I visited my local Walmart the other day and saw an entry level 700 in 7MM. Its price was significantly lower than similar rifles I have seen elsewhere. Question, are Walmart Remingtons the same as Remingtons you can buy elsewhere for more, or does Remington cheapen its Walmart rifles?
I think Remington "cheapens" one of the 700 models sold in Walmart by making a matte blued, blind magazine, "Tupperware" stocked rifle with an integral trigger guard that I've never seen for sale anywhere else. Our Walmart here in town has one of these on the racks now. I don't care for the stock on this. I don't like the look or the feel. I doubt if the actual barreled action is "cheapened" in any way. It's just the stock that is used that I don't like.
So, if I bought one of these, I'd be inclined to do something similar to what Swampman did and drop the barreled action into a CDL stock with a BDL bottom metal kit from Brownells. But by the time I did all of that, I could just go ahead and get a CDL for about the same or less.
Or, I could do what I did.... I paid $400.00 for an N.I.B. condition 721 in .270 that is fast becoming my all-time favorite centerfire rifle. It's totally satisfactory as-is. Maybe a hinged floorplate would be nice, but I grew up having to run rounds through the action of a 336 to unload, so doing the same in a bolt gun doesn't bother me much. Blind mag is therefore not a dealbreaker for me.
That blind mag 700 at Walmart might be a heck of a deal for someone who likes it as is, but it wouldn't be for me because I don't like that stock that is used. I dislike it so much that I would be changing it. That makes that cheap rifle not so cheap when I can get something that I really like as issued on the pre-owned market or simply save a bit more and buy a CDL and live happily everafter.
JP