Hi all. I dont post on the interwebs much and just created this account to share this beauty with all of you. I found this rifle locally around a year ago and I was finally able to purchase it. I had completely fallen for it. It is a rifle I planned on using from now until I pass and then leave to my children. It is a 1969 Remington Custom shop 30/06, and drop dead gorgeous. It is a masterpiece. Now for my newly discovered dilemma. Upon purchasing I was told it was a showpiece for the collection and was in new and unfired condition and even has its original box. It is greased up and absolutely pristine. I dont think I can shoot it. I didnt even want to handle it. Now what? Hopefully I figured out how to post the pictures.

How much you want? It's kinda greasy looking but I guess I can fix that. No it won't bother me to shoot it. Mb

Crazy talk....... shoot it, hunt it and enjoy it, that's what it was made for. When you are sitting on stand you can admire the wood.

Use it!

Shoot the piss out of it. Drag it through the great outdoors. It’s just a tool. The art of it comes from all the dings that get put on one from honest use. My two cents.

Shoot it

That’s excellent advice. Beautiful wood and a classy old rifle!

Some guys think they are like Lone Wati's piece of hard rock candy. "It's not for using, it's just for looking at"....

That is a cool Ol rifle. I’d hunt with it. 👍

Shoot it. Too darn beautiful to never see the light of day and sit in the safe

Shoot it.

The impressive part is the picture posting. There’s guys been here for 20 years that still haven’t figured it out. 😂

Degrease that sumbitch and put it to work.

Ain't that the truth!

I don't own any firearms that I won't shoot so I would encourage you to use it and enjoy it. Having said that, however, if it is going to haunt you to see that beautiful rifle with some scratches and dings, find a place to display it and just enjoy POSSESSING it. Only you can decide which path will give you the most pleasure. There's no wrong answer.

As Huntsman said. First you need to come to terms yourself, whether it’s worth x amount of dollars to “look at” (and it may be; that’s personal). Or, is some (unpredictable) decline in future value acceptable in exchange for the experience/memories/joy of using it? Personally, I’d hunt it taking reasonable but not neurotic care, and enjoy it.

I had for 7-8yrs a stunning Francotte 20ga, grade 45/“eagle” in high condition and original with letter but for chambers lengthened to 2 3/4”. Petite little thing, 5lbs couple ounces. Enjoyed it, loaded for it, never hunted it, and put it away for a bit and found other shotguns i preferred to hunt and practice with, looks aside. One day it hits me, looking at the rack: it’s not worth it to me to have x-dollars tied up in this beautiful shotgun if I don’t look forward to using it, hell i just didn’t take it out at all anymore. Was fun, but sold it back to the same dealer and moved on. Fun memory, but the right decision.

That’s not to say you should sell yours because it’s too nice. I shoot and hunt the hell out of a Merkel comparable to the 20ga mentioned. IMO, the joy of that neat stuff is using it - like a fine tool - not staring at it in the rack or hoping to impress one’s friends.

If the Rem’s gonna give you heartburn, sell it back and get something you can go out and enjoy, IMO. Life’s short; it’s just stuff. You did get enjoyment out of obtaining it - remember that, too.

Damn that is pretty. I can honestly say I have never seen a rifle I didn't want to shoot. ThaT gun deserves to be hunted. Scratches and dings can be repaired but the memories made while acquiring them last forever. Go forth and make meat with it.

This is good advice 👍.....Hb

If you’re really that worried about it peel the stock off and hide it away. Stuff the barreled action in a synthetic and go kill some stuff.

Or if you do like you thought and use it for the rest of your days, you probably won’t care about reduced collector value when you’re dead.

Shoot it, preferably at animals.

Damn that is pretty. I can honestly say I have never seen a rifle I didn't want to shoot. ThaT gun deserves to be hunted. Scratches and dings can be repaired but the memories made while acquiring them last forever. Go forth and make meat with it.

Well, at least you have good taste in rimfires.

Thanks! I do love nice .22s. That sporter is my favorite.

I am not hurting for a new hunting rifle.. My favorite is a Win 1894 saddle ring carbine in 32 win spc from 1909. It has its dings and a great patina. It oozes soul and history. I love hunting with it. If the weather isnt great, I use an early Contender with a 10" 357 Herrett barrel. A 1st gen Colt Woodsman for small game.

