Specs

  • Manufacturer: Remington
  • Model: 700 5R Stainless Threaded Gen 2
  • Model Number: 85198
  • Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor
  • Barrel: Fluted Stainless Steel Heavy Barrel w/ 5R rifling
  • Barrel Length: 24" (610mm)
  • Twist: 1:8"
  • Magazine: 4 round internal box
  • Trigger: XMarkPro, Adjustable
  • Stock: HS Precision - Sand w/Black
  • Metal Finish: Cerakote - Black
  • Weight: 8.5 lbs (3.86 kg) No Optics
  • Overall Length: 43.75" (1111mm)
  • List Price: $ $1250.00
  • Street Price: $ $1150.00

About 20 years ago, Remington released their first Remington 700 milspec 5R rifles which used actual surplus M24 barrels. The factory those barrels to a standard stainless steel action and that barreled action into a black HS Precision varmint stock with green webbing. Remington figured it was a good way to sell off those extra barrels unused barrels. What they didn’t count on was the popularity that these rifles would have. The price ran about $1100 and the rifles shot exceptionally well for a factory rifle. Fast forward 20 years and the 5R rifling has now become a major selling feature on rifles and Remington is still making 5R rifles, but they are not the same surplus M24 barreled versions. Now they have a second generation of the 5R rifles and they use their own purpose built barrels and that is what we are reviewing here. Of course, not only is the 5R rifling the hot thing to have, but so is the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge and so our review rifle combines the two. It is a Remington 700 5R Gen 2 chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. So lets take a look at what this rifle is.

The second generation of the 5R does a few things different than the first, beyond just the non M24 barrel. The rifle arrives in the normal Remington rifle box but when you open it up, the first big difference is the color of the stock and rifle. While the stock is still an HS Precision stock with a full aluminum bedding block like the first generation, it is now tan with a very heavy black webbing on it. As I mentioned, the first generation had a black stock with green webbing. The new tan version is probably a better all around color choice for a tactical rifle. Additionally, all of the metal work is now black, where as the first generation was left in its natural stainless steel silver color.

The buttstock has a thick Remington branded recoil pad and the buttstock itself is a traditional straight comb design without any adjustable components. But that thick black webbing provides a good amount of friction to keep the shooters cheek from slipping during use. Because of the straight comb, if a scope with a large objective lens is mounted some sort of cheekrest may need to be attached to bring the shooters eye higher to align with the scope.

The shape of the stock is the same as the normal HS varmint style stocks and that means the pistol grip is fairly short. Many shooters will end up curling their pinky finger of the firing hand under the pistol grip. Is this a problem? No. In fact, most shooters do not realize they are even doing it. The other thing that always draws comment on these tactical HS Precision stocks is the palm swell. Some people hate it, some people love it, and most people don’t really care one way or the other. For those of you that are not familiar with what a palm swell is, take a look at this picture:

You can see where the pistol grip “swells”, or bulges out. This fills the palm of your hand and has been a trademark of the HS precision 700P stocks, and others, for decades now. While it is noticeable, it really does not make a difference in terms of performance, but it is unique and we like this aspect of the HS stocks. The rear tang of the 700 action and stock are the same as every other Remington 700 as is the two position safety. Forward for fire, back for safe.

About this time in the evaluation, you are likely drawing the conclusion that the Second Gen 5R rifle seems to be geared more toward the tactical community than the original 5R may have been with its black and green stock and silver metal work. You would be correct with that assumption. It appears that the second generation of the rifle is intended to be a compliment and alternative to their dedicated law enforcement rifle, the 700P. It is also available for purchase by the general public where as the 700P is only available through law enforcement channels.

