Title :

Remington XP-100 Rifle

Category: Shotguns and Smoothbores

The Remington XP-100 rifle derives its name from the experimental pistol number 100. It is one of the bolt-action pistol under the Remington Arms first produced from 1963 to 1998. The Xp-100 is documented as one of the first handguns to be made for long range shooting. This pistol is known to have paved way for the .221 Remington Fireballs, the fastest handgun cartridge to be ever produced. After the introduction of the Remington XP-100, the varminting sport came to be and still, today the XP-100 is still one of the most accurate and competitive in the sport.

Basing its origin from Remington’s short bolt-action carbine, the Remington XP-100 was initially made of a 10.75” barrel whose stock was made of nylon and a center-mounted grip. This short barrel used to create a lot of noise and muzzle flash once fired. The early prototypes were chambered in .222 Remington. This led to shortening of the case to reduce powder capacity and ensure the volume was suited for the short length of the barrel. This is what gave way to the resulting .221 Remington Fireball, which is highlighted as the most accurate cartridge for a short barrel ever made.

The .221 Fireball cartridge produced velocities of over 825m/s and a more improved accuracy, which overshadowed the .222 Remington. All except the XP-100R models were single shot designs. The XP-100R had an internal magazine that could hold up to four rounds of ammo, a feature shared by all other bolt-action rifles. The R model refers to repeater model and was produced between 1991 and 1997. It is indeed the last model of the Remington XP-100 series.

During its production, the Remington XP-100 has gone through a number of notable changes. The length of the barrel underlines one of the key changes the XP-100 experienced. It moved to 14.5” moving the grip location to the rear stock. The change in calibers ensured that the modification earlier done to reduce the powder capacity was no longer a necessity. The chambers were then made to shift the cartridges into commercial rifle cartridges.

Some of the well-known models of the Remington XP-100 included XP-100, XP-100 Vermint Special, XP-100 Silhouette, Xp-100 Hunter, XP-100 Custom, XP-100 R and XR-100, which was introduced after the discontinuation of the XP-100 series from 2000 to date. The XP-100, consequently, is referred as the basis for the introduction of a new single-shot rifle, the XR-100. Since 1998, Remington XP-100 has since been withdrawn from the Remington manufacturing process leaving behind the XR-100. Other caliber related cartridges available in the market today include the .221 Fireball, the Remington 700 rifle in a .221 chambering though it does not have the velocity possessed by the unpopular .223 Remington. However, the shorter .221 Fireball remains the pistol that assures performance with little noise.

In the year 1979, the Remington XP-100 pistols were all recalled back into the factory citing user safety issues. This was because the bolt was fully locked when the safety in was on. This made the user impossible to unload the gun. This prompted Remington to recall the pistols and make free modification that allowed for safer use since the bolt could open while the gun was on safe allowing the gun to be unloaded.