Remington 700 CDL vs. Browning A-Bolt Medallion

[whitetailbowhunter]

I am looking to purchase a 7mm Rem Mag and after looking for "the perfect rifle" for months i have finally narrowed the rifle down to these two options.. this is my first large caliber rifle so i am new to all of the specs. Does anybody have any suggestions or personal reviews of either? good and bad. I understand Browning vs. Remington can a lot of times be compared to the Chevy vs. Ford relationship so unbiased opinions would be great!
Thank you in advance from southern Indiana!

 

[giovani]

I own an A bolt and a 700 rem I like both rifles , both are accurate , the only notable differences are my A bolt has an internal box magazine that can be unclipped from the swing down floor plate opposed to the 700 where you drop the floor plate and the loose rounds fall out.
Makes it a little more handy to load and unload the A bolt.
The A bolt's bolt unlocks in 60 degrees vs 90 for the 700, which makes for a faster second shot " in theory".
The one thing I do like about the 60 deg bolt sweep is the bolt handle is not as close to the scope in the up position"helps with my fat fingers".
They are both quality rifles ,in my humble opinion you won't go wrong with either one.

 

[giovani]

Only one downside to the browning I forgot, the wood is so nice I cringe every time I put a scratch in it.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Have you had any problems with either? One of my friends has a Browning x bolt medallion chambered in 300 win mag and his browning just started to fail to extract the cartridge.. I have dealt with Remington's customer service and they recently sent me a brand new shotgun 3 years after my warranty was expired because my 870 express super magnum was failing to remove the shells from the barrel, No charge, no hastle, brand new gun. I've never owned a Browning and cannot find any information about warranties on their firearms, is there any?

 

[giovani]

They are currently owned by FN in belgium, I would think this would make them a very reputible company. I have had not trouble with mine.

 

[ryan3030]

I've never owned a Browning and cannot find any information about warranties on their firearms, is there any?

Where can I get my firearm serviced or repaired? - Browning Questions and Answers

They will fix manufacturing defects within the first 5 years, but that is it.

 

[Yeah]

A Bolts are eggshells. They have possibly the worst trigger on offer of any of the major rifles. It can't be dialed to anything approaching acceptable, and it can't hack any kind of tough conditions. More than once I've seen then freeze unmoveable in conditions where multiple 700s didn't bat an eye.

They also run neck and neck with Savage in building their bolts out of the most parts possible. As a result their bolts break about as often as Savages.

In competition with a 700 they'd finish last in every category but stock finish shininess.

 

[giovani]

A Bolts are eggshells. They have possibly the worst trigger on offer of any of the major rifles. It can't be dialed to anything approaching acceptable, and it can't hack any kind of tough conditions. More than once I've seen then freeze unmoveable in conditions where multiple 700s didn't bat an eye.

They also run neck and neck with Savage in building their bolts out of the most parts possible. As a result their bolts break about as often as Savages.

In competition with a 700 they'd finish last in every category but stock finish shininess.

I translate this as he had a problem with a browning once.

 

[Yeah]

You're deep into the wrong side of wrong, though that is no doubt familiar territory for you.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Which gun is more easily broken down? you say that the browning has so many parts to the bolt, does this make it harder to take apart when cleaning the firearm or have you actually had a problem with the A-Bolt? I had always thought about getting the Remington from day one because of the history the model 700 holds, if it wasn't a good gun, it wouldn't have such a successful history, but the price point between the two are so similar that it got me wondering. Also, Will the free floating barrell of the browning make a big difference?

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Also, to those who own the remington Model 700.. How is the X- Mark Pro Trigger?

 

[Yeah]

Which gun is more easily broken down? Also, Will the free floating barrell of the browning make a big difference?

By virtue of being composed of significantly fewer parts, the route to breaking down a 700 is far more direct. I wouldn't call either 'difficult', but I'm not given to cleaning a rifle frequently.

