Thanks for that info on the VTR.
I have had my VTR in 308 since December last year and i think its a great rifle, handles well and shoots excellent. Only wish it came with a free floating barrel.

I designed exactly this kind of barrel in the mid ’90′s and nobody would buy the idea. the barrel is just about as ridged as a round barrel the same diameter as the points of the triangle but the weight is reduced greatly. The key is that the three strongest points on the barrel are exactly opposite the three weakest points so the strength is not compromised. I just wish I was getting paid for them.

Interesting insight from the original patent holder. Clearly someone at the patent office deemed his idea legitimate enough to grant him a patent. I noticed also that he is a licensed engineer. I would be curious to know about the credentials of those individuals attempting to counter the information he provided. If they would come forward with their credentials it would be a great help for a lay person such as myself to make a better purchasing decision.

Regards,

DDearborn

Desert Eagle

I got a rem. vtr 700 in 308 cal. this is a great rifle.i can shoot around 1in groups at 100yds with cheap bullets.and i only paid 500 for rifle.and i love the look of the rifle.

I too own a Remington Model 700 VTR in .308 Win.

I don’t compromise with something as basic to my particular style of shooting as trigger pull.

If a factory trigger won’t adjust down to my favorite pull weight (1.5 pounds) it’s GONZO.

I pulled the factory VTR trigger & replaced it with a full adjustable Timney Target trigger & adjusted it to my preferred break weight of 1.5 pounds.

With a Bushnell (I can hear the groans now) Elite 4200 2.5 -10x40mm sitting on top groups never stray over 1/2″ @ 100 yards with Remington factory ammo loaded with 150 grain Core-Lokt bullets.

I have to add that I tested the rifle off a Caldwell Lead Sled with provides a very stable, recoil absorbing shooting platform. The Caldwell is a must for anyone who sights-in as many magnum caliber rifles as I do in a typical year.

I have one in .308. It shoots sub half MOA groups. I noticed a lot of people claiming results with core lokt bullets… they are the next best thing to lead balls. Try putting some match grade ammunition down the barrel. The pressure points in the stock I don’t think are really needed. I put my action in a Bell and Carlson stock, bedded the recoil lug and it has never shot better. I’ve taken 300 yd head shots on deer and never had one live to argue the accuracy of this rifle. wether the triangle contour actually helps or hinders accuracy… well, when a rig can produce .25 inch groups, you don’t really need to know why, just accept that it does. And believe me, it does.

I’ve heard that the new ones have an adjustable trigger, which is sort of pointless… they won’t adjust down below 3.5 pounds or so. (I may be wrong) Am I the only one that has bothered to try to adjust the original x-mark??? My VTR was one of the first runs with the original trigger. I got mine down to 2lb 2oz and it has stayed there for the last two years. it’s been dropped, knocked over, drug through the grass, and has never failed to fire or went off on it’s own. Below 1lb 10oz, it simply won’t hold the firing pin back. Maybe I’m just crazy. was going to put a Rifle Basix trigger in, but unless you need a bench gun trigger, the x-mark will go as low as you need to go.

My buddy let me use his vtr .308 for a weekend to see how i liked it. i shot a raccoon in the eye at 150 and a beaver in the head at 200. i picked one up on Monday. great gun

That all depends on what type of shooting you plan on doing with it. Will the gun sit on a bench, or is it a close range deer rifle, or varmint gun, or a long range hunting rifle. Then you have to consider how much money you want to spend. A rifle that is going to make nothing but shots inside 100yds at deer won’t reqire an 8-32x Nightforce. Any kind of early morning/early evening shooting and you typically won’t want anything over 10x or 12x. It all depends on what you are going to use it for.

I doubt that the Nikon is your problem. You may have something loose in your mounts if it’s not grouping the way it should. Cheap ammunition can do the same thing. Good ammunition can too. Black hills match .308 won’t group as well out of mine as Hornady TAP. It’s some of the best out there, but the gun doesn’t like it. And of course it could be the shooter. I don’t know your background or training or your ability, so… If you just want to change scopes, Some of the Bushnell Elite scopes are good, Burris XTR’s are nice, but I’ve never seen a Leupold with a bad rep. Personally, once you get past the retarded name, I still stand behind my S/S scope, formerly known as the super sniper. dumb name, but one of the most reliable scopes I’ve ever owned. With the small calibers of the VTR’s, a fixed 10x would work fine for you. If you get good enough, you can use the mil-dot to range your game. I’ve taken head shots on deer out to 315yds with mine. Off a bag I can hit half gallon jugs at 500. It’s no bench gun, but I didn’t have to spend $4000 to make it shoot that tight. Do your research, read all the blogs, but in the end, it’s going to come down to which one fits YOU best.

I have the VTR in .308 caliber and can shoot sub 1″ group all day. This gun has a Leupold Gold Ring 12X fixed scope. Absolutely love it.

But…I have the VTR in .223 caliber and I cant get the groups within 1.5″ So I free floated the barrel, bedded the action and upgraded to a Sightron SIII 8-32X56 scope, shot it today and the groups got worse. I am going to start the load process again. 40-55 grain bullets just dont work with the fast twist, my best groups came from a 60 grain v-max with 26.6 grains of varget. I tried the 69 grain a max but was still under performing.

I hear alot of excellent comments on the 308. Anybody have any good news about the 223. Please send me load data at rsedlmajer@hotmail

Thanks.

