by John Zent - Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Remington Arms (aka Remington Outdoor Corp.) unveiled several new firearms and other products earlier today at the company's annual media seminar. While Remington isn’t the only firearm company to host such an event, industry editors, reporters, bloggers, etc., pay close attention when America’s biggest and oldest gunmaker lays out its marketing plans for the immediate future. This year’s seminar, held near Beckley, West Virginia, focused on hunting and recreational shooting, with a mix of new guns, ammunition and accessories, along with revised plans for existing or temporarily discontinued products. Here are the highlights:
*Remington 783—This mid-level bolt-action is being re-assigned to the job of competing with no-frills, way-under-$500 models from competitors. There’s quite a rivalry brewing, but then there’s quite a lot of quality built into this barrel-nut-style sporter, including: button-rifled heavy-contour barrel, steel magazine box and adjustable trigger, supplied in eight chamberings from .223 Rem. to .300 Win. Mag. The big news here is that there’s been a major price reduction, and in 2015 you can expect to find the 783 at your favorite firearms retailer for $300 or less.
*Model 700 Ultimate Muzzleloader—Actually introduced earlier this year, this 9-lb. frontloader is already in the pipeline and generating success in the field. Next year it’ll be in full production, along with an array of complementary components and cleaning supplies. It has distinctive Model 700 looks and lock time, but what makes it "Ultimate" is the ability to “completely burn” 200-grain charges of blackpowder or an appropriate substitute. When pushing the Barnes-designed 250-gr. Premier Accu-Tip, muzzle velocities hit around 2400 fps. Downrange—300 yards downrange—that slug hits with more than 1,000 ft.-lbs. of terminal energies. Looks like muzzleloading horizons are hereby extended.
*The Model Seven, Remington’s short-action, 6½-pound grace note, has been in short supply for the past decade because of machinery issues at company plants. On the heels of expenditures for new machining centers, that will no longer be the case, and these scaled-down bolt guns will be easier to find, coming in six chamberings.
*Also benefitting from investment in new machinery is the Marlin line. The traditional American-made lever-actions, including the Models 336, 1895 and 1894 are now being made on new tooling, and plans for 2016 call for the return of another favorite—the Marlin 39A .22 rimfire lever-action.
*Secret project—We hate being the cat that gulped the canary, but Remington swore the attending press to tight-lipped confidentiality (for now) on what will be their biggest new-product splash in 2015. There's still quite a bit more testing to do, including of units coming off production lines, but … suffice to say, we’ve seen it, shot it, disassembled and reassembled it, and produced a video. If all goes well, come back here on January 1, so you can see it too. We’re confident that plenty shooters will want one
