Anyone have a Remington 7400 rifle?

HardDrive · 07-17-2006, 04:23 PM

Remington's semi-auto hunting rifle.

I was thinking of picking one up in .270 for whitetail hunting.

I have only used a bolt action in the past, and I get worried about reliability in bad weather. Last year we got 18 inches of snow opening day.

Anton · 07-17-2006, 04:33 PM

I hunt with a guy who carries one in .30-06. It always fires, he never misses. Doesn't matter the weather.

fastpat · 07-17-2006, 05:04 PM

I'm not an advocate for semi-auto's for meat hunting (hunting politicians is another matter entirely). I've hunted with the 7400's predecessor, the 740 and with the pump action rifle that's similar, the 760, now the 7600. All are fine weapons, but in my opinion, not needed in hunting deer or other big game.

Bolt guns, or single shots such as the Ruger Number One, are significantly more accurate, and really all you need for the job.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I bought my son a Browning A-Bolt II Hunter in .243 WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum) for deer hunting with his grandfather. My dad likes his Brownings but I think he has an older Remington, I'll ask him what he has...

Jeff Higgins · 07-17-2006, 08:49 PM

I'm not clear on what you are saying. Are you worried about the reliability of the bolt gun in bad weather? If so, don't be. Or are you worried about the reliability of the auto in bad weather? Again, don't be. There is a slight edge with the bolt gun as far as reliability, but modern sporting arms are so reliable that failures in the field are pretty rare, regardless of action type. The accuracy edge generally goes to the bolt gun, but that is not a given. Any one example of either action type may very well out shoot any one example of the other. As far as the level of accuracy required for normal, ethical distances at which you are likely to shoot big game, either action, if shooting up to its potential, will suffice. Unless you start popping off at 626 LAZERED yards, either is fine. Hunt with whichever you like and have fun.

The 7400 does have one kind of weird quirk you should be aware of. I can't remember off hand if it is the first or last round out of the magazine, but one of them shoots significantly out of the group as compared to the rest of the magazine. Not all of them do it, but a significant number do. It's been years since I have played with one, but the one I was working up loads in did it. Many people don't notice when at the range, as they single load by preference or by range rules.

I'm with Pat on the use of autos for hunting. I'm admitedly old-fashioned, and just a bit romantic I guess, but they just don't seem like they have a place in the woods. I'm a big fan of the single shot for many reasons, but that's just me. Second to the single shots is the bolt gun or the old fashioned lever gun. Either style of repeating action just seems more elegant than the auto. To each his own, but it sounds like you have what you need right now.

HardDrive · 07-17-2006, 10:45 PM

Jeff, I was concerned about the auto in bad weather. Basically thinking about water getting into the mechanism and freezing.

You guys don't have to sell me on a bolt. I hunted with an 8mm Mauser for 20 years. I set out intending to buy a 700. But my father has an old auto loading .308 winchester of some kind, and I like the reduced recoil. I'm a puss, I know.

Basically I have narrowed it down to either the 7400 or the 700 BDL. I'm pretty set on .270.

Unless you guys have other suggestions.......

charleskieffner · 07-17-2006, 11:21 PM

686 LAZERED YARDS..........................686 YARDS! and thats documented! bolt actions hands down will give you best accuracy bar none. its the design ie. more moving parts to fine tune in a semi-auto. the only way you will ever achieve match long range accuracy out of a semi-auto is drop serious bucks on springfield super duper match in .308 or buy an HK-PSG1 in .308 the STEYR SSG is very accurate out of the box in .308. im talking match accuracy...........not all the rounds hit at different points on the side of the barn!

the majority of all sniper beds are REM 700 BDL's. winchesters would be second. as for freezing.........go to robar.com or call robbie barkmann and he will explain there NP3 coatings. mil-spec and will NEVER freeze. only once have i experienced this and it was late hunt colorado at elevation. 2 guys i were with both had winchesters that actions did freeze. my M40-A1 with robar NP3 did not freeze. it impregnates all metal surfaces with teflon. little to none cleaning efforts and no need to lubricate. get on the stick now for robar usually has 3-6month turn around!

fastpat · 07-18-2006, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HardDrive
Jeff, I was concerned about the auto in bad weather. Basically thinking about water getting into the mechanism and freezing.

You guys don't have to sell me on a bolt. I hunted with an 8mm Mauser for 20 years. I set out intending to buy a 700. But my father has an old auto loading .308 winchester of some kind, and I like the reduced recoil. I'm a puss, I know.

Basically I have narrowed it down to either the 7400 or the 700 BDL. I'm pretty set on .270.

Unless you guys have other suggestions.......

