I’m looking at a 760 locally that was in storage for an unknown amount of time. The current owner had a gunsmith check it out and clean the exterior. Seems to function fine and action is tight. I see some rust in the last 1-2” of barrel. Don’t see any in the action. How concerning is this? It’s a 35 Remington so I’m not expecting tiny groups anyway. The price is right but this has me wondering. I’m thinking kroil and elbow grease should fix this correct? Unrelated question but will any small action magazine work with the 35? It has one correctly marked but a spare would be a good plan.

Craig

Why do you want it?
Would you give a crap if you had to have 2" chopped off the barrel?
Does the price reflect a screwed up barrel?
Can you find a replacement barrel, or get a it regardless.


This is no collectable, unless you can get a nice takeoff put on it. Unlikely! Or, possibly it totally cleans up.

It is a nice user, and may need shortened, or not.

Cleaning it up will be a little tricky.
If you start scrubbing from the bore, you risk adding damage.
You should probably pull the barrel, and using a bore guide, clean from chamber end.
You can pull the barrel yourself.

If the rust doesn't clean up, you could have the muzzle counter bored. Not uncommon in milsurp rifles. The ones I've come across shot just as well as those not counter bored. Ask the seller if he'd let you take it out for a "test drive", worst he could say is no.

I'd just clean the worst of the rust and start shooting to re-polish the bore.
A gun needn't be perfect to perform well.

A good bore brush, some steel wool, and Kroil will work wonders. I've seen some pitted bores shoot well so don't give up hope.
Since the 35 Rem is a little smaller than the 308 case, the magazine might not feed without some tweeking on the lips.

This is definitely a sentimental buy. Shot my first buck with a 141 in 35 Remington when I was 14. Haven’t been able to find a 141 in decent shape and though the 760 was an ok compromise. I’d be happy with 2” groups at 100. Not like I plan on stretching it out with a 35.

If the price is somewhere between $300.00 - 400.00 (hopefully the lower number) and you really want it, buy it. Should clean up nicely and not a lot to lose.
35 REM mags are out there, but believe that the mag is caliber specific and they command a premium. I’d get the real deal.

I am not a Remington authority (or any gun for that matter), but have seen many issues with magazine interchangeability with the various 760, 7600 old, 7600 newer, 7400 magazines at my friend's shop. I think you better find the correct one and pay up.

The rusty bore doesn't concern me much. I am a user not a curator of a museum.

OOOO steel wool and Hoppe's and then some JB bore paste and it will be good to go. Even a few tiny pits will do no harm.
I have worked on and fired many 141's and it was a super rifle and the 760 can rival most bolt guns. The 141's were just dirty so parts were never needed. The .35 is a great deer gun until you do what I did. I pulled a lead on a running buck and as the sear broke he ran behind a tree that I centered just perfect!
Buy the gun, you will not be sorry. The 740 was the semi version and it never could shoot like the pump gun.

I say if the price is right to buy it and just clean the barrel up. I have had to clean a few barrels on milsurp rifles in the last 4 years. Each time I have used 0000 Steel wool and Hoppes gun oil, followed by Flitz polish. The first one I did was on a CZ24 Mauser I bought from a buddy that had shot surplus ammo and then didn't clean it. I got all but one area of it cleaned up. The other two were both Mosin Nagants. I used the same procedure, but on the first Mosin I used PB Blast with the steel wool. That barrel was awful as it was from the same friend I got the Mauser from. He actually threw the Mosin in the deal with the Mauser for free. The barrel was a pain in the rear and it probably should have just been re-barreled truth be known. Both of those guns are sitting at my mom's house in Arkansas at the moment. I had no way of putting them on the plane three years ago to bring them back to AK with me. That will change soon, as I plan on making a trip down in the fall or next spring to pick them and a couple of more guns up. The third rifle was my son's Mosin. He shot the gun back in the fall with surplus Russian ammo and then did not clean it. When I got home in January for R&R, I followed the same procedure and after about an hour it was cleaned up. My son has since shot that rifle with modern day noncorrosive ammo, and he says it shoots great. I noticed the barrel cleaned up really nice once I was finally done with it.

