Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 700 BDL DM

I was in a local shop today picking up some stocking stuffers. As usual I looked at his rifle selection. Sitting there was a really nice 700 BDL DM in 30-06. This rifle had been bedded by the local smith. Asking price was $450 most likely could get it for $400.

Any issues with the detachable magazine?

He also had a Winchester M70 XLT in 30-06 for $425. Probably get it for $390-$400. It was in worse shape than the 700 but not terrible.

Is the BDL stainless or blued? Decent price either way

Blued.

Price sounds decent, but remember, once a DM - always a DM. There are no feed rails in the action so it cannot easily be converted to an ADL/BDL format. I have to think the value of it down the road as a donor would probably be less than a standard action. I've not personally owned any of the 700 DM's for any length of time, but I've known a couple of people who have had some feeding issues with them.

I have a ss 700 in 280 and love it. I have had it for over ten years, and no feeding problems yet. I would not have a problem getting another.

Man, how can you go wrong. You can't buy a 700 action for much less than that. I have several rifles (browning, remington,sako) that have a detachable magazine and I've had absolutely no problem with them. I've a dead stock 700 stainless synthetic in 300 win mag that will shoot 1.5" groups using 168 gr barnes tsx's at 300 yds. Although it may not be new, whizz bang or short and fat, a 30-06 will do anything you need and if you don't reload you can buy suitable ammo almost anywhere, anytime.
GWB

I've got a 700 BDL DM in .280 Rem. I hear lots of negatives about them, but never had a problem with mine, and I like the DM portion of it, as that's the main reason I bought it.

I have one in 7mm08 & have been very happy with it.

I have always wanted to pick up a 700 DM in 243 and have
it rebarreled to 358 Win, but have never done it.

Jericho, I can relate. Decided on a ruger hawkeye in stainless synthetic in 358 win. Had a trigger job done and it works just fine. Cheaper than buying a remmy and having it smithed
GWB

I have two ultra rare 25-06 blued models and love both of them. You can not go wrong!

out of all the guns in my safe id keep my m-700bdl ss dm 300winmag if i had to give up all of them but one

My 260ss DM was a pain in my azz!

I got together with a gunsmith that I work with and told him of the problems with feeding and I told him what I thought might work.

Here's what we did.
Install drill rod in front of mag housing so magazine won't slop.
Bent feed lips of magazines to tighten up their grip on rounds.
Milled out stock in rear screw area to pull magazine tight up against the bottom of action rails.
Pillar bedded action in tupperware stock.

Results were one less round in the magazine(3 instead of 4).
extremely tight mags that don't slop around.
Positive feeding each and every time.

I was going to sell mine but will keep it for a while longer now that it feeds right.

Don't want to scare you but that is my experience with 1 rifle.

I had a 700 ss in 7mm-08 that I had feeding issues with. A friend of mine had a 260 ss that had the same feeding problems. Sounds about the same as 260madman had. I also had a 270 ss DM that had absolutely no feeding issues at all. I sold that rifle and still don't know why.

Anyhow I think the feeding issues were more common in the short action than the long action. I know a few people with the long actions that have never had a problem. I also hunt with a couple of guys that shoot 7mm-08s that have never had a problem.

easy fix...I had the same issue with my 7mm-08 and fixed it. I used 4-5 thicknesses of lead tape (golf shops have it) on the front of the magazine to keep it from shifting fore and aft as the action is cycled. All the tape does is take up some of the slop space between the magazine and magwell. One would think Remington engineers would have taken care of this long ago.

I have 2 magazines and they both work flawlessly now. easy fix that doesn't mar appearance or alter the rifle.

I love my SS-DM 6mm so far. but I have not had it long. I hope I don't have any issues as the 6mm's don't grow on trees.

I converted a 700 BDL (270) to a DM using the Kwik Klip conversion, maybe 25 years ago. A machine shop, near where I worked at the time, was building them. It was absolutely reliable, so I converted a 2nd (35 Whelen classic) rifle. I like the instant load/unload/reload, plus the lack of sound that a full clip makes in my pocket. That original conversion has since been on a lot of hunts, without a single problem. I am a fan of the DM concept.