Author Topic: Remington SPR18 (Read 79204 times)

Wolfgang · « **on:** December 09, 2006, 05:56:12 PM »

Just curious if anyone has had any experience with the SPR18 that Remington is importing through Spartan Gunworks. Looks nice in the pictures but I have not been able to locate one to take a hands on look at.

Wolfgang

hillbill · « **Reply #1 on:** December 10, 2006, 02:14:55 PM »

just got one today in 7.62x39, decent looking rifle for the money(250$), nice wood, decent metal finish, poor wood to metal fit. have only shot about a box or two thru it with the open sights at 50 yrds with wolf ammo. doesnt seem overly accurate but the gritty 10-15 lb trigger might be a impediment to accuracy.also had 3 or 4 failures of the fireing pin to strike the primer.this could be cuased by me not snapping the awful stiff action shut hard enuf or the gunky looking grease i found around the fireing pin hole.anyway with a a little work on the trigger and polishing on the action, a scope and some experimentation with different brand bullets im hopeing to make it into a moderately accurate reliable truck gun that shoots really cheap ammo. i know, i know ,a pain in the ass ,but i like a challenge. counting what i had in what i traded in on it i only have bout 100$ in it so i got some room to work. happy hunting!!

xhare · « **Reply #2 on:** December 13, 2006, 02:41:46 PM »

I finally got to see one myself today, a 308 with blued reciever. Overall is seemed nicely built. The trigger is draggy for sure, and the action opened quite stiffly but that would likely clear up with use and perhaps a really good cleaning. It was a bit hard for me to get my cheek low enough to look through the sights, but that is not uncommon for me, especially with Remington rifles. My other observation was that the scope rail is very short and would limit mounting options and adjustments. Also, I was suprised at how nice the twisted barrell looked.

Hillbill, are you going to scope your rifle? Keep us posted on its performance.

Fred M · « **Reply #3 on:** December 13, 2006, 08:34:43 PM »

Thes Rusky guns don't have twisted barrels, what you see is a hammer forged barrel pattern. I f they know how to run the hammer forge these barrels should shoot very good.

hillbill · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2006, 02:32:17 PM »

went to scope my rifle, it has a grove on top of the barrel that accepts a 22 rimfire type mount. ok not the first choice of scope mounting systems but i knew it when i purchased it. mounted the scope which was a older steel weaver i had installed on bout 5 rifles with no prob.i noticed when i picked it up after mounting the scope that scope was pointed off center to the barrel.remounted and still it was the same, and i mean a lot off center.fired just to chek for function and it is still failing to strike the primer about 20% of the time.just have to keep fiddleing with it. happy huntin!

hillbill · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2006, 02:37:41 PM »

oh forgot to mention, the scope rail is so short that it is mostly worthless. im going to have my smith tap it for a cantilever mount or whatever he can get to work.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #6 on:** December 17, 2006, 03:34:52 AM »

Just got one yesterday at the gun show in Salem (VA). $215 plus taxes and penalties brought it to 235.

7.62x39 slugged bore - .300 - .312 bore/groove. Brillant shine on inside of bore.

Stiff lockup (new) and heavy trigger (have read that some folks have had theirs adjusted for $20).

11mm wide rail for scope mount - haven't decided if I want a scope on it yet.

It LOOKS Russian - a little crude in places, great in others. Put it side by side to my WINCHESTER 370 (.410) and it looks better - about the same profile but with MUCH better wood and generally much better finish.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #7 on:** December 17, 2006, 02:51:04 PM »

OK, took it out today (7.62x39)

#0 buck - one pellet of .32 caliber in front of 4gr Unique with CCI LR primer - 25yards 3 shot groups of 1.4" (two touching). More powder next time.

Winchester white box Wallmart ammo - 5 shot groups 25yards 1.6" .

Both shot from bench with no support.

OK-ish, handloads, a sandbag and a scope will help a lot.

Rocks and things in the berm at 100 yards behaved as expected when threatened.

Only one non-fire. Primer wasn't touched. Expect it was a non-lockup from stiff action.

Slufoot · « **Reply #8 on:** December 17, 2006, 03:42:18 PM »

Hello folks, I've got the Remington SPR94 Combination gun and it has the same 11mm scope rail.

I bought a set of "Warne 7.3 Series Rings", these rings have removeable recoil keys. You can remove the keys and the rings clamp to the rail just like a 3/8th groove on a 22 rifle. Here is the good part about these rings and what I did to my combo gun. I used a milling machine and a 1/8" end mill bit and cut two cross slots. This allows the use of the recoil keys and now you basically have a Weaver Style mount.
If you don't have access to a milling machine I'm sure any gunsmith will do this for a very small fee.

Hope this helps!
Good Shooting!
Slufoot

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #9 on:** December 18, 2006, 12:36:02 PM »

I knew I had a set of rings somewhere - found them INSTALLED on my Carl Walther (in .22 Hornet) made in Germany with double set triggers.

