Remington 673 Guide Rifle


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Well, on my endless search for my first hunting rifle I looked at a Rem. 673. I liked the rifle, and the wooden stock design is interesting to say the least, part of me would hate to buy it because I wouldn't want to take it out and mess the stock up. Anyone have anything good to say about this particular rifle, or bad, whichever outweighs the other. The only thing I will say that I didn't like about it is the cheek piece (Is that right?) being made for a right hand shooter vs. other rifles I checked out with the stocks being flat on either side. I am a left handed shooter when it comes to open sights like on a shotgun or my ML, but I have noticed that with a scope I can see out of the scope just fine, so really, buying a Rem. 673 with the raised cheek piece on the right hand side wouldn't be a problem with a scope, only for the fixed sights, I guess I would have to get raised scope rings in case I had a close shot that necessitated the fixed sights.

I keep having the hardest decisions regarding which rilfe to buy, heck, I haven't even decided on a caliber, I go from .270 to .30-06 to .308 and occasionally throw a .30-30 or .280 into the mix. Part of me wants to buy a Remington 710 with the scope and everything or the Savage w/ Scope package, then another part of me wants to spend the extra coin on a better made rifle because as I told my fiance the other night, I look at whatever rifle I get as an investment, I don't plan on having a closet full of different calibers and would like to have a rifle that will last me awhile as far as construction and accuracy. I don't want to spend a grand, although I have weighed the Benelli R1 in my thoughts, There is a Browning A-Bolt in .308 at the gun store for 579.00, but then I gotta buy a scope.

What about a Winchester Model 70 with a scope at Wal-Mart, I read a good article about them in the recent Guns issue. Oh well, the search will probably never end, and then when I do get the "perfect" rifle, I will probably end up starting to look at at other ones and saying "Hmmm, that looks like a better rifle than the one I have." Decisions are so hard sometimes.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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I don't plan on having a closet full of different calibers ...

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Sorry to hear the bad news.

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...and would like to have a rifle that will last me awhile as far as construction and accuracy.

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Pretty much any gun you get will outlast you if you take care of it. Clean the fouling out regularly, keep everything lubed properly, and don't abuse it and it will work for a very long time. Some of us have a bunch of different rifles of different calibers because we like to try different things. My Dad used the same gun since 1959. Now I have it and it is still fully functional. I might even hunt with it this fall. Take your time and decide what you want, and get it. If you want to basically stick with the same gun for 10, 20, 30, 40, or ??? years, I would buy a decent quality gun. Any of the Savage, Remington 700, Winchester 70, Ruger 77, Howa 1500, Weatherby Mark V or Vanguard, will fit that bill.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

Nothing wrong with that gun. It should last forever. Do not worry about keeping you gun in 100% new condition. Thats probably not going to happen. Any of the rifles AJ mentioned will last you a life time. If your looking forward to having one rifle, I would get it in .280 or 30-06. Both will kill about anything walking in this country. Good luck with your decision though, it aint gonna be easy... wink.gif

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

I have a 673 and love it. It seems like you have dilema. I'm not left handed so couldn't say if this gun would or would not be a good choice. Since your starting though, I would save a little coin and go with a;

win 70, rem 700, savage, or ruger m77 to name a few. These probably come in lefty models too.

As far as caliber I'd go with a 25-06 or a .270 in your neck of the woods. But you can't beat a 30-06 or .308 either. Have fun driving yourself crazy!!!

To me the 673 is more of a specialized gun. Kind of supposed to be a guide gun or something. Short & stout. Uglier than all get out too. I don't know that if I had bought it as my first gun I'd have been to impressed. I started with a rem 700 in 30-06 and still love that rifle today.

Oh, PS! the 673 is not exactly the most accuarte rifle in the world. Any of the above would beat it out of the box without much prob.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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Oh, PS! the 673 is not exactly the most accuarte rifle in the world. Any of the above would beat it out of the box without much prob.

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How do you figure? The 673 is just a Model 7 with a vent rib on a 22" magnum contour barrel and a funny looking stock. What exactly makes it less accurate than the other guns? It is still a factory gun like the others. confused.gif

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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I am a left handed shooter when it comes to open sights like on a shotgun or my ML, but I have noticed that with a scope I can see out of the scope just fine, so really, buying a Rem. 673 with the raised cheek piece on the right hand side wouldn't be a problem with a scope, only for the fixed sights, I guess I would have to get raised scope rings in case I had a close shot that necessitated the fixed sights.

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Do yourself a favor. If you are not going to have LOTS of rifles, than get ones that will work best for you from the start. I also shoot left handed (Because I am left eye dominant). There are more LH rifles or rifles that would work well for lefties because there design is more ambidextrous. Here are a few that come to mind.

Left Handed Bolts

Ruger M77 LH

Remington 700 LH

Winchester M70 LH

Charles Daly Mauser LH

Browning A-Bolts LH

Weatherby MArk Vs (older versions...no current LH)

Savage

Rifles that will work fine from either side

Remington 7600 pump action

Remington 7400 Auto loader

BAR

BPR

BLR

Ruger No 1 (beautiful rifle!)