One of those tactical features on the rifle is the large bolt knob. If you like large bolt knobs you no longer need to have a gunsmith cut off and attach a new larger bolt knob for you. Remington did it at the factory. The knob is a little different in that it does not follow the swept back axis line of the bolt handle, instead it bends and points at a direct 90 degree angle from the bore axis. This gives it a little different look than most. The knob has some light knurling on it to help provide a bit more grip and it is a nice addition to the rifle from the factory. In reality, large bolt knobs don’t really provided any real advantage over a normal knob, except maybe when using gloves, but its still nice and provide a little bit of extra length and leverage to the handle.

One thing that is different than the 700P is the trigger. The 5R gen2 uses the normal XMarkPro trigger found on their normal hunting rifles, where as the new 700P rifles use the 40XP trigger, which is a better trigger. The XMark trigger on this rifle is not bad, and in fact is better than the average trigger on other factory hunting rifles. Our trigger scale showed that the trigger broke reasonably clean at 4.06 lbs. That is a little heavy, but the XMarkPro is easily adjustable, though we left it at the factory setting for this evaluation.

The trigger guard is the factory BDL style hinged floorplate that has been around since the inception of the Remington 700 and still continues to function fine. The internal magazine holds four rounds, like normal, and feeds ‘Remington smooth’. One thing we did notice is that the rifle is using the nicer follower than their cheaper rifles, which is good. Beyond that, everything is pretty normal in regards to the Remington 700 action, trigger and floorplate.

The one area on the stock, beyond the color, where the second generation 5R is different than the 700P is in the forearm area. The 700P has a wide and round beavertail shaped forearm where as the 5R Gen2 has a cross section that is not as round and tapers in giving a slimmer profile with some less weight. The forearm is also not as long as on the 700P. This stock shape appears to be the same as on the first generation 5R.

The one thing that sets the 5R apart from lesser model 700s is the barrel, but this is also one of the areas that draws it closer to the 700P. The reason is because the new version of the 700P now incorporates the same 5R rifling as this rifle. 5R has become extremely popular and while the theory behind the use of 5R is good, the quality of barrel manufacturer is more important. Remington barrels for the most part have always been very good, and so the adoption of the 5R barrels on the 700P is a good move, and it makes these two rifles even closer related. The barrel is 24″ long, the same as on the 700P, but one very different thing is that the 5R Gen2 rifle has large LTR style fluting to save weight and help with heat dissipation.

Those flutes are a wide flute and there are a total of only three flutes on the barrel. It is different than traditional fluting and likely does not increase the cooling surface area as much as the more numerous style fluting, but it does save weight. The flutes are so wide that Remington even marks the barrel down inside of the flutes.

The muzzle is also threaded from the factory in the normal 5/8-24″ TPI spec and includes a thread protection cap with some light knurling on it. The selection of the slightly shorter 24″ barrel is a good choice for when a suppressor is attached as the overall length will not be as long. Yet the 24″ barrel helps get some extra velocity versus a shorter 20″ or 22″ barrel which will help the 6.5 Creedmoor be even more effective at longer ranges. We can see the advantage of a 22″ barrel for overall length, but it comes down to what the rifle’s primary role will be and this one should do well at longer ranges.

One thing that surprised us a little was that the crown is not recessed at all. This exposes it to potential damage, additionally a nice recessed 11 degree target crown is also an accuracy enhancing feature as well, but not many rifle builders are using those any longer. Perhaps it is just not cost effective for Remington to do it any longer.

All of the metal work is finished with a satin black Cerakote finish applied by Remington. It is very nicely done and looks very good over all the metalwork. As you can see in the pictures, it is more of a satin finish and not a completely dull flat finish. It is a good compromise between aesthetics and tactical practical.

Overall, the rifle has the traditional Remington model 700 look with all the right tactical features, such as the large bolt knob, tan and black stock, satin/matte finish, threaded barrel and other features. It handles nicely with the slightly shorter 24″ barrel and the flutes also keep weight down a bit. Obviously, with a suppressor attached it becomes long and a bit unwieldy, but not as bad as some. So it checks all the correct boxes for a capable sniper rifle for around $1200, but checking boxes doesn’t get the job done. It has to perform.

