I have and continue to teach traditional and unorthodox firearms drills for nearly 20 years. I hate being judged by my methods sight unseen. So when I heard about the Remington Model 700CP pistol, I knew I better keep an open mind. I am glad I did.
I met Christian Hogg from Remington at the 2018 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous in Montana. We were standing in line, waiting for dinner and I struck up a conversation about this new Model 700CP (Chassis Pistol) that I had yet to see. He smiled and explained I needed to experience it for myself. The following day, I took it for a spin.
The Remington Model 700CP Build
Remington aficionados will remember the XP-100 bullpup bolt-action pistol that still has its cult following. The 700CP is looking to pick up where that pistol left off.
It is a true bolt action, but with a pistol grip and a short barrel. The barrel comes in two different lengths, depending upon which of the three calibers it is chambered for:
- .308 = 12.5 inches
- .223 & .300 AAC Blackout = 10.5 inches
The guns are setup to be used with any AI (Accuracy International) pattern magazines in this chassis. The model I shot had Magpul magazines.
The top has an 8-inch removable Picatinny rail. The forend is free floated and features M-LOK attachment points on all eight sides for the full length.
A word about scopes on this pistol. It needs one. There are no iron sights. And your rifle scopes won’t work very well. You need to use a pistol scope. It is simply a matter of eye relief.
Instead of your eye sitting 2 inches behind the scope, your eye sits about 15 inches back. Remington fit the test pistol I shot with a Leupold 4X power fixed scope. It worked well and finding the reticle proved easy.
Remington Model 700CP Range Test
The model I shot was the .308. Barrels on all of these pistols are threaded and Remington screwed an AAC TI-RAID 30 suppressor onto the gun I was about to fire and test.
I was a little apprehensive about recoil. Turns out, I didn’t need to be.
I lined up a steel plate at 100 yards and slowly pressed the trigger. The gun jumped about 2 inches straight up off of the shooting bag, but felt about like shooting a steel framed .357 revolver. It wasn’t unpleasant at all.
I worked the bolt action, which was nice and smooth, lined up the sights again and hit another steel plate at 150. I began to see the appeal.
The trigger is Remington’s X Mark Pro trigger. It is adjustable from 3 to 5 pounds and comes set from the factory around the 4-pound mark. The trigger was crisp, which was good because a pistol is typically harder than a rifle to hold steady.
Why Though?
So why are they making a bolt-action, rifle-caliber pistol?
First, just because it is fun.
Second, it fits a few different niches. If you need to cut weight for a remote, backpack hunt, such as bighorn sheep, this might be worth a look. If you want a small stowaway gun in the truck for occasional varmints, this fits the bill. Or if you just want to have the most powerful handgun on the range, this is certainly the gun for you. Dirty Harry, eat your heart out.
I recommend shooting it from a bipod, a shooting bag, or even shooting sticks to keep it steady. I also recommend a suppressor, if you have one, to tame the muzzle blast and recoil. After that, load up, head to the range, and get ready to be deluged with people asking try it out.
MSRP on the 700CP is $1,020.
For more information, please visit Remington.com.