I havent kept any safe queens. I do get enjoyment from using them. I think my issue is that someone kept this unfired and as new for 51 years, and I cant imagine seeing another one like it. She is over the hill and seems a shame to deflower her now. Lol.

Ive been in a similar situation several times, and have always decided to take it hunting. The joy it brings to me is worth the cost in depreciation.

And if you do hunt with it until the end, it will probably still be worth what you paid for it. Scuffs and all.

Another factor to consider is the type of hunting that you do. A stand hunter won't usually put a lot of wear and tear on a rifle each year, while a stalker or mountain hunter may add quite a bit.

Maybe it's your bluebird day stand rifle. It's fun to have something nice to look at when the animals aren't cooperating

Unless you need the money why do anything at this point, it's a long time until hunting season. Give yourself time to think about, once it is used then the decision is irreversible, in a few months or years you may decide what you really want to do with it and you will have given yourself enough time to make (hopefully) the right decision.

drover

It has a lot of appeal.
When you go to your local rifle range. just put it in the gun rack when you go to the restroom and it will be gone when you get back. Problem solved.

You were blessed with this rifle, you should count your blessings and use it.

Be thankful.

Go and shoot the cowboy hell out of it.

If its the "one" youve always wanted im also in the camp of using it. Let it bring you joy and happiness every you look down at it in your hands when you handle it.

Ive got some exquisite leverguns and an beautiful old Rigby 416 Mauser. Yes sir i use them

Tough decision. Good luck with that! I'm too poor to ever so much as think about buying something so nice, so my problem kind of solves itself. Ironically my Grendel AR is probably my most expensive gun (all items are mid-high tier). I am inclined to favor preservation or "special tag" / ceremonial use only. Though I appreciate the artistry of firearms they are tools after all.

This sounds like a vaginal issue !!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are male deflower ASAP

if you are female sell and shade your eyes.

Someday, you'll leave it to a child or grandchild. It'll mean more to them if their grandpa used it and it has some hunting stories to go with it.

I have one, I hunt with it. It was meant to be hunted with.






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In todays market prices are crazy.... If you got it for a very good price, but are hesitant to hunt with it., sell it for a profit, and buy a couple other things. We have all done that.

IMO there isn’t a Remington 700 out there that has any true collector value. Some might be nicer than others, but they are all utilitarian hunting rifles. Now if it had some historical or famous hand engravings, or made for an influential historical figure maybe, but that rifle??? Shoot it and enjoy it. When your done with it, maybe it will have some honest use marks on it, but it will be a good, well cared for rifle that was used as intended.

Now if you aren’t going to enjoy using it, sell it to some sucker that thinks it’s exceptionally unique and charge them accordingly....then pick up something you will enjoy using. JMO.

When I first got my Rem 700 mtn rifle back in 1990 it came in with the most beautiful wood I'd ever seen. The gunshop owner and another fella were there and both offered me a profit if I would let one of them have it. I declined but later at home I went crazy for a few days trying to work up the courage to scope it and shoot it. If it shot mediocre I'd offer it back,but it shot as good as it looked. The first time hunting with it I was nervous, till I tagged out. The first time I was caught in the rain I fretted over its cleaning like a new parent. 62 head of game later (whitetail, mulies, antelope) as well as a few varmints for myself, wife, kids,nephews, and once a brother, I can tell you hunt with it. It will come to have its own name, it will be desired by all who get to use it, and it will become your friend. Sitting on stand with it now I often talk to it. We have both gotten silver gray around the muzzle together and it's no longer a tool, it's my companion.

THIS

I had a great friend who had a beautiful custom rifle built on a Springfield action. It was a tremendous sacrifice at the time for him as he had gone through a devastating divorce. It really was something special. He carried it to the stand in a soft case to protect it. But he still hunted it! He killed some amazing deer with that rifle. His grandson now owns it and the pictures of his grandfather’s trophies.
Hunt the rifle. Take every precaution you need to feel comfortable to
take it afield but hunt it.
GreggH

Beautiful rifle! I only own one rifle that was sort of a “dream rifle” instead of just a tool. I know it would be “worth more” to someone else if it was unfired and in the box, but not to me. I lay it on a towel on the bench at the range. I don’t usually worry about stuff like that. It is pretty but I have found I enjoy it more when I look at it across my lap in a tree stand or the deer woods rather than in the gun safe. I don’t take it if I need to drag a rifle through a thicket. I have plenty of hunts where the chances of beating up a rifle are pretty slim. It isn’t my primary hunting rifle but I have killed a couple of deer with it and plan to use it in the future as well. That is when I enjoy it most.

