Wasn't the Remington 700 the choice of the military for sniper work? I would think it was chosen for the same reason.
Army gunsmiths use Remington actions to build sniper rifles. Other than the action I doubt many parts are the same that we buy. For a variety of reasons 700's are probably the easiest to customize. That and low bidder.
The Army buys their M24 and M24E1 rifles from Remington, Army smiths don't build them.
