Came across an old Remington 760 30-06, got questions

[beardenbc]

Father in law died a couple years back and he left some guns behind in a safe. I sold some of them at gunshows and gave my mother in law the profits. One I didn't bother selling was this old 760 gamemaster. Great condition at first glance. Wood was still glossy and had all the nice stock figuring in place with just a few scratches. Well, I tried racking the action and it felt like I was pulling the slide through play-do, and the scope, an ancient weaver 3-9 could only go 3-4.8 before it locked up, and the front bell just spins free. I figured I couldn't get much for it in that condition.

Long story short, I got bored yesterday and decided to pull the old thing out and give her a good cleaning to see if I can at least get her cycling the way she should. After a couple hours with a brush, CLP, and break free, I was able to smooth her up pretty good and got most of the sludge out of the action. This coming weekend I'm planning to take her apart even further and give her a more thorough cleaning until everything is nice and slick.

I'm considering replacing the scope and bringing the old girl out of retirement as a hunting rifle again if all goes well.

Can anyone give me some pointers on this? What kind of ammo do the 760 owners here have luck with? What kind of accuracy can I expect assuming the barrel is in good condition? Based on the serial#, it was made sometime between '68 and '70.

[Hog Buster]

While not very popular with most hunters the 760 was an accurate well designed rifle. I owned a couple over the years, one I still have is on long term loan to a friend. I killed many deer and hogs with mine, a 30’06. They seem to digest many different loads with no problem. I used 150 lgrain loads in mine. They were chambered in several different calibers, which I forget at the moment. Very quick second shots because of the pump action. A much better design and much better accuracy than the 742 (Auto) that Remington was producing at the same time.

[williamd]

Have owned 760s and 742s of various vintages. All were good rifles. My one complaint was that my empty brass was off over there >>> in the snow of brush somewhere!

[briandg]

Clean it well and see if there is any damage or wear, any peening on parts or so, and there's no reason not to use it.

The rifling was probably set to be optimal for the 150; if you're talking about the 50s-70s, that was the bullet weight of choice in 30-06 for most hunting. Give it a try with that.

Accuracy? It's not a MOA rifle. with good work you should be able to get 2 MOA out of it.

That rifle wasn't really built as a mountain, prairie type rifle, it was called the "woodsmaster" for a reason, it is meant to be used when hunting in forest. You might find that it handles beautifully, aims naturally, and shoots perfectly at 1-200 yard ranges that you would normally encounter in forest hunting.

[Mike Irwin]

Oddly enough, the one area of the country where the Remington slide-action rifles were very popular was Pennsylvania, which doesn't allow semi-autos for deer hunting.

Out of 40 or 50 guns in the racks at my hunting camp when I was a teenager, at least 15 of them were various flavors of Remington slide actions.

[beardenbc]

The rifling was probably set to be optimal for the 150; if you're talking about the 50s-70s, that was the bullet weight of choice in 30-06 for most hunting. Give it a try with that.

Will do. I'm a fan of Hornady ammo and they make a nice 150 SST at a good price. I'll give that a try.

Accuracy? It's not a MOA rifle. with good work you should be able to get 2 MOA out of it.

That rifle wasn't really built as a mountain, prairie type rifle, it was called the "woodsmaster" for a reason, it is meant to be used when hunting in forest. You might find that it handles beautifully, aims naturally, and shoots perfectly at 1-200 yard ranges that you would normally encounter in forest hunting.

Hmmm... I'm in the desert so I might need some range. I'll keep my fingers crossed. If she doesn't keep it any tighter than my PSL I'll probably sell her off.

[moosemike]

I've owned several 760's that were minute of angle rifles. So don't let anyone tell you they can't be because some of the most accurate rifles I've owned were 760's and I'm a bolt guy. They are reasonably light and carry well in the mountains and I've taken two antelope on the prairie with a 760 in .270.

[moosemike]

it was called the "woodsmaster" for a reason,

It was never called a "Woodsmaster" it is a "Gamemaster".

[moosemike]

If you take the pump handle off (not just the wood but the action bar as well) check that the rubber o-ring underneath it is intact. When that o-ring is gone the pump has a rattle to it.