If you have not read how we test our rifles, go ahead and read that article now. For our shooting tests, we used a Nightforce Xtreme Duty 20 MOA canted Picatinny rail combined with a set of Nightforce Xtreme Duty Ultralite titanium alloy 30mm rings.

The scope we were using was one of our regulars that we use for rifle testing. A Vortex PST Gen2 5-25x50mm that has served well as a test scope on several other rifles tests. Everything mounted up easy enough with no issues and then we headed out to the range to conduct our shooting evaluation.

In western Montana we typically have pretty good wind conditions for our shooting tests, but the testing day for this 5R Gen2 was actually pretty blustery at about 10-13 MPH with some higher gusts. It was sunny and about 50 degrees which was nice, but the wind wasn’t playing very nice, but for our relatively short range testing, it wouldn’t prove to be much of a problem. The ammo we brought along for our tests consisted of four different 6.5 Creedmoor loads that we thought spanned the spectrum of popular bullet weights for the 6.5 CM.

On the low end, for both bullet weight and price category, we had the American Eagle 120gr Open Tipped Match (OTM). Then the Choice load that uses the excellent Lapua 123gr Scenar bullet that we love in the 260 Remington. The midweight class was represented by the Federal Gold Medal Berger 130gr and then the Hornady 140gr ELD Match load covered the heavier bullet weight class. With the rifle on the bench with a front sandbag and rear sand sock, we got to work.

The results were as follows for the 100 yard accuracy tests.

AmmunitionAverage GroupBest Group
American Eagle 120gr OTM.859″ (.820 MOA).472″ (.451 MOA)
Choice Ammo 123gr Scenar1.055″ (1.008 MOA).532″ (.508 MOA)
Federal Gold Medal Berger 130gr.845″ (.807 MOA).314″ (.300 MOA)
Hornady ELD Match 140gr.654″ (.624 MOA).362″ (.346 MOA)

Whether it is the rifling, the barrel quality, or a combination of both (we think the latter) this rifle showed excellent accuracy for a factory built rifle straight out of the box. Each of the types of ammo had at least one group that was .5 MOA or better and the Hornady was very consistent and averaged right near .5 MOA (.624). With the consistent performance and the gusty wind conditions, we would consider this a .5 MOA rifle considering how often we were shooting groups that size. This is on par with many custom rifles that guarantee .5 MOA. Remington does not offer anything more than a 1 MOA accuracy guarantee and we do not know if all of these 5R rifles will shoot this good, but it falls right in line with how well the previous generation did.

Being a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, recoil was well managed even without any sort of muzzle brake. The rifle also feeds very well from the magazine, but some of the ammo, the Choice and Federal specifically, would not single feed by just placing a round on top of the follower and closing the bolt. But yet the other two makes of ammo had no problems doing that. We see this often with 6.5 CM rifles and it appears to be the shape of the cartridge that causes this. We also noticed with the Federal Gold Medal Berger load, that the bolt was tight to close each time, meaning that bullet it likely really tight up against the throat. It was not an issue, but interesting to note.

With recoil well managed, accuracy well above average, and the rifle feeding smoothly from the magazine, we figured it would do well on our 300 yard head shot test. Due to the consistency of the Hornady load, we opted to use that load for the test and we dialed in .4 MIL of up and the same to the left to counter for the wind (it ended up being a little too much as you can see on the target in the picture below). We fired the test and even without a muzzle device, we fired three rounds in only 17 seconds. The group was a very nice 1.960″, which equates to .624 MOA, a very solid performance for rapid fire in moderate wind conditions at 300 yards at a nondescript target.

