Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Question re longevity of the Remington 7600 action

Oh, good. And now, once more.

When I read these internet posts about the
Remington pumps and semi autos being made
out of silly putty, I just laugh.
The people that have that experience ( as opposed
to reading about it somewhere) would probably
tear up a tool steel crowbar.
I'm always reminded of a man I bought a gun from
that threw in all his boxes of loaded ammo.
First time I went to the range with it, it would blow
a fireball waaaaay out there, and the recoil and
report was way out of character. Even the range
owner came out and asked what the hey?
I called the guy and asked what the load was
and he sez " whatever max is in the book plus
a couple of grains. It'll take it "

JMHO- I have a 742 and a 7400 sitting right here
that both have many many rounds through both,
and they'll be useable for many more years than
any of us will be around
FWIW the 7400 was filthy inside and out when
I bought it, and probably accounted for several
of the turd paperweight stories. Whole pack of
patches to clean the innards up. Nary a hiccup
since I've had it

i would not trust your "gunsmith" to polish my shoes if he thinks a 7600 is only good for 300 rounds. my whelen 7600 carbine has several hundred rounds through it and it looks almost new and shoots MOA. the action actually gets smoother after a couple hundred rounds. i have a bunch of 760's that have countless hundreds through them and some are over 60 years old.

Oh come on now. Certainly he's still good enough to shine shoes.

If he was really serious and actually believes that a 760/7600 series rifle is only good for 300 rounds, you should find a new 'smith.

I've seen 760s with the finish completely worn off the metal and wood that were still fully functional and are being used annually by their owners to punch tags.

One of the instructors in the gunsmithing program at Trinidad when I was there in the 80’s talked of being the armorer for the US Olympic team that used Remington 760s in .222 for the “running boar” event. I remember him discussing thousands of rounds being used for practice and rebarreling them “often”……don’t know what the round counts was but if I was a betting man I say it was more than 300 rounds?!

If he’s a young gunsmith 760s might be like a muzzleloading long rifle to him😉

PennDog

BMR, by chance did the gun smith offer to buy it off of you after he told you it was worthless?

No, he seemed pretty genuine in his belief. I did, however, send RGK's post to him, just telling him I found it online and not mentioning it was a response to my question. He responded that he was quite impressed with that and glad to "learn something new every day." Thanks to all who provided constructive posts regarding Remington 7600s.

I have seen 742s w bad bolt rail chew.
Some folks think deer are armor plated or they need 200 gr or 220gr .30-06 for whitetails.....to bust through brush.
Seems to be something in regional waters.

Be nice to see a test. Two minty 742 one shooting 150s and one shooting 200s.....see at what point damage affects function.

Everything Ive seen ( some ) and read, the .3006 heavies are what shortens the 742 life cycle.

<LOL> ...... Top 10 gunsmith quote of the year. That rifle action will last decades and longer. He just plain doesn't like pump guns without cause.



I have handloaded for lots of 760/7600s and they will take surprisingly heavy load w/o any trouble at all. Book max has never been an issue. Small base dies are not required but FLR is. Have fun.

I've heard this myself once, but no idea why they felt it was true. I guess it's one of those gun store things people repeat

My 760 Carbine was made in 1960. Between my Grandfather's buddy who was the original owner, My Dad, My Mom and myself, It wouldn't be a stretch to say there have been around 3000 rounds through that rifle. For some reason, it really likes Remington 165 gr. Core-lokt spire points.....It will hold 7/8 of an inch at 100 yards if I'm on my game that particular day.

It's getting to look a little worn....It rattles some. But the darn thing just keeps stacking them up.

I had a 1958 760 Gamemaster in 30-06 I hunted with through the 90's and 2000's. That rifle was a whitetail killing machine!!

I don't know about all 760/7600 Remington pump rifles but mine was super accurate with either factory or reloads. Never knew it's round count when I bought it from a neighbor for a $100.00, but in the two decades I had it, it easily got 5-600 rounds put through it at the range from just reloading, trying different combinations of 30 cal bullets and powders. That doesn't even count all the cheap factory ammo (compared to today's prices) I sent through it.

My 80 y/o Dad bought his 06 760 when he was 14. He's killed 2 or 3 truck loads of deer, 2 Pa Black bears, a Labrador caribou, and lots of groundhogs with it. Myself and my brother both killed numerous deer with it too. He has loaded from 110gr to 220gr in it. With its favorite 165gr load, still cuts holes off the bench. I'd wager its had in excess of 2,000 rounds through it.