Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Help Me Analyze This Situation (Remington 700 BDL-Varmints)

Since 1967 I have always been a fan of the Remington 700 BDL Varmints and have owned MANY of them over the years in many calibers.
They are accurate, reliable, handsome and valuable.
I am always on the lookout for examples in very good condition.
Sadly over the previous 25 years they were rather rare to come across as owners were so happy with them they did not come up for sale to often (IMO).
Anyway over the past 25 years I have only purchased 4 or 5 excellent condition 700 BDL Varmints and only kept 2 for my permanent collection!
Now in the last 10 months I have come across (and purchased!) 3 of these 700 BDL Varmints in caliber 22-250 Remington!
The one I bought yesterday on my way to an Antelope seminar near West Yellowstone, Montana was so pristine, so perfect that I puzzled over it, all during the seminar and all the way home.
My conclusion after all this "puzzling" is that some of the owners of these 700 BDL Varmints are now getting to the "age" where they are starting to sell off their "treasures"!
So in brief over the last 25 years I have come across 5 (at most) 700 BDL Varmints I thought worthy of purchasing and now in the last 10 months I have come across and bought 3 of them!
Is this a coincidence or is it more along the lines of "time to sell" and no one to bequeath these nifty Rifles to?
I posted earlier this year about how VERY well both these 1980 (and earlier) Rifles shot for me and now I have this 1982 vintage 700 BDL Varmint to wring out.
I have three VarmintSons so I guess that would be one each, for them, when "my time" comes.
As an aside I have a Remington 700 BDL Varmint in caliber 222 Remington with a period correct Redfield 6x18 variable scope on it - and in my somewhat limited "load testing and sight-in verifications over the years it's best group (5 shots at 100 yards) measured .218"!
I just love these old BDL Varmints.
Anyone else seeing them come out of the woodwork recently?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

You are probably correct on the age factor. I love the BDL wood and blue but the new generation likes fugly plastic. I do not understand this on a varsity gun because chances are your not gonna have it out in foul weather anyway. Nice rifles so enjoy. Ed k

Also is the fact that the "in crowd" has no use for a slow twist 22-250. They all want to shoot 80-100 gr bullets to be KOOL.

I agree on the age factor.....on both ends. I'm in my mid 40's and I have a few Glocks and some sythetic stocked shotguns and rifles but beautiful wood and deep blue is what trips my trigger. It's what I was raised on and so that's what the majority of my guns are. From talking to owners of local gun shops and others they all agree that the majority of people under 40 or so want synthetic and cera-kote. I have found that most vintage products (watches, knives, coins,etc.) are slowly dropping in price because these younger generations do not value things the way we older ones do. I don't intend that as an insult but the truth is these younger generations have had it pretty good and don't appreciate craftmanship and beauty the way a baby boomer would who scrimped and saved passing papers to buy a surplus mauser to have a decent deer rifle.
Most of the boomers grew up not having much but most have done well. Their parents (World War II generation) had even less. In consequence, they bought well and they appreciated it. We all grew up looking at gun magazines and catalogs dreaming of all the guns we would someday love to have and most of us were raised around men who not only took care of their guns but counted them as some of their most prized possessions. I think such a mindset is lost on the younger generations.
When my Uncle passed away, he had 176 guns. He hadn't hunted or shot much at all in 20 years but he kept buying guns and wouldn't part with one for nothing. Most all of them were sold at auction and left my Aunt with a nice chunk of change. I personally know of another gentleman in his 70's that hasn't fired a round in 25 years but probably has over 50 guns. A while back I was at a local gun show back in the spring and I came across a guy that had a lot of nice older guns from the 50's and 60's at very reasonable prices. I looked at a few and we began talking. He said that a gentleman in Arizona had passed away and he had over 600 guns and somehow this gent got wind of it and went down there and bought 20K worth of guns from this estate.
This type of thing is not uncommon and I believe as the next few years pass we will be amazed at the numbers of these guns that surface on the market as I believe those 60 years of age and older own a huge percentage of the guns of which you speak. Honestly, I think the joke is on me because all these guns, knives and watches I've collected over the years are probably not going to end up worth near as much as I've paid for them, lol. Man, I've sure enjoyed them though!!!!