Ultimately, I think you have to decide how you would enjoy it most.

Shoot it. You planned on using it till you die then passing it along. You are gonna be dead for a loooooong time, might as well enjoy it before then. After that you wont regret maybe scratching it a little...


You live once, who deserves it more?

I took all my “too pretty to hunt” kimbers and sold them and got into either ugly wood rifles or stainless synthetic guns.


I’m currently rebarrelling and restocking my first rifle, a savage 110 in 270. Never liked the round, stock was drilled off center barrel contacted one side and the other side had a gap that gravel would get stuck in, trigger was 7# with a 1/4” or creep... you get the idea.

It was given to me by my grandfather who won it in a $5 raffle. So I really couldn’t get rid of it. So I’m rebarrelling it to 35 whelen and putting it in a B&C stock. Make it something I wanna take in the field!!!

If It can’t be used for whatever reason I don’t want it in my
Safe.

This had something to do with my hesitation. IMO I got it for a great price. A buddy at work already offered me double for it, and they have been selling online for a good bit more than that yet. I could make a tidy profit on it, but man, I already know I would rather have it than a little extra cash.

But there has been some terrific advice and insight on here. I love it. I am planning on keeping it. Probably breaking it out in the summer for some range time, and using it for fair weather hunts. We rough it pretty good on our big hunting trips and the weather gets real nasty so I may be waiting on bringing it to camp. Or maybe not!

The Winchester 70 crowd would be losing hair that you even let a 70 like that be exposed to sunlight and the harsh flash of a camera....let alone be put together....A pre64 70 in the box is meant to stay in the box...forever....

Use it.....

JMHO, but that is the problem with the unfired gorgeous safe queens. Their beautiful and desirable, but you pay a premium for the unsullied perfection, and then you take a big financial hit the first time you fire it. If someone is a hunter/shooter, i.e. not a collector, it is better to just buy an already shot rifle and enjoy without flushing money down the toilet.

In other words, if you are going to shoot it, save yourself some money buy a shooter.

I'd also gently suggest that a couple bazillion Remington 700 in 30-06 were made, so, just because its got some really nice wood doesn't make it a collector grade gun.

Again, JMHO.

I don't know if this was mentioned before but you could buy a used factory stock or synthetic and use the rifle with that stock. Wouldn't be perfect but would preserve the beautiful wood.

That is a good idea

Had a #1 w good wood. Sold it.

Am a use it or move it guy.

I bought the one I have on GunBroker for 1200.00 about two years ago. I think yours would go for 2000.00 to 2500.00, maybe 3000.00. A near perfect 300 H&H like yours sold for 2200.00 last week. If you want the money, sell it, or hunt it. I hunt out of stands so I carry my nice rifles out to hunt in a soft case, don’t jack them up that way.

Owning an unfired gun is like being married to a supermodel but never having sex with her because she is too beautiful.
Shoot it, hunt it, enjoy it.

Go shoot it and enjoy it! Guns like that are art, but they are best appreciated as functional art. Take that schit scope off first, and put a real scope on, then go and enjoy the hell out of that rifle! You only live once!

You get a new hunting Dog...keep it in the kennel to look at????

Merlot took more of beating than that shotgun....And I would throw the gun in the garbage can, before I would let him go...Wood and metal...and nothing else...







Addition: Only posted the pic of myself, for someone who mentioned how old my thinking was..
Maybe someday they will post one of themself....maybe, but unlikely.....🤣

How many buy a Ford King Ranch truck and then put some neoprene seat covers over the awesome leather so as to keep it nice for the next guy. If you're going to do that, might as well buy the XL version and pocket the coin difference.

Gotta save the pristineness for the next guy...