.270 Winchester is a fine caliber, it being a type of 7 mm bore (.277 versus .284), which usually has a very good ballistic coefficient down range. Similar, or better, performance can be had from the new 7 mm short magnums (the ones without the belt), 7mm-08, and 280 Remington. If recoil is an issue, 7mm-08 would be an excellent choice as would 260 Remington (a .308 Winchester necked down to .264 bore and shooting 120-140 grain projectiles).

Jeff Higgins · 07-18-2006, 06:16 AM

Given my druthers between your two choices, the 700 BDL wins hands down. The .270 will be just fine, especially if you like a little less recoil. I'm not sure that the 7400 would noticably reduce recoil, at least not enough to swing the decision its way.

Freezing in bad weather can be an issue with any gun. Dry lubes, or even no lube at all, can help. The real problem seems to be in how a lot of us hunt, believe it or not. In a typical few days of hunting, rifles go in and out of warm vehicles and / or buildings to the cold and damp outdoors. Condensation builds, then freezes. It will affect any action type. Some more so than others, but none are really immune from this. Autos are probably the worst, granted, because of their complexity. Some guys get around this by simply leaving the auto in the trailer or camper, so they can sit in there and shoot their deer while relaxing with a beer or something. That's probably not a realistic solution for those of us that like to get out and hunt 'em up, but it does have its proponents. What we like to do is to leave all rifles "outside" for the duration of the hunt to avoid the condensation problem. This can be done in a number of ways while still keeping them secure, depending on the situation. Locked up in the cab of an unused truck in camp, in the unheated garage at home, etc. It can get kind of tough in the Mid-West sometimes when travelling stand-to-stand in a vehicle, as most states back there require the guns to be cased when in a vehicle, but then we just wipe them down and try to keep them dry.

Drdogface · Drdogface's Garage

I would definitely go with the Rem 700 but consider the 270 WSM. Less recoil and very flat shooting. I took a nice Pronghorn buck last year at 450 yards. Also look into the Leupold Boone& Crockett scopes. Can't beat that combo IMHO.

vash · vash's Garage

i have an old one. is it the 740? i never shoot it, at all. it is a 30/06. it isnt very accurate, when compared to a bolt action. it will be nice to have around when the meteor hits.

i have been frozen solid in a duck blind with my remington 1100 shotgun. no issues with jamming. i dont expect anything different with a rifle.

charleskieffner · 07-18-2006, 08:03 AM

cram mud/rain/snow/ice onto any action...............give it a little time and say below 32 degrees and some wind, and youll have yourself a big surprise! i especially liked my brilliant friends advice...........i'll just spray some wd-40 on my frozen action!!!

now to complete the visual...........just imagine both of their rifles on mounts attached to rear basket of quad, being sprayed with crap from the minute we left camp, and then about 3 miles to where we hunted down a nasty muddy eroded jeep trail with lots of snow/rain/mud. then walking/climbing thru area exposed to more rain/sleet/snow. and then back to camp again in the evening. they did admit the rifle rack on rear was a dumb idea. what a mess both of their rifles were in. i left mine outside with scope covers on(leupold) on handlebars of my quad. next morning, pulled bolt back and all was fine. had to wipe off some snow, but nothing froze. they spent all night cleaning their rifles only to have them freeze again with liberal amounts of wd-40 applied! LOL!

now heres the hot ticket. buy a used rem 700 bdl. you dont care what the stock looks like cuz your going to can it. buy a "drop in "mcmillian stock(pick your camo flavor), then learn the fine art of bedding. bed rifle with bedding compound. end result you can take dollar bill btwn barrel and stock all the way down to where barrel meets action w/no interference. when wood stocks are taken from warm dry climates to wet moist climates and vs.versa your zero WILL CHANGE! thats a promise! your accuracy will improve greatly with a bedded fiberglass stock. if still not happy with groups. send the entire rifle into front door of mcmillian to have action/trigger job a new hart or schnieder barrel and all action components NP3'd at ROBAR. you will have a very fine shooter that the only variable hitting your target is YOU!

accuracy is like horsepower...........how fast do you want to go? how accurate of groups? if you want the bullet to go thru the same hole over and over with match grade ammo you pay more!

HardDrive · 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Drdogface
I would definitely go with the Rem 700 but consider the 270 WSM. Less recoil and very flat shooting. I took a nice Pronghorn buck last year at 450 yards. Also look into the Leupold Boone& Crockett scopes. Can't beat that combo IMHO.

Is anyone else other than Browning making WSM rifles?

Everything I have read about WSM looks great, but I don't want to get stuck with some orphan cartridge that will be very expensive 10 years down the road. Remington does not appear to offer WSM calibers in the 700.

