This weekend’s project, among other weekend projects, was to get some hands on these Remington 700P MLR 338 Magnums in AX chassis systems. Pennsylvania’s weather for this turned out to be a swampy and humid 80 degrees. I shouldn’t complain, at least it has shifted from the pouring rains we’ve gotten earlier this summer.
I’ll admit that I went into this not expecting to be surprised. I’ve shot Remington rifles for a long time, and the vast majority of that experience has been with the 700 series actions. Thus, I didn’t expect that even bumping up to the larger caliber would prove to be much different. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by a few things.
First off, I was impressed by the value of this package. Right out of the gate, the Armageddon Gear soft case struck me as an impressive inclusion to an already great package.
The AG case opened up. Holding the rifle solidly was easy with the movable velcro straps, and there was plenty of room for the optic and accessories.
The rifle was extremely easy to get set up for some range time – the AX CIP chassis includes a KeySlot rail segment that I reconfigured for an Atlas bipod in about 60 seconds with a 4mm hex wrench. I torqued a Schmidt Bender PM II 5-25 (already set in Seekins rings) onto the included 20 MOA rail, and I was ready to go.
A good profile of the 700P’s muzzle brake, as well as the AI KeySlot rail section that was used to mount an Atlas bipod.
I did expect that this setup would be hard on the shoulder, and it was nice to learn on the range that this wasn’t the case. Between the weight of the setup, the AI recoil pad, and the muzzle brake, the recoil was very manageable – it didn’t feel to me any more aggressive than my last Remington 5R .308 with the heavier bullets (>= 175gr Berger OTM or HPBT).
The trigger was what I’d expected from the new generation of Remington triggers – heavier than a standard match, but very crisp. I did not take the time to adjust the trigger, but in the past I have done so with pretty good success. The out-of-the-box feel is very workable, and the featured 40x trigger’s ability to be externally adjusted to 2lbs (and under!) is a sweet deal.
Cheek weld, as might be expected from the fact that this is an AI chassis, was immediately configurable via hex wrench. I am very partial to the way AI’s chassis’ control the cheek weld, and this was no exception – finding the perfect weld and eye relief took only a few quick iterations with the hex in my hand.
The AX CIP’s cheek weld configuration, after a few tweaks.
To get a feel for the performance from an accuracy perspective, I shot a few groups with Lapua 250 grain OTM and 300 grain OTM; I went into this with the idea that I’d probably see 1 MOA performance out of both. Again, as a bit of a surprise, this rifle loved the 300 grain bullets, easily putting 3 rounds in a 1/2 minute group. The 250s were closer to my expectation, hovering at about 1 minute groupings.
All in all, I had a very positive impression of this package, and this stems primarily from the value of the package – it really is one of the most cost-effective ways to get into a .338 LM that I’ve seen. Having a full-featured Accuracy International chassis paired up with the proven Remington 700 series action is a pretty safe bet to get started in the realm of extra-long range shooting.