First off, beautiful rifle. My take on it is this. If you are a collector, or plan on putting it in a museum then keep it as such. If you are not, then shoot it and carry it with pride. If you can't do that because of what it is. Send it off for someone to make that tough decision.
Unless she is bound to be a jewel in someone's collection or into a museum, I am going to use the analogy that I heard once concerning collecting motorcycles. Not riding a collectable motorcycle is like not banging your very hot girlfriend. In all reality your just missing the point on why it was put here on this earth and just saving that pleasure for the next person inline. Because nothing lasts forever.
She is a weapon, albeit a beautiful one. Shoot her! Just think how pretty she would be laying against a monster buck with you in the background!

if you decide to sell it and are in The Wa. area id be happy to discuss with you

Too many people do that crap. I traded my 16 truck for a new 20 truck in Sept. the dealer said “Wow, you actually use your truck as a truck”. I told him that’s why I bought a truck. My new one has a bed liner in it, but I still use it to haul with.

Lotta of points made here and like I said in my initial response shoot it. When you bought it that was your intention until you ran into to someone who told you it was just for looking at and not for use. He is and was full of sh*t. He made you have guilt thoughts about using it.
First off it may not have been fired but I doubt it because they mounted a scope on it. That eliminates "New" in description to maybe Like new and you sure can't add in the box because it isn't. So maybe your description could be like new with cheap scope in period mounts with the original box including period desk chair with original packing grease smeared on it. The point is it ain't NIB. The value of using it and the pride of being in the field with it should overshadow the stupid crap that guy told you. You need to figure that out and lay it to rest totally. Like I said before how much do you want send me a pm. Magnum_Bob

Rambler214,

This might be what my kids would call a "First World Problem". Of course I'd strongly disagree. You're in a real dilemma. About ten years ago I purchased a left hand Remington 1100 12 gauge shotgun off the internet for a very reasonable price and was super excited to get it. After giving it a good inspection after receiving it appeared that it had never been shot. Could never bring myself to shoot it. I have other shotguns to shoot. It sits in my safe to this day and I'll probably never shoot it. I should sell it.

However rifles are different than shotguns. I could take that shotgun out today and shoot it and have lots of fun with it and likely never have to do anything to it to make it shoot better. Modifications like putting a recoil pad on it would be a minor sin, but installing a thin wall choke would be pure blasphemy. Neither mod however would be absolutely necessary. At least not for me.

Your pristine 1969 Rem 700 on the other hand might require some serious modifications to make it field ready. It's pretty standard today to pillar bed the action into the stock, free float the barrel and sometimes upgrade the trigger. To really know if your rifle needs the mods it needs to be shot. It's been my experience that most rifles do. Others I'm sure have had different experiences. Mods/improvement such as these would make your rifle more field ready, but likely worth less in the open market.

I'm not sure what I'd do in your situation, but thought I'd mention a few of the potential "land mines" you might run into if you decide to shoot it, and especially if you decide to depend on it in the field.

I hope this helps you, at least a little bit, with your FWP. My hope is our children still have decades to worry about such things.

Nice rifle.

Do what you want with it. I've bought MANY rifles that interested me for various reasons. I bought them, handled them, looked at the various features they had, then put them in my closet and never fired them. Finally, I decided to sell them. I got my satisfaction from just by handling them. It is ok in my book to research a gun, look for the gun ( at the right price), Buy it, handle it, then sell it. My wife laughs at me when I do it. She tells me, "You enjoy the hunt for the firearm more than the firearm itself.". I think she is right.

One example: 20 years ago I got interested in the action of the Enfield No. 4, No 2 303 British. I found a nice sporterized Longbranch ( just some forearm wood removed, but great bore and overall finish) after about 2 year " hunt", I got it -and a 1/2 box of factory Winchester rounds with it. I cleaned it, fully disassembled it, and put it back together. Then shot the 10 rounds. I sold it a month later. I had the opportunity to handle the rifle, and gain an appreciation for it. My needs of curiosity were met (exceeded), and I was perfectly fine selling it. No regrets. It was a very enjoyable process, from " the hunt" to "the outgoing sale.".

I think I made $50 from the sale too, so that was a bonus. The chance to handle an iconic firearm was , as they say, " priceless.".

