Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington 7600 pump actions... thoughts?

Hi all,

I'm a big fan of pump shotguns.... bird hunting with my winchester 2200 12 ga, I can get followup shots as fast, if not faster than a semi.... so the idea of having deer rifle with the same type of action has intrigued me for a while.

I see the advantages of the pump as: 1) the reloading action is 2nd nature to me already from years of shotgunning = faster followups when needed. 2) you work the action without moving your hands off the stock 3) safer/more reliable than a semi (which I'm not a big fan of).

It seems to me that a remi 7600 ought to be as accurate as a bolt gun (free floating barrel) and a front locking action. The only downsides that I can see are 1) that your front hand must be positioned pretty far forward (on the front stock) to work the action. I often like to have my hand just in front of the mag for steadiest hold and 2) I don't imagine you could use a sling as a shooting aid without messing up the sliding action.

I don't see much mention of pump action rifles on here... any comments/experiences good or bad? Are there particular models/years of remington pumps that are better or worse than others?

thanks for your thoughts....

Brent

I have both a 7600 in a 30-06 and a 243... Both shoot 1 1/4" and under groups. I've never had a issue with either gun and they've always performed flawlessly for me. The price sure makes them very attractive as well...

The Remington pumps have long been popular hunting rifles here in Pennsylvania where semi-autos are not legal. I know of no one who has had a complaint about theirs and that takes in alot of hunters. My family has two 760's (the forerunner of the current 7600), one in 6mm and the other in 30-06. They are quick handling, accurate, and reliable. If the pump appeals to you, go for it. The 760/7600 lineage dates back to 1950. They wouldn't have survived this long if they weren't good rifles.

My first deer and elk were killed with my Dad's Model 760 chambered in 30-06. He had an old 4x Bushnell scope on it and it was pretty darn accurate. IIRC he used to get groups around an 1". I'll have to take it to the range one of these days and check my memory.

The Rem. 7600 is a good utility rifle. The detachable magazine is a handy feature and seldom gives trouble unless the lips get bent. A sling can be mounted using a bbl band, but is not good for "tight sling" shooting as it can affect point of aim. The biggest draw back is the crummy shot gun trigger. It looks like it was made from beer cans and spare mousetrap parts. The pull can be changed by putting in lighter spring but it is still creepy. However when you yank it the gun goes bang. They are OK for hunting but dont expect small groups without lots of practice due to the trigger.

As a young man growing up - I kind of looked down my nose at my Dad's old 30-06 Remington 760 pump. It looked odd. All the reading I had done made me get all excited about the day that I would by a gun - and mine would be a bolt action - because everyone knew they were more accurate and better. At 16 I bought a Model 70 Winchester in 300 Magnum (because it was bigger than my Dad's) and soon it became a 300 Weatherby. The guns kept getting bigger and more expensive I had to work harder and harder and shot more and more to be good with the hard kickers. I also noticed that my Dad's game ALWAYS fell as quick on our hunts together as mine did (and as much as I hated to admit it) often faster. I didn't know it then, but now I know that with 90% of the bullets you get more penetration with less velocity.
Anyways, a lifetime of hunting has gone by - and now my dad is gone - and I inherited his gun. I started to re-load for it and found some amazing things. One, it's a true minute of angle gun - far more accurate than I ever can shoot in the field. Second, it is one of those rare guns that puts the 220 grain round noses (for big bears in close cover) right beside the 180 grain bullets (for moose and elk) near the 165's (that are for sheep and goats) and they go near the 150 grain bullets that I favour for deer.
I love the gun now! The clip enables fast load ups when you need to. I have other clips of other bullets in my pocket so I can alter my goat load when I spot a Grizz. I love the balance and lightness of the gun, compared to many of my heavy bolt actions. Most of all - I love then way you can shoot a fast follow up shot at moving game. It is far faster and easier for me to cycle faster than any of my bolt actions.
So count me as a convert. I still love my bolt actions - and will always own far more of them, in far more calibers than I could ever really justify. Hey, I'm a gun-nut - what can I say?
But, I'll always pay a silent homage to my Dad and his gun and take at least a couple of head of game every year with that old pump. And when I'm in big-bear country creeping along salmon filled streams in the thick alders - the old reliable Remington pump is the one I'm packing. When the old 220 grain roundnoses are all used up - I'll switch over to the 200 grain Barnes X - if it shoots anywhere's close to all the rest of the loads this amazing old gun can shoot.
If you are a pump-shotgun shooter, you'll never regret getting one, even if you aren't - you might want to give one a try. I love mine!

