I realize today Big Green has lost some of it's shine in the gun world but I'm still a fan of early 1960s and 70s production.

As some among the gun gurus here will know early Remington 700 rifles had button rifling before hammer forged barrels were put into production in 1969.

My question is: were early 1970s Custom C barrels button rifled or hammer forged as the marking on a "C" barrel are not stamped as other Remington production rifles with the usual barrel address but only a coded production date and the caliber?

So again, were these barrels button rifled? [I ask because these guns are crazy accurate!]

A quality bore scope will eliminate any doubt/debate.

Well, the Custom barrels are button rifled again today. Don't have a bore scope handy at this time.

Having a hard time finding the answer elsewhere online...

Remington started hammer forging in 1967.

A benchrest buddy of mine said the custom shop used Hart (N.Y.) barrel's on certain rifle's.

A very long time ago Mike Walker worked with the Harts with button rifling. Some of the early custom shop barrels were button rifled. In the years of 2000+ Shilen made their 17 cal and some 22RF barrels.

According to the website the current Custom C Grade 700 gets a button rifled, hand lapped barrel.

https://www.remington.com/custom-shop/classic-series-rifles/model-700/model-700-custom-c-grade

Where is the custom shop now and who runs it?

Nice rifle, but with $3K bucget, I think I could do better.

I read somewhere that the early 40XB had a Hart barrel. Not sure.

I had an early '70's 40XB in .244, the factory target with three 5 shot groups, .35" average. Thru the Hawkeye, it didn't look like a typical Remington barrel, looked more like a custom tube.

The 40X trigger is top notch.

DF

If you want one from the custom shop, the best thing to do is watch Gunbroker for a used one. I’ve bought several used Custom Shop 700’s and a model 7 Mannlicher (222 Rem) and without exception every one is a tackdriver.

Custom shop is in Sturges SD these days

My 40X shoot's pretty good also.

"I read somewhere that the early 40XB had a Hart barrel." I'd really like a reference for that if you can recall.

The early Custom "C" rifles had "a target rifle trigger pull [and were] hand fitted, hand lapped & hand bedded, highly polished barrel & receiver, engine turned bolt" which one would believe was all done by hand back in the day. This according to catalog advertisements.

I have a 1963 243 carbine that was most assuredly button rifled gun that easily shoots sub 1/2 MOA as does my 1973 Custom "C" chambered for 270 Win.

The Custom rifles of that period do not have a regular Remington barrel address like the production rifles just a date code and the caliber:



May be a Hart barrel? Interesting!

There would be a stamp the shape of a heart.

No little heart shapes:



[guess I'd better clean the bits of crud out of there with a tooth brush]

Sturgis as Quak said.

Operated by Dakota. I got a tour about a year and a half ago, really cool place.

According to previously stated information I guess then that this 1963 production Remington 700 .243 carbine sports a Hart barrel:



Does anyone know the coding for the previous images posted on the Custom 700?

April, 1975

The REP is a “proof” stamp (Remington English Proof) One of the others is for magna flux (the partial triangle) and I can’t swear to it but the heart does not mean it’s a Hart barrel...it is for one of their inspections.

I have one Rem Custom Shop KS, mid-80's vintage, IIRC, & it maybe the most consistently accurate hunting rifle I've ever owned, just bugholes 3-5 shot groups. It also has the most dead solid perfect trigger I've ever pulled on a hunting rifle.

But I also have one of the original series Ti's in 7-08 & it does about as well after some bedding work.

MM

Hart barrel reference?

Don’t remember, slept since then.

DF

The early Magnum 700's in 264,7mm Rem, and 300 Win Mags had stainless barrels ,so marked under the caliber marking with a heart emblem on the other side of the barrel, it was my understanding that Remington got these barrels from Hart.MB