760/7600 receiver/mag length?

[BattleRifleG3]

I just got a Rem 760 in 35 Rem.  Probably the shortest round it was ever chambered for, except for the 223 in the new 7615.

Magazine with it says 308.  The rounds have quite a bit of space in the mag.  Then I notice there seems to be a spacer in the back of the mag.  I line up a 30-06 round and sure enough, if the front and rear spacers weren't there, 30-06 would fit in this mag.

So that leads me to ask, is there really any difference in the receivers of the short and long action Remington 760s and 7600s?  Or could my 760 in 35 Rem concievably be rechambered to 35 Whelen?  Not that I'd necessarily want to.

Magazine is a wee bit difficult to insert, and since the 35 Rem is of different geometry from the others, I'm thinking of trying my hand at making my own extended mag for it, with the follower and feeding column sized for the 35 Rem instead of 308, and with a wee bit of a feed-ramp built into the front section of the mag.

[nomosendero]

BattleRifleG3
I have been watching over the years & sadly Rem. has not made a short
action pump or auto version of these rifles. This is why I have never
owned a pump 308, why with a long action. As you said, they just put in a
spacer in the mags. In the case of the 308, I would opt for the 30-06 for
this reason. And we have to love this one, they make the carbine version
in the 30-06 & not a 308, even though the 308 does better in the short
barrels than the 06, the velocity reduction would be far less in the 308.
This is just another way Rem. has caused so many people like me to
pull their hair out over the years. Of course the Rem. apologist will say
they have one action length to save production cost & that is true, but
it also cuts sales for many people like me who would buy a short action,
short barrel version. Besides, if they had done this years ago as anyone can see they should have, the set up cost would be way behind them. Savage in the past did this same "spacer thing" with their bolt rifles to cut cost, but after they started making short actions, the sales for short action calibers went through the roof. This is yet another example of Rem. missing opportunities.

[STexhunter]

I bought a new 7600 in 308 a few months ago.  A couple of things I noticed were the screw mount holes are 8X40 and the mounts for it come with 6X48.  The shortest screw I had  in 8X40 would not let the action/bolt function, so I had to trim them enough to be able to work the action.  As you noted it is a bite hard to insert the mag.  If the gun is empty and action closed, it is hard to insert the mag.  I feel that the loaded rounds are hitting the bolt and the spring in this mag is really strong.  This mag has different calibers printed on it.  I think the actions on all these guns are the same length.  The mags have inserts in them to allow for long and short cartridges.  I found a used mag for a 760, it has a weaker spring, probably due to use and it inserts better and functions fine.  Good luck with your idea and keep us posted.

[pffft]

The slide-action Remington uses a modified Browning design that he invented over a hundred years ago. Oddly enough, the semi-auto was designed first, and then he worked on the slide-action.
It is only in recent years that hunters started seeing a need for more than one rifle for everything. So the limited chamberings that were available 30 or 40 years ago were intended to cover more hunting situations than they are today. Chamberings like the 270 were pushed hard in order for hunters to see its benefits over the 30-06, but it never won out, even though still very popular.
Browning had a hand in most everything in the early 1900s except the bolt-action, which was perfected by Mauser in the late 1800s.
Most semi-auto handguns still use some variation of the original Browning designed 1911, with successful new designs only showing up in the later part of the 1900s.
I agree that Remington should have offered more variations of their slide-action rifles. Even the 552 and 572 models are mini modifications of the same basic design, and why Remington never included beefier chamberings such as the 22 WMR and 22-Hornet for these rifles is really puzzling. Maybe they did and I just missed out (as usual)...

[760 Nut]

I just got a Rem 760 in 35 Rem. Probably the shortest round it was ever chambered for, except for the 223 in the new 7615.  

Actually, Remington produced 760's in 222 and 223. They were limited production, but you can still find them around. I have both versions and they are great little guns.

Believe it or not, Remington actually produced a few short action receiver 760's during late 50's early 60's. Only a couple of these rifles are around. The receivers were aluminum and Remington pulled the project fearing the aluminum would not be safe enough over time to withstand the high pressures of centerfire rounds.  

[warty308]

I own a 7600 in a .308 and I love the gun. However one of the first lessons I learned was you CANNOT be in a hurry when you insert the clip and it won't help if you hold you tongue just right. I also bought a spare clip from Cabela's. It was supposed to be a factory replacement but it came with 7mm-08 .308 6mm .243 and .257 stamped on the side. Wasted $25 but I did learn some new words. The clip doesn't fit all the way up so when you try to pump a round into the chamber they come out of the clip at a 45 degree angle and promptly jam.

Warty308

[nomosendero]

I have thought for a long time that a short action Rem. pump would be great, since the idea of a pump is to have a fast repeat shots & quick
handling. Think about how compact & quick handling a 7600 would be with
both a short action & a short barrel.
The rounds like the .260, 7-08, 308, 358 Win or the new 338 Fed would
come into their own in this set-up.
But, that may be the problem. I think something this practical scares Remington. I mean, if they made it, people might buy it. It may get too
popular & get too much favorable press. This would buck their current,
Lemming like trend.

[BattleRifleG3]

Whoooah there... 338 Fed?  Do tell more!

[Lone Star]

The slide-action Remington uses a modified Browning design that he invented over a hundred years ago. Oddly enough, the semi-auto was designed first, and then he worked on the slide-action....

Nope, Browning had nothing to do with the current rotating-bolt M760/7600 designs.  

JD Pedersen was tasked by Remington to design a pump for the new Remington rimless cartridges introduced in the Browning-designed M8 autoloading rifle.  By 1912 the M14 and M14 1/2 pump-actioned rifles were in production, and in 1935 they were replaced by the M141.

The M141 was dropped in 1950 due to poor sales, and a team was assembled to design its replacement.  This group developed both pump-actioned rifles and shotguns, and similar autoloaders - the family resemblances among all four firearms are obvious.  Production on the M760 began in 1952 using an interrupted-screw lockup, a design used in military ordinance since near the turn of the 20th century. Initially available in .300 Savage, .30-06 and .35 Remington, eventually the M760/7600 would be available in at least 13 different chamberings starting in 1981.  The .222 was produced in 1958-1960, and the .223 from 1964-1968.

Mine, rebored to .338-06, has been highly reliable over the past 20 years. Long wet hunts in southcentral and southeast Alaska had no effect on its performance, which has been 100%.  It has taken blacktail deer, caribou, black bear and moose, and never has let me down.  You have to know how to handle the rifle of course, and if you cannot master inserting the magazine or learning to give it an extra 1/2" of cycling, then perhaps a nice simple Ruger M77 would be more appropriate.....