and function. That's something of a departure from the norm of calling new O/U shotguns "sporting," meaning that they are intended primarily for Sporting Clays-type shooting.

For Game & Clays

The 300 is highly versatile. This gun features 28" barrels (26" and 30" versions are also available) and doesn't require a lot of work to get the swing going -- or keep it up. The gun balances about 1" forward of the receiver hinge, so it feels a bit muzzle heavy in your hand.

When you swing it, the barrels accelerate quickly. Obviously, there are different opinions on this, but for both game and clays, we like to swing through the target, and this weight combination really works well. The gun weighs 7 5/8 lbs., with about a 1/4 lb. difference up or down for the other barrel lengths.

The barrels are in a mono-block. This type of construction simplifies manufacture by making it easier to join and regulate the barrels. A machined steel block has holes for both barrels, tracks for the ejectors and the barrel locking surfaces.

The action locks the barrels with a design Remington calls "modified underlug." A variation of this type of system is found on many O/U shotguns. Remington's has a pair of lugs on either side of the bottom barrel that mate with corresponding cuts in the frame. When the barrels snap shut, two locking bolts in the frame are released to sit, and lock, atop the lugs on the barrel. This takes care of up-and-down stress; another pair on top of the barrel and receiver handles fore-and-aft forces. The top lugs look almost like a styling feature, as the lug on the mono-block fits into a complimentary cut in the receiver.

Getting It Right

Remington has developed a precise and repeatable process for putting everything together. The hammer-forged barrel tubes are inserted in the mono-block, and the side ribs, forend lug and ventilated rib are assembled in a fixture that holds everything in proper alignment. Silver solder is then applied.

This is the best way to join parts like these so the entire fixture passes through what one Remington wag called a "pizza oven. Actually it's much more elegant than that. The oven is precisely temperature-controlled for the type of silver solder being used and filled with inert gas to prevent oxidation. When the conveyor comes out the other side, the barrel unit is solidly together and ready to go on to fitting and finishing operations.

Remington designed their mono-block to put the barrels just a little closer together, which makes things thinner. The barrels also have a slightly thinner outside diameter.

Under the forend the barrel is marked, "light contour -- do not modify." We can't imagine why anybody would want to, though. The forcing cones are already lengthened and the barrels are equipped with Rem Choke tubes. There's a nice wide vent rib with two sight beads. It will accept either 2 3/4" or 3" shells and, of course, can be used with steel shot. What needs changing?

When you attach the forend, there is no spring resistance (usually from ejectors) to overcome, so all you have to do is align the hinge areas of both receiver and forend and snap it in place. There is no slop.

When you open the barrels of an O/U shotgun, a certain amount of the work you do is used to cock the hammers. Each hammer has a push rod, and when the barrel is fired, the rod moves forward to contact a part of the forend.

Remington has made the rods more robust and there is a specially hardened, replaceable part of the forend iron that does the cocking job. This is a typical wear area for guns that are shot extensively, but this design should be very durable, and if it does wear, is easily replaced. Another nice feature is the latch. It's big enough to get a finger in there without ripping off your nail.

On Target

The single trigger is a mechanical design that does not depend on recoil to go to the next barrel. This is not unusual, but the safety itself looks a little different. It is a typical tang-mounted sliding safety, which is engaged when pulled to the rear. Pushing forward -- something completely natural when you mount the gun -- disengages the safety and makes it ready to fire.