Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Re-chambering question re: old Remington 760 in 300 Savage

I have my Dad's old 760, chambered in 300 Savage. I reload for it, but brass has been tough to find. Most that I have has been loaded quite a few times. I want to get it chambered to 308 Winchester.

I talked with a gunsmith shop on the phone and the guy there said wouldn't do it because of feeding issues when the 300 Savage is re-chambered. Seemed strange, so I asked him specifically what caused the problem. He said he didn't know, that's just what their gunsmith told him. I asked to speak to the Smith, and was on hold for a long time and no one came back on line.

Anyone have any idea why there would be a problem with the re-chambering causing feed issues?

Thanks, Al

Simple to find out. Stuff a handful of .308's in the magazine and see if they feed. You won't be able to go the whole way into the chamber obviously but you should be able to get an idea if it'll work.

Are 760 magazines terribly caliber specific?

Sloooowwwwwww the fhuqk down and gather a first fhuqking clue. Whover you spoke with,was/is CLUELESS and avoid like The Plague. Hint.

Firstly,you can yield 300 Savage brass,in a goodly number of ways...including using 308Win Virgins. Hint...............

gnoahhh, The only magazine I have access to is caliber specific for the 300 Savage. It's the same magazine as for the 308, but with a block in the back to account for the shorter round. My magazine also has a block in the front. If the back block was removed, any 308 based cartridge would fit the magazine. If the front block was also removed, a 30-06 based cartridge would fit the magazine. Economy of manufacture, I guess.

Anyway, on your advice, I just put a 7-08 in the magazine. The bullet rode up over the front block a bit, and the magazine didn't want to seat easily. It was close, and I might have been able to force it, but didn't try. I simply opened the action and seated the magazine. The round fed very smoothly into the chamber. I did that several times and it worked perfectly. Thanks.

The magazines are not terribly specific but there are differences, mainly in cartridge lengths. A lot of gunsmiths are clueless when it comes to Remington pumps. Personally, I would keep it the way it is. There was a reason your father picked the 300 SAV vice a 308. IF you do want to have it rechambered, start looking in PA for a gunsmith who regularly works on these rifles. They are VERY common there and often called Mennonite/Amish Machineguns. Call Grice Gun Shop in Clearfield, PA to see if they recommend anyone.

Brass will come back or can be made. Start looking for factory ammo in order to plus up the brass supply in the short term. My LGS had some Remington the last time I was there.

I'd leave the old rifle as is and hunt with another until I got the brass for my Dad's gun.

Buy a 760 or 7600 in 308 instead. Keep bubba busy elsewhere.

I've always routinely made my .300 Savage brass out of .308 brass anyway. Simple reformation, but leaves the neck extremely long which is a minor PIA to trim to length. Another caution is to reduce powder charges a bit as .308 brass is a little thicker, especially military stuff. Other than that, no problem keeping a .300 Savage fed.

himmelrr and SuperCub,
Dad didn't care in the least that the rifle was in 300 Savage. He didn't even care that it was a Remington 760. He had one deer rifle, one shotgun and one .22. Didn't see the need for more. When he was looking to stop using his shotgun for deer sometime around the late '60s, his brother in law found a good deal on this rifle, used.
Dad was talking about having it re-chambered when he got cancer in '88. He wouldn't mind in the least if it was re-chambered. I do certainly understand your thoughts, though.

Big Stick, I had a pretty good clue that the guy I talked to was clueless when his claim didn't pass the logic smell test. They certainly won't be getting any of my business.

I'm familiar with yielding one brass from another. All of my 358 Winchester brass has a 308 head stamp and about half of my 7mm Dakota has 404 Jeffrey head stamp. I simply don't want to mess with forming more brass. Also the rifle was my Dad's and it will stay in the family for the long term. I'm the only reloader in the family. It'll just be easier for whoever gets the rifle when I'm gone.

Ok, but the 300 Savage is much cooler over a 308 then.

I'd trade a 760 308 for a 300 Savage. At my age, I need all the cool I can get.

I have a 300 Savage in a Savage 99. All the brass I've reloaded to use in the 99 was 308 Win brass that was run into a 300 Savage full length sizing ide and then trimmed to length. I have bought some 300 Savage ammo for testing and will have some of those too.

The resized and shortened 308 brass works fine in that 300.

Stick is correct. Rechambering will not work.

So easy to make 300 Savage from 308 Winchester.



With some looking you can find 300 Savage ammo. One box should last at least 4 hunting seasons.

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/300-savage

In defense of your smith, your rifle is probably older than he is and is also the only 300 Savage he has ever seen. Personally, I have been smithing for close to 50 years and have never seen a 760 in 300 Savage. Plenty of 99’s and 81’s but no 760’s.

Ditto on the resizing of .308 brass which is always free at the local rifle range!

The GUNSMITH was really a MAGTAG REPAIRMAN IN DISGUISE!!!

Hip

I have heard of gunsmiths converting 760s in 35 REM to 358 WIN but thats about it. Just not a popular gun to tinker with I guess......

I have some new brass, sold some
To a gentleman here. PM me if interested.

They're not too popular to tinker with because they were oretty much perfect as is. Still are. Just don't shiver as you stalk or wait in a stand--they can get chatty if shooken!

My wife's father had a 760 in .300 Savage. It's on the rack waiting for other projects to finish. I recently found a set of .300 dies and hope to shoot it this spring.

Your 760 in 300 Savage is worth a lot more than a rechambered 308 Win. plus its a one shot deal to get the headspace right, lots of smiths are not up to doing it right.

Your gun, your choice but I would leave dad’s gun like it is. You are only caretaking it for the next generations. 300 Savage is a capable round with lots of nostalgia. Nobody’s gonna shoot high volumes of ammo in it. Ammo will be produced forever. I’d just enjoy it and form the cases for now if needed.