EDIT: Nevermind. I just found a site that list all the current offerings in WSM calibers. Oddly, Remingtons own site does not list them. Weird.

vash · vash's Garage

yes they do. two different rem models come in WSM. i cant search them here at work.

as far as riflescopes, i think i am going with the zeiss conquest. there is a promotion going, $400 for a 3-9.

HardDrive · 07-18-2006, 03:24 PM

http://www.shortmags.org/shortmags/rifles.htm

Jeff Higgins · 07-18-2006, 03:54 PM

I would stay away from the short mags myself. I believe they are a passing fad that will, in our lifetimes, become obsolete. The .270, .30-06, etc. will outlive them all.

A buddy bought one of the 700 BDL's in 8mm Remington Magnum when they first came out. That was not all that long ago, and he can no longer get loaded ammo for it. I loaded up 500 rounds for him a few years ago, so he has been using that.

Now imagine my buddy flying out into the middle of Bumfuk Nowhere, looking forward to the hunt of a lifetime, and finding out his ammo got lost by the airline or something. He's screwed; he's hunting with the guide's rattling old thutty-thutty with no rear sight and rawhide holding the wrist together. If he had a .270 or something, he simply runs to the nearest trading post and buys some, re-zeroes the rifle, and goes on his merry way.

The "standard" calibers are never a mistake. You can find anything you need in one, from varmint to elephant calibers. The short mags are no more than an attempt to sell more rifles to a hunting population that is saturated with rifles. We are losing hunters every year, but their rifles stick around; passed on to younger generations, sold on the used market, whatever. Imagine trying to sell new guns in such a market. What do you do? Create the illusion of some new whiz-bang must-have something or another. In this case, new calibers. Beware of that: you really don't want to get stuck with one once the fanfare dies down. And it will. Get the 700 BDL in .270 and live happily ever after.

charleskieffner · 07-19-2006, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
I would stay away from the short mags myself. I believe they are a passing fad that will, in our lifetimes, become obsolete. The .270, .30-06, etc. will outlive them all.

A buddy bought one of the 700 BDL's in 8mm Remington Magnum when they first came out. That was not all that long ago, and he can no longer get loaded ammo for it. I loaded up 500 rounds for him a few years ago, so he has been using that.

Now imagine my buddy flying out into the middle of Bumfuk Nowhere, looking forward to the hunt of a lifetime, and finding out his ammo got lost by the airline or something. He's screwed; he's hunting with the guide's rattling old thutty-thutty with no rear sight and rawhide holding the wrist together. If he had a .270 or something, he simply runs to the nearest trading post and buys some, re-zeroes the rifle, and goes on his merry way.

The "standard" calibers are never a mistake. You can find anything you need in one, from varmint to elephant calibers. The short mags are no more than an attempt to sell more rifles to a hunting population that is saturated with rifles. We are losing hunters every year, but their rifles stick around; passed on to younger generations, sold on the used market, whatever. Imagine trying to sell new guns in such a market. What do you do? Create the illusion of some new whiz-bang must-have something or another. In this case, new calibers. Beware of that: you really don't want to get stuck with one once the fanfare dies down. And it will. Get the 700 BDL in .270 and live happily ever after.

i really do agree with this train of thought. try buying some goofy weatherby?lazzeroni round in BFE let alone some new wazoo round sold as the "bullet of the century". the .270- 30.06 is beyond belief for bullets availability let alone .308's. i admit all my rifles have dedicated handloads or federal match rounds. not the easiest to find, but either i order from midway or go across town(we now have a cabelas opening ) i will find them and i stock up and 2 boxes (40 rds) go in hard case for going hunting. once you get REALLY into it and start reloading there will not be a time that you dont have a case of rounds to access. you will save every shell while being a thoughtful environmentally sound hunter. soon you'll be picking up others empty brass and the wilderness will be a better place.

having boxes of 30.30-.308 .338-12ga-.410- 9mm-.45-.44mag-.30carbine brass makes for a wonderful rainy day project reloading rounds. also when you finally choose the handmade round that groups the best..............you will not be shooting alot, the reason ? you hit the target the first time! accuracy speaks!

once you build a custom rifle or pistol..........you are warped for the rest of your life due to its accuracy and no weapon you buy will remain stock out of the box for long. kinda like a p-car..........you just cant leave it alone.

now the epitomy of a custom rifle and a custom handload...............you will shoot it once maybe twice during a game hunt. bring weapon home, clean it, put it in safe, and the next year when you get drawn, do the exact same thing over again. very little wear and tear on weapon! i use my black evil rifles for plinking, cheap parts, cheap shooting and leave the custom ones only for hunting.