On the other hand, if you want to shoot it, or hunt with it, do it. I remember reading that Elmer Keith had a Hoffman-smithed rifle with "fine engraving" ( in 300 Hoffman? 300 H&H??). He used it at least for antelope hunting ( source: "He'll, I was There"). He liked a fine rifle with extras which aided nothing to the functionality of the firearm, and used it, because he Liked it and wanted to.

So, no issues from me if you want to sell it. If your curiosity needs were satisfied with actually finding and handling your grail gun, take a bunch of good pictures of it to look at in the future, then move it along. Maybe someone has a similar curiosity factor and you can feed their need. Or, shoot it, and oogle at the quality of stock and workmanship. Whatever floats your boat. As someone wrote earlier, "...first world problem."

Remember, it's just "stuff."

I owned a like new Al Biesen rifle. I hunted it, but I was always worried I was gonna jack it up. I eventually sold it. I have an Iver Henriksen rifle I hunt with. It’s not too bad looking.

I'm reading this thread and chuckling along the way. I do just the opposite- I love good looking wood so much I make gorgeous stocks for my favorite rifles and carry them when I hunt so I can enjoy them. Some of them have been scratched, fallen on, dropped, and gotten dinged, but it is usually quite easy to repair whatever small damage is created and bring the wood back to almost new looking. In fact, I just built a 26 Nosler that will become my "do everything" rifle and I dropped it in my favorite fiddleback walnut stock just so I could carry it in the woods again. Killed an elk with it this year too....

In those quiet moments sitting in the woods waiting for something to show up or just enjoying the view, there is nothing quite like having some nice wood and warm clothes to make you feel like you've arrived ..... of course, when your buddies all slobber over your prized possession it doesn't hurt either...

Bob

Ok. This is exactly what I had thought. The guy at work offered me $2500 for it, and I would be making out pretty well. But I am going to hold onto it and plan to hunt with it. I am going to wait to shoot it until I am ready to take it out, just in case, but that is the plan. And thanks for the tip with the soft case. I usually hunt from a climber.

According to the advertisements of the time, it should be good to go. Of course, no way to really tell until I shoot it. Some of the highlights from the custom shop... "target rifle trigger pull, firing pin head satin chrome plated, hand fitted and finely hand checkered walnut stock with DuPont RK-W finish, hand-lapped and hand-bedded highly polished barrel (and they were button-rifled in this era), polished receiver and engine turned bolt."

I was about to say it's a Custom Shop rifle from another era. The bedding and trigger are extremely likely to be just fine.

If it were mine I'd push a few Ballistol laden patches and then a few dry patches through the bore just to make sure of no surprises in there. Check the fasteners for proper tightness, mount a scope and hit the range. I have a couple of proven 30-06 loads that I'd bring and it wouldn't surprise me if I saw 5 shot, MOA groups the first time out.

Shoot it, kill stuff and take lots of pictures of game with the rifle in them
One day down the road your heirs will look at them all and the memories of the trips will come flooding back to them.

How much does your truck cost that you drive out in the mud and brush to go hunting? Probably way more than that rifle. Yet, the truck gets used, worn out, and replaced.

Go make memories with it and leave a well used momento to your children.

Just pretend it’s 1969 and you just bought the rifle New.

Are you going to use it?

Enjoy it!

I would be extremely surprised if that rifle wouldn’t get 3/4 groups with 59 grains of IMR 4350 with a 150 Partition, Accubond, or a Ballistic tip.

Or 52 grains of IMR 4064.

Just think how purty that rifle would look lying against a nice deer, elk, or bear you just shot in the pictures.

Yep , that's me pretend it's new and hunt it.

For $2500 I’d sell that so fast your head would spin.

Then go buy a handful of Model 70 classics.

Just my opinion but you can beat it up some in honest use, but you can't take away from the beauty of that stick of wood. As others have said it is a Custom Shop rifle and will likely shoot well if not great. It was meant to enjoy and you did acquire it as it made you happy. Just think how happy it will make you to actually use it and be able to pass it on with stories to go with it some day.

And it is a VERY NICE rifle.

