The Remington 700 has always been a great action. Remington has done a good job of building and barreling those actions through the years.
In the 1940's when the 700 series was introduced it was considered junk. No rifle ever designed has taken more manufacturing shortcuts. But since it sold for less money than the competition and proved to be accurate for the money people started to accept actions made of steel tubes with washers for recoil lugs, stamped sheet metal extractors, soldered on bolt handles, and defective triggers. Somewhere along the line they started putting a decent stick of wood on them and polishing the metal and they were eventually accepted as a good rifle. But from a mechanical and design standpoint a $300 Ruger American beats the 700 action in every way. As do most other designs.
Remington's problems go way back. The 870 and 1100 shotguns are the only 2 guns they ever made that I feel are good designs. The 870 is still a solid design, the problem today is in quality manufacturing and assembly. The 1100 WAS a good design, and while still solid, there are better, more modern options.
I can't fault Remington for the plastic stocks and lower quality of metal finish. All manufacturers are doing that because it is what is selling. Buyers today don't want to pay double the price to get a shiny metal gun with a walnut stock. But proper function and accuracy should be there. Other manufacturers have found a way to do that. Remington has not.