Since our web site catastrophe that happened a month ago, we are having to rebuild all of our reviews and pages from archives and we decided to take this time to modify this head shot test slightly. We did not feel it was appropriate to score rifles partially based on speed when one might be a 300 Win Mag and another might be a .223 Rem. These rifles are in two difference classes and have capabilities that are very different. That .300 Win Mag offers a lot more punch to go through barriers and hit with more power at the target, and that needed to be factored in. So we modified the test to include energy at 300 yards. While energy is not the perfect measurement to determine terminal performance on the target, it is one that is easily calculated with ballistic software. So now our test includes accuracy (in MOA), time to fire three rounds (in seconds) and Energy at 300 yards (in Ft-Lbs). The breakdown of the total score consists of 45% for accuracy, 30% for time, and 25% for energy. The baseline score for energy is 1635 ft-lbs, which is the energy of the 308 Federal Gold Medal Match 168gr load at 300 yards in standard atmospheric conditions. So, with that long winded explanation complete, here are the results of the 300 Yard Head Shot test for the 5R Gen2.

300y Head Target Test
Time Score (17 secs)42.4
Accuracy Score (.624 moa)72.1
Energy Score (1668 ft-lbs)25.5
Total140

Where does that leave us? Well, we are impressed. The rifle is very capable for field work as it is. The rifle does not have a DBM, but that is not a necessity, and it doesn’t always single feed smoothly, again, not a necessity. For a moderate range sniper rifle for a moderate budget, it is a very good choice. The barrel is even threaded and there is a large bolt knob. No, it is not a fancy new wizbang chassis rifle, and it is probably better for it. It could compete in PRS on a lower level if you wanted it to, but we don’t review rifles for PRS, we review them for tactical work and it fits that bill nicely. We have been looking for a 2nd rifle to use for our 6.5 Creedmoor ammo comparisons and we have decided to keep this one for that purpose, and we are sure it’ll be used for more than just that.

Sniper Central

39 Comments

Bill L

Mel…my wife does not like the splattered paint look on the stock.

Who cares what women think. lol.

Glad you are back up and running again. Peace brother.

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js

my rem too ADL tactical was built in Aug 2019. it t is 6.5 creed and has 24 in barrel with the threaded nut on the end. do i have 5r rifling?

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mele-02

I would guess not, but if its an ADL, then it is a limited run rifle built for a specific distributor and it “could” have a 5R barrel. You can look at the muzzle/crown and just count the lands & grooves. If there are only 5 lands, then its a 5R
MEL

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js

my mistake, made a typo error on my 1st comment. i meant to ask : does my rem 700 adl tactical rifle with 24 in barrel in 6.5 creed have that 5r rifling? my serial number says it was built in aug of 2019?

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Frank Kent

Mel,
It looks like remington got the word that folks weren’t pleased with the so-so quality in the last few years.
They did put out an “American Hunter” version that is very similar, but supposedly had some truing and trigger work done at the factory.
If you could get your hands on one of those, I would love to see a heads up comparison. The American Hunter comes with a 20″ barrel.

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Jerry Davenport

Thanks again for all you do Mel. I know this has been an especially stressful time for you.

In this article you mention that the 700P went to 5r rifling. Do you know when they made the change?

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Mike

This is the best rifle review I’ve ever seen. Thanks For good review I’m very impressed.
I just ordered same rifle but 308 and I have same vortex optic so I’ll put that optic when I receive the rifle
If you don’t mind may I ask what scope ring height you used?
Thanks again

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mele-02

Hey mike, thanks for the kind comments! Glad you liked the review. If memory serves me correctly, we have a set of medium height rings on there

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Mike

Mel, thanks for answering my question. I’m gonna get Nightforce ring as yours
However, if I put scope caps on my optic should I get high height ring (1.125”) or medium height still good?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge

CMC Guy

Mel – Great to see your site is getting back up and running. I’ve learned so much from you over the years. I recently bought this same gun. My results are similar to yours: 130gr Federal Berger does the best, w/ an average 0.9MOA for 5 shots, and 140gr Hornady ELD was just about 1.0MOA. I get consistent a curacy results from 100 to 300yard shooting at my local range. I couldn’t squeak out your ELD numbers, but I’ll keep practicing.

