Although I would love to say that this was my first gun purchase for 2018, I am sad to admit it is not. My buddy picked up this rifle, one of ten ordered from Wanstalls from Gravel Agency for all of Canada. That's not to say that there aren't more out there, but from what I understand, these were extremely rare before this, and Wanstalls is of the opinion that the outlook for future examples might be bleak.
This isn't a Remington 700 5R, or a 700 Police, or a custom clone, this folks came directly from Remington as a 7.62 M24. It's not a refurbished one, or the complete deployment package but a "rifle only" deal that is literally that. No front sights, no rear sights, no sight base, no Mark 4, no bipod, 1903 sling, cleaning kit or hard case with cut foam. It's just the rifle, and here are a few pics of it and what it came with:
For a $5k rifle, the packaging sure was discreet. Just a plain cardboard box from Remington with a hard case inside.
I've never heard of this brand hard case, probably on par with Flambeau rifle cases, but definitely not Pelican or Hardigg.
Not the typical R700 manual.
Note the rifle does not come with a bipod, that's just a cheap Champion I had laying around.
It was a bit disappointing to shell out $5k and not even get the sight bases. The barrel is threaded to accept the sight base....if we can source one. These things are pretty rare though, even on US eBay, so finding one in Canada will require a miracle.
M24 crown.
It's hard to tell, but the M24 barrel profile is definitely beefy and it would definitely not fit in a regular 5R milspec or Police stock.
It's neat to see 7.62 NATO stamped in the barrel instead of 308 WIN like on my 700P.
Top view of the barrel and barrel channel.
The M24 mark on the receiver, plus holes for the unique rear sight.
Even though it's chambered in 7.62, the rifle is built on a 700 long action.
The most notable difference is the HS Precision stock. The one on the M24 is the PST-024, whereas the one that comes on the 700 Police is the PST-011. The adjustable length of pull is definitely a nice feature, but I understand that this stock costs huge dollars.
I'm not sure if the bottom metal is the Dakota/Sunny Hill unit, but it's definitely different than the standard Remington one that comes with the 700P
I thought even on the M24, the sling swivels were Uncle Mikes or something like that, but these ones had the Remington "R" logo on it, nice touch.
The M24 trigger is supposedly adjustable, though it comes from the factory at a fairly decent setting. Unlike the 6.5 lb pull that came on my 6.5cm barrelled action, this one felt more like 3 lbs or so, broke like glass, no creep. Feels like an excellent trigger and I'll have to measure it properly when I get a chance.
I could have sword the issued M24s didn't use the Remington butt pad, but I'll have to dig around a bit to see if this was the case.
A comparison between a regular 700P (top) and the M24
The coating on the bolt handle for the M24 appears to be thicker, maybe cerakoted? The one on the Police appears to be a plain parker or phosphate finish?
**update 9Jul18**
The M24s are powder-coated apparently:
The barrel from the M24 on the left is definitely beefier than the Police barrel
I have no idea what the markings mean on these barrels, but I did notice an "M" on the M24 barrel.
Anyway, I'm going to have to track down the sight bases, but have no idea where to begin. I might just contact Remington directly, but I heard that the Chou Brothers in Canada have built M24 clones and maybe they'll have a source for some of these hard to find details.
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