I love the ignorance displayed by someone in such a rush to criticize something that they would make the statement, “Sorry, I didn’t get your patent number? I would like to see that. I couldn’t find anything after I did a patent search.” when the patent number is listed below the diagram that is included with the authors description of the patent. “From Riddell’s Structural Member and System patent (#4007574)” And yes it is listed in the U.S. patent registry. And like I have told numerous other people that want to pick apart the design, it works… PERIOD. Find a way to make an S or W shaped gun barrel and I’m all ears.

Concerned:

The .223 might have a bad barrel, perhaps a damaged or malformed crown.
Doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

Some 10 years ago I sold my hunting rifle. (Life interfered with my hunting/shooting hobby). However, now that I am retired I can go and hunt deer/elk again in my home state of Colorado. So I started to shop for a new 308 hunting rifle. Today I found a brand new VTR that fit me perfectly. Since the price was right and I liked all your comments, I decided to buy it. So “thanks” to all posters for sharing your opinions on this rifle. It is very much appreciated.

I have two questions:
1. I wonder if there is a certain brand ammo/bullet grain that seems to work best with this rifle.
2. Some years ago I bought a brand new Burris Signature Scope 2.5x-10 on a sports shop closing auction. (Again, the price was right). Can anybody tell me if that scope would work OK with the VTR?
Thanks much for helping me out with these two questions.

I’m beginning to accept that the people who own these rifles will continue to tout their accuracy while the engineers and scentists will tear the design apart. The claims of being an engineer mean very little to me when it comes down to who to trust on things like this. I have to deal with engineers constantly on design flaws that stem from a lack of understanding of how the consumer needs something to work vs. what looks good on paper. What does hold it’s ground in this argument is the tiny group holes produced by quality ammunition fired from a well designed firearm. When lives are on the line or supper is in the crosshairs, the evidence of those groups will always trump your engineering degree.

Is my Remington 700 BDL supposed to have a floating barrel.A dollar bill won’t slide down the barrel.The bill won’t get passed about 2″ down from the tip of the forearm.It used to shoot 1″ groups.Now 1.5 to 2″ is the norm.

Thanks Mark,I forgot to put in that it is a wood stock.Also it dawned on me,after I emailed you, that I switched from new Federal Power Shock 130gr.(270) to Winchester Power Point 130gr.I was out of the Fed.So I tried the Win. and the Win. is from my dad and is from about 40 years old! I guess my mind isn’t “grouping” a good as it used to.I’ll leave everything as is and work up some hand loads.Thanks again,Mike

While i can say that the idea is unique in its self, and the physical data is interesting- there are a number of things that would potentially draw concern to myself. How does the heat have effect on the barrel, over prolonged repetitive use? The easiest way i could construct this design if i were to attempt reproduction would be to turn the barrel as normal – Round- stress relieve – cut or button the rifling, and then mill the flats. My guess is that it would be the process used already. Now – what is the likelihood that all the flats are milled within extremely tight tolerances during mass production – with tool wear taken in to consideration? If one flat is off say .0002- to .0010 how much effect will this have on the overall harmonics, as well as effect over the heat during the natural relaxation of the metal? Could this design be implemented on magnum calibers and or .50bmg?
With my own inspection of the VTR the main thing that jumps out to eye- is the godly barrel ports. The flat cut ports look as if they came from a entry level machinist that got his hands on a end mill. How much effect does this have on the barrel gasses, muzzle rise, sight picture, recoil, and so forth? If this was not done would it have had a effect on the muzzle crown – and escaping gasses leaving the muzzle? – from high pressure to low pressure- i think there was too much effort put in to a good idea. While remington is known for its ability to produce a good off the shelf barrel – they are also like all barrels in the essence that each one likes its own load that it handles. One guys vtr might like a hotter load- and heavier grain – then the others. Depending on what the twist rate is – there could be a endless number of factors. But On the other hand – round barrels have had tens of thousands of design changes – and time trials. While I like the design- minus the barrel ports, I myself will have to stick with the simpler design of using a round barrel. Now – if they start producing this barrel design with ports 120 degrees apart and out of inconel, then i might be one of the many ready to jump on the band wagon. Also if anyone would be interested in using their VTR as a test subject- check consistency of flats, ID, OD, and overall change after the barrel has been heated up. I would be very interested to see how close the tolerances are, as well as how well the design react when in repetitive use!

I feel that everyone should spend time getting to know that if it’s a .223 .243.270 .308 lets face it, it comes down to the shooter you either have it or you don’t. I have friends I shoot shoot with that are Savage men now they’ll shoot my Remington VTR on one of my bad days and it will bullseye everytime, Now that being said I will go in shoot Bullseye all day on 25/60 and he can’t get it in! It’s the mind set and preparedness I agree that rounds and finding out what your rifle likes to eat is very Impoortant, Shooting is supposed to be fun if to much pressure on your self mentally then you can’t relax enough to make that shot. Lets face it One shot, One Kill! I’ve had my .308 at least a couple of years I’ll tell you I went from 180′s that drop like a stone at 300yds to 120′s to high settled on 150′s just a little off I’m going with with steel cased 145′s right now,
It’s bullseye, bulleye, Bullseye so I’m happy I know what she likes to eat.
I think it’s the same for all find your groove get in it and stay there!