I believe there are two generations of Remington Model 760 before the M7600 came along. They are referred to as the “Old Style” and the “New Style.” I do not believe the Old Style has the “O” ring.
My Dad gave me a new Model 760 in 270 Winchester just before the 1957 deer season. He purchased it at the Montgomery Ward’s store. Based on the serial # I believe the rifle was manufactured in 1954.
By the second season I had a recoil pad and a Williams’s receiver sight installed on it. By the third season I had it tapped for scope mounts and added sling swivels.
In the off season I used in on coyotes, wood chucks, jack rabbits, and digger squirrels.
I preferred it over the Winchester 94 (25-35) and the Savage 99 (.303 Savage) I had used before because of the removable magazine, the safety, the caliber, and the scope.
In theory when I purchased a slightly lighter bolt action in 270 Winchester in 1970 it became my long range, long hike into the craggy peaks rifle, and the M760 was my heavy cover rifle.
On the day of this picture I was hunting a Pine plantation that offered a few long shooting lanes with chest high brush under cover of 20 year old pines on the side. The day before I had hunted with a Marlin 30-30 with a 4x scope. I felt the M760 in 270 Winchester with a 3x9 scope offered an advantage at longer range and gave up nothing at close range.
You can see the bluing is worn from many hours of carrying. You cannot see the ¼ inch scar on the barrel from when I fell off a rocky point. You will find many like new Model 760 rifles around. My brother bought one a few years ago from the original owner. The owner gave my brother a partial box of ammunition with just a few rounds fired. The old ammunition had turned black. After firing the rifle the owner had cleaned it and stored it in gun cabinet. The rifle was pulled out every once and while for cleaning oiling. I have no use for another rifle but if my brother decides one day that he needs to sell it, I will make an offer.
The closes deer I shot with it was a heart shot on a running buck at about 10 yards with my dog hot on its trail. The dog pushed the buck and a doe out of the brush across a small opening at a run. The 130-grain bullet took off the top of the buck’s heart.
The longest shot was close to 400 yards. Iron Mike (dog) had picked up the scent of the buck on in the thicket brush my youngest brother and I were hunting. We could hear him down in the drainage, and start up the other side. Every once and while we could see the buck ahead of him as they worked towards the distant ridge top. Just before the buck hit the ridge top there was a small opening and I dropped him with a 130-grain Remington CL.
The largest buck I took with the old M760 was a 4x6 Western count, or if you may a 12 point Eastern. Younger brother had jumped and missed the buck and he came trotting down among the oaks about 100 yards from me. A handloaded 150-grain Norma Match bullet did the job. The day before I had taken a 3x3 buck with the same load.
I put a few other rifles into the rotation now days because I have them. But the 760 is always ready to go. It made a few trips to the range with me in 2010, I did not deer hunt in 2010 because of illness.
P.S. Long ago I decieded the 150-grain bullets (cup and core) gave better results then the 130-grain bullets in my 760. Now days I use 150-grain bullets in the Remington 760 and Remington 700 270 rifles, and 140-grain in the Savage 110 270 Winchester.
