The old 721's and 722's are not desireable rifles.
It was desireable to me. That's why I bought it. If others find no appeal to a 721, they ouught not buy one.
Besides their cheap plain look, lack of a recoil pad and no checkering they lack these more important features.
I don't think the rifle looks as cheap and plain as some. In point of fact, it has a kind of purposeful look about it that I quite like. As for not having a recoil pad, my Griffin and Howe Springfield that I used to own didn't have one, my old Ugartechea double gun didn't have one, and this 721 of mine is a .270 Winchester for goodness sake. I can get through 200 rounds with it just fine, thank you, and even though recoil pads can be installed fairly easily when one knows how, I'm not anxious to install one, even though I do know how. It doesn't really need it. My shoulder isn't tender after a range session, and I like the buttplate the 721 is equipped with just fine.
1. Dangerous trigger system. There are constant accidents where these rifles go off when not wanted. Search this out on the internet yourself.
I'll concede that the Walker trigger has a "design flaw" in the sense that it is not very idiot proof compared to other designs and may not be very tolerant of poor maintenence compared to others. But "constant accidents" is, perhaps, a mite overblown. When the Walker trigger is properly maintained and adjusted, I do not believe that it is dangerous. If I did, I wouldn't have guided hundreds of clients carrying Remington Model 700's. In fact, one of the selling points of the rifle to me IS the Walker trigger becuase when it is properly adjusted and maintained, it is one of the crispest, most creep free, and most consistant factory triggers to have ever been used on a production sporting rifle.
2. Lack of a three position safety that controls the firing pin.
Plenty of sporting rifles have trigger blocking safeties. A couple of my favorites don't have anything more than a half-cock on an exposed hammer. I haven't had an unitentional discharge with them and I don't expect to have one with this 721. None of the clients that I guided who carried 722's or 700's ever had an unintentional discharge while out in the field with me.
3. Weak extractor with no back up parts.
Now, the quoted poster and I might have something to agree on. I'm not sure that the extractor is weak but I do know it isn't exactly the same as the part used on current 700's. I'm not so much concerned about it breaking on my gun because I keep the boltface clean. I am concerned about keeping it up and running IF I do break the extractor. That is why I am curious about possibly fitting a 700 bolt if I can fit my 721 bolt handle to it.
4. Lack of Control Round Feeding.
The 721 is push feed. So what? It is the smoothest-feeding bolt action rifle I have ever owned. It will also do something that a pair of Model 98 Mauser sporters I once owned wouldn't do, and that is feed upside down. I don't see the need for it to do that in the hunting field, really, but I know it can do it. I used to be a CRF snob, too. In fact, the first rifle I ever bought was a Griffin and Howe Springfield, so I know a bit about controlled feed and the "snob" part, too. Then I grew up and realized that the deer, feral pigs, pronghorns, elk, and caribou that I have hunted and plan on hunting in the future don't really care if the rifle that killed them is push-feed or controlled feed. Besides, this 721 of mine is so accurate that I don't expect to enjoy the smooth feeding whilst out in the hunting field, as I dont expect to need more than one round per beast. If I do, I know I can get a second shot off faster with this than any Springfield or Mauser I've ever owned. I MIGHT get off a faster one with my Lee Enfield sporter that is now my son's, but neither man nor beast would live on the difference.
5. Bolt handles break off from the weak brazing.
I've actually seen this happen on Model 700s. Once was on a new rifle owned by a friend, when the bolt handle came undone before my pal had gotten through a box of ammo when sighting the rifle in. Remington fixed it under warranty and the rifle outlived my friend. Another time, a guy at the range beat his off with a sledgehammer when his obviously way too hot handloads locked up the action, and I am of the mind-set that believes that if had tried his little stunt with a weaker Mauser or Springfield, he wouldn't have had the chance to take a hammer to his bolt handle. I don't anticipate the bolt handle falling off on my 721. My father has gone through three barrels on an XP-100 without his bolt handle falling off. I'd venture to say that the bolt handles manage to stay affixed to most of the five million Model 700's made and while I know this can be an issue because I have seen it, I know that it isn't something I need to be overly concerned about. I'm not nearly as conerned about this as I am about replacing my extractor IF it breaks in my lifetime.
6. Locking lug section of the bolt is brazed on.
Yes, it is. So what? I have NEVER heard of one instance of the bolt head seperating from the bolt body of a 721, 722, or 700. Personally, I think the action can tolerate FAR more pressure than my old Griffin and Howe Springfield could have hoped to, or a 98 Mauser, for that matter.
My suggestion is that you return that rifle to where you got it. Obtain store credit and begin a new search for a better rifle.
While I appreciate the quoted poster's suggestion, I shant be heeding his sage advice. I bought the rifle from a private collector at a gun show. Even if I wanted to rid myself of my 721, I wouldn't be getting store credit for it. As for beginning a search for a "better rifle," for me, the search is over and it ended with the 721. Believe it or not, N.I.B. 721's are kind of rare, nowadays, and I am delighted to have mine. I'm not the only fan, either. Harry Selby is a former "Professional" who apprenticed under Philip Percival and who gained a little notoriety via one Robert Ruark -the same Ruark who opined that we should "Use Enough Gun." The "Remington" in "Horn of the Hunter" that Ruark refers to is a 721. Selby used the one he wrote about for a half a century and seemed well pleased with it. I'll take that as a sign that perhaps I need not fret over the Walker trigger, the three-piece bolt, lack of recoil pad, lack of checkering, or any other supposed "shortcoming" the 721 might have in the mind of the quoted poster.
I bought this rifle with the intent to use it as my primary centerfire hunting rifle for the remainder of my days. The only real concern I have about the rifle's ability to endure with me for the next 40 years that I expect to remain on the mortal coil is the extractor. And again, I am not so much concerned about breaking it as I am concerned about replacing it IF it breaks. It occured to me that swapping in a later 700 bolt would mitigate that concern. I've owned far more expensive rifles than this, but this is the most accurate centerfire I have ever owned. It has the best trigger of any I've owned. It has the best stock fit of any that I have owned. It has the smoothest feeding of any that I have owned. I am very pleased with the look, weight, and handling dynamics. Of all of the centerfire rifles I have owned, and their have been many, this humble 721 is my favorite so far, by far.
It's okay with me if the quoted poster doesn't like the model or wouldn't own one personally.
JP