So it appears to be a standard (rings were TASCO marked made in Austrailia).

hillbill · « **Reply #10 on:** December 21, 2006, 09:43:23 AM »

dropped mine off at the smith today, he is going to address the misfire and the heavy trigger problems.and then i will take home and shoot and see how i like it before investing in a decent scope mounts. let chuall know what happens but it may be awhile before i get back up to my smith to pik it up. happy huntin!

dodd3 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 22, 2006, 10:35:34 AM »

Quote from: Fred M on December 13, 2006, 08:34:43 PM

Thes Rusky guns don't have twisted barrels, what you see is a hammer forged barrel pattern. I f they know how to run the hammer forge these barrels should shoot very good.

fred i have shot one in .308 and it was a shooter. the trigger had about 2to 3mm of creep but let of at
2-3/4 lbs and crisp, it shot well under the inch at 100 all the time,they are very good value for what you pay for them .if they are any thing like my baikl shot gun which is 1961 vintage and never bin tuched by a gun smith ,they will be allright.
bernie

3006bluffhunter · « **Reply #12 on:** December 25, 2006, 04:37:04 AM »

Boys: Clean the grease out of those russian rifles & scope one.....and get back to us with a range report! They are alot of people watching this post....Nef H&R discontinued the 7.62x39 calibur.....Alot of people are thinking about rossi or Spartain gun works spr18......I would like one for my sons first deer rifle and also for plincking surplus ammmo....KEEP US POSTED Also would a trigger job be easy enough?

xhare · « **Reply #13 on:** December 25, 2006, 06:19:46 PM »

I would also like to see further reports from owners. I have high hopes for the SPR 18 in 7.62x39. The firing pin/primer issues the others (Rossi and Handi) have faced may in part be due to the fact that the rifles were built to change barrels to other calibers (270, 7mm-08) that use non-military primers and werent designed to be fired in a SKS. As far as I know, buying extra barrels is not a factory option for the SPR, so maybe they are building these rifles to shoot ammo built to mil-spec. Also, I assume (hopefully correctly) since the SPR 18 is built in Russia they understand the issues surrounding the 7.62x39 better than anyone, and have built the rifle accordingly.

I am less concerned with having great accuracy, 2-3 inches at 100 yards would suite me fine. Better accuracy of course would be a plus. However, it would be nice to have the gun go bang every time the trigger is pulled, especially with American made ammo. It is a bit more understandable with true military surplus. Misfires should be very rare in any rifle, no matter how inexpensive. The one I was able to look over was quite stiff, and I dont doubt is filled with grease. A good cleaning may be in order for these firearms. I have even heard of military Mausers having problems with misfires because the bolt was so packed with grease from storage that the firing pin was significantly slowed down.

By the way, does anyone know who makes 1 inch rings that will fit this rifle?

Slufoot · « **Reply #14 on:** December 26, 2006, 11:32:36 PM »

Hello xhare,
Warne makes a set of rings that they call the "7.3 Series". These are in my opinion the best you can get for this type scope mount. Read my earlier post, up the page, it tells how I mounted my scope on the 11mm rail.

Good Shooting!
Slufoot

Brithunter · « **Reply #15 on:** December 27, 2006, 04:55:15 AM »

Hi All,

I take it that we are talking about these :-

Mine is marked Baikal and is chambered for .222 Remington and I picked it S/H

Then this is how it looks after reworking the wood

Inserting a small allen key into the hole in the hammer spring strut allows it's removal more ealiy and more inportant to getting it back in the action again. I cleand up and reduced the trigger pull on my so it's smooth but it till has some creep.

The scope mounts are Australian Hilver who also made the Tasco mounts and are not made in SA under the Lynx banner but not to the same standards from what I have heard.

As you can see it does not shoot to shabbily as this 3 shot groups shows

Brithunter · « **Reply #16 on:** December 27, 2006, 05:01:28 AM »

Whoops forgot about the stiff closing some have commented on

Iif you keep the cocking lever pulled up tight the gun is easy to close and silent too

then just release the lever to be ready to fire. Hope that helps.

xhare · « **Reply #17 on:** December 27, 2006, 07:27:30 AM »

Something I neglected to mention about the 308 SPR 18 I spoke of earlier is that it had a single groove machined through the 11mm scope rail. The groove was machined near the rear of the rail and would allow the recoil key that Slufoot mentions to be used on at least one of the rings.

The rifle I saw was on the "new" rack so I dont think it was a modification by a previous owner. It looked unused as well.