One final reason why you’re my definitive source for gun data – you know your stuff, including how to count flutes. Every review I’ve read re. this gun says it has 6 flutes. But you’re correct, there are three. 🙂 Nice work, and stay healthy.

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mele-02

Thanks CMC! I appreciate your support and I appreciate the fact that you recognize my ability to count! 😉
MEL

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jeff coen

Mel thank you for all you do, I found this page a few years back and have looked at it everytime I look for a long range gun. I went with the 700 a few years back as my first great weapon. As we are now a FFL this is a rifle that I am going to be getting….DEMO,,,, probably keep it …..Thanks for all you do. We are in our first season of business and enjoying it and the good people I meet.

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Scott

Very nice review as it seems to describe this rifle very accurately. I recently bought this model in .308 Win. with a 24″ barrel. It does not yet have a scope but with the Corvid 19 pandemic shut down my main range is closed anyway so this gives me time to research optics and get what best works for me. The palm swell feels a little odd at first but the more I shoulder this rifle the less noticeable the swell is and in fact starts to feel as though it will fit well in my hand when shooting from a bench or prone. The large bolt handle will be an asset as where I live north of the 49th. it can get pretty darned cold and some type of glove helps in staying out longer during the winter, which seems to last forever when it arrives. My only experience with bolt rifles has been mil-surp. An Enfield No.4 wich I still enjoy shooting once in a while and a NAZI marked K98 which I gave to my son in law. That Mauser had a bolt that was so tight in tolerance but oh-so- smooth. The Remington feels quite sloppy and not so smooth by comparison but given the reputation this rifle has managed to acquire throughout it’s history I’m sure it will work out fine. This rifle was purchased to make a statement to my government’s (Canada) ban on 1500 listed firearms. AR15 and so many others were made prohibited on May 1st. My statement? Fine, you want my black rifle because (you say) it is too dangerous for a civilian to possess? Well check this out, a rifle fit for a military sniper! Very nice rifle for my first new in the box.

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Matt

I just bought this rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor, and I am very excited to shoot it!
I was also curious about conversion to a Magpul lower or conversion for at least a magazine weld instead of a blank weld to avoid any issues with hand loading rounds after optics are added. I have seen some customization done to Remington BDLs, but, not sure about the 700 5R Gen2. Any suggestions?

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mele-02

There are a few options you can do. The easiest is to use a drop in replacement for the floorplate, such as the one from HS Precision. They are expensive (about $300+) and they require the use of their own proprietary magazines. But its easy and does not require modifying the stock. The reason they cannot use the AICS/PMAG magazines is because those mags are too wide and require more space than the remington BDL floorplate has room for. So, that takes us to the other option, which is to have the stock inletted to fit a new floorplate such as the M5 from Badger Ordnance, or one of the many others that have the same footprint as the M5. They too are expensive and you have to also inlet the stock, but they then use the very popular AICS magazines.

MEL

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Matt

Thanks for the info. I agree. I found some video with a fella using a dremmel to create the space for a Magpul mag weld, and it was a bit less precise than he’d like so I know I may not want to. Another sent his off to a shop to have it milled. I
I found video from HS Precision, and I like the easier conversion they offer. What do you know about Oryx for a complete chassis rebuild. Saw them highlighted in another 700 rifle review, and it looked pretty sweet. I do like the HS stock so don’t know if I want to change it, but, I’m curious.
Thanks again for your response and fantastic review of this rifle! I’m so stoked.

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Matt

Thanks for responding. I looked into the HS Precision and it seems like an easy enough conversion. You are right that it’s expensive. But, I may go that route since I am already partial to the HS stock the rifle comes with. However, as I scrolled reviews on R700s I found one where the rifle action was converted to a Oryx platform. It looks pretty sweet, from ta tactical standpoint, and the fella that did said it raised his precision and grouping with the rifle as well. The entire platform is about as much as the HS mag weld conversion, ironically. Do you know of Oryx or their work. I want to than you again for your response and I do appreciate. So stoked to shoo this rifle. All the best . Cheers!