[Mike Irwin]

Every one of the 760s I've seen has been capable of MOA with proper load development and a shooter who knows what he's doing.

[Hog Buster]

I have to agree with the 2 Mikes. The ones I owned were capable of MOA accuracy.

[beardenbc]

Good. That's encouraging to hear. We'll see how she does.
I'm going to replace the scope and mount. The old mount is the weaver see-through rings, not the steadiest thing around. I'll probably replace with a 1 piece dovetail mount. I've got a stainless weaver v10 lying around that I can duracoat black and mount on there. Should be good I think.

[briandg]

You guys are right, the 74** was the woodsmaster.

I've never heard this sort of accuracy reports about either the pump or the semiauto remingtons, I've generally heard more in the 2 moa. I would expect 1 moa only from exceptional pieces with a wonderfully matched load. That's better than a lot of factory bolt rifles can do.

Bearden, if you don't get the 1" groups, keep trying different loads. I know that my father's 742 was really finicky.

[oneoldsap]

All my 760s past and present will shoot MOA with the right ammo !

[Mike Irwin]

"I've never heard this sort of accuracy reports about either the pump..."

Not only have I seen it first hand, it's been part and parcel to just about every article I've ever read about the 760; that the action is routinely capable of excellent accuracy.

Unlike many other pump and lever rifles, the 760 locks up like a bolt action, with locking lugs at the front of the bolt that lock into grooves cut in the barrel extension.

While likely a bit looser of a lock up than a traditional bolt rifle because of the pump's lack of mechanical advantage in camming the bolt closed, it's still a far better method (accuracy wise) of lock up than either a wedging type of locking (Savage 99) or a Winchester's locking bars, both of which are rear locking designs, allowing far more flex in the design during firing.

Then there's also the fact that the 760s very design gives it a free floating barrel, another step towards inherent accuracy.

[beardenbc]

Then there's also the fact that the 760s very design gives it a free floating barrel, another step towards inherent accuracy.

That's one of the things that gave me a warm fuzzy when I was examining it.

[beardenbc]

The trigger on this thing is pretty crappy though... Worse than my ranch rifle.

[Mike Irwin]

The 760's trigger is a very straightforward design.

Chances are it's just dirty. Thorough cleaning followed by proper lubrication should make things a lot better.

[beardenbc]

I'll see what I can do. I gave the trigger a once over with solvent and CLP, maybe it just needs a little more work.

It's funny how the gun is in such great condition on the outside but was so gummed the **** up on the inside.

[Hog Buster]

The only problem I encountered with mine was trying to put a sling on them. If you used the swivels made for it the front one was a ring that fit around the barrel. I always thought that might kill its accuracy to some extent. You could use the swivels for a 742, but the front one screwed into the slide. I didn’t like the idea of the rifle be supported by the slide. Bump into something and you could easily bend the action bar. I just lugged mine around the woods by whatever method comfortable. Come to think of it the sling problem was one of the reasons I quit using it, along with the bit of movement in the forearm which I never got accustomed to.

[beardenbc]

This one has the sling attached to the front bolt of the forend/slide. Looks kinda like this one
http://dfennell.com/dsc00659.jpg
I figured it came from the factory like that.

[Hog Buster]

That's the one made for the 742. Look at it good, the only thing supporting the gun is the slide. Not good, all the weight is on the action bar. A good bump and you have a bent action bar. Pull the thing off that rifle and come up with a creative way to lug it around in the woods, or desert, or wherever.......

[moosemike]

After carrying a 760 through countless mountainsides on bear and deer drives I can report with confidence that having the sling attached to the forearm does no harm at all. Those twin action slide bars are way to tough. BTW, the Rem 760 was advertised as having bolt gun accuracy when it came out. I had a .30-06 760 BDL that with my 125 grain handloads printed a half inch three shot cloverleaf for me at one hundred yards. My Dad has that gun now.

[briandg]

The floating barrel was a great advantage for it. You guys that have owned one, how does that barrel engage the receiver? a bolt rifle's barrel and receiver are for all practical purposes, a single unit.

[moosemike]

how does that barrel engage the receiver?

The pump handle slides on a round bar with slots in it. The round bar is what bolts the barrel to the receiver. The barrel does not screw into the receiver like it does on a bolt gun.