3006bluffhunter · « **Reply #18 on:** January 07, 2007, 04:10:52 AM »

Had my hands on one at a gun show! The guy was a real nice fellow!The first thing i said is that a spr18.....He said how did I know that!!!!I asked how it shot and he said real good it was a 30-06....It had B square mounts and a straight power scope...The rings are real close together i noticed might be the only problem with some scopes...fit and finish was nice....opened hard but locked up tight...Can deal with that! He said shoot as good if not better than other rifles he has! Was just nice to handle one......Its not a club like feel....Its NICE easy on the eyes.....Dale

hillbill · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2007, 01:33:03 AM »

im going to try to pik up my spr from the smith this weekend and give it a workout if he has it done. curious to see how it groups with the iron sights and if the misfire problem is fixed. let yuall know what i find.

dougk · « **Reply #20 on:** January 12, 2007, 03:20:37 PM »

I have been using 11mm dovetail B-Square rings on my SPR94/IZH-94 in 12 ga/.30-06 and have not had a problem with these rings handling the recoil from the 12 ga with 3 inch shells and the .30-06 rounds. These are the rings recommended by EAA who imports the Baikal/Spartan guns.

Brithunter · « **Reply #21 on:** January 14, 2007, 01:01:55 PM »

Hi All,

well good luck with your rifle and please let us know how you get on

For myself I find that I have a slight dilema now over my Baikel MH-18. I brought ti as I wanted a .222 Rem rifle and I liked the look of the spiral hammer forged barrel, however I had been looking for a BSA Hunter in .222 rem and could not find a good one seeing as how they were made in the early 1950's. Well on Friday I had to speak to a gunsmith who did soem work for me a couple of years back and we got chatting and it came up that he has what he claims is a good BSA Hunter in .222 Rem on commision sale and the price is atractive.

So now the question is do I go and view it and try and sell the Baikal so I can get it or ..................................... do I just sit tight and ignore the BSA

I hate these sort of decisions

.

dougk · « **Reply #22 on:** January 15, 2007, 04:04:46 AM »

Quote from: Brithunter on January 14, 2007, 01:01:55 PM

So now the question is do I go and view it and try and sell the Baikal so I can get it or ..................................... do I just sit tight and ignore the BSA I hate these sort of decisions .

You have to look at it before making your decision...

marlinman93 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 15, 2007, 04:37:49 PM »

Millett sells some excellent rings for this style base that have a bit of adjustment in the mounts, so you can make up for any variables or corrections needed in the factory rail. They sell locally here for under $20, and are all steel. I put a set on my CZ and they really hold well too!

hillbill · « **Reply #24 on:** January 19, 2007, 01:10:52 AM »

picked my spr in 7.62 up from the smith the other day. he greatly improved the trigger pull and smoothed everything up so it works like a real gun now.no misfires now either. havent shot for accuracy yet, maybe this weekend. the smith wanted me to shoot it and make sure everything was in order before he put a real scope mount on it. he said it looked like they did the finish fitting on interal parts by rubbing them on a concrete block and he said that if it didnt shoot well that the crown might be suspect.but he seemed to think it was a decent gun that should be resonabley accurate or at least could be fixed if it wasnt.

Brithunter · « **Reply #25 on:** January 19, 2007, 04:59:53 AM »

Hi hillbill,

If you look carefully at the photo of the internals I posted earlier you will see that I have polished and reduced the width of the trigger spring and rubbed the hammer itself on some 600 Grit Wet & Dry paper to take off the rough edges. I also polished the engagement surfaces and hammer face and top where it touches the cocking indicator. This made it smooter and lightened the triger pull considerably. It did not however remove all the creep

but I can live with that.

De41mag · « **Reply #26 on:** January 19, 2007, 05:30:43 PM »

Just picked up my Remington SPR18 in .223 Rem. yesterday.
Going in the morning to get some mounts/rings for it.
Looks to be a well made rifle, comparing it to a Handi or NEF. I got really soured on the H&R/NEF rifles because of quality and having to shoot the rifle on the HINGE PIN.
Let's hope that these rifles shoot better than the Handi's. Because when you get to shootin a single shot, You just really fall in love with them.
Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Dennis

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 28, 2007, 11:14:46 AM »

Hey hillbill,

Any updates on how the 7.62x39 is shooting?

?

jim huntington · « **Reply #28 on:** February 10, 2007, 06:23:26 AM »

I have a spr18 in 308 cal. that I picked up just before the 2006 n.y deer season. Shot a buck with it using iron sights.It shoots and handles good.The finish on stock wasnt the greatest but I intend to strip the stock and refinish it with true oil.The walnut stock has a nice grain to it and I like the spiral design on the barrel.Iwant to scope the rifle this year and will try warne 7.3 rings with a compact scope ( 3x9).My only guestion is what model 7.3 rings should I use.Another forum member mentioned using the 7.3series rings on his rifle.He didnt mention whitch model of these rings he used.A hunting buddy of mine has been looking for a spr18 in 223 cal. for a long time any help on this matter?

kyelkhunter3006 · « **Reply #29 on:** February 10, 2007, 07:35:39 AM »

You could check for the .223 on gunbroker.com, I've seen a few SPR's in various calibers floating around, .223 included. How's your .308 shoot?