I've owned relatively few A Bolts and also hunted in the presence of relatively few. I bought a stainless stalker in the early 90s as it was the only over the counter SS/Synthetic offering available. It was junk, as they all are, and I knocked the bottom metal in half and rusted the trigger to frozen in a single hunt. Subsequent hunts with others carrying the same, yielded like results.

Someone walking from his truck to his tree stand, who stays home if it rains, likely renders any distinction between the two moot.

Accuracy is always a refuge of fair weather shooters. I can't compare the accuracy of a rifle that won't shoot, because the trigger has broken in half, to one that can.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Anyone with any information about the X-Mark pro triggers? i am leaning more towards the Remington, i just need to get them both in my hands so that i can feel the difference. I can't seem to find anywhere that has the A-Bolts in stock so i may have to check Bass Pro in Clarksville.

 

[Yeah]

What is it you want to know about XMarks?

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

i have had others tell me to go with the Savage 14/114 simply because of the accutrigger.. i guess how does it compare to that? like i said, this will be my first rifle other than a ruger 10/22 so i don't know much about the trigger adjustments and how usefull they are.

 

[Yeah]

If I didn't know how to dial in any of the Remington triggers, or Kimber's, or Winchester's, or ever had a Jewell or a Rifle Basix or Geiselle, I might feel like an Accutrigger in an exceptional offering. But I can/have so I don't.

I couldn't want to add creep nor have the trigger dictate my finger's placement on it, to get a softish break at more than 2 lbs. The target version of the Accutrigger isn't a bad choice for a bench rifle, with the accucreep shoe pulled off.

 

[giovani]

You're deep into the wrong side of wrong, though that is no doubt familiar territory for you.

You have my apologies sir.
When i saw you jump in and bad mouth browning and lump them together with savage"which I don't exactly agree with" I took you for one of those die hard Remington fans who thinks there is nothing but a 700 .
I see the rest of your posts and understand you know what your talking about.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

I finally got the chance to get to Bass Pro in Clarksville over the weekend to put both of them in front of me.. The 700 feels like such a solid gun. The action was very smooth compared to the browning. I agree with "Yeah" in that it felt like there were a lot of parts rubbing together in the action.

But, The Browning is extremely light, and is a beautiful gun. The Looks of the Medallion gets me going, and seemed to fit me a little better, but i want this gun to perform. wet, dry, hot, freezing.

The only thing that hold me back from the Model 700 at this point is the fact that the barrel does not have the high polish blued barrel, it is more "dull" than i thought it would be, and from experience with my 870 super magnum express, no matter how great you take care of it, the barrel started to get rust spots on me. ( And i Do clean my gun EVERY time it is taken out of the gun cabinet.) Is this common on the Model 700 CDL's?

 

[snapping turtle]

If you really want to put apples to apples here you need to make your choice between the rem 700 bdl and the A-bolt Medallion. Rem made the 700 bdl embellished a few years to compete but that only lasted a few years.

These Below are 1980's vintage guns here.
Accuracy about the same 3 shots on a cold barrel. The Browning a little lighter with a trigger pull over 4 pounds. The rem a bit heavier just as pretty if you can pick through a few and trigger breaks at just under 4 pounds. . Some have better wood than the browning believe it or not. Both hgh gloss stocks. The Browning you can still get with the BOSS system if you want to tune the barrel to a load and it does work. With browning you can get different grades of finsh also.

What I do is the rem rounds get a rem rifle and the winchester rounds get a winchester or browning rifle. rem 700 .222 rem. 243 winchester get a A-bolt. 308 got a a-bolt. I had to get one each of the 30-06 but the a-bolts got a boss.

So if you are going to get a 7mm rem mag to me there is only one choice a 700 bdl. About the only way to chose if you ask me.

 

[GustavHalbach]

Personally, having owned both a Remington 700 and a Browning A-bolt. There is NO contest. I'd take the Browning everyday of the week. Have hunting with a A-bolt, in 243 and a Euro bolt in 30.06 for years....in all types of weather. Never had a problem.

And as far as looks go...there is no comparison...the Browning thumps the 700 all the way home.

By what you want but, make mine a Browning.

-G