Remington looks to create 'real excitement' in 1999 - new gun models from Remington Arms Company Inc

Shooting Industry, Feb, 1999 by Jon Sundra

Remington Arms exceeded its financial objectives for '98, according to company president and CEO, Tommy Millner. That, of course, is good news for the company and a good omen for the industry in general.

The brightest star for Big Green last year was the new Model 870 Super Mag. The entire year's production was sold out before the end of the second quarter. It wasn't just the Super Mag that sold well; the entire shotgun line did better than expected.

Sharply contrasting shotgun sales, however, was Remington's blackpowder business. Sales of the Model 700-ML - a runaway success when first introduced a couple of years ago - was off 70 percent last year! That probably comes as no surprise to anyone in the business. To say black powder, as a whole, has been "flat" of late would be kind.

Staying at about an even keel were centerfire rifle sales. According to Millner, the company met its sales forecast for '98, but just barely. Millner attributed the soft year in rifle sales to the fact that "...there was nothing that generated any real excitement out there. We think we've addressed that problem this year," referring to the new .300 Ultra Mag and the nine variations of the Model 700 that will be chambered for the new cartridge.

Remington's rimfire sales were up considerably, but that was predictable, considering the company had relinquished much of that market in recent years by not having a competitive .22 rifle in their stable. With the new 597 series, Remington is once again making a serious bid to become a major player in the rimfire arena. Rimfire sales would have been even better if the .22 Magnum version hadn't suffered teething problems. That kept it off the market for more than a year after the Long Rifle versions were readily available. Now that those problems are fixed and production is in full swing, the company expects to have another good year rimfire-wise.

Millner also stated that, as far as the company could determine, inventories at the wholesale and retail levels were the lowest they've seen in three years. That, too, bodes well for the industry. Selling through, of course, will depend on consumer confidence. In early fall, many economic pundits were saying we had entered a recession cycle. Then in mid-November they said our economy was probably strong enough to see us through the economic woes the rest of the world is experiencing. Time will tell.

1999 Offerings

Now to Remington's new products. I've already mentioned the .300 Ultra Mag, the big, beltless cartridge based on the .404 Jeffery case. At 3,300 fps with a 180-grain bullet, the UM's performance is substantially better than that of the .300 Win. or .300 Wea. Mags, but less than the huge .378-.300 Weatherby, Lazzeroni's 7.82 Warbird, and similar proprietary and wildcat rounds based on .416 Rigby-size cases.

Ballistically, this new Remington round breaks no new ground. However, it does give your average customer the opportunity to buy into a rifle performance category that previously was available only in proprietary cartridges and semi-custom rifles like those of Lazzeroni, Dakota, A-Square and Weatherby. Instead of rifles starting at $2,500, and ammo at $40-$50 a box, we're looking at guns that will start in the $600 range, and ammo at around $26 per box. For handloaders and wildcatters, unprimed brass will be available at a relative song.

The other big news in rifles from Remington for '99 is a Model 700 with a carbon-wrapped barrel. A relatively slender stainless steel barrel (barrel liner, actually), is wrapped in miles and miles of carbon fiber. The result is a non-tapped, 1 1/4inch barrel that weighs a pound less than Remington's varmint-weight, all-steel barrel. Yet, it's 20 percent stronger, five times stiffer, and dissipates heat 10 times faster. That all translates into increased dimensional stability and longer accuracy life. Aesthetically, though, that huge pipe-of-a-barrel makes the gun look like a little howitzer.

Actually, two 700s will be available with the carbon-wrapped barrel: the VS (Varmint Synthetic) and the Sendero. Both sport 26-inch barrels, weigh 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and will sell at the same suggested retail price of $1,692.

In shotguns, Remington has finally applied its 11-87 technology to the 20gauge Model 1100. It always seemed odd that the 11-87 was assumed to be superior to its predecessor, the 1100, yet it took 12 years to incorporate those improvements into the smaller-gauge gun. Better late than never.

Remington has always been good about standing behind its products, but they have never offered a written warranty. That has changed. Starting Jan. 1, all Remington firearms have a two-year written warranty covering the original purchaser for the usual "defects in materials and workmanship."

The warranty is part of a new program to upgrade the workmanship of all Remington guns which, if truth be told, has slipped a bit in recent years. Part of the problem is Remington is producing the same number of firearms it did in 1995 with 600 fewer people. Such cutbacks do wonders for short-term profitability. However, Remington is smart enough to realize that in the long run those gains will be all for naught if the quality of the finished product suffers. The company is determined to reverse that trend.