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J.D. Richard

Not a 6.5 fan I have the 300 Win did not like the HS stock so I dropped it into a Magpul Hunter easy fit and finished out nice with the bottom metal (well plastics) . Really like the stock. Not a new modular but still a lot of adjustment and removable mag’s are nice.

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Rick

Mel, What a thorough, outstanding review! In my book, you are a Hall of Fame firearms reviewer, and I often recommend your reviews to others. I am a 6.5mm fan with a Savage 6.5-284 Norma, an MPA Comp 6.5 PRC and the Remington Gen 2 6.5 Creedmoor. I will be confidently hunting elk in September with my Gen 2. Thanks again for your work & writing.

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Tom

Thanks for the review! I wound up 2 new 5R’s on a heck of end of year deal in December- a 20″ .308 and the same 6.5CM as you tested. I’ve spent more time with the .308 and man is it a shooter! After barrel break in I went to my friends 125yd backyard range over here in Helena in February and started load development- I found the sweet spot fast!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/kb05rRK.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/u1eCTGw.jpg[/img]

Started the session using 5 rds of Fed GMM 168 (top left) for a baseline and working the groups to the right. I used Peterson brass and Sierra 168gr MK’s. My second 5rd group produced 1 nice hole. I’ve started playing with the 6.5CM and it too holds .5-ish groups using Hornady bullets.
I’m very happy to have these two in my safe.

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Dennis Ray McGreevy

I’m thinking about purchasing a muzzle break for this weapon in a 6.5 Creedmoor. Any suggestions on a quality muzzle break.

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mele-02

Any of the name brand brakes work well. You may want to consider if you plan to use a suppressor in the future, if so, then perhaps one of the brakes that allows the attachment of a suppressor would be considered. Surefire, etc.

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Paul Day

I purchased this rifle in 6.5CM. The bedding in the aluminum block was TERRIBLE. Using machinists blue it revealed the action touched the bedding block in two small spots only. I glass bedded the action, lapped the lugs and fitted a Timney trigger set to 1.4#. Scope is Nikon Tactical. The rifle now shoots .253MOA with Federal Non-Typical WT 140gr ammo. Shot a goat out at 906 yards. Love this gun.

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mele-02

They us an HS precision stock, so the bedding fit would be up to them. But no matter how good the CNC on the aluminum block is, it will NEVER be as good as a glass bed job, which you found out! Glad to hear she tightened right up for you. Sounds great.
MEL

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oleg bolshakoff

hello,
would you consider this rifle be an adequate hunting rifle as well as tactical? thank you kindly

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mele-02

Yes, it would certainly handling hunting conditions without a problem. But, it weighs considerably more than a typical hunting rifle. So if you are okay lugging the weight around, it would work good
MEL

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Curtis chapple

Really wanting a new deer rifle, someone has offered me this 6.5 creedmoor, should i jump on it i want to be able to shoot 600yards or more. What would you do? and if so what was the optic be that you would choose for the hun? I’ve never had the time for reloading so i would like to grab a box and go. Awesome review by the way

Reply
mele-02

If it is a 5R rifle, be aware that the weight is going to be heavy for a hunting rifle. If you are fine with that, the rifle should serve you well
MEL

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James Ashford

Fantastic review. I give 5 ⭐️. My question is what is the formula used for comparing the shot group to the MOA accuracy? Just trying to broaden my knowledge. Thanks.

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David

Excellent review. I’ve been looking hard at a Ruger American Hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor but this beauty has definitely caught my eye! As to the lack of muzzle crowning – my guess is that Remington assumes a compensator or other device will be attached to the muzzle by the shooter. The muzzle will be protected from damage (plus) while any gas flow advantage conferred by crowning will be negated (minus) by the muzzle device of choice. It’s a compromise, like most things in life.

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