I had a Rem 760 (my son has it now) and now have a 7600. The 760 is a 30-06 and my 7600 is a 7-08. This is my first season with the 7600 and I'm looking forward to using it. They are great rifles for hunting. Years ago the US army shooting team used 760 rifles chambered in 6mm Rem for a running boar competition. They won that year and won by such a higher score pump actions were banned from that competition.

Kinda hard for a lefty not to like Rems Pump Action. The main complaint I hear is that the forearms rattle, I carry them
with a little forend tension and they do not rattle. My 06 760
will shoot MOA with most ammo.

I brought a 7600 in 308 this year, Iam a leftie and have never used a pump gun before weather in rifle or shotgun.
I love it, only nailed a few goats so far with it but I like its balance and weight, comes up fast and is more than accurate enough.Seems like a real no nonsense hunting weapon, fast, accurate, reliable, robust and easy to be with in the feild.

Everything you've said is true.

I've hunted with a Model 760 now for around 18 years - next rifle I buy will be a pump too. VERY accurate...................nothing bad to say about them.

I've read posts like this many times, and always scratch my head and think "I guess I've never used a REALLY good trigger". And maybe I haven't. But my 760 will turn in 1" and less groups. No big game hunter needs more than that, so, I guess the trigger is just fine.

While I have my druthers when it comes to Remington bolt guns, I love their pump rifles. I have my Dad's M760 in 30-06 and its my favorite hunting rifle. Accurate? Well I shot three shots into one hole that I would guess to be .4" or less(didn't matter, this was an odd shaped hole!).

165gr Nosler BT
R-P cases (new)
55.2 gr. of IMR 4350
WLR primer
Leupold VariX-III 2.5-8X

The Remington 760/7600 do what they were designed to do. They are well balanced and seem to float to the shoulder without thought. They are not intended to compete with bolt guns even though they do it quite well. They are timber/brush guns without equal.
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tom

I have an old 760 in 30/06. I seldom use it because it just doesn't fit me well and I dislike the long reach required to cycle the action.
So, speaking of an admitted non fan of Remington pumps, I will say that a small investment in a replacenent trigger made a hell of a difference in accuracy on mine. I don't like it, but it will shoot well.
BTW, before someone asks, it's not for sale. There are too many memories attached to it for me to ever consider letting it go.

Tracks,
you just need to get longer arms lol. Timmy triggers used to do trigger jobs on 7600's I don't know if they still do or not. IIRC they claimed to be able to take the creep out and take the pull down to 3 lbs or so. tom

You can order a trigger kit off ebay and gunbroker. It is the same guy. I have ordered a couple of these kits and they do work really well!! The gunsmith that I go to checked the trigger pull for me on my 257 Roberts, 7600 and it broke at 2lbs 12 oz. I just installed one on my 7600 carbine in 35 Rem and you can tell the difference. The kit contains only one spring, but man it sure works. A couple people checked out my Roberts and they couldn't believe the how light the trigger was.

Tracks, have you ever considered shortening the stock? The Benoit family has always used Remington pumps and I think it was Larry who stated that the first thing he does is take some length off the stock. I have the same problem as you and 1/4" makes a world of difference.

I have a 760 in 30-06 under 100 yds the accuracy seems adequate. Anything farther it seems to puke out bullets like a drunken teenager. I tried it on my first antelope hunt in Wyoming and finally had to lure an antelope into range with a flag. But being a lefty it is damn handy and pretty lethal whitetail hunting in the brush.

onafly,
My "Dad's" gun ( I'll always call it that ) is very sensitive to the load you put through it. One load will be all over the place - the "right" one will be around an inch at 100. Try re-loading, or failing that, get a big variety of makes and bullet weights and try a wide variety of them out - you might be surprised at how accurate your pump might turn out to be.

I hunted with one (760 in 30-06) for 20 years and never felt undergunned or at a disadvantage. With factory 150 coreloks it would do around an inch and I even made a couple of 400 yard kills on whitetails. I have now moved on to bolt actions, because that rifle now belongs to my son, but, it brings back a lot of memories and I would hunt with is still if an occasion presented itself. Rojelio