I’m getting into the long range side of shooting and I’m looking for a general purpose long range rifle. I want something that I can use at the range and that could carry me into a little light competition. I’m looking pretty hard at an FN SPR but I have a few reservations about the details. Here’s a list of things I’m pondering and I hope some of you more knowledgeable folks will be able to help me out.
Does FN really have a lifetime warranty on the SPRs? Does that include barrels, even 300 WSM?
I’m planning on getting something with a detachable box magazine. It looks like FN has a double stack 10 rounder which is ideal. However what’s the max cartridge length that it can accommodate? Would a round like the 300 WSM be hamstrung by having it’s max length cut down?
Anyone heard of any plans at FN to offer a .260 Rem SPR?
Thanks,
Mark
edit. How realistic would it be to get a 308 Rifle and have a .260 Rem barrel made for it that would allow me to switch between them in my own shop?
Sorry I don’t know a lot about the FN SPR series, although I hear good things about their accuracy.
A couple of comments in general:
FN uses proprietary mags, last I heard. Their mags work ok and are reliable enough, but if you want a DBM rifle that uses standards mags such as AI, the FN would not be it.
If you want a rifle platform on which you can easily switch barrels, you should also consider the Savage 10 tactical series. With their barrel nut design, it makes it fairly easy for anybody to change barrels and calibers. The Savages are well known for this aspect of their design, which makes them flexible.
Ditto on the mag issues. While I’ve never owned an FNH rifle the FNHs I’ve seen at the Dude’s brother’s shooting school (LRI) had a lot of mag problems.
That right there is why I can’t be pried from my 700’s and clones. The AI mags are flawless. I’ve not had a single malfunction in thousands of rounds that wasn’t caused by something stupid I did. … and even then I can only think of 2 or 3 malfunctions covering maybe 10,000rnds. They are amazing.
The smart thing for other manufacturers to do would be to license the AI design.
I have that rifle with a diffrent stock. CDI makes a mag system for the rifle that takes AI mags. I have rem 700s as well but the SPR is built like a tank and rem QC can be very spoty at times to say the least. You will not be disapointed with the FN at all.
Bought an FN SPR A1a about 8-9 years ago. It has been, by far, the best bolt rifle I’ve ever shot, let alone owned. That’s not saying a lot as I’ve only shot 10-11 different bolt rifles over the years, but I love mine.
.308 20"
The magazines were hard to find for a long time, but now I’ve seen them on shelves for around $30 or so. Reminds me, I need to pick up a few.
My brother has an early SPR, probably from 2001 or so. they are incredibly accurate/consistent. I like the M70 action and safety. the mags suck, however. If you can find a work-around for it, I wouldn’t hesitate to run one.
Heard from people? Since when was that an accepted metric on this board?
Who exactly? What is their background? What were the circumstances? What is your first-hand knowledge of what occurred?
There may be issues involved and those should be explored, but citing unknown issues from unknown “people” is pointless, especially when the 700 remains the de facto standard of modern bolt action rifles.
If you have first-hand knowledge, I’d be interested in hearing them.
I don’t know, the point is I’ve heard it said and was curious myself what the issues are. I know of people complaining that they where sloppily put together, such as bolt handles coming off from recoil, which would go with the spotty CQ the other guy was talking about. I’m perfectly happy with mine and others that I’ve handled.
Thanks for the responses guys. I spent some time on the phone today with a CS rep at FN today. I was truly impressed with his knowledge of the firearm and his willingness to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the SPR series. They basically build a “pre '64” style M70 action and then true it before finishing it. The CHF barrels are apparently polished/lapped before the hammer forging and then gaged and checked for straightness before being chrome lined. I guess they have an A3G barrel that went 22,000 rounds before needing to be changed. I know I know, from the horses mouth, but if the time I spent on the phone today is any indication of their customer service in general I think FN is doing it right.
It sounds like the way to go might be to get an SPR without the DBM and go with CDI bottom metal/AICS mags down the line. I’ve thought long and hard about having a custom Rem 700 built but I’m not in love with the platform and the cost is hard for me to justify when there are cheaper, good quality production rifles with a manufacturer’s warranty. The only trup card is that I really want to try out .260 Rem. I’ve been shooting 7.62x51 in the wind long enough to know its shortcomings.
Sure I have a few rifles built on rem 700 actions. Biggest issue I have seen on the guns I have had built on were bolt lugs that were out of spec so far that only one lug was contacting the reciver. Or chambers that are cut short and bolts braking off. My buddy had the bolt come off his sendero last year. Rem did replace it after some phone time.
I had two customs built in 260rem on rem 700 actions. The round is great to say the least and with the right hand load its easy to get 2950fps from a 140g bullet.
Only issue I can think of with building the 260 on the FN is mag length when shooting VLD bullets. I had Wayats extended mag boxes on both the rems and I dont think wayats offers one for the SA winchester.
If its just a target gun I would shoot 140g AMAX or 142g SMK and the COAL will not be an issue for you as the AMAX is not that seating depth sensitive and the VLD is.
Actually if you a do a search in google “Remingtons quality” you will see all kind of problems people have had since Remington basically went under and was bought by Cerberus, they got rid of a lot of staff so they start outsourcing a lot of there work apparently.
You can fix/upgrade a lot of little things on a 700 (if necessary), add a stock and QD for that kind of money. Admittedly there are a few weak points like the extractor, scratching up brass, even a plastic trigger guard…but all easy and inexpensive to fix. Or have a custom shop like GAP do it for you. I won’t dispute anything about FN but will stick with the 700 for myself.