Marlin Lever guns

Winchester lever guns

Savage 99s (used..no longer produced)

Winchester 88s (used ..no longer produced)

Any of the above would be easier to use from the port side that the 673 guide gun. IMHO....you would be better off in teh long run. There is quite a selection available out there, bith new & used. Good luck!

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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How do you figure? The 673 is just a Model 7 with a vent rib on a 22" magnum contour barrel and a funny looking stock. What exactly makes it less accurate than the other guns? It is still a factory gun like the others.

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Well, AJ. Can't say for sure why. For one, the trigger sucks. The best I've got yet are just over an inch. This is good but not really great. Hence, "it's not the most accurate rifle in the world.":

I love the rifle but again, it's not the most accurate rifle in the world.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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For one, the trigger sucks.

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I'll let you in on a secret, the trigger is the same as a Model 700. They all suck as they come from the factory. But they are adjustable, and can be set to acceptable levels. For best results, replace it with an aftermarket trigger.

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The best I've got yet are just over an inch. This is good but not really great. I love the rifle but again, it's not the most accurate rifle in the world.

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What are you expecting from a production gun? I have seen many bolt guns that would only average 1.5" groups. This is from old great guns like the Pre 64 Model 70 and Remington 700 guns. Thats really not bad. It is more than good enough for hunting. Sure there are the occasional guns that shoot 1/2" groups, but for every one of them there are a lot more that shoot over 1".

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Guest Colorado Bob

Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

Slug-----Go to the gun shop & then throw as many as you can up to your shoulder. Get the one that feels--fits the best. Don't buy it yet. Wait a couple of weeks & do it all over again. If it's the same one----BUY it. Your best "Do-It-All" IMO 30/06. Good Luck.

Last piece of advice------Buy the best scope you can. IMO a Leupold VX-II 3x9 40 MM

With this set-up-----it's good for everything except for Grizzly. But if you can afford a Grizzly hunt---money is not a problem.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

I appreciate all the replies guys. I know I can always get some objective advice regarding rifles in here from the more experienced rifle shooters. I think I have come close to a decision. I am thinking of special ordering a Weatherby Vanguard in .308 from Wal-Mart. I think they had it listed on their website for 367.00. I might try and see if Dicks or the gun shop can order it and see which is cheaper. I would prefer to get it at Dicks so I can use my scorecard but I will go with whoever is the cheapest.

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Guest J_Owens_66

Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

Weatherby is a great gun and the Vanguard is a good gun for the cash, that and a savage are probably the best for the $$. Remember, the Vanguards are availiable with a wood stock now. Get you a all around caliber while you are gettin, i would suggest a 30-06, 7mm Mag, .308. Those will be your "All-Around Cartridges". Tell us what you buy and give us some reports on it. Good luck with your purchase.

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Guest J_Owens_66

Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

Oh yeah, you can even get any of the Weatherby calibers, but shells are 40-50 bucks a box for Weatherby factory ammo, so i would just stay with a standard cartridge.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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You can get the 257 Weatherby Mag and the 300 Weatherby Mag..........

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I can't figure out why, for the life of me, Weatherby does what they do. confused.gif

They go and chamber the Vanguard in .257 & .300 Weatherby (without a doubt, 2 of the most awesome rounds ever chambered) then they go and screw 24" barrels on them and almost completely nullify all the advantages these rounds have over the 25-06 and .300 Win Mag. mad.gif If a guy's gonna buy a specialized chambering like these two, he's gonna want a 26" barrel. Stupidity IMHO. mad.gif

I would have already had a .257 Vanguard if they'd have built them right. mad.gif

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

I hear ya Buddy! I had a Vanguard in 300 Wby, so I know what you mean. My custom one has a 28" barrel. More better! Maybe if Weatherby actually built the Vanguard, they would make it with a longer tube. I think it is a marketing scheme. Why make a gun that sells for under $400 an equal performer to a gun you're trying to sell at over $1000?

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

AJ AJ AJ. grin.gif HeHeHe.

Did I rile you up? grin.gif Again, all I said was " the 673 is not the most accurate in the world."

I never said I was disapointed, or not to buy one. I

I also said I love mine. I know it's basically a model seven. Model 6 7 3. I know the trigger can be worked, I know 1-2 inches is good enough for hunting. I know all of that stuff. No, I didn't expect more accuracy when I bought it. I'm a satisfied 673 owner!! grin.gifgrin.gif

But I also know that between all of my rifles, my wifes rifles, and my daughters rifle, it is the least accurate of the bunch. Is it bad? No.

It seems like your defending something thats being attacked. I'm not attacking. I'm on your side here bud, I was just trying to give sluggo a halfway decent and honest answer. I surely wasn't trying to offend anybody.

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Re: Remington 673 Guide Rifle

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Did I rile you up? grin.gif Again, all I said was " the 673 is not the most accurate in the world."...It seems like your defending something thats being attacked.

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Nope, not riled, just trying to point out that expected accuracy for the 673 is (should be) the same as a Model 700, or a Model 7. Since they are basically the same guns made of same parts, put together by the same people, the expected results should be similar. Good to hear you like yours. grin.gif

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