Remington 700 LTR (Light Tactical Rifle) Review

The Remington 700 LTR (Light Tactical Rifle), chambered for .308 Win., (also available in .223 Rem. and .300 Rem. SA Ultra Mag) features a slimmed down HS Precision stock to improve portability and reduce weight. The stock incorporates a full length bedding block with hex-head Allen screws to secure the barreled action, and make the barrel free floating. It also has an extra sling stud at the front to mount a bipod like the Harris Bipod in the photos. The flutes in the 20″ LTR barrel not only assist in weight reduction and heat dissipation, but are engineered to enhance barrel rigidity for pinpoint accuracy. These special features plus the excellent Remington trigger make this rifle extremely accurate.

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Remington 700 LTR (Light Tactical Rifle) Review

I mounted a Leupold 4.5x14x50AO scope with Mil Dot reticle for testing and evaluation. A Burris one piece mount with Leupold high rings mounted the scope just off the barrel. One note about the Burris mount. Burris has engineered the mount so that it sits down into the open top of the action to absorb the recoil of the rifle. Instead of just the mounting screws holding the recoil, the screws plus a lip on the bottom of the mount absorbs recoil, making a much stronger mounting system.

The first test I wanted to conduct was to see if good velocities could be obtained from a short 20″ barrel. I loaded three powders at near max loads with Hornady 150 grain spitzers for the first test and got good results. 48 grains of IMR 4064 produced an average of 2825 fps, 47 grains of H335 produced 2750 fps, and 48 grains of BLC2 produced 2600 fps. I was hoping to get 2800 fps from the short barreled LTR and IMR 4064 made the 2800 fps with a little to spare. Accuracy was best with the 4064 putting three shots into a one-hole clover leaf at 100 yards. The BLC2 and H335 groups went 3/4 to 1″. More accuracy testing will be coming soon. See Wincheser 308 load data here.

Remington M700P Light Tactical Rifle Accuracy

My next test was with Hornady 150 gn SST InterLock and Nosler/Winchester Combined Technology Ballistic Silver Tip bullets. Both bullets did well enough for hunting, but the best groups always came with the Hornady bullets. The Ballistic Silver Tip bullets shot groups in the 1-1 1/4″ range, but this would not be good enough for precision shooting this rifle was designed for. The Hornady bullets, both the spitzer flat base and the SST both shot one hole groups at 100 yards. Not just once, but four consecutive groups, with different powder charges of IMR 4064 powder.

My target work and hunting will be done with the Hornady 150 grain SST InterLock bullets and IMR 4064 powder. I will shoot 45 grains for target work and up to 47 grains for hunting. (Click here for ballistics table). The SST has a ballistic coefficient of .415, so it retains velocity and shoot pretty flat.

Federal 168 gn Match Accuracy

I finally made it back to the range to try a box of Federal 168 grain match ammo in the Remington 700 LTR . To say the least, I was amazed at the accuracy. I have never had a rifle that shoots this well and with factory ammo. I may as well sell my press, because I will never be able to beat this with hand loads. I shot two three shot groups to get warmed up and then a five shot group. I can’t even measure the groups. I would not call them groups, I think it is better to call them three shot holes and five shot holes. The center group is five shots and the top and bottom are three shots. The distance is 100 yards and for reference, the center bull is 1/2 inch.

Another plus is that the hunting load I developed using 47.5 grains of IMR4064, Hornady 150 gn SST, and CCI 250 primer in Winchester cases, shoot to the same point of aim at 100 yards. No scope adjustments when switching from target to hunting ammo!!!!

I got back to the range to chronograph the 168 grain Federal Match ammo in the Remington LTR and got another great surprise. The Federal ammo clocked 2650 FPS from the short barrel of the LTR. I plugged the numbers into the JBM calculator and got the trajectory, energy, and other good data below.

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Hunting with Remington 700 LTR Rifle

Everything seems to be going right with the Remington 700 LTR project, even my hunting luck. My confidence in the LTR and Hornady bullets grows with every hunt. So far this year I have taken two large hogs and four whitetails, including one 10-point buck, using the LTR. The hunting load for the rifle uses the Hornady 150 grain SST bullet pushed by 47.5 grains of IMR 4064 and a CCI 250 primer, in Winchester cases. The chronographed velocity averages 2840 fps.

Both hogs were boars in the 250 pound range and shot at about 100 yards. The Hornady SST with the InterLock design performed perfectly and completely penetrated the tough pigs, putting them down in their tracks with shots to the heart lung area.

Likewise, the four deer taken all went down in their tracks with shots through the shoulders. The tack driving accuracy of this load in the Remington 700 LTR gave me the confidence and ability to actually aim for a specific spot on the deer’s’ shoulders to make sure they were not able to run as they usually do when hit in the lungs.

All the deer were shot at ranges between 200 and 225 yards. The Leupold 4.5x14x50 was zeroed for 200 yards so none of shots required any hold over or use of the mil dots. With this load, the first mil dot is used at 350 yards. I have never seen any bullet do a better job, completely penetrating with an exit hole about two inches in diameter. The 150 grain bullet weight seems about optimum for the .308 Winchester. It shoots flat with a .415 ballistic coefficient and performs just as well as any of the so-called premium bullets.