After deciding to keep and shoot it like it was 1969 I figured I would start wiping it down. I started with the action and the name. The Remington that is engraved on it looks classy to me, and crisp like new and the blue is nice. Looks black like most Custom shop guns I see. I am really happy with how it is cleaning up.



I start wiping down the other side and then something jumps out at me. They did the blues different between the receiver, lug and the barrel. Fortunately, I love it. It is pretty striking. I have only ever seen them in one solid color, but I am also not sure I have really seen another early custom 700 and this was pretty standard? The receiver looks black, the recoil lug is reddish and the barrel is a gorgeous blue.

Shouldn't this be on the Remington forum?

Oh wait, nevermind.

I like the others would shoot it and enjoy the rifle that you’ve searched for over the years......life is way too short not too! I have yet to see a Remington Custom Shop rifle that wouldn’t shoot incredibly well.

As for the blueing being different between the barrel/receiver and the recoil lug - I’m betting that they are two different kinds of steel and/or heat treating is the difference all three of mine show the same difference you are seeing.

Good luck with a beautiful example of some American craftsmanship!

PennDog

About 20 years ago I bought an FN Supreme that was in Excellent condition. It wasn’t sold as unfired, but if it had been, it wasn’t shot much. Those rifles have a beautiful FN logo on the crest of the receiver. It also had really nice wood with beautiful grain. It had never been drilled and tapped for a scope, and my eyes require a scope to hunt. I debated having it drilled and tapped for about a year and a half. I just couldn’t do it, so I sold it. I didn’t want to be the guy to put the holes in that logo.

Today, if I still had it, I’d drill and tap it and hunt on. Guns like that were built to hunt.

Everyone needs a favorite rifle, I think you found yours....good luck its a beauty

Shoot it and hunt with it. When you are dead and gone the next person will do as they please with it.

Too funny. That's exactly what I do. My Mark V Deluxe gets transported to and from the blind in a soft side case. All my buddies make fun of me. Ha!

I think there are absolutely folks who revere older 700s the way others look at older M70s.

This x100

That's like saying I can't screw my wife because she's a virgin

i love the 30-06 . shoot it!

It's an object and nothing more. Sell it for a profit and buy something you'll shoot with a clear conscience.

I figured it out once, then they went and changed the rules!

Nice rifle.

It's a Remington 700, not a fuggin DaVinci. Shot the thing.

Shoot it

I get your dilemma. I have had two full custom rifles - one on 35 Whelan the other a 257r on a commercial FN Mauser.
They freaked me out being so damn nice that I was worried about damaging them. In the end I decided my income and life priorities didn’t afford me the ability to have expensive rifles that I was prepared to devalue by damaging so went to more usable rifles that are still nice and interesting but not that I will not sleep if I dropped it and gouged the wood work.

If you feel you bought a rifle that is actually a collector then dont ruin it for a collector but get rid of it to someone who wants a “look at” rifle not a “shoot it” rifle and get yourself a working gun.

Remington stock finishes have always been pretty tough. Can swap the wood for a synthetic cheap and easy enough if you’re really worried about buggering it up.

Why have it if you're not going to hunt with it and enjoy it??? It will be that much more of an heirloom to your posterity when you're gone. They'll know it was Dad's/Grandpa's favorite rifle.

Yep that’s what guns are made for and a beauty like this deserves to be used for its highest purpose.

Hunt it

I’ve personally never understood having a safe queen. I absolutely understand liberating them from someone else, and shooting/hunting them as they were made for.

If your original intent was to one day pass down a family heirloom, it will undoubtedly have more value if it has a little deer blood on its hands. However, if purchased as only an investment, then I’d guess I’d hang onto it in its current condition.

Great dilemma to have.

It's a dressed up economy model. Wear it out and enjoy.

We could hunt it for you😊

If it is something that you would worry about hunting with because it is to pretty I would sell it and take the money and pay for a nice hunting trip. You mention passing it down. Take the person or persons you plan to pass it down to on the hunting trip with you.

It is just a tool like any other tool be it a very nice one. I've turned into an old guy and not so much interested in stuff as I am in making memories but that is just me. I would hunt the snot out of it if it was mine.

I have a M70 Featherweight 7x57 that is pristine. I doubt I’ll hunt with it since I have another 7x57 that actually shoots better. I think it’s going down the road. Happy Trails