ERK: I talked with a gun trading friend early this evening and he concurs with you - there are just lots of "us" older shooters/Hunters that are thinning out the herd.
As he is doing some of.
I to love the looks and feel of this models stock and the slick/shiny (but VERY durable!) Remington finish.
I have the Rifle in my computer room with me now as I just entered it in my on-line inventory and I noticed the muzzle of the Rifle has the of the barrel is just perfectly blued and perfectly flat!
No fancy 11 degree crown - just squared off and lookin good (as is the rest of the Rifle).
Wonder if I should give these Rifles to the VarmintSons (they are city dwellers on the west coast) or keep them safe here with me, and bequeath them upon my passing?
Indeed my Colony Varmints have virtually never felt a touch of rain upon them in well over half a century of Colony Varminting.
Although I did have to take refuge in a culvert with one of my BDL Varminters many years ago out of Buffalo, Wyoming as a tornado came down out of the clouds at the front of a whopper storm, as my partner and I were Prairie Doggin.
I was worried I would scrape the Rifles finish as I "squiggled" down into that culvert and my partner followed me in.
I also love classic wooden Rifle stocks.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

WhiteWhiskers: Good point, that fascination with the "long for caliber" bullets that so many new generation shooters pursue.
I had not thought of that.
Long live the 22-250 (slow or fast twist!)!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

That sure is lucky to run across THREE of those same guns again. You should play the lotto.

JTrapper73: I have noticed the same lack of "appreciation" amongst the younger crowd (I am 72!) and I also do not understand it.
But you put it so very well.
I know at least 3 (three) shooters/collectors/Varmint Hunters who have over 300 (three hundred) long guns!
There is a lot to be said about pride of ownership and appreciation for fine craftsmanship and "good" craftsmanship (as in the case of the excellent shooting older 700 BDL Varmints!).
I remember back when these 700 BDL Varmints sold for $185.00 new, and last year I saw a used one sell for $800.00 (in caliber 222 Remington) - there is no denying that some factory produced firearms appreciate significantly in value over time!
I hope you enjoy your collected items for a long time to come.
Thanks for your input/observations.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Thank you! I hope to sir and you likewise!

I think it’s funny how gun guys are about their rifles. My dad once went to Alaska to hunt moose with my brother-in-law. He was on the back of a 4 wheeler when they hit a deep hole crossing a river. My brother-in-law was on the other bank and said the only thing showing was my dads arm and his old Remington pump rifle. He made it out ok even though he couldn’t swim. Lol ed k

Alwaysoutdoors: Indeed it may well be "luck" that I found three in a relatively short time!
But I cover a LOT of ground, year round and in multiple states searching out collector guns and Varmint guns.
It just puzzled me that in such short order three of them have popped up before me.
I am not complaining just puzzled.
I want to shoot the new BDL Varmint today but a hellacious rain storm has struck us here in SW Montana and that was NOT forecast.
Patience is a virtue I possess little of.
If I were to have to decide whether my convergence with the 3 thirty seven year old+ 700 BDL Varmint's all in 22-250 was a sign of the times (old guys like me selling off) or "luck", I would have to go with luck.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I hope to someday acquire an older BDL Varmint in 222 Remington or 22-250. I had a friend who had one in 243 and it was a real shooter. I hope the weather clears up so you can see how it shoots!

Mine in 6mm is one of the most accurate rifles I’ve ever owned

I happen to think that any older Model 700 is a nice rifle. Personally, I've never really cared for the Varmint model, but that's strictly because of the weight and the fact that I like lightweight rifles to hunt with. I would imagine that they're pretty darn accurate, and if I were into something like prairie dog or gopher shooting, they'd be just the rifle to use.

JTrapper73: The 700 BDL Varmint's in 222 Remington are VERY hard to come by!
I have only seen a couple of them for sale in the last decade and they were not in the best of condition (used hard!).
But I know for a fact they are worth seeking out - every one of them I have shot has been very accurate.
Good luck in your search.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Chlinstructor: Decades ago I had a Coyote Hunting friend that owned a Remington 700 BDL Varmint in 6m/m Remington and his Rifle was also exceptionally accurate.
He bought it new and he probably only fired it 10 or 20 times a year.
I should look him up and see if he still has it and if its for sale.
The 6m/m Remington is an excellent Deer and Antelope round as well - I have used it on both myself.
My older brother's Deer Hunting friend used a Remington 700 BDL Varmint in 6m/m Remington to Hunt Mule Deer up in the Okanogan country of eastern Washington.
He made many a one shot kill with on over the years - he was a "truck Hunter" and the weight was no problem for him.
I never got to shoot that one or see it shoot at a range but he relayed how accurate it was.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

JamesJr: I am with you on the appreciation of the older Remington 700 Rifles - I have had exceptionally good luck with a myriad of them!
The biggest reason I do not chase the new Remington 700's though is their prices!
Remington's pricing on everything from guns to ammunition has just gotten way out of hand of recent.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint Guy: From time to time I do see one pop up on Guns International and the 222’s do seem to command the highest price.

I am currently running a Rem 700VS in 223 for my primary prairie dog gun along with a CZ527 in 204. I appreciate the aesthetics of wood aand blued guns, but I am not a collector and run my guns hard. The CZ is a few years old, but the stock looks like its seen a decade of use. The 700VS looks basicaly new. YMMV.

I shot 100 rounds of reduced loads out of an early 70’s VS at gophers this summer. I’ve always wanted to try blue dot loads in a rifle and this old 243 shot under 3/4” with them. Old Remington varmints are about my favorite factory rifles.