Circa 1992 a Phoenix Gunsmith gave me a post-64 Winchester 94 that was rusted from one end to the other, inside and out, the stock broke off at the wrist, and was so sloppy you'd think it was going to fall apart when you cycle the action.

Got it free.

The receiver is some strange metal that doesn't blue, and I could get it electro-less nickle plated for $40, so, I cleaned the heck out of it (looked down the bore and thought no way this would ever shoot), shined it up a little and sent it off to get plated - bore and all!

Put a set of Williams sights on it and set a 3" black square on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper taped to a 3'-0"x6'-8" door, 70-yards away (that's the shot I had at the time). Took a shoot and looked (I was 30, I could see, and shoot), and I was miffed - no idea where it went. Calmed down, took a breath, sent another one - no idea where it went. Finally - 3-rd shot, I'm serious now - bam. Nothing.

I handed the rifle to my buddy - he wanted to take a shot. Boom - bullet hole 16" low, 4" left.

I walk to the target with my friend, not feeling so great, until we arrived at the target and there were 3 nice hole in the black 3" square (I could not see from 70-yards), about a 1.25" group!

Drove home VERY happy. It has been dead-on ever since! Most amazing thing I ever seen.

Brought in home today and took it apart. Scrubbed the bore with kroil and bronze brush and it looks great. I’ll post some pics when I get it back together but it looks like it’s not had much use since 1954. Neat little gun.

Craig

[img]http://https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/13731904#Post13731904[/img]

Hope the pics work. Looks like a January 1954 manufactured rifle.

Craig,

Put a K-3 Weaver with a post on it and you'll have a classic Eastern US stalking/woods rifle. Every one of those I've ever shot will shoot my favorite .35 Rem handload into an inch & a quarter or less. (38.0 gr. of H-335 w/180- gr Speer FP) That is the top load in the Speer manual. Two of my buddys shoot that same load in a Marlin with excellent results.

I had a similar aged on in .300 Sav. I bought a extra barrel and am having it bored & rerifled to .358 Win. Which is one of my favorite cartridges.

GH

A question for you. Alaska needs to go through Canada so how are guns transported? How do you get a handgun into Alaska? Can someone from the lower 48 handgun hunt Alaska? If a plane flies in are they under control of Canadian customs?

Craig2506,

SOME 760 rifles of that era work OK with a "generic" magazine & some will NOT. = Look on EBAY.COM for the CORRECTLY marked mag & enjoy, is my advice.
(For example my 760 in .300 SAV from 1954 doesn't work at all with the "generic" mags but does fine with the CORRECT magazine that I bought for 25.oo..)

yours, tex

Thanks Tex, found a 35 rem 760 mag today so I’ll have a backup.

Bfrshooter I think you maybe posted to the wrong thread/forum.

Craig

Craig2506,

CONGRADS on your success.

yours, tex

Maybe but someone should know and if it gets moved it is OK with me. It is something I have wondered about and can't go there myself.
Anyway I am happy the gun looks good and can't wait to see results.

My friend recently went to Alaska. Many of the gun shops there will sell you a handgun for the duration of your trip and then buy it back from you when you depart. More than one way to skin a cat!

sbrmike,

INTERESTING. - Will keep that fact in the back of my mind.

yours, tex

A little out of topic is great with me and I got an answer. Thanks to all.

FWIW I have a .35 rem 760.
Shoots quite well and other mags work fine (have the orig 35 rem marked plus a .243 spare).

Opted for a leupold 1-4 with heavy duplex. If it ever stops raining I’ll try it out.

few years ago i bought a post 64 94 off an estate. the gun was new in the box, but sat in a swamp cooler house for over 20years. it was unfired but just brown from the rust on the exterior. I knew it was more than i could handle so i strapped it on the bars of my gold wing and took it to a guy up north for refinishing. he was able to get the pits out of the barrel, and reblue, but then that is when i found out those recievers were some other type of metal, and would not taking blueing. So that part was cerracoated to a light green. Sounds funky but it worked pretty good. 100bucks for the rifle, and about 150 to get the work done. so i was happy.