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Thread: Remington 7400 in 308 Winchester

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    cdet69's Avatar
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    Remington 7400 in 308 Winchester

    I have a chance to get a Remington Model 7400 in 308 Winchester for a friend. I was told it is in good conditionand comes with a Redfield 3X9 scope. It is being sold for $400.00. Are there any issues I should be aware of and is it worth the price?
    I keep trying to stay afloat but can't help from shooting holes in my own boat.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master pietro's Avatar
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    IMHO it's only worth the price if you REALLY want one, AND you intend to never sell it - since you'll most likely never get a decent return for it.

    In my part of the country, not only areused Remington semi-auto's languishing for years (unsold) on many store's gun racks in the $350 range, FFL's won't even take them in on a trade because they know they're such slow movers.


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  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    The Remington autos are not target rifles, or battle rifles, or collector items. They are very good deer killing machines and will last a one-box-of-ammo-a-year hunter a lifetime and more. There was a thread here awhile back about converting worn-out ones to straight-pull bolt actions. If all I wanted out of a rifle was to put a deer in the freezer every year, the Remington would get my vote.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    There is usualy a slight shift in the point of impact between a round chambered by hand, and one loaded by the rifle cycling.
    Not enough to matter in a hunting rifle.
    Best,
    Mike

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    Remember Ira Hayes

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy chickenstripe's Avatar
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    I belive this was the model that had the "soft" receivers that eventually led to headspace problems.

    Someone here may be able to verify this.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    The people that have them and like them are the guys that shoot factory ammo and very little of it, say a box every few years.

    There is fellow, in Washington state I believe, that has made a career of rebuilding them as they tend to batter themselves to death. Like any gas operated gun they need a diet of the right ammunition, read that as factory or factory equivalent, to function properly and not jamb or beat themselves to death too soon.

    I had one in 30-06 that I took in trade, it looked brand new, I tried to sell for several years, I finally gave it to a friend and he traded it for a used pellet stove to heat his shop.
    BIG OR SMALL I LIKE THEM ALL, 577 TO 22 HORNET.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    The 742's have the soft receivers, the 7400's were created to address that issue I believe. My son has a 742, we shoot light cast loads in it and keep check on the rails in the receiver.

    It is a good (not great) shooter.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master


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    Another disadvantage to the Remington 742,7400,760 and 7600 line is that they are heavy compared to say a bolt action rifle of the same caliber.
    I would much prefer a bolt action rifle for the reasons of weight, accuracy, reliability and resale value.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master


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    My 742 Carbine is accurate and weighs less than a 700 in 30'06. It gets a diet of 180gr. corelokts and has since 1980. It especially like the Old RN corelokts so I save all those for that rifle. It killed My first Grizzly Bear (shot right between his eyes)and My first moose but I graduated to a .300 Mag for Longer shots. The 742 is always loaded and ready in case I need a quick shot in my yard with open sights. Good lube on the locking lugs has helped mine stay tight.
    You Know You Might Be Facing your DOOM , if all you get is a click, Instead of a BOOM !

    If God had wanted us to have Plastic gun stocks he would have planted plastic Trees !

  10. #10
    Boolit Master and Dean of Balls




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    My Uncle Llyod, who lived in the Adirondacks only possessed 2 deer rifles, one of which was a 7400 in .308
    He kept it immaculately clean and it never failed him.
    I would suggest if well maintained it's worth $400.00 with the redfield scope.
    YMMV
    Quote Originally Posted by Theodore Roosevelt
    No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    You'll want to watch out for damage to the muzzle and crown as well since those rifles are usually cleaned from the muzzle rather than the breech.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master


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    Bore snakes solve that problem now...
    You Know You Might Be Facing your DOOM , if all you get is a click, Instead of a BOOM !

    If God had wanted us to have Plastic gun stocks he would have planted plastic Trees !

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I had a Model 4 (same as the 7400 but with fancy non-sense on it) and it served me well. I only shot factory Rem coreloks at the time and it was a meat-maker. Had no porblem with selling it to a friend who has used it for decades with no problems. It's not a target rifle. There is no hold open for the bolt. It swings fast and shoulders well. I would feel well heeled if I were to take it back in the woods. If you want to hunt with it, I think you will enjoy it. $400 in good shape with a Redfield sounds like a good deal.

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy o6Patient's Avatar
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    I cut my teeth on these rifles and we still own several to this day: they can be very accurate
    if the fore end is floated correctly, my father's old 742(30-06) will shoot as small as 3/8"
    group at 100yrd w factory ammo(federal supreme 165s). For what it's worth back in the
    day, the long actions had a better rep for feeding than the short actions did..don't know that
    it's true or not ? they are deer killing machines ..if they don't jam on you.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check