Pawn Shop Rescue - 760 Remington

[Kevinakaq]

Thought I would share my latest 'Pawn Shop Rescue' effort. Found a beat up 1952 Remington 760 in 300 Savage a few weeks ago and got a good price as they know I like the old beaters to restore. I had never shot one of these pumps myself nor the 300 Savage. Rifle appeals to me as a hunter and lefty for obvious reasons.

Spent a bit of time making it right and I think it turned out well. Had to crown the barrel after taking off about 3/16" due to over zealous use of a cleaning rod by someone. After a bit of time foaming, brushing, etc. of the bore it cleaned up really nice. About eight coats of True-Oil on the Wood and decided to use DuraCoat on the metal which I like for a hunting rifle. Took it completely apart and cleaned and inspected all parts and this was first rifle in a while where 95% percent of the work required was cosmetic only. Nice rifle to add to my collection and I do believe she's a keeper. I did shoot it a few times other day just to sight in and averaged about 1.25 groups at 80 yards. No load development though at this time and if rain clears I hope to do some more experimenting later this week. Put a Weaver Classic 4x on her as well which I think is a good compliment to this old classic.

Already have dies and brass assembled and various 308 bullets from 125, 130, 150, 155, 168, etc weights. Probably will stick with IMR 4064 powder for jacketed. Now I'm about to get into rifle casting (have been pistol casting for a while now) and if anyone knows a good mold (LEE if possible as they are cheap and a good way to get started) for this particular rifle and a load recipe I'm all ears!!!

Thank for looking and thanks for any recipes included,
Kevin

BEFORE PICS

[Kevinakaq]

AFTER PICS

[HollandNut]

that's sweet , I had a mid 60's 760 that I re chambered from a '06 to a 338-06 ..

Little beast will let you know when you light it off

[RickinTN]

Nice job there! You certainly brought her back to life! I shoot the 300 Savage, but only with jacketed bullets so far. The very short neck makes bullet selection difficult, but not impossible. I like to keep the gas check in the neck of a cartridge if at all possible but sometimes can't be accomplished. This is probably one of those cases. If I were to choose a Lee mold it would probably be the 309-170FP or 309-180RN. They are the same bullet only with the nose chopped off to make the flat point. The flat point would probably be the first choice if hunting is on the agenda. Your rifle will tell you about seating depth but you'll probably have the gas check in the case proper or the lube grooves exposed above the case neck, or a little of both. Just on a whim I would probably start with about 16 grains of 2400 as powder charge as this has worked well in most 30 caliber rifles I have tried it in. It is a relatively mild load producing between 1,500 and 1,600 fps. in most cases and is a fun and comfortable load to shoot. Many folks claim to get good results with the 300 Savage and cast and I'm sure you can as well.
Good Luck with it,
Rick

[Three44s]

Very nice outcome!!

You'll treasure that one for a very long time!

I also am glad you shed that iron sighter scope mount ........ you simply have no cheek weld with those things!!

A low mount is faster ....... and more accurate ........ unless you want to glue a short 4X6" block of wood to the cheek rest ........

Three 44s

[Kevinakaq]

Very nice outcome!!
A low mount is faster ....... and more accurate ........ unless you want to glue a short 4X6" block of wood to the cheek rest ........

Three 44s

Couldn't agree more. There is quite a bit of drop on that stock as well which is nice. Even with the low scope mounts I can right shoulder the weapon if needed and still look through the scope with my left dominant eye (I am a lefty). Comes in very handy sometimes when you are up in a stand and deer comes towards you at an odd angle. My dad is a righty but left eye dominant and would enjoy this rifle as well because of that. He has been known to 'whittle' a few butt stocks down to make them usable... I almost always use low scope mounts, especially in my target rifles, but do prefer my hunting rifles with scopes to be capable of shouldering from left or right for me. Was nice that it worked out both ways on this rifle.

[C. Latch]

Many years ago I had a chance at a 760 in .300 Savage, just like yours, older model, in very nice shape, and I backed out of the deal, and have always regretted it.

I hope you enjoy yours!

[onceabull]

I have this exact rifle from the same era as yours...Favorite Cast boolit is 311440 (aka 308440)..Some years ago there was a group buy on a 6 Cav.Lee clone,so you might troll around to see if anyone close has one... I started off buying the boolits from Western Bullet ,(Missoula,Mt.)probably 15 years ago, worked good enough for me to start shopping for my own mould....at around 1800 fps it made a fine deer whacker... Onceabull

[gkainz]

My dad hunted with that same rifle. My brother has it now and it just sits in his safe. I told him if it ever went anywhere except to me, I would never forgive him.

[skeettx]

Well done!!
Thank you for sharing
Mike

[Hardcast416taylor]

A neighbor has a 760 of about that year as yours and also is .300 Sav. I helped him develop a "J" load for it as he wasn`t a cast believer. My experience is that 150 gr. Nosler "J" bullets, either Ballistic variety or the partition type work very well and have taken quite a few Michigan whitetails and now Montana mulies besides a cow elk with the partitions If it`ll put a sparkle in your eyes those 150`s can be driven real close to 2700 FPS!Robert

[nekshot]

you did a fine job for sure. Yep, I was raised and weaned on them older 760's. I got one just like yours but a 35 remmy. Where I came from they were called amish machine guns!

[izzyjoe]

Very nice, that wood looks awsome! I love fixer uppers.

[seagiant]

Hi,
VERY nice work,and a great cartridge! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.300_Savage

[Kevinakaq]

Thanks guys i appreciate the positive comments. Forearm had a couple cracks typical of shotgun forearms but wood went back together tight and you would never know it even if you were looking. I love fixer uppers myself and making something new. Even when i was a kid with something as simple as hammers i would shine up the metal, put a new handle on her and make it new (still have a few of those in use). I actively look for rifles and calibers i havent worked on before. Any chance to break one apart and learn how it works is a welcome opportunity...not to mention all the appreciation that comes from load development....

[oscarflytyer]

Very nice. Is on my bucket list. LGS has one with a Griffin and Howe detachable mount on it, but to high for my blood - $700!

I have yet to try IMR 4064 in my Savage 99 300 Savage. I simply went with the load that is listed as the most accurate for 300 Savage - 40.0 grns of IMR 4895 behind a 150 grn (Speer HotCor for me) bullet. Works great for me.

[richhodg66]

The .300 and cast work well together. In my experience, the short neck problem is more academic than real. The 31141 works well in it even with the bullet base below the bottom of the neck.

I used the NOE clone of the 311041 and 28 grains of IMR4895 with a little Dacron filler. The rifle will easily hold deer hunting accuracy at 100 yards with this load even with iron sights and a less than stellar trigger.

[Gtek]

Very nice, well done! I must admit I am torn visually between the rifle and a clean bench.

[CastingFool]

Nice job!

[Kevinakaq]

Sometimes I think I spend as much time cleaning my area as working on my rifles. I only have a 12x12 space in a small out building and have a round table with my computer on that inside as well. It's a comfortable space, but a bit cramp and I'm constantly looking for ways to reorganize or conserve space.

The rounds that I tested out other day were Hor 150 gr Interlock 3031 with pushed by 41 gr IMR4064. This is a weak load going about 2600 I think (I didn't run over Chrony) but fine for sighting in and getting to know the rifle. I seldom load my rounds to full power for deer, paper, trespassers....lol.