Reply #55: They originally had a Remington 700 in .308.

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But abandoned it in the woods because they got spooked by a passerby.

http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=29436

Given the better accuracy and increased killing capacity, they could have easily inflicted more fatalities.

I often wondered how the Brady/VPC/MMM shills would have spun the incidents had Malvo and Muhammed used the Remington instead (would have created a dilemma since those organizations are fond of saying "we don't want to ban your hunting rifles").

"But that rifle is a cinch to shoot which is probably why they picked it".

From what I had read from several accounts, they chose it because Mauhammed was familiarized with it because of his military service.

My theory was they used it was because it was easy to steal and transport (push out a couple of take-down pins and you have two sections that can easily be hidden under a coat).