I realized a short while ago that I had not seen the word "Sucks" used as a reference to Remington rifles for quite some time. This is a piece of 24HourCampfire lore that needs to be documented. I came rather late to the game (late 2002) and Sucks was already in usage. I never did get the full story on how it got that way.
Why did our esteemed campers call a Remington 700 a Sucks? Who started it? Any idea why it stopped?
My own experience on the subject was that Remington 700's were always just out of reach when I wast starting out. I remember going to Service Merchandise in the early 80's and handling one and just not having the scratch that day for picking it up. I later bought a used Winchester 760 and spent a winter refinishing the stock. Overall, I'm glad I did. The 670 is still in the hands of my youngest son. He loves it. It has taken a bunch of deer over the years for me.
The finish on those 700's looked just too good. I remember standing at the counter in Service Merchandise thinking I was going to have to up my game quite a bit before I'd dare take a nice rifle like that out in the field. Indeed, my first rifle purchase was dominated by that thought. My buddy Jerry offered me a Remington 742 and a 760 for the same price-- take my pick. I bought the 742, because the 760 had fewer marks on the stock-- I wouldn't want to mar that finish.
It's hard to believe that about a third of my life had passed before I handled that first Remington 700, and another 3rd before I heard the term Sucks. About another third has passed here on the Campfire. Time flies.
Last edited by